I. Introduction

Recent work in the private sector and current policy debates have refocused attention on Federal subsidies to passenger transportation modes. To provide the Department of Transportation with an independent analysis of this issue, BTS developed data on federal transportation...

Figure 2. Net Federal Subsidies per Thousand Passenger-Miles by Mode: FY 1990 - 2002

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Sources: See Table 4.

Figure 6. Net Federal Subsidies per Thousand Passenger-Miles for Air Transportation: FY 1990 - 2002

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Sources: See Table 4.

IV. Allocation Formulas

Because there are several forms of transportation of highway and air transportation, federal revenues and expenditures for the highway and air transportation systems are allocated to the various forms of transportation that share them. The allocation formulas for air...

II. Federal Subsidies to Passenger Transportation

The federal government spends billions of dollars every year on the passenger transportation system. Net federal subsidies (spending minus revenues) vary across different modes of transportation.

Net Federal subsidies have varied over...

Figure 1. Net Federal Subsidies to Passenger Transportation by Mode: FY 1990 - 2003

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Sources: See Table 2.

Figure 3. Net Federal Subsidies to Passenger Highway Transportation by Vehicle Type: FY 1990 - 2002

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Sources: See Table 2.

Figure 5. Net Federal Subsidies to Passenger Air Transportation: FY 1990 - 2002

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Sources: See Table 2.

V. Normalization Metrics

While total net subsidy may be of interest to policymakers, additional insight may be gained by normalizing the subsidy; that is, by dividing it by an indicator of the magnitude of the transportation activity being subsidized. This makes it easier to compare subsidies...

Table 1. Net Federal Subsidies to Passenger Transportation by Mode: FY 1990-2003

(Millions of Current Dollars)

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