Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program
April 2009
Worsening traffic congestion and increasing reliance on foreign oil affect America’s economic competitiveness. Excessive driving contributes to high energy consumption, carbon emissions, and pollution. The costs of maintaining the current structure are untenable. The existing gas tax cannot finance the massive investments needed to fix our deteriorating transportation system.
Increasing transportation sustainability in the United States requires policies that foster changes in travel behavior. Germany’s case may provide a helpful example. Although car use has grown in both countries, Germany has been far more successful than the United States in creating a more balanced transportation system. Sustainability, for the purposes of this report, means encouraging shorter trips by modes of transportation that require less energy and generate less harmful environmental impacts. Moreover, a more sustainable transportation system should foster commerce, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, increase safety, provide equal access to destinations for all groups of society, and enhance the quality of life.
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