Public Transportation Policy the United

Public Transportation Policy

The United States is considered to be one of the most modern states in the world. It represents a symbol of democracy, technology, and innovation. At the same time however, it has often been envied by more traditional societies and nations with a longer history for its sense of evolution and the rapid growth of the nation, particularly starting from the end of the American Revolution. However, it must be noted that the status the U.S. enjoys at the moment as the end of a cultural road and the destination place for most of the people in the world is in fact the result of historical development and a constant desire to improve the conditions of its citizens as well as for any inhabitant of the U.S. These attempts are visible in all walks of life, taking into account the constant desires to improve the legislative framework; in this sense, the Constitution was modified on several occasions precisely to ensure equal rights to the people living in America and to its citizens. On a similar note, there are legislative acts which have tried to ensure similar equal status for people, regardless of their race and color in areas such as health care, education, and even transportation.

While the issue of health care is strictly related to the condition of the human being, the matter of equal conditions and access to education is as well an aspect which regard human rights and the individual's right to personal improvement, the matter of ensuring public transportation can be seen as a method for increasing the comfort and ease of the urban citizens. Nonetheless, the initiatives that have been taken in this regard tried to consider a broader array of aspects related to life in America. However, in order to understand the way in which the initiatives in the transportation filed have taken effect and have influenced the lives of people in America, it is important to consider the historical background of the transportation issue; secondly, it is also important to see the steps that have been made in order to reach positive results in this area. Thirdly, in order to see the actual effects of the measures taken at the time and in relation to the acts submitted by the Congress, it is essential to have a view on the particular results of the policy that is conducted in transportation. Finally, in the concluding remarks it is essential to see the way in which these acts had a positive or negative effect on the society and the extent in which improvements can be made.

First and foremost, the issue of public transport has been often regarded indeed as a means to ensure the population a means of movement from one place to another. It includes all available possibilities of transportation through which people do not use their own vehicles. Even if today, the public transportation network is one of the most developed infrastructures in a country, regardless of its importance or financial means, it is a result of the historical experience acquired along the decades and a sign of modernization. This is due to the fact that the options for public transportation have evolved as technology has. Therefore, should one consider a historical approach to the issue of public transportation, it can be said that the invention of the wheel was the most important aspect in this evolution (Transit People, 2001). It enabled people to further discover the cart and eventually the car.

The United States is a rather vast territory and it was a crucial matter for it to develop an important road system that would connect the country from East to West and from the North to the South. In this sense, the end of the American Revolution was a significant era in the development of cross country transportation (Jenkins, 1997). The immigrants that arrived after the independent state of the U.S. was completely defined in terms of political and social order had an essential contribution to the establishment of the railway system as well as the road system. The transcontinental railway system was of immense importance for the development of the country west because it enabled people in search of adventure to head west and develop areas such as California, New Mexico and other remote areas that up to that point were inaccessible to the population est. Moreover, the transportation infrastructure that was created at the time also helped businesses flourish and families improve both the quality of their lives financially speaking as well as their existence in terms of modernity and life style.

The end of the identity struggle of the American people was followed by a mass construction of the country with the sole aim of trying to benefit from all the resources available to the country, especially taking into account the wide variety of resources, the El Dorado area of California, or the possibilities for investment in the west. In this sense, in 1808, the first plan to build a viable infrastructure plan was underway. Thus, during Thomas Jefferson's presidency, the initiative of Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin "embodied perhaps the most revolutionary vision of any national plan: the creation of a truly democratic society through the planned settlement of a whole continent. The sale of federal lands would be organized to produce a society dominated by independent farmers, and this new continent of citizen-farmers would be connected to thriving cities and their world-wide markets by a federally-financed network of roads, and canals (and later railroads) to form the world's most productive economy" (Fishman, 2007). Therefore it can be said that the early initiatives surrounding the creation of a mass transportation unit were in the first place oriented towards an increase of productivity and the improvement of the economic situation of the country.

In the evolution of the transportation in the United States, an important role was played, although indirectly, by the Homestead Act of 1862. Although the act in itself was related to the acquisition of land by the farmers with the promise to work it, the consequences this act had are important for the evolution of the transportation segment (Pence, n.d.). More precisely, it encouraged to develop a new sense of perspective in terms of transportation because the federal government began to implement the federal grant strategies that included federal financial resources given to states in order to build bridges and roads. These were however the results of the increased need of farmers to have possibilities of transportation to their farms the act of 1862 offered them. In this sense, through this policy, both the issue of the land was somehow addressed, and the matter of public transportation was also put to the attention of the federal government.

This 19th century initiative gave way to a new one a century later which followed the lines of the first attempt to construct a national transportation system. This time, however, the results were different than what the federal government expected. "the second campaign of national planning began exactly a century after the Gallatin Plan in 1908 with Theodore Roosevelt's great conservation initiatives. Haste had made waste, a whole continent of it, as the runoff from bare slopes denuded by massive timber cuts had turned fertile valleys into floodplains; eroded soil bankrupted farmers and choked rivers; plowing of semi-arid land threatened dustbowls; and a poverty-stricken rural population streamed into the already-overcrowded cities" (Fishman, 2007). Therefore, in the light of these events, there was an increased need for a reconsideration of the plans made to restructure the transportation policy and infrastructure.

Roosevelt tried to march throughout his presidency on an issue that had guided his presidential campaign, the idea of New Nationalism. On the one hand, it was an important idea that could be used for reconstruction because it gave a different twist on the entire situation and on the actual reasons for undergoing such a massive plan of infrastructure. Hence "Roosevelt's "New Nationalism" meant a re-assertion of "the common good" as the motive for national planning" (Fishman, 2007). This aspect suggested the fact that in the end the main goal of the transportation policy and infrastructure must be the protection of the national values while combining the need for technology with the need to keep the country's natural heritage untouched. On the other hand, the approach was useful because in the end it considered all the technological improvements such as the electric power that could be used with the higher goal of achieving prosperity and development. In this sense, "Forests in the highlands would be protected (or replanted if necessary) to restrain flooding; agriculture reformed to minimize soil erosion; the great rivers tamed by dams that would also provide hydro-electric power. In the West, the dams would collect water to irrigate millions of acres and thus spur a new era of homesteading. If the railroads had concentrated industry and population in the cities of the East and Midwest, a new federal system of navigable inland waterways, irrigation and cheap electric power would reinvigorate the economies of the South and West to create a national balance of prosperity and equity. As with the Gallatin Plan, the 1908 Roosevelt vision exercised its influence over the long-term, eventually drawing on new technologies like the regional electric power grid and the automobile superhighway to achieve its ends" (Fishman, 2007). This period is important for the evolution of public transportation because it offers a perspective on the way in which different aspects of the world we see today have come about, the struggles and the incipient initiatives of the government along the years.

One of the most significant contributions to the issue of public policy transportation but in particular to the infrastructure on which the advanced policies would be based was that of FD Roosevelt, one of the most important presidents of the United States, the one that, through his presidential program often labeled as being of socialist origins, managed to draw the most powerful country out of the deepest recession of our times, the 1929 crisis. This achievement for which the history will always pay homage to Roosevelt was partly done through the improvement of the public transport policy. More precisely, the need for jobs in a time of crisis and disarray determined the president to seek new possible means of employment for the increasing number of people that were left without their basic means of subsistence (Jenkins, 1997). In this sense, new highways, roads, and a massive network of bridges were built at the time. The Interstate highway program, one of the most important achievements of the initiative was the connection point between two historical attempts to organize the country. Thus "Theodore Roosevelt's dream of an efficient national system of inland waterways to break the monopoly of the railroads was realized on land with the interstate highways that Franklin Roosevelt first envisioned in the late 1930s (and that Dwight Eisenhower finally funded in 1956.)" (Fishman, 2007).

Despite the fact that the initiatives undergone by Roosevelt were in fact the dramatic response in one of the most difficult situations the nation had to go through, the success of his acts proved the fact that indeed, action can be taken and things such as the infrastructure can be built both efficiently as well as in an useful manner. In this sense, to this day, there are visible the effects of the Public Works Administration projects which included the Bay Bridge, the Hoover Dam and Washington's National Airport (Cohen, 2007). Also, the period is relevant for the setting in place of the actual framework of the infrastructure, one that would eventually last for the decades to come. Thus, "the W.P.A. alone built 78,000 bridges and viaducts and improved 46,000 more. It constructed 572,000 miles of rural roads and 67,000 miles of urban streets" (Cohen, 2007)

The tensions of an ever growing economy, as well as the inability to maintain an equilibrium between the way in which economic process is achiever and the costs this process has on the environment has determined many voices of the American society to stand up for a better relationship between the evolution of the quality of our lives, and the need to keep the environment safe. "That means reinvesting in our crumbling highways and bridges and renewing our commitment to mass transit, solutions which will create jobs for the middle class. It also means expanding broadband access across America, and particularly to rural communities. Again, in our infrastructure challenge there is job-creating opportunity - to reinvigorate the American economy" (America 2050).

The issue of the impending need for the improvement of the policy in the transportation area as well as the infrastructure on which this is based requires deep thought in terms of political commitments and the proper management of funds. In this sense, the desire to invest in public transportation works has often been viewed as an initiative conducted by the Democratic Party taking into account the fact that in most situations, the Democratic wing has a particular interest for the problems of everyday Americans. However, despite the fact that "investing in the nation's buildings, transportation and overall mechanics has often been viewed as a Democratic issue," there are aspects of the evolution of the country which determines a different view on the matter. In this sense "with Georgia's water supply drying up, Representative John Linder, a Republican who has made a career of bashing Washington, is calling for a national commission on water resources. And after the Minnesota bridge collapse, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to establish a national commission on infrastructure" (Cohen, 2007).

The situation has degraded dramatically according to reports considered on this issue. In this sense, alarm signals have been drawn since the early 1990 when it was considered that the state of most bridges in the country is rather negative. Thus, a matter of public transportation policy is related to the increasing need to reconsider the proper investments policy and discuss the actual priorities for any administration. More precisely, in 1991 "the nation's half-million bridges, many of them aging, need additional inspections and maintenance if we are to keep them from collapsing," was the opinion of one of the most important people in the area, the nation's top transportation safety official. (Associated Press, 1991) He goes on to admit that "our country's aging bridges need more than periodic replacement of a few rivets and strips of aluminum" (Associated Press, 1991). Therefore, it can be said that indeed the situation appears to be in need of reconsidering the financial investment in the infrastructure.

There is a particular need one must try to address when discussing the issue of transportation in America. Taking into account the fact that the entire system of government is relatively more complicated through the federal and state systems of government, in most situations when establishing a public policy issue, it is important to consider the issue of overriding the responsibilities of either the state authorities or the federal government. More precisely, in most situations, funds are given from the federal government to state authorities. However, there are numerous situations in which states are left alone to manage their own public policy works. In this sense, in the area of public transportation, an area in which comprehensive and coordinated actions must be taken, it is important that "an esprit de corps within the transportation industry be developed so that Congress can be presented with a unified declaration of national policy which is broad enough and clear enough to satisfy the needs of the industry and to develop and preserve a strong healthy well balanced national transportation system" (Johnson, 1953). Therefore, although this opinion revealed a situation concerning the 1950s, it is viable to this day, taking into account the lack of cohesion among the political forces and the financial bodies of the state.

Action has been taken in order to insure a better condition for the infrastructure in the U.S. In this sense, "National Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2004 establishes the National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United States to ensure that U.S. infrastructure meets current and future demand and facilitates economic growth" (a Bill to establish the NCI, 2004). Another bill would later on reconsider the issue of the National Commission on the Infrastructure of the United States in 2006 and 2007. The one from 2006 gave the Commission the capacity to address issues such as "the capacity of infrastructure improvements to sustain economic development and competitiveness, the age and condition of public infrastructure, the methods used to finance the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and maintenance of public works improvements, investment requirements needed to maintain and to improve facilities and the projected share of investment requirements and expenditures on infrastructure facility improvements by federal, state, and local governments, and estimates of the return to the economy from public works investment" (H.R. 5616, 2006). These aspects of the legislative process are important for two reasons at least. On the one hand there is the issue of their true declarative goal as part of the vision each government must poses in terms of a segment of the public area; on the other hand, they do represent an issue of concern regarding this matter and these declarations stand as important guiding lines for the policies conducted in a certain area.

From the perspective offered by these initiatives, it is fair to say that one of the most important strategies conducted at the level of the American public transportation level is related in the first instance to the attempt to actually see the situation of the infrastructure, more precisely the roads, the bridges, as well as the railway system. Following the incidents that have taken place in the last years, the aspect of assessing the situation and the damages in this respect is essential.

Improvements have been made in this area op public transportation. However, it must be pointed out the fact that the main idea about public transportation policy is related to the issue of assessing the current situation and encouraging the investment in areas where these are considered necessary. In this sense, both the federal government is involved through the Commission, and the public policy programs serve their purpose of developing the infrastructure.

Additional to this need of assessment, the transportation policy, including the strategies for an improved public transportation revolves around the idea of creating an infrastructure or modernizing the current one to such an extent as to enable citizens to consider different means of transportation aside from their private vehicles. This is a goal that is important to stress out especially considering the degree of pollution and the concern for the degradation of the environment. Fewer cars on in the cities means less polluted air.

In considering the entire array of measures taken at federal level as well as state level, the priorities include "to preserve the 47,000-mile system which has been built over the past 50 years so that it lasts for at least the next 50 years; (to make use of advanced technologies as to avoid) congestion, improve throughput, and increase system reliability" (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, n.d.). these are all actions that aim at offering suggestions and options for the existing infrastructure on the one hand, and at including the new advancements of technologies to work for the improvement of the conditions of transportation.

An additional line of action is the financing of infrastructure programs that aim at developing new capacities for transportation in all respects as "domestic freight tonnage will increase by 57% by 2020 and import-export tonnage will increase by nearly 100%" (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, n.d.). Another aim must be addressed by the public transportation policy, that of increasing the number of people using public transportation, taking into account the fact that there is a clear decrease in the number of people using the commuting system, thus the congestion on the highways is increasing as well as the degree in which roads are used and deteriorated. One solution is the federal investment in the improvement of the railway system on the one hand and the insure better alternatives to individual transportation.