Under the Intermodal Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, United States President George H. W. Bush authorized the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to oversee mass transportation for six years following its enactment. The Act allocated US$155 billion for the fiscal years 1992 through 1997 to meet these requirements. It addressed the changing needs of the nation, and in the process intended to create jobs, reduce traffic congestion, rebuild the transportation infrastructure, and enable states to address environmental issues related to transportation. The Act consisted of eight titles that oversaw national and state transportation.

• Title I, Surface Transportation: oversaw such issues as congestion, air quality, bridge replacement, metropolitan planning, toll roads, and advertising.
• Title II, Highway Safety: dealt with safety research and development, alcohol-impaired driving, and drug recognition.
• Title III, Federal Transit Act: dealt with interstate transportation systems such as national highway systems and rails.
• Title IV, Motor Carrier Act: placed restrictions on the operation of trucks with double or triple trailers, increased enforcement of bus safety, and required states to join the International Registration Plan by September 30, 1996, which forced states to register all trucks and buses.
• Title V, Intermodal Transportation: established a new office within the Department of Transportation called the Office of Intermodalism and required states and the newly established National Commission on Intermodal Transportation to perform studies and collect data of intermodal usage.
• Title VI, Research: oversaw research, development, testing, evaluation, and deployment programs to improve travel on mass transit and highways by using advanced computer, communications, and sensor technologies. Such research included the study of foreign innovations and the promotion of U.S. highway transportation expertise internationally. The Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems Act (IVHS), a section of this title, included new approaches to transportation such as intelligent vehicle highway systems and prototype magnetic levitation systems.
• Title VII, Air Transportation: amended the Metropolitan Washington Airport Act of 1986.
• Title VIII, Extension of Highway-Related Taxes and Highway Trust Fund: the source of funding for most of the previous titles; reduces the tax rate on motor fuel to 2.5 cents per gallon after September 30, 1995.

Further Reading

• Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991: Summary (National Transportation Library)
• High-Tech Highways: Intelligent Transportation Systems and Policy (Congressional Budget Office)