Introduction

The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century¹ charged the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) with compiling, analyzing, and publishing a comprehensive set of transportation statistics, including information on:

• productivity in various parts of the transportation sector;
• traffic flows;
• travel times;
• vehicle weights;
• variables influencing traveling behavior, including choice of transportation mode;
• travel costs of intracity commuting and intercity trips;
• availability of mass transit and the number of passengers served by each mass transit authority;
• frequency of vehicle and transportation facility repairs and other interruptions of transportation service;
• accidents;
• collateral damage to the human and natural environment;
• the condition of the transportation system; and
• transportation-related variables that influence global competitiveness.

For this report, BTS has added three additional topics: transportation and economic growth, government transportation finance, and transportation energy. Each of these topics is represented by a series of key indicators. Data tables supporting all the indicators are in appendix B at the end of the report. Appendix table numbers correspond to the figures numbers in this chapter.

See box for About the Data in this Report

¹ 49 U.S. Code 111(c)(1).