The Looming Transportation Crisis May 2008 T he L ooming T ransportation C risis

Our transportation infrastructure is ► Undersized to serve existing and future traffic volumes ► Deteriorating due to age and rising portion of heavy truck usage ► Under-funded THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

America’s roads & bridges ► 36% of major urban highways are congested ► 34% of major roads are in poor or mediocre condition ► 590,750 bridges -- 27% structurally deficient or functionally obsolete ► 1,500 bridges have collapsed since 1966 THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Regional congestion levels THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS ► North Texans waste an average of 58 hours per year while stuck in traffic – the 3rd highest rate of annual delay per traveler in the U.S. Source: Texas Transportation Institute; 2005 data

Regional congestion levels: 2007 THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Regional congestion levels: 2030 THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

How did we get into this situation? ► Historical under-investment ► No political will to raise gas tax rate ► Diversion of transportation revenue and funding ► Reduced purchasing power of transportation funding ► The highway system is aging beyond its design life ► NAFTA and trade growth THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Historical under-investment ► U.S. level capital investment in highways, transit and rail 40 to 50 percent of need ► Tax in U.S. = 15% of motor fuel price ► Tax in GB, Europe & Japan = 75% of motor fuel price THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

No political will to raise rate ► 20-cent state tax rate set in 1991 ► 18.4-cent federal tax rate set in 1993 THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Diversion of revenue and funding ► Texas gets back about 75% of the gas tax money it sends to Washington ► The Texas Legislature diverts more than $1.5 billion of transportation funding biennially ► The Texas Legislature increased diversions by an additional quarter of billion dollars last session ► The large metro districts heavily subsidize the rest of Texas: $1.65 billion to Austin and $3.16 billion to the other 25 districts from Fort Worth ($1.59B), Dallas ($1.44B), Houston ($1.06B) and San Antonio ($.72B) over the last 8 years. THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

59% of the 38.4 cent gas tax funds transportation in Texas

The purchasing power of transportation funding ► Motor fuel tax is largest revenue source of transportation funding ► Excise tax -- x cents/gal -- doesn’t grow with economy ► Infrastructure construction & maintenance a function of commodity prices THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Loss of transportation funding purchasing power ► 3-year 33% price increase in steel, concrete, asphalt & construction machinery ► 18.4-cent federal gas tax to % purchasing power ► Federal highway funding must increase to restore the purchasing power of the program ► Highway Program - $43 billion 2009 to $73 billion in 2015 ► Transit Program - $10.3 billion in 2009 to $17.3 billion in 2015 THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

The highway system is aging beyond its design life ► The 46,000 mile interstate system is a half century old ► Concrete has a finite life -- about 50 years depending upon conditions THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Trade is a growing sector of the economy ► 13% of GDP in 1990; 26% in 2000; ~35% in 2020 ► More trade = increased transport of goods = more heavy truck traffic ► Commercial truck travel doubled over the past two decades ► Heavy trucks consume pavement life much quicker than lighter vehicles -- trucks consume 40% of the FHWA program costs but account for less than 10% of VMT THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Under-funding indicators ► Federal Highway Trust Fund going broke -- $3.2 billion negative in 2009 ► Federal rescissions in Texas: - $666 million in last 18 months - $285 million just announced ► Ten cent tax increase needed to maintain program -- 3 cents now and 7 cents in 2010 ► TxDOT needs to increase its preservation investment $6.3 billion by 2012 ► North Texas needs to invest $130 billion over the next 20 years and is $59 billion short THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Under-funding implications ► Without new revenue, obligation authority will be cut 4 times HTF revenue negative ► Rising cost of system preservation consuming a larger share of the budget – in Texas almost all tax funding goes for maintenance and rehab, leaving almost none for adding new roadway capacity ► Many more toll roads -- toll revenue is practically the only source of new capacity funding THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

North Texas Population Growth ► 4 th largest region in the country--only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are larger ► Growing more than any other region--162,250 new residents in year ► We add 1 million population every 6-to-7 years ► Our 6.1 million population will exceed 10 million in less than 25 years ► We must invest more in transportation and handle a larger of the traffic with transit to serve this growth THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Why should we care? ► Quality of Life ► Global Competitiveness and Economic Growth THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Quality of life issues ► Spending more time sitting in traffic going nowhere ► Time is our most precious commodity ► Congestion adds to air pollution ► Air pollution contributes to health problems THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Quality of life indicators ► Americans spend 3.7 billion hours a year stuck in traffic ► Increasing per driver delay from North Texas congestion hours in hours in 2005 ► Without new resources, a 20-minute trip in 2005 will take 52 minutes in 2025 in North Texas ► Idling engines in traffic congestion pump thousands of tons of pollutants in the air every day ► Poorly maintained roads contribute to a third of all highway fatalities -- more than 13,000 deaths every year THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Under-investment in infrastructure has adverse economic consequences ► Congestion costs the nation’s drivers $63 billion a year in wasted time and fuel costs ► Poorly maintained roads cost motorists $54 billion in repairs and operating costs -- $275 per motorist ► Our economy requires efficient delivery of goods; the nation's truckers lost 243 million hours due to congestion in 2004 ► Relative low level of U.S. investment in infrastructure does not bode well for us in the intense competition in the global economy THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Benefits of increased investment ► Savings in travel time ► Reduced operating costs ► Reduced accident costs ► Reduced emissions / pollution ► Sustain economy / compete effectively in the global economy THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Is this the future that we want? THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

We have a plan: Metropolitan Mobility Plan 2030 ► Adds 3,444 miles of new freeway and tollway lanes ► Adds 626 miles of managed lanes ► Adds 250 miles of rail service THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

There is a plan: Freeways / Tollways THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

There is a plan: HOV / Managed Lanes THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

There is a plan: Rail THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Rail North Texas THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

The problem is: we can’t afford it ► We need $130 billion over the next 20 years to maintain and expand our transportation infrastructure ► We’re currently $59 billion short THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

Metropolitan Transportation System Components Funded Needs (Billions/ 2006 $) Unfunded Needs (Billions/ 2006 $) Operation & Maintenance$18.7 Congestion Mitigation Strategies$2.1 Bicycle & Pedestrian Facilities and Transportation Enhancements $1.1 Rail and Bus Transit System$ HOV and Managed Facilities$3.3 Freeway and Toll Road System$26.4$ Regional Arterial and Local Thoroughfare System $5.7$6.0 Additional Cost to Purchase Right- of-Way $1.1 Rehabilitation Costs$ 2.6$32.1 Goods Movement/Rail Freight Costs (Trans Tx Corridor) $6.7 TOTAL$70.9 (55 %)$58.6 (45 %) $129.5 Billion 1 $3.4 billion obtained through Regional Transit Initiative 2 Includes Freeway-to- Freeway Interchanges Revised: February 28, 2007

What can we do about it? ► Become informed ► Advocate for increased investment THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

What can we do about it? ► Call or write your elected representativeselected representatives ► Tell them that…  transportation is important to us  we need to invest more in transportation  we are willing to pay a little more to sustain mobility THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS

The Texas Legislature should ► Stop diverting transportation revenue and funding ► Index the motor fuels tax to track inflation ► Capitalize the Rail Relocation and Improvement fund ► Recapitalize the Texas Mobility Fund ► Authorize metropolitan area counties to levy local option transportation taxes and fees  This presentation is available at THE LOOMING TRANSPORTATION CRISIS