Mobility and Economic Growth

Strategic Outcomes

• Improve the physical condition of the transportation system. ¹
• Reduce transportation time from origin to destination for the individual transportation user. ¹
• Increase the reliability of trip times for the individual transportation user.
• Increase access to transportation systems for the individual user. ¹
• Reduce the cost of transportation for the individual user.
• Reduce barriers to trade that are related to transportation.
• Improve the U.S. international competitive position in transportation goods and services.
• Improve the capacity of the transportation workforce.

Mobility, as much as any other factor, defines us as a Nation and is intertwined with the Nation's economic growth. Our transportation system connects people with work, school, community services, markets, and other people. The U.S. transportation system carries over 4.6 trillion passenger-miles of travel and 3.9 trillion ton-miles of freight every year, generated by more than 276 million people and 6 million businesses.

The Department's aim is an affordable, reliable, and accessible transportation system. To achieve reliability and accessibility, our transportation system frequently relies on a common public infrastructure that is maintained on limited national resources – our land, waterways, and airspace. The Department's objective is to optimize capital investment in these public systems and manage them to maximize the benefit to all Americans. In FY 2004, the Department's mobility and economic growth programs improved the condition, performance, and services provided by the nation's transportation system.

Departmental Performance Goals

1. Improve and expand the National Highway System (NHS) to increase system efficiency and improve safety.
2. Limit annual growth of urban area travel time under congested conditions to 0.2 percent below the otherwise expected increases in congestion.
3. Increase transit ridership to improve urban and rural mobility, and reduce traffic congestion by keeping the average yearly increase in ridership to at least 2 percent, averaged across all transit markets, and adjusted for employment levels.
4. Increase public transit systems' accessibility to those with disabilities.
5. Increase public transportation systems' ability to provide access to job sites.

The Department's Mobility and Economic Growth strategic outcomes are divided into seven strategies. The strategies applicable to the HTF are the Highway Infrastructure, Highway Congestion, Transit Ridership, and Transportation Accessibility strategies.

Under each strategy is the administration responsible for achieving the Departmental performance goals.

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Foonotes:

1. Outcomes are specifically related to the HTF modes. (Back to text)