It is incumbent upon us to carry that vision into the future. This does not include related bus and rail facility requirements and, equally important, the new capacity that will be required to meet demands through the early 21st century. Demand for all modes is expected to increase under the pressure of population and economic growth. The report notes that transportation agencies have been effective in meeting the challenges of deteriorating physical assets, including roads, bridges and transit systems, and improving the safety of all systems. Transportation demands, however, are at an all time high, and are expected to increase with population and economic growth, but at a slower rate than experienced in past decades.
Personal choice is the single most significant factor explaining the U.S. transportation landscape.
Each year, one out of every four Americans changes either their home or workplace, or both. This freedom of choice enriches opportunities for Americans, but it has also resulted in longer commutes to dispersed work places, longer peak periods of travel demand and more congestion in more places at more times.