Higher Costs For Freight Users

The National SurfaceTransportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission released its findings,including a call to action.

One of the more strikingrecommendations was that the “current Federal surface transportation programsshould not be 're-authorized' in their current form.” 

The Commission stated it“believes that it takes too long and costs too much to deliver transportationprojects, and that waste due to delay in the form of administrative andplanning costs, inflation, and lost opportunities for alternative use of thecapital hinder us from achieving the very goals our communities set.”

Among the proposedalternative transportation funding sources are:  increasing the fuel tax and existing truck taxes, levying afederal tax on all transit trips, dedicating a portion of customs duties forfreight-related improvements, levying new freight fees to finance freightrelated improvements, improving financial assistance to the railroads tosupport capacity enhancement, deriving funding for intercity passenger railservice from either a ticket tax, highway user revenues, or federal generalfund revenues.