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Emerging travel trends, high-speed rail, and the public reinvention of U.S. transportation

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  • Kamga, Camille

Abstract

By examining emerging travel trends and the resurgence of rail transport in the United States, this paper suggests that deploying high-speed rail (HSR) in the U.S. could help accelerate a transportation paradigm shift that is already underway, increase density, improve the service and sustainability of transportation, and accelerate economic activity. This shift is especially notable among young Americans who are driving less, buying fewer cars, and settling in urban areas where they can walk, bike, and use public transport. Meanwhile, baby boomers, though driving more than previous generations did at the same age, are joining this urbanizing trend and, as they grow older, seeking mobility alternatives to car dependence. Other trends, such as the transformation of society by mobile communication and digital technology, are also affecting change and forcing planners to re-think the current imbalance of the U.S. transport system. Using the success revealed by passenger rail services in the Northeast Corridor, this paper examines how high-speed rail and its station hubs could enhance urbanization and help to rebalance the three main passenger modes—road, air, and rail—so that each flourishes within its most sustainable niche. In these ways, the benefits of HSR extend beyond rail service itself to include this mode's ability to reinvent the transportation system in ways that better serve the needs of a changing society while urgently addressing livability and sustainability.

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  • Kamga, Camille, 2015. "Emerging travel trends, high-speed rail, and the public reinvention of U.S. transportation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 111-120.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:37:y:2015:i:c:p:111-120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2014.10.012
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    4. Mohsen Momenitabar & Raj Bridgelall & Zhila Dehdari Ebrahimi & Mohammad Arani, 2021. "Literature Review of Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of High-Speed Rail in the World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-27, November.
    5. Chai, Jian & Zhou, Youhong & Zhou, Xiaoyang & Wang, Shouyang & Zhang, Zhe George & Liu, Zenghui, 2018. "Analysis on shock effect of China’s high-speed railway on aviation transport," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 35-44.
    6. Pan, Haixiao & Gao, Ya & Shen, Qing & Moudon, Anne Vernez & Tuo, Jianyi & Habib, Khandker Nurul, 2023. "Does high-speed rail mitigate peak vacation car traffic to tourist city? Evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 93-105.
    7. Isler, Cassiano Augusto & Blumenfeld, Marcelo & Caldeira, Gabriel Pereira & Roberts, Clive, 2024. "Long-Distance railway mode choice in Brazil: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    8. Wang, Feng & Wei, Xianjin & Liu, Juan & He, Lingyun & Gao, Mengnan, 2019. "Impact of high-speed rail on population mobility and urbanisation: A case study on Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 99-114.

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