CHAPTER 2

Transportation System Issues and Challenges

Transportation is one of the major functional systems of modern society. As such, it
exists to meet perceived social and economic needs. As these change, and as the
transportation system itself evolves, situations arise in which transportation is
regarded as a problem as being inadequate to serve the public interest or,
possibly, as threatening it. These problem areas serve as challenges to the
transportation engineering profession, posing both the threat of diminished public
support and the opportunity to contribute to the solution of perceived social
problems.
2.1 TRAFFIC CONGESTION
Traffic congestion exists wherever demand exceeds the capacity of the
transportation system.
Urban highway has long been recognized as a challenge. In earlier stages of the
development of the highway system, the usual response to congestion was to build
more capacity.
Suggested possible solutions in the US:

More sophisticated traffic control, including automatic control of

individual vehicles, which is claimed to have the potential to
reduce time gaps between vehicles in the traffic stream.
Improvement to more traditional forms of traffic control, such as
improved timing and coordination of urban arterial signal
systems or freeway ramp meters.

In the case of air transportation system, the following solutions were pursued;

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has authority to

control access to the most congested airports by rationing
landing slots
Also, the FAA has adopted a practice of holding flights on the
ground at the airport of origin when it appears that insufficient
capacity will be available at the destination airport.

2.2 TRAFFIC SAFETY

2.2.1 Trends
A second major challenge is the continued improvement of traffic safety.
Traffic accidents are of concern for all modes of transportation, but are perhaps
most visible in highways and commercial air. In general, there has been an
improvement in safety for all modes of transportation, at least if accident rates are
used as the main indicator of safety.
2.2.2 Organizational Responsibilities

The organizations focus on the improvement of safety of vehicles, traffic

safety, safety research and development and collection of accident data.
2.2.3 The Challenges
Traffic safety is a continuing challenge for the transportation engineering
profession because of public expectations that safety will continue to improve.

2.3 EQUALITY OF ACCESS

Another continuing challenge has been to provide adequate access to the
transportation system for all sorts of people. Three groups in particular have been
seen as generally underserved. These are poor, the elderly and the physically
handicapped.
Poor people are seen as underserved because they are less likely to own
automobiles than other people. In many cases the issue now is not so much that the
poor do not have access to automobiles at all as that the cars they own are old,
unreliable, and the worst offenders in terms of air pollution.
The elderly and physically handicapped are seen as underserved both
because many are unable to operate automobiles and because historically there
have been barriers to the use public transportation by those whose physical
mobility is limited.
2.4 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
One of the most important challenges to the transportation system is that of
dealing with its environmental impacts and with the impacts of other economic
activities, such as land development, on transportation.
2.4.1 Site-Specific Impacts
Site-specific impacts are dealt with by means of specific laws and regulations
and through a process documenting environmental impacts.
2.4.2 System-Level Impacts
Attempts to deal with the system-level impacts of the transportation system,
such as air quality and energy consumption, have resulted in broad national-level
laws and regulations. These provide for regulation of and economic incentives for
private industry (mostly related to vehicle design); research; and a planning process
to be implemented at the state and local level which provides for transportation
demand management, traffic control to reduce congestion, and provision of some
additional transportation capacity.
2.4.3 NEW TECHNOLOGY
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
Scope of ITS:

Travel and transportation management, to include en-route driver

information, route guidance, and traveler services information, traffic control,
incident management, and emissions testing and mitigation.
Travel demand management, to include pretrip travel information, ride
matching and reservation, and demand management and operations.
Public transportation operations, to include public transportation
management, en-route transit information, personalized public transit, and
public transit security.
Electronic payment services
Commercial vehicle operations, to include commercial vehicle electronic
clearance, automated roadside safety inspection, on-board safety monitoring,
commercial vehicle administrative process, hazardous materials incident
response, and commercial fleet management.
Emergency management, to include emergency notification and personal
security and emergency vehicle management.
Advanced vehicle control and safety systems, to include longitudinal collision
avoidance, lateral collision avoidance, intersection collision avoidance, vision
enhancement for crash avoidance, safety readiness, precrash restraint
deployment, and automated highway systems.

The list includes a wide range of possible applications of ITS technologies,

ranging from services which are already in common use to ideas which are still
highly speculative.

2.6 FUNDING
Securing adequate financial resources is another perennial challenge, both
for public agencies providing transportation facilities and for private-sector firms
providing transportation services.
2.7 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Provision of adequate institutional arrangements for the transportation
system is also a challenge. In most cases, new institutional arrangements have
come about as a response to perceived deficiencies in the existing system. In the
recent past, the most conspicuous and enduring areas of institutional change have
been

Adjustments to the relationship between the public and private sectors and;
Attempts to overcome modal and jurisdictional fragmentation

SUMMARY
The transportation system exists to meet perceived and social and economic
needs. As these change, and as the transportation system itself evolves, situations
arise in which transportation is viewed as a problem, and these situations create a
challenges for the transportation engineering profession. At present the profession

faces a number of enduring challenges. These include finding ways to manage or

reduce traffic congestion, continuing to improve safety, providing better access to
the system for underserved groups, protecting the environment, incorporating new
technology, securing adequate funding, and developing adequate institutional
arrangements.