The Bush administration will unveil a national transportation policy this week calling for more local government and private help to improve air, ground and water transportation into the next century. The long-awaited outline could lead to more toll roads, higher airline ticket fares, increased gasoline taxes in some areas and higher bus and mass transit fares. Major elements of the policy already have been disclosed by Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner, who says he wants to ``remove the heavy hand of government'' from transportation industries. Formal release is set for Thursday. Skinner's department faces formidable problems: overcrowded airports with about 30 percent of all flights delayed; a maritime industry in a record slump; highway bridges in need of billions of dollars in repairs; and an estimated $1 trillion to $3 trillion demand for airport, railroad, highway and mass transit construction over the next 20 years. Skinner's solutions focus on increasing the nation's reliance for transport on the private sector and state and local governments by ``stimulating competition and allowing the magic of the marketplace to work.'' But Skinner has said the policy also will commit the federal government to ``fully using the funds that people have paid in user charges for transportation, for investments in transportation.'' The unspent $7.6 billion in the aviation trust fund, collected from an airline ticket tax, and the $10.1 billion in the highway trust fund, have been a sore point with transportation industry officials who say the money is going to offset the federal deficit rather than to help transportation. Some of the strategies Skinner has said will be promoted in the new policy are increased user fees, which he does not call tax hikes; increased private investment, including private construction of toll roads; extending deregulation to the trucking and maritime industries; and promotion of new technologies, including high-speed rail systems and ``smart cars'' that are less likely to crash. Major points Skinner has disclosed so far from the policy include: _ Promotion of a ``stronger, healthier partnership among federal, state and local governments,'' with ``regulatory flexibility,'' which Skinner has said could include new powers to levy local highway tolls. _ A concentration of federal assistance on ``projects of national significance,'' although the projects will not be identified in the policy document. _ Preservation of existing transportation systems, including the interstate highway system. _ A focus on ``moving people and goods _ not just vehicles,'' with promotion of high-occupancy vehicle lanes for crowded commuter routes. _ Encouragement of technology and innovation in all modes of transportation. Even before it has been released, the policy has attracted criticism, although Skinner is widely praised for undertaking the task. ``Flexibility sounds like a euphemism for `take care of yourself,''' Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., told Skinner as the secretary unveiled a portion of his plan before a Senate appropriations subcommittee last week. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York, ranking Republican on the same subcommittee, said he feared the new policy would not help the continued development of large mass transit systems that take cars off the roads and decrease pollution. Carole Perkins, spokeswoman for the Association of American Railroads, said the rail industry supports Skinner's efforts and appreciates his commitment to treat all industries evenly and get rid of unneeded regulations. But she said railroad officials are looking for specifics and that it appears the policy will deal mostly in generalities. Airline industry officials have said they would like to see a separate policy outline from the Federal Aviation Administration, since Skinner's plan will give equal importance to all means of moving goods and people around the country. One problem airline officials say the policy is unlikely to address is the need for unified noise standards at airports. The new transportation policy is contained in a document that has passed the scrutiny of the White House's fiscal office, the Office of Management and Budget. Skinner told a congressional committee last week that reports that OMB would impose significant changes in the policy were not true. He described White House changes as ``wordsmithing'' only. The policy is the result of 117 ``town meeting''-style hearings held in 48 cities over the past year. Parts of it already are being implemented, according to Transportation Department officials, and some of its proposals are contained in Bush's fiscal 1991 budget, including calls for airport passenger fees and other increases in revenue from transportation users.
