| Title | Study & report to Congress : applicability of maximum axle weight limitations to over-the-road and public transit buses |
|---|---|
| Record ID | 35506 |
| Source | Pursuant to Senate Report, No. 107-38; 130p. in various pagings |
| Corporate Creator | John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.); United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Transportation |
| Publisher | United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Transit Administration |
| Publication Date | 20031200 |
| Language | English |
| Abstract | The Senate Report on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) appropriations bill requested that the Department conduct a study and submit to Congress a report on the applicability of Federal maximum weight limitations to overthe- road (OTR) buses (also called motorcoaches) and public transit vehicles. Since the passage of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, Federal weight limits on the Interstate Highway System have been 20,000 lbs for a single axle and 34,000 lbs for a tandem axle (unless the State had higher limits in effect prior to July 1, 1956). Since 1992, there has been a permissive arrangement whereby States are not required to enforce axle weight limits for intrastate transit buses. A similar arrangement for over-the-road buses was enacted in February 2003. Both are due to expire in October 2003. This study is intended to • Assess current status and trends in bus axle weight • Estimate the cost of pavement damage caused by buses • Assess both the technical and economic feasibility of lighter-weight buses • Evaluate within a benefit-cost framework selected policies that could address over-limit bus axle weights • Given the above assessments, make recommendations to Congress about the applicability of axle weight limits to transit and over-the-road buses. The benefit-cost evaluation considers operating costs for bus travel, externalities of bus travel, and the externalities of induced automobile travel resulting from a change in the price of bus travel. Externalities are those identified in the 1997 Federal Highway Cost Allocation Study (1), namely, pavement damage, congestion, crash, air pollution and noise. The evaluation also assumes that all States are currently allowing overweight buses to operate. |
| Rosap ID | dot:9010 |
| Rosap URL | https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/9010 |
| TRT Terms | Buses; Vehicle weight; Pavement maintenance; Benefit cost analysis; Laws and legislation; Axles |
| Classification | NTL - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - Bus Transportation; NTL - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION |
| Geographical Coverage |
United States |
| OCLC | 57415763 |
| TRIS Online Accession No |
1332928 |
| Availability | Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center |
| Resource type | Research Paper |
| URL | https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/35000/35500/35506/Smith_Maximumaxle.pdf |
| Format | |
| Database | NTL Digital Repository |