A System at Risk: The Economics of Transportation

A System at Risk is a comprehensive analysis of the transportation dilemma in the United States that continues to affect the economic competitiveness and quality of life in America. Written for the layman and the professional alike, it describes an impending crisis in the surface transportation system, which is the foundation of economic vitality. Dr. Harold Worrall exposes the underlying relationship between transportation and economics by reviewing public economic theory and choice. Incremental policy making has done little to reduce automobile and truck traffic growth. Further, an analysis of traffic congestion demonstrates a geometric growth pattern for congestion even as traffic grows linearly. Dr. Worrall reviews the European Union and China for the manner in which they have addressed similar challenges. These competing economies are shown to have a strategy for dealing with surface transportation and are in stark contrast to that of the United States. Transportation funding is shown to be inadequate in volume and method of application as traffic volumes continue to grow. Dr. Worrall shows that there is a demonstrated need for transportation policies that consider a relationship between the price and consumption of transportation.