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Highlights - Improving Intercity Travel
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 Airline deregulation has had clear benefits in terms of consumer savings and efficient utilization of assets (both carrier use of aircraft and demand for airports). The outcomes of this policy are still evolving, however, and the benefits could be eroded by industry concentration. Thus continual monitoring, assessment, and appropriate policy intervention are needed to ensure adequate competition. |
 The future effectiveness of airline competition could be enhanced by federal policies designed to ease the entry of new carriers at airports and to facilitate growth in secondary, underutilized airports. |
 Demand for air travel is likely to continue to increase with growth in the economy and the population. Strategies to meet this demand include continued improvements in air traffic control, additional runways and airports, shifting of aircraft sizes to optimize traffic flows, market instruments designed to allocate demand, and support for other high-speed modes in appropriate markets. |
 The potential role of high-speed rail in intercity markets is limited by the lack of institutional arrangements—federal or state—for assessing this potential, estimating the benefits that might justify the necessary subsidies, and facilitating such funding. |
 If highly innovative transportation technologies, such as the Small Aircraft Transportation System concept, are to succeed, they must meet the tests of market demand, public safety, and environmental protection and be capable of adapting to the existing complex market and institutional arrangements. As with the automated highways concept, these market and institutional issues are as significant barriers as technical ones. |
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