ECONOMICS OF A UNIFIED TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND

The paper describes the pricing and investment rules that might be appropriate to a unified transportation trust fund and suggests that they could be based on the same criteria of profitability that are used in the private sector. The consequences of applying such rules to the U.S. transport sector are explored, and it is concluded that rail passenger transport and some waterway transport could be lost, but bus transport and rail freight services could benefit. The effect on air transport would be to divert traffic from the more congested airports to less congested ones. The effect on road transport could be a substantial rise in fuel taxes, especially on diesel fuel, and in the annual registration fees payable by vehicles that impose heavy axle loads on the road system. It is concluded that, if suitable pricing and investment criteria are introduced, a unified transportation trust fund would be unnecessary; if they are not, a unified transportation trust fund could be wasteful. (Author)

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1979/731/731-007.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ECONOMICS+OF+A+UNIFIED+TRANSPORTATION+TRUST+FUND&author=G.+Roth&publication_year=1979
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309029864
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Application of Economic Analysis to Transportation Problems. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Roth, Gabriel
• Publication Date: 1979

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 49-54
• Monograph Title: EVALUATING TRANSPORTATION PROPOSALS
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 731
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation; Bus transportation; Economics; Freight transportation; Highway transportation; Investments; Pricing; Railroad transportation; Transportation; Transportation planning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fund allocations
• Subject Areas: Economics; Planning and Forecasting; Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00312465
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309029864
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-028 848
• Files: HSL, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 27 1985 12:00AM