What legislation reflects federal efforts to regulate transportation?
Asked by: Marguerite Crona | Last update: February 12, 2026Score: 4.2/5 (8 votes)
Key federal legislation reflecting efforts to regulate transportation includes the foundational Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 for railroads, the Federal-Aid Highway Acts (starting 1956) for national highways, the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 for trucking deregulation, and modern acts like the FAST Act (2015) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021) for comprehensive surface transportation funding and policy, all stemming from Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce.
Which legislation reflects efforts to regulate transportation?
Interstate Commerce Act. In 1887, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act, making the railroads the first industry subject to federal regulation.
What is the Federal highway transportation Act?
This act authorized the building of highways throughout the nation, which would be the biggest public works project in the nation's history. Popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 established an interstate highway system in the United States.
What did the federal government do to improve transportation?
In 2021, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) became law, investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the nation's transportation, water, broadband, and energy systems over five years.
What federal agency regulates transportation?
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) The Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for planning and coordinating federal transportation projects. It also sets safety regulations for all major modes of transportation.
1.2 Summarise key aspects of legislation, regulatory requirements and codes of practice
What is federal transportation law?
What is Transportation Law? Transportation law concerns federal and state statutes regarding all forms of transportation. Congress holds the power to regulate interstate commerce under the United States Constitution. The Federal Transit Laws are codified at 49 U.S.C.
What is the transportation Freedom Act?
The Transportation Freedom Act puts American workers, consumers, and innovation first by strengthening domestic auto manufacturing and ensuring Americans—not Washington—decide what they drive.
What is the transportation Act Biden?
Transportation. The bill contains $27 billion in funding for specific, concrete programs within the Federal Highway Administration that are already implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, all of which was allotted in November 2023.
How is transportation regulated?
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is the federal government agency that handles transportation regulations. The DOT oversees several agencies, including: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is responsible for motor vehicle and highway transportation safety standards and regulations.
What did the Federal Highway Act of 1921 do?
Under the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921, federal funds were distributed to qualifying states to help finance the construction of highways. These funds were to be matched by each state and were apportioned based on population, area size, and existing rural and mail mileage.
What is the transportation Act of 1964?
Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964. To authorize the Housing and Home Finance Administrator to provide additional assistance for the development of comprehensive and coordinated mass trans- portation systems, . both public and private, in metropolitan and other urban areas, and for other purposes.
Which code of federal regulations provides guidance relating to transportation?
eCFR :: Title 49 of the CFR -- Transportation.
What is the Federal Surface transportation Act?
FAST stands for the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (P.L 114-94) and was signed into law by President Obama on December 4, 2015. FAST authorizes the federal surface transportation program for highways, highway safety, transit, and rail and provides $305 billion over 5 years.
Which clause allows the federal government to regulate transportation?
On February 4, 1887, both the Senate and House passed the Interstate Commerce Act, which applied the Constitution's “Commerce Clause”—granting Congress the power “to Regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States”—to regulating railroad rates.
What did the Hepburn Act 1906 do?
The Hepburn Act of 1906 significantly empowered the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to regulate railroads, allowing it to set maximum shipping rates, mandate standardized accounting, and prohibit discriminatory free passes, curbing unfair practices like secret rebates and increasing transparency for common carriers, including pipelines and ferries. Championed by President Theodore Roosevelt, it marked a major Progressive Era victory, giving the ICC legally binding authority to ensure "just and reasonable" charges, thus balancing public, shipper, and railroad interests.
What is the Federal Public transportation Act of 2012?
The Act builds on the existence of State safety oversight agencies and requires them to be independent legal entities that have the authority, staff training and expertise to enforce Federal safety law. Provides new enforcement over public transportation safety to the Secretary of Transportation.
Which legislation reflects federal efforts to regulate transportation?
Federal legislation that regulates transportation includes the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which created the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Federal Highway Act of 1956, which funded the Interstate Highway System, and the National Transportation Act of 1987, which focused on deregulating the trucking industry.
What is an example of a federal regulation?
A regulation is a set of requirements issued by a federal government agency to implement laws passed by Congress. For example, the Federal Reserve Board over the years has issued regulations to help implement laws such as the Federal Reserve Act, the Bank Holding Company Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act.
What are the 4 types of transportation?
The four main types of transportation are road, rail, air, and water, each serving different needs for moving people and goods, with road (cars, trucks) and rail (trains) handling land transport, air (airplanes) for speed, and water (ships, boats) for large cargo capacity, often combined in multimodal shipping for efficiency.
Is 49 cfr the same as dot?
Yes, 49 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49) is the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) primary set of rules, governing all aspects of transportation in the U.S., especially hazardous materials (Hazmat), motor carrier safety, and drug/alcohol testing, with specific parts administered by agencies like the FMCSA and PHMSA. It sets standards for shipping, labeling, training, and security for nearly all transport modes (highway, rail, air, water).
What is the transport Amendment Bill?
The Regulatory Systems (Transport) Amendment Bill (the Bill ) is an omnibus Bill that amends land transport, maritime, and aviation legislation. The objective of the Bill is to modernise the transport regulatory system to maintain and improve effectiveness and efficiency and reduce the chance of regulatory failure.
What did the transportation Act of 1718 do?
Beginning in 1615, James I permitted judges to banish criminals to service the empire across the Atlantic. With the Transportation Act of 1718, the Crown used private companies to ship more than fifty thousand felons across the ocean, many of whom served as convict servants.
What is the Transport Act 1987?
It was enacted to make provision for the regulation of motor vehicles and of traffic on roads and other matters with respect to roads and vehicles thereon; to make provision for the protection of third parties against risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles; to make provision for the co-ordination and control of ...
What is the difference between CFR and FR?
How the FR and CFR Relate to Each Other. The Federal Register is the chronological publication of proposed regulations, final regulations, and related materials. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is a subject arrangement of regulations.
What is the Federal Omnibus transportation Act?
Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a program requiring air carriers and foreign air carriers to conduct preemployment, reasonable suspicion, random, recurring, and post- ...