Transportation Statistics Annual Report 1998

Assesses the nation's transportation system and the state of transportation statistics. Brings together in one source information about how the transportation system is used, how well it works, its economic contributions and costs, and its unintended consequences for safety, energy import dependency, and the environment. Includes: transportation and the economy; transportation safety; transportation, energy, and the environment; the state of transportation statistics; long-distance travel in the U.S.; long-distance freight transportation; U.S./metric conversions and energy unit equivalents. Over 100 charts and tables.

This fifth "Transportation Statistics Annual Report" assesses the nation's transportation system and the state of transportation statistics. The report is mandated by Congress [49 U.S.C. 111(j)] and is presented in two parts. Part I, The State of the Transportation System, in the first four chapters examines the state of the transportation system, its economic impacts, and unintended consequences for safety, energy, and the environment, and in the fifth chapter summarizes the quality of information underlying this assessment. Part II, Long-Distance Travel and Freight Movement, in the sixth and seventh chapters highlights the importance of the national transportation network through a discussion of the statistics on long-distance travel and nonlocal freight shipments.

This comprehensive text provides an authoritative introduction to transportation geography. With a primary focus on the United States, the volume also examines problems and trends in Europe and other parts of the developed world. Students gain a solid grasp of the history, definitions, and core concepts of the field, as well as models for analyzing transportation networks and flows between regions. Environmental, economic, and social issues in transportation planning and policy are addressed, and the uses of geographic information systems in transport (GIS-T) are discussed in detail. Written in a clear, straightforward style, the volume emphasizes real-world applications of the concepts discussed and identifies promising directions for future research. No advanced mathematical knowledge on the part of the reader is assumed.

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