Business Unusual: Regional Public Policy Series

Transportation Disconnect:
Are Supply and Demand Out of Sync in Houston?

In the 1980s, transportation planning in Houston was very simple: when demand increased, planners simply poured more pavement and the public was largely satisfied. By the 1990s, the pouring stayed the same, but the public began demanding more sophisticated solutions. By 2003, transportation tops out as Houstonians’ most serious concern and it appears that transportation supply is disconnected to public demand, which increasingly favors transit.

Recent government-mandated transportation plans and public surveys show what may be surprising evidence to those who have viewed Houston and highways as synonymous: once well-known road supporters, Houstonians are now more likely to be public transit proponents. Yet road-dominated transportation plans show that the products being offered are significantly out of sync with what Houston’s customers would like to see.

The evidence of such a disconnect between public demand and government supply comes from long-established professional public opinion researchers, from governmental transportation agencies, and from grassroots citizen groups.

Download the report (350k Acrobat pdf file)

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