As directed by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) prepares an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation's transportation system and the state of transportation statistics. This document is the third such annual report to the president and congress. Part I of this report surveys the `state of the transportation system' in the United States. lt opens with an assessment of the nature, patterns, and trends in the use of the transport system for passenger and freight movements, as well as the condition and performance of the U.S. transportation system, which currently offers U.S. residents the world's highest level of personal mobility. It proceeds to a discussion of transportations importance to the economy and society as indicated by a variety of economic indicators. Next, Part I describes the unintended consequences-accidents, fatalities, and oil import dependency-associated with transportation. Finally, it explores the state of transportation statistics. This year's theme section, "Transportation and the Environment" (Part II of the report), surveys the collateral damage to the environment arising from transportation. It focuses on the scale and dimensions of the damage, and the effect of actions to ameliorate the damage. Part II surveys transportation-related environmental trends for three geographical scales-national level trends and impacts, air quality at the metropolitan level, and a comparison of U.S. transport-related air pollution with that in several industrialized and developing countries. As noted in Part II, vehicle emissions have decreased impressively in the United States, but some pollutants have increased recently, suggesting the need for continued monitoring of pollution trends.
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