2009. Nothing's Sure But Change

The current federal surface transportation bill--Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users--will expire in 2009. This article discusses what changes may be incorporated in the new bill. Money is likely to be a key factor in the new bill, since the Highway Trust Fund faces its first deficit, while the list of needed projects and their costs continues to increase. A recent study projected the gap between current investment and anticipated needs between now and 2020 to be approximately $200 billion. Several alternative funding methods are under consideration, including an increase in the gas tax, private financing, or a bond-funded infrastructure bank. New funding approaches for public transportation are also needed. The new transportation bill must also address diverse concerns such as improving overall efficiency of the transportation network, reducing environmental impact, energy independence, reducing household transportation costs, addressing the needs of metropolitan areas, and integrating land use with transportation decisions. Work will begin in 2008 in order to begin to shape the debate for 2009.