HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
APRIL 4, 2001
Transportation and Infrastructure
Hearing on
Congestion in the United States Transportation System
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
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Chronic and worsening congestion has become one of the most significant problems facing the American transportation system. The purpose of this hearing is to examine the degree of congestion facing our system as a whole and to examine proposed solutions to the congestion problem.
Congestion has become a major national problem. A 1997 study found that, in the nation’s 68 largest urban areas, traffic congestion costs motorists a staggering $72 billion annually in wasted time and fuel. From 1982-1997, the amount of time wasted in these areas due to traffic congestion rose from 1.9 to 4.3 billion hours. Even with increasingly fuel-efficient engines, 6.6 billion gallons of fuel were wasted in these cities in 1997 alone due to traffic congestion.
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WITNESSES
United States Secretary of Transportation
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