1 - Transportation System Extent and UseTable 1 The Transportation Network: 1999
1 - Transportation System Extent and Use
The U.S. transportation system is an extensive, inter-related network of public and private roads, airports, railroads, transit routes, waterways, terminals, ports, and pipelines. Millions of people and businesses rely on this ever-expanding system to get to work, take vacation trips, conduct business, and ship goods here and abroad. It links regions and connects small and large cities and urban and rural areas.
Table 1 The Transportation Network: 1999
| Mode | Components |
|---|---|
| Highway | |
| Public roads | 46,564 miles of Interstate highway 113,995 miles of other National Highway System roads 3,771,456 miles of other roads |
| Air | |
| Public-use airports | 5,354 airports |
| Airports serving large certificated carriers | 29 large hubsa (69 airports), 459 million enplaned passengers 31 medium hubs (48 airports), 96 million enplaned passengers 56 small hubs (73 airports), 39 million enplaned passengers 577 nonhubs (604 airports), 17 million enplaned passengers |
| Rail | |
| Miles of railroad operated | 120,412 miles by Class 1 freight railroadsb 21,250 miles by regional freight railroads 28,422 miles by local freight railroads 22,741 miles by Amtrak (passenger) |
| Urban transit (1998) | |
| Directional route-milesc | Bus: 157,823 Trolley bus: 424 Commuter rail: 5,172 Heavy rail: 1,527 Light rail: 676 |
| Stations | Commuter rail: 972 Heavy rail: 997 Light rail: 555 |
| Water | |
| Navigable channels | 26,000 miles of navigable waterways |
| Ferry routes | 487 |
| Commercial waterway facilitiesc | |
| Great Lakes | 619 deep-draft 144 shallow-draft |
| Inland | 2,376 shallow-draft |
| Ocean | 4,057 deep-draft 2,131 shallow-draft |
| Locks | 276 |
| Pipeline (1998) | |
| Oil | Crude lines: 86,000 miles of pipe Product lines: 91,000 miles of pipe |
| Gas | Transmission: 254,000 miles of pipe Distribution: 981,000 miles of pipe |
aA hub is defined as a geographic area based on the percentage of total enplaned passengers in that area. For example, a large hub serves 1 percent or more of all enplaned revenue passengers in U.S. certificated route carriers operating in U.S. areas. This definition should not be confused with airline usage of the term hub to describe "hub and spoke" route structures.
b Includes 574 miles of road operated by U.S. Class 1 freight railroads in Canada.
c Directly operated service. Dose not include contracted service.
SOURCES: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2000 (Washington DC: in press), table 1-1; USDOT, BTS, National Transportation Statistics 2000 (Washington DC:in press), various tables; Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts 2000, (Washington DC:2000); USDOT, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 1998 (Washington DC: 1999); National Ferry Database, as of 10/10/00; and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Navigation Data Center, The U.S. Waterway System - Transportation Facts, December 2000.