Repairing the Problem with America's Transportation System

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Repairing the Problem with America's Transportation System

There is a serious problem with our nation's roads and highways. I find myself repeatedly avoiding trips to the city for this very reason, as I'm sure many others do as well. This nerve-wracking congestion is even beginning to find its way into the suburbs and surrounding areas of large cities. It is a serious problem that affects everyone who owns an automobile, as well as, businesses that are dependent on reliable and convenient transportation. To top it all off, this problem is getting worse every year. The population of this nation is growing, which translates to an increase in cars on the road. More people are moving to cities and the suburbs that surround them, creating gridlocks everywhere.

No matter what any politician in Washington or employee of the Federal Highway Administration may say, there is a serious and immediate problem with our nation's transportation systems. The Texas Transportation Institute has recently done several studies that have produced some very alarming results. For example, the average American spends approximately 26 hours a year stuck in traffic. Let?s think about that. The ?average? American spends this long cruising at five miles per hour and cursing at other cars around. By saying average, the study means this figure also takes into account people living in rural areas who spend maybe one hour a year stuck in traffic. That means for the majority of us, in the Phoenix area and other large cities, we spend 3 or 4 times more wasting our valuable time in traffic. For people who drive into the city everyday for work, it might even be worse (Fay 3). Now that?s a lot of time if you ask me.

To make matters worse...

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...ve.

Works Cited

Fay, William D. & Slater, Rodney E. ?Q: Should gasoline taxes be used exclusively for highways?? Insight on the News May 26, 1997: 24.

Henderson, Rick. ?An end to highway robbery?? Reason August-Sep 1996: 12.

Peratta, Ed. ?Despite bumps in the road, privatization races on.? American and City and County Oct 1995: 50.

Peters, Eric. ?Privatization: the Road Ahead?? Consumers? Research Magazine Dec 1995: 10.

Roth, Gabriel. ?How to Solve our Highway Problems.? Consumers? Research Magazine June 1997: 10.

Samuel, Peter. ?The case for privatizing America?s highways.? USA Today Jan 1997: 60.

Voinovich, George V. ?Federal highway spending needs to be road less traveled.? Insight on the News Jan 6, 1997: 29.

West, Jim. ?Different Views of Gasoline Taxes.? The Oil and Gas Journal August 14, 1995: 9.

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