Transportation expenditures are outlays the government pays to provide an efficient and safe transportation system, regardless of the sources of funding and which agencies make the payments. Expenditures include both capital investments and money spent to maintain and operate the transportation system. Government expenditures on transportation that do not support the transportation system, such as paying for military shipments, are not included.

Federal expenditures are collected from sources, which include the Office of Management and Budget: Analytical Perspective and the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Statistics. State and local expenditure data comes primarily from the U.S. Census Bureau’s State and Local Government Finances and from the National Transit Database. State and local expenditure financed by federal funding is shown separately. This makes it possible to see federal expenditures including funding provided to state and local governments, and state and local expenditures including federal funds received, and avoids double-counting those federal funds. It is possible to look at expenditure trends by level of government based on what level of government is generating the funds, or at which level the funds are spent.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2016.