Course format consists of lectures and discussion, with student participation encouraged. This is an introductory course to the field of transportation. It is interdisciplinary, drawing from geography, planning, economics, business administration, logistics, political science, engineering, and psychology to address important issues in transportation. The scope of the course is broad, involving all transport markets such as intercity, rural and urban, and all transport modes such as railroads, highways, air carriage and waterways. The topical areas covered include policy and policy analysis, social and economic regulation, finance and taxation, physical distribution, public and private sector management of transport providers, and energy relationships.
Special attention is paid to international transportation.
Course format consists of lecture and discussion and several videotapes, sometimes along with one or two guest speakers. Usually, there are field trips available or special credit given for going to talks outside of class. Extra credit opportunities are available. A standard text in transportation is used, in addition to U.S. Department of Transportation reports, and short current articles. Course outlines and handouts are maintained on a Web page.