A Rough Road Lies Ahead for Global Transportation

PARIS - According to the American transportation officials and scholars researching on this issue, " China, Europe and the United States is facing a serious problem of moving loads growing in the world of freight and passengers, and the U.S government has failed to recognize the looming crisis."

U.S problem are outlined in University Policy paper produced by transportation leaders and academics. The members of the task force has reviewed that among the industrial powers growing in the world, China only recognizes the seriousness of the situation.

" Interconnected network of roads, bridges and terminals grew increasingly antiquated, congested and disconnected and therefore not able to provide support in the productivity and prosperity of any nation has depended for the last century and a half.

U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Turmail has taken the issue of gang members who produce studies have said the report itself "really sounds like our playbook to take the country's transportation system into the 21st century."

The members of the task force that conducted the study, said it is clear that among the industrial powers growing in the world, only China is willing to spend money to address the problem. Europe acknowledged the issue and has been successful in moving passengers by rail, but it fell behind the United States in solving the problem of freight movement.

One of the elements that appear in the global transportation problem is a shift in the global pattern of economic growth of China. China should build a robust infrastructure to support the expansion of galloping.

One example is the increase in metal coal mining in West Virginia, which is used to make steel. However, China is now supplying some of Australia's coal and South Africa, forcing Europe to re-supply coal to the United States.

Those who produce a policy paper that said "U.S. transportation system has been set to increase the movement of heavy goods in the past two years."

The U.S. economy in 1990 was driven by an increase in the service industry and industries related to computers. But the recent uptick in the economy also reflects the rise of manufacturing that has been taxed away heavy transport company. Most rail, truck lines and ports do not have enough staff or capacity to handle the increase in the service industry smoothly.

Surprisingly, this rise in U.S. shipping hit like a train system that has completed two decades of efforts to eliminate excess capacity and become more efficient. This can be done by law in the early 1980s to free the railroad system of government regulation.

U.S. officials have been paying attention only to congestion flight and has largely ignored the issue of passengers and other related items, including how to get people to and from the airport, according to the members of the task force.

For example, only 25 percent of the U.S. commercial airports have bus service, and many of these buses too often to be an attractive alternative for passengers.

Prince said the Federal Highway Administration predicts that U.S. highway traffic will increase by 24 percent in the coming year and 53 percent within two years. Peak congestion has increased in the past two years, he said, and "it is not clear how the port will operate three times the international trade in the near future. Saturating Airport and rail are struggling to handle the growth of the business."

Thomas Finkbiner, chairman of Quality Distribution, big truck line, said the U.S. government has failed for years to recognize the seriousness of this problem.
"There is no policy in this administration on transportation, and there is no one to several administration," he said. Congestion takes a toll is difficult to ensure the drivers, and the company to impose surcharge of $ 450 per trailer in New York, Newark, New Jersey; Boston; Detroit and Chicago.

Worst congestion occurs in the New York area that drivers can make only one trip a day from Port Newark to nearby locations in the metropolitan area. It is not only expensive, but drivers get frustrated and stop working.

Appointment of Transport in the administration of President George W. Bush has joined the political partners and not transportation experts. Some who have done very well appointed.

The Bush administration does not agree with the statements of the panel members. The statement from the administration has said that it "has proposed a record level of spending for surface transportation projects" and the department is "working quickly to expand the capacity of the air traffic."

The statement said the administration is "investing billions in new projects that are more innovative than connect various forms of transportation," as the report suggested, including last mile projects to connect highways, railways and ports more efficiently . Administration is also encouraging private industry to form a partnership with the states and cities. Research is to build roads more durable.

Approach to develop and promote coastal shipping ports and waterways to relieve stress on highways and railways.

The six-point plan for transportation:

1) Improve freight terminals and the connections between different modes of transportation.

2) Design passenger terminals to combine all modes of transportation - air, train and bus.

3) Reduce short-distance air traffic at congested airports, either by switching passengers to ground transportation or moving short-distance traffic to less congested airports.

4) Expand rail passenger traffic and intercity bus service "in promising markets."

5) Redevelop military bases into freight hubs.

6) Acknowledge that freight and passenger transportation "are equally important" and that they share infrastructure.

For too long the United States has focused myopically on creating isolated modal transportation networks.It needs to turn the corner now and create a single comprehensive integrated intermodal transportation system. In this way, waste and congestion will be alleviated, productivity and efficiency improved, and employment and prosperity enhanced.