Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2009

This report presents data and information selected by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a component of the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), to fulfill its legislative mandate. For the reader's convenience, the data and information have been selected and organized by topic or transportation mode. Chapter 1 discusses key USDOT initiatives: fostering safety, improving livable communities, improving the state of good repair, fostering economic competitiveness, and building environmental sustainability of the U.S. transportation system. The chapter reflects the intermodal and multimodal nature of the U.S. transportation system and also highlights the Commodity Flow Survey (CFS). The CFS identifies and reports hazardous material shipments by geographic regions, mode of transportation, and classification scheme. Chapter 2 examines the modal systems that comprise the U.S. transportation system. More specifically, this chapter covers aviation, motor vehicles, the marine transportation system, rail, and transit. The legislative mandate requires BTS to document the methods used to obtain the report's statistical information, ensure its quality, and make recommendations for improvements. In chapter 3, the major BTS program areas respond to this requirement by identifying the guidelines that apply to Federal data quality and the statistics included in this report. The chapter also lists the select Federal agencies that collect or compile transportation data. In addition, this chapter focuses on data gaps and improving the ways in which transportation statistics are collected, compiled, analyzed, and published.