Policy

Gasoline taxes provide a significant source of funding for transportation in the United States but have failed to keep pace with system needs. This article examines the news media discourse surrounding proposed gasoline tax increases in eight states in 2008 and 2009: Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Idaho, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Oregon. Researchers use a frame analysis approach to examine the policy debate in these states. Results indicate that frequently occurring frames promoting gasoline tax increases emphasize the deterioration of the transportation system,...

In recent years the United Nation’s Agenda 21 policy has become the rallying cry for many in the Tea Party who believe that the U.N. threatens American sovereignty. This concern led the introduction of anti-Agenda 21 legislation in 26 states in 2012 and 2013. Karen Trapenberg Frick, David Weinzimmer and Paul Waddell find that conservative states were more likely to see the introduction of anti-Agenda 21 legislation. They writes that the widespread outbreak of introducing legislation may indicate a longer-term situation whereby sustainability opposition becomes part of the state agenda with...

With political polarization challenging forward progress on public policy and planning processes, it is critical to examine possibilities for finding common ground across difference between community participants. In my research on contentious planning processes in the United States, I found four areas of convergence between participants over transportation policy and process related to public process and substantive matters. These convergences warrant planners’ attention because they united stakeholders coming from different vantage points.

The growing number of public transportation agencies partnering with Mobility on Demand (MOD) or Mobility as a Service (MaaS) companies raises the question of what role MOD companies can, should, and currently play in the provision of public transport. In this article, we develop a typology reflecting 62 MOD public-private partnerships (MOD PPPs) in the United States and present lessons learned. We conducted 34 interviews with representatives from four MOD companies and 27 public agencies. The interviews spanned October 2017 to April 2018. The resulting MOD PPP typology consists of four...