THE CONDITION OF OUR THE CONDITION OF OUR SURFACE TRANSPORTATIONSURFACE TRANSPORTATION

INFRASTRUCTUREINFRASTRUCTURE

How Do We Adequately Finance Our System?

The 2013 Infrastructure Report Card prepared by the American Society Of Civil Engineers (ASCE) evaluates all infrastructure including bridges, roads and transit.

25%(151,497)

of America’s bridges areDEFICIENT

11%(66,749)

of bridges areSTRUCTURALLY

DEFICIENT

Average age of bridges

42 YEARS

Continued Deterioration of Infrastructure Conditions

42%of major urban highways are

CONGESTED

32%of roads are in

POOR OR MEDIOCRE CONDITION

45%of Americans

LACK ACCESS TO TRANSIT

$90BEconomic loss in 2010 due to

DEFICIENT TRANSIT SYSTEMS

Source: American Society of Civil Engineers

Continued Deterioration of Infrastructure Conditions

Source: American Society of Civil Engineers

Current Revenue Picture

The major source of funding is from user fees from the sale of gasoline.

The funding issue must be looked at retrospectively and prospectively.

Funding Issues

Funding Issues

The increasing use of alternate fuel vehicles

Increases in the “CAFE” standards requiring more efficient vehicle engines

This will require the use of alternate funding methods in the future.

Highway Trust Fund Headwinds: Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Growth Has Stabilized

VMT: July 1993 to July 2013(Moving 12 Month Total)

Gradual Decline In National Transportation Investment

WEC: Western European Counties

CEEC: Central & Eastern European Countries

U.S. National Investment in Infrastructure Lowest Among Developed Countries

Highway Trust Fund Headwinds: Gas Tax Has Lost Its Purchasing Power

37% Purchasing Power Loss by 2012

37% Purchasing Power Loss by 2012

52% Purchasing Power Loss by 2023

52% Purchasing Power Loss by 2023

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONSPOTENTIAL SOLUTIONSOR

Where do we go from here?

RAISE GASOLINE USER FEES

(“GAS TAXES”)

There is always great resistance to raising gas taxes.

Available Options

Option One (Con’t)

The gas tax is really a user fee exactly like utility bills, telephone and cell phone service, internet service, etc.

Raising the gas user fee 10 cents per gallon is a small amount as show in the following example.

Gas Tax Example

The following example is based on Ohio residency. The numbers can be adjusted for your own locality.

Assume driving 15,000 miles/yearAssume 25 miles per gallonGas usage is then 800 gallons/yearFederal Tax is 18.4 cents per gallonOhio tax is 28 cents per gallon

If You Viewed Transportation as a Utility

The total of user fees in the pie chart are $8,302. It reflects services for which we are charged by the amount we use the service.

Gasoline

Gas/Electric

Ph

on

e, T

V, I

nte

rnet

Sewer

/ Wat

er

Sec

uri

ty S

ervi

ces

Assume gasoline price of $3.40/gallon. Annual calculation based on 800 gallons/year. Annual cell phone fee based on $65/month.

Cel

l Ph

on

e

Transportation as a Utility (Cont’d)

If state and federal gas user fees were raised 20 cents, it would increase costs by $160/year or $13.33 per month – less than two percent of annual user fees.

Increased Indirect Costs to the Traveling Public

Source: American Society of Civil Engineers

Increased Indirect Costs to the

Traveling Public

While $160/year for additional gasoline revenue may seem high, consider that transportation improvements will reduce traffic congestion and vehicle repairs by several hundred dollars per year for drivers resulting in a net savings for motorists.

Other Options Are Needed

Assuming that user fees are raised to address the current funding problems, there is still concern for future funding caused by the reduced use of gas.

New measures could include: Charge by the mile traveled. Alternate revenue sources as a sales tax

(Commonwealth of Virginia). Increase vehicle registration fees. Import and export fees on transportation

energy, vehicles, and products. Expand the use of user fees such as tolling. Public/private partnerships (P3).

New Funding Measures

All methods of funding transportation should include automatic annual increases to adjust for inflation.

If this is not done then we will again face an annual loss in purchasing power for infrastructure maintenance and construction.

New Funding Measures

THE LEGISLATIVE THE LEGISLATIVE SOLUTIONSOLUTION

Communication Is Critical

As engineers, it is our responsibility to bring the critical state of our infrastructure to legislators and to the public.

Contact the media to discuss the state of infrastructure.

Take a TV reporter to examine the underside of a bridge in need of maintenance.

Social media methods such as YouTube videos to visually describe conditions.

Prepare letters to the editor.

Radio, TV, and Newspapers

State and Federal Legislators

Educate your legislators. Use the phone, e-mail or letters. Even small campaign contributions can “open”

the door to face to face meetings. Host informal coffees at your home.

By establishing a relationship with state and local elected officials, you will have a ready- made relationship at the federal level. This approach requires a long-term commitment.

Develop Relationships

~40% of federal senators and representatives were once state and local officials.

Make presentations to local groups such as Optimist or Rotary.

Prepare handouts of important points and a list of legislators with addresses and phone numbers.

Bring a local public official with you if possible.

Presentations to Local Groups

Key Message

A modern and well maintained national transportation infrastructure is critical to our economy and standard of living.

“Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear—United States. Without them, we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.”

President Dwight D. Eisenhower February 22, 1955 www.transportation.org