Transportation in the United States

Because the United States is a relatively young nation, much of the development of U.S. cities has taken place since the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system. These highways were commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. There is also a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states.

Many cities have extensive mass-transit systems. The largest of them, New York City operates one of the world’s most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world.

Air travel is the preferred means of travel for long distances. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world’s thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world’s busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world’s thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world’s busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

The primary modes of passenger transportation in the United States are the airplane and the automobile. Most Americans prefer to fly to any destination over 300 miles away and will drive to anything closer. Other common forms of transportation include passenger trains, buses, and ferries. There are thriving mass transit systems with extensive bus, subway, rapid rail, and ferry networks in many large American cities.

Most cargo transportation in the United States is done by sea, road, and rail; planes are commonly used only for perishables and certain valuables. Usually cargo is imported in containers through seaports, then distributed by road and rail. Freight rail is still financially viable and remains privately operated, as are all other methods of cargo movement (with the obvious exception of the United States Postal Service). There are also several large private cargo shippers like FedEx and UPS.