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 Reason's Robert Poole, who has advised the last four presidential administrations on transportation issues, appears on Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor.
"The Reason Foundation in Los Angeles is the nation's foremost expert in free-market transportation alternatives such as toll roads and express highway lanes for commuter buses."
The Wall Street Journal
"For 17 years, Mr. Poole has been the chief theorist for private solutions to gridlock. His ideas are now embraced by officials from Sacramento to Washington."
The New York Times
"Truck-only toll lanes are the brainchild of Robert Poole, an engineer who oversees transportation studies at the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank in Los Angeles."
- USA Today
Study: Pennsylvania Turnpike Is One of the Country's Least Cost-Efficient Toll Roads
Report shows that recent Democratic Caucus study on possible Turnpike Lease is "unusable" and "seriously flawed"
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is one of the country's least cost-efficient toll roads, spending a whopping 62.4 percent of its toll revenues on operating and maintenance costs. Of 35 toll roads studied, only the Massachusetts and West Virginia turnpikes spend a higher percentage of their toll revenues on operating costs, according to a new report by the Reason Foundation, a free market think tank that has advised the last four presidential administration on transportation issues. By comparison, the New York State Thruway has 51 percent more lane miles and handles 83 percent more vehicle miles traveled than the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but its annual costs are $39 million lower. Over the last seven years the Pennsylvania Turnpike's operating costs have more than doubled from $181 million in fiscal 2000 to $370 million in fiscal 2007. During that same time, the U.S. inflation rate was 23.4 percent, so the Turnpike's costs grew at 4.5 times the rate of inflation.
» Full Policy Brief (.pdf)
» Press Release
State-by-State Ranking of Deficient Bridges
Of the 596,980 highway bridges in the current National Bridge Inventory, 147,913 24.52 percent were reported deficient in 2005, according to the Reason Foundation's Annual Highway Performance Report, which was released in June. The Reason Foundation study finds at the current rate of repair it will take 50 years to fix today's deficient bridges. Nevada has the lowest percentage of deficient bridges, 3.89 percent. Minnesota, where this week's tragic bridge collapse occurred, ranked 5th in the nation, with 13 percent of its bridges deemed deficient. Rhode Island's bridges are in the worst shape with over half, 53.01 percent, of the state's bridges qualifying as deficient. In all there are 36 states where at least 20 percent of the bridges are deficient and 48 states where at least 10 percent of bridges are deficient.
» Press Release
» Chart
» Full Study
Annual Report: Road Condition Improves But Traffic Congestion, Highway Fatalities Rise
North Dakota, South Carolina have nation's most cost-effective road systems;
New Jersey is home to nation's worst overall road system for eighth straight year
Nearly 52 percent of U.S. urban Interstates are now congested and traffic fatality rates rose slightly, but road surface conditions and bridge conditions improved according to the Reason Foundation's latest annual highway performance report. The Reason Foundation study measures the performance of state-owned roads and highways from 1984 to 2005 in 12 categories, including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance and administrative costs, to determine each states ranking and cost-effectiveness. In the overall rankings, North Dakota and South Carolina took the top spots for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, New Jersey's gridlocked highways, poor pavement conditions and high repair costs put the state last in overall cost-effectiveness for the eighth consecutive year. To see how your state fared, please click here.
» Full Report
» Press Release
» Reason's Galvin Project to End Congestion
Study: Many Cities Face Los Angeles-Like Traffic Jams
Traffic delays to increase by over 65 percent;
$533 billion worth of added road capacity needed in US
How bad is your commute going to get? Traffic delays will increase 65 percent and the number of congested lane-miles on urban roads will rise by 50 percent over the next 25 years. Los Angeles, home to the nation's worst traffic today, will continue to have the longest delays, with trips during peak hours taking nearly twice as long as they do when roads are free-flowing. But LA wont be alone. Several cities face the dubious honor of having Los Angeles-like gridlock.
By 2030, drivers in 11 metro areas Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle-Tacoma, and Washington, D.C. - will be stuck in daily traffic jams that are as bad as or worse than today's infamous bottlenecks in Los Angeles, according to a new Reason Foundation study. In those cities it will take at least 75 percent longer to make a trip during peak hours than off-peak periods. So, for example, a trip that is supposed to take 30 minutes would take over 52 minutes.
Today, only four cities (LA, Chicago, San Francisco , and Washington, D.C.) experience travel time delays of even 50 percent. But, because road capacity is failing to keep up with demand and population growth, the Reason study finds that a whopping 30 cities will be experiencing daily delays that make rush hour trips 50 percent longer than off-peak journeys.
The full study, examining long-term traffic congestion levels and road capacity needs in every state and over 400 US cities, is here:
» Building Roads to Reduce Traffic Congestion in America's Cities: How Much and at What Cost?
» Press Release
Robert Poole's E-Newsletter
Surface Transportation Innovations
Reason Foundation's Surface Transportation Innovations newsletter regularly examines and analyzes the latest news and developments in toll lanes, congestion solutions, road funding issues, and more. If you would like to receive the Surface Transportation Innovations newsletter via email, please send an email with your contact information to Robert Poole, Reason's director of transportation studies
» Latest Issue: April 2008
» Archives
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Missouri's Changing Transportation Paradigm
February 2008
By David Stokes, Leonard C. Gilroy, and Samuel R. Staley
» Full Report (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
Miami Toll Truckway: Preliminary Feasibility Study
November 2007
Policy Study 365
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Text (.pdf)
Raising Gas Taxes Won't Fix Our Bridges
October 2007
Talking Points
By Adrian T. Moore, Ph.D.
» Full Text (.pdf)
Why Mobility Matters to Personal Life
July 2007
Policy Brief 62
By Ted Balaker
» Full Brief (.pdf)
16th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems (19842005)
June 2007
Policy Study 360
By David T. Hartgen, Ph.D., P.E., and Ravi K. Karanam
» Press Release
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Map, Tables, and More Materials from this Study
Leasing the Pennsylvania Turnpike: A Response to Critics of Gov. Rendell's Plan
June 2007
Working Paper
By Peter Samuel and Geoffrey Segal
» Full Study (.pdf)
Tolling and Public-Private Partnerships in Texas: Separating Myth from Fact
May 2007
Working Paper
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Press Release
The Role of Tolls in Financing 21st Century Highways
May 2007
Policy Study 359
By Peter Samuel and Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Press Release
Density in Atlanta: Implications for Traffic and Transit
April 2007
Policy Brief 61
By Alain Bertaud and Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Brief (.pdf)
» Press Release
Leasing State Toll Roads: Frequently Asked Questions
March 2007
Policy Brief 60
By Peter Samuel
» Full Brief (.pdf)
HOT Lanes: Frequently Asked Questions
March 2007
Policy Brief 59
By Leonard C. Gilroy and Amy Pelletier
» Full Brief (.pdf)
Building New Roads Through Public-Private Partnerships: Frequently Asked Questions
March 2007
Policy Brief 58
By Leonard C. Gilroy, Robert W. Poole, Jr., Peter Samuel, and Geoffrey Segal
» Full Brief (.pdf)
Reducing Congestion in Atlanta: A Bold New Approach to Increasing Mobility
November 2006
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Atlanta's Traffic Levels in 2030
» Press Release
15th Annual Report Performance of State Highway Systems (19842004)
October 2006
By David T. Hartgen, Ph.D., P.E., and Ravi K. Karanam
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Performance of State Highway Systems Interactive Map
Innovative Roadway Design:
Making Highways More Likeable
September 2006
By Peter Samuel
» Full Study (.pdf)
Building Roads to Reduce Traffic Congestion in America's Cities: How Much and at What Cost?
August 2006
By David T. Hartgen, Ph.D., P.E., and M. Gregory Fields
» Full Study (.pdf)
» State-by-State Traffic Delays Data and Road Capacity Needs
» Press Release
» Maps, Rankings, and More Materials from this Study
Why Mobility Matters
August 2006
By Ted Balaker
» Full Brief (.pdf)
Adding FAST Lanes to Milwaukee's Freeways: Congestion Relief, Improved Transit, and Help with Funding Reconstruction
February 2006
By Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Kevin Soucie
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Press Release
The Quiet Success: Telecommuting's Impact on Transportation and Beyond
November 2005
By Ted Balaker
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Press Release
Virtual Exclusive Busways: Improving Urban Transit While Relieving Congestion
September 2005
By Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Ted Balaker
» Full Text (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Press Release
Rail Disasters 2005
June 2005
By Randal O'Toole
» Full Study (.pdf)
Should States Sell Their Toll Roads?
June 2005
By Peter Samuel
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Press Release
The Orange County Toll Roads: Largely Successful
March 2005
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Brief (.pdf)
Orange County's 91 Express Lanes: A Transportation and Financial Success, Despite Political Problems
March 2005
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Brief (.pdf)
Easing California's Transportation Crisis with Tolls and Public-Private Partnerships
January 2005
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Press Release
Past Performance vs. Future Hopes: Will Urban Rail Improve Mobility in North Carolina?
June 2004
By Ted Balaker
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
Great Rail Disasters: The Impact of Rail Transit on Urban Livability
February 2004
By Randal O'Toole
» Full Study (.pdf)
Corridors for Toll Truckways: Suggested Locations for Pilot Projects
February 2004
By Robert W. Poole, Jr., and Peter Samuel
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Map (.pdf)
Transportation Costs and the American Dream
September 2003
By Randall O'Toole
» Full Brief (.pdf)
San Jose Demonstrates the Limits of Urban Growth Boundaries and Urban Rail
March 2003
By Randall O'Toole
» Full Study (.pdf)
Contracting for Road and Highway Maintenance
March 2003
By Geoffrey F. Segal, Adrian T. Moore, and Samuel McCarthy
» Full Text (.pdf)
HOT Networks: A New Plan for Congestion Relief and Better Transit
February 2003
By Robert W. Poole, Jr. and C. Kenneth Orski
» Full Study (.pdf)
Rebuilding the Marquette Interchange Via a Public-private Partnership
February 2003
By Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Kevin Soucie with Daryl Fleming and Tom McDaniel
» Full Study (.pdf)
Commercializing Highways: A "Road-Utility" Paradigm for the 21st Century
August 2002
By Robert W. Poole, Jr.
» Full Brief (html)
Toll Truckways: A New Path Toward Safer and More Efficient Freight Transportation
June 2002
By Peter Samuel, Robert W. Poole, Jr. and Jose Holguin-Veras
» Full Study (.pdf)
» Policy Summary (.pdf)
» Frequently Asked Questions (.pdf)
More Transportation Studies
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Stretching the Highway Dollar
Virginia can get more mileage out of transportation spending by prioritizing congestion relief, using performance-based planning, and outsourcing maintenance
May 5, 2008 | Bacon's Rebellion
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Infrastructure Investment, Congestion and Rail
Interview with BNSF Railroads' Matthew Rose
May 1, 2008| Reason.org
By Amanda Kathryn Hydro
» Full Text
Feds Don't Need Bigger Role in Public-Private Partnerships
States can best determine what works for their own road projects
April 1, 2008 | Reason.org
By Shirley Ybarra, Reason
» Full Text
Private Sector Has the Key to Traffic Woes in Arizona
Legislature needs to authorize public-private partnerships to reduce gridlock, improve economic competitiveness
March 30, 2008 | Arizona Republic
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Greenway Toll Bill Could Make it Harder to Fund, Build Roads
The unilateral rewriting of the Dulles Greenway legislation sends a bad signal to potential investors in Virginia roads
March 24, 2008 | Bacon's Rebellion
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Battle Continues Over Highway Paradigm Shift
Debate over federal role in highways offers challenges-and opportunities-for proponents of the toll concession paradigm
Febuary 2008 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Preventing Overseas Firms From Leasing Roads Is Costly
Banning foreign firms from a Turnpike lease would hurt the Commonwealth's economy
February 27, 2008 | Philadelphia Inquirer
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason and Matthew Brouillette
» Full Text
New Toll Road Opens in San Diego
Interview with Greg Hulsizer, CEO of the South Bay Expressway Toll Road
February 26, 2008 | Reason.org
By Adam Summers, Reason
» Full Text
Assessing the National Commission's Report
Report raises some important points, but misses the boat on large-scale programmatic changes
January 2008 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Public-Private Partnerships in Texas Transportation
Reason Interview with Texas State Representative Mike Krusee
January 28, 2008 | Reason.org
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Spend Transportation Dollars on Transportation
Virginia continues to raid funds intended for infrastructure
January 26, 2008 | Washington Examiner
By Shirley Ybarra, Reason
» Full Text
Convert Los Angeles' Carpool Lanes to Toll Lanes
Toll lanes a HOT idea whose time has come
January 25, 2008 | Los Angeles Daily News
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Greenway Toll Opponents Threaten Mobility
Legislative witch hunt would scare off private investors in Virginia road projects
January 1, 2008 | Washington Examiner
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Reflections of a Texas Transportation Trailblazer
Reason interview with Ric Williamson, Chairman, Texas Transportation Commission
December 31, 2007 | Reason.org
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
How LA Can Get People Out of Their Cars
Create some healthy competition
December 27, 2007 | Los Angeles Times
By Ted Balaker, Reason
» Full Text
Let the Greenway Bloom
Investors are watching to see how fairly Virginia regulators treat private risk capital
December 10, 2007 | Bacon's Rebellion
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
PPPs: A Look Back and a Look Ahead
Despite some signs of backlash, toll road PPPs had many great steps forward in 2007
December 2007 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
PPPs Gaining Broad Support in Transportation Community
Growing acknowledgement that private capital and increased use of tolling are needed to help close the funding gap
November 2007 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Time to Stop California's Plan for High-Speed Rail
Where will $30 billion come from?
November 26, 2007 | Los Angeles Business Journal
By Adam Summers, Reason
» Full Text
A Congested Economy
How tolls and congestion pricing can reduce air travel and road delays
November 25, 2007 | The New York Times
By Sam Staley, Reason
» Full Text
New Life for Pennsylvania Turnpike Lease Plan
Act 44 alone won't raise enough money for transportation
November 12, 2007 | Philadelphia Inquirer
By Matthew Brouillette and Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Toll Roads Merit Closer Look
State can diversify away from taxes and politically-managed transportation networks
November 7, 2007 | Albuquerque Journal
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Life in the Slow Lane
Obsolete toll booths cause delays, accidents and pollution
November 5, 2007 | The Wall Street Journal
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
California's High-Speed Train Project Should Be Derailed
Overstating ridership figures and understating costs doesn't make it a good idea
October 30, 2007 | The Libertarian Perspective
By Adam Summers, Reason
» Full Text
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Congressman Wolf's anti-Greenway rhetoric threatens to drive away private investment in Virginia highways
October 29, 2007 | Bacon's Rebellion
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Where Now on U.S. Toll Road Concessions?
Setbacks obscure several positive developments for tolling and long-term concessions
September 2007 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Going Protectionist Over a Fantasy Highway
Xenophobes see a threat to U.S. sovereignty in a Texas freeway project that would ease trade with Mexico
September 20, 2007 | Los Angeles Times
By Shikha Dalmia and Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Loosening the Beltway
Tolls, private-sector innovations will ease I-495 gridlock and benefit taxpayers
September 17, 2007 | Bacon's Rebellion
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
Pols Love Public Transit—Just Not for Themselves
Villaraigosa, Bloomberg tout transit, but like most people, opt for driving
September 2, 2007 | L.A. Daily News
By Ted Balaker, Reason
» Full Text
Technology, Not Transit, Is Key to Improving Mobility
Reducing impacts on the environment through innovation, not transit mandates
August 29, 2007 | Washington Examiner
By Sam Staley, Reason
» Full Text
Officials Should Embrace Private Infrastructure Investment
Bridge tragedy underscores need to tap private sector capital, expertise
August 9, 2007 | Reason.org
By Leonard Gilroy and Geoffrey Segal, Reason
» Full Text
Decaying Roads and Bridges
Orange County toll roads, public-private partnerships show how to repair and build infrastructure
August 8, 2007 | Orange County Register
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Minnesota Bridge Collapse Puts Focus on Infrastructure Crisis
Public-private partnerships can help rebuild America's roads, bridges
August 8, 2007 | Washington DC Examiner
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Highways to Help
New York metro area transportation investments should reflect changing travel, commuting patterns
August 5, 2007 | The New York Times
By Sam Staley, Reason
» Full Text
HOT Lanes Good Idea for Houston
HOT lanes beat HOV for sustainable congestion relief
August 1, 2007 | Reason.org
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
It's Time to Replace HOV Lanes
Employer-certified HOT-3 lanes offer a solution to the problems plaguing many HOV lanes
July/August 2007 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
Congestion Pricing for Los Angeles
An Open Letter to L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
July 2007 | The Planning Report
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
The Indiana Toll Road: One Year Later
Examining predictions about the toll roads lease deal
July 25, 2007 | Reason.org
By Geoffrey Segal, Reason
» Full Text
Borrowing Won't Fix Pennsylvania's Road Problems
State left billions on the table by ignoring possible turnpike lease deals
July 25, 2007 | Reason.org
By Geoffrey Segal, Reason
» Full Text
A Swedish Take on Congestion Pricing
New York should look to Stockholm, not London for congestion pricing model
July 22, 2007 | Newsday
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
For Traffic Solutions Think Over the Box
Queue jumpers and tunnels can help ease New York's gridlock
July 15, 2007 | The New York Times
By Ted Balaker and Sam Staley, Reason
» Full Text
Virginia's Road Crunch
State can beat congestion by prioritizing resources
July 15, 2007 | The Free Lance Star
By Samuel Staley and Geoffrey F. Segal, Reason
» Full Text
RTC Should Protect Metroplex Drivers in Highway 121 Negotiations
NTTA should be held to the same standards as Cintra/JPMorgan
July 3, 2007 | Reason.org
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
21st-Century Tolling: Unexpected Result of PPP Controversies
Private sector innovations stand to transform highway finance
June 2007 | Public Works Financing
By Robert Poole, Reason
» Full Text
TTC Should Be Skeptical of NTTA's Highway 121 Proposal
Mobility in the Metroplex should trump deference to short-sighted local officials
June 26, 2007 | Reason.org
By Leonard Gilroy, Reason
» Full Text
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