The 2007 Urban Mobility Report

University Transportation Centers Program2007PDFResearch PaperSchrank, David L.Lomax, Timothy J.Texas Transportation InstituteUnited States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) ProgramTexas Transportation InstituteUniversity Transportation Centers Program (U.S.)United StatesTraffic congestionUrban areasTravel demandStrategic planningTrend (Statistics)Fuel consumptionUrban transportationEnergyHighwaysPlanning and ForecastingPublic TransportationI72: Traffic and Transport PlanningCitiesTransportationPublic transportationForecastingNTIS-PB2008103659DTRT06-G-0044Congestion is a problem in America's 437 urban areas and it is getting worse in regions of all sizes. Congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.2 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel for a congestion cost of $78 billion. This was an increase of 220 million hours, 140 million gallons and $5 billion from 2004. The solution to this problem is really to consider implementing all the solutions. One lesson from more than 20 years of mobility studies is that congestion relief is not just a matter of highway and transit agencies building big projects. Those are important, but so are actions by businesses, shippers, manufacturers and employers, as well as commuters, shoppers, and travelers for all reasons. This report points out that the supply of solutions is not being implemented at a rate anywhere near the rate of travel demand growth. This report and the website data describe the scope of the problem and some of the improvement strategies.131