Most of the western states conduct cost allocation studies. This is, in effect, a direct subsidy to truckers paid increasingly by the poor. If states and localities were relieved of the roadway subsidies, they would be better equipped to assume the burdens of federal welfare cutbacks. These independent estimates need to be validated by U.S. DOT and then updated annually. Indeed, a loss of this magnitude in unproductive costs demands that one quantify them more accurately.
Research is underway but poorly financed.
More must be done to better understand these costs and how to mitigate them. New York, for one, needs to understand how its transport system compares to its global competitors. A recent audit by the U.S. DOT of New York's MPO, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, reported bewilderment that New York had so little interest in activities in the regions with whom it competes in the world market. Research now underway indicates that New York is years, in some cases decades, behind Paris, London and Tokyo in investing in infrastructure. All three foreign regions are investing heavily in expanding both transit and roads.