To initiate a discussion of the appropriate institutional forms that a comprehensive transportation information program might take, the purpose and scope of such a discussion are delineated, some of the institutional forms and types now operating in this sphere are surveyed, and the functions that these institutions will have to perform in order to be effective are examined. First, an overview of the scope and character of national transportation data development is given. Second, the major transportation data-collection institutions -- federal, state, local, and private -- are examined, with particular emphasis on those federal entities within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Third, the institutional functions to be performed in the development of a National Transportation Statistical System (NTSS), including assembly of data needs, program design, funding, program co-ordination, and product delivery, become the focus. In a brief concluding section preliminary observations are presented, not to draw definitive final conclusions and recommendations but rather to help guide further discussion. Fundamentally these observations examine the argument that the present national transportation data program needs new institutions and institutional arrangements to give structure to the scope and scale of its activities.
Abstract