Intermodal Transportation, Freight Transport System

Intermodal Transportation
Student’s Name
Institution
Intermodal Transportation
Many economies of the world depend significantly on freight transportation systems. The U.S. economy, in particular, relies on freight transportation systems for jobs and revenues in the form of taxes. In addition, the population relies on the system for commuting and freight movement (Holguín-Veras, Paaswell, & Perl, 2008). This means that they spent a significant portion of their income paying for transportation services. With the US transport system becoming part of the global network, it is important that innovations are encouraged. In addition, the transportation system contributes to face concern from the community and environmental groups due to its impact on public health. Therefore, there is a need for innovative developments to deal with the challenges in the freight transport system. I agree with Holguín-Veras, Paaswell, & Perl (2008) that the government has a huge role to play to foster innovation in the transportation.
The significance of freight transport system to the economy is a major reason for government intervention to drive innovation. With millions of jobs related to the transportation system and a global network demanding an increase in capacity, the government can develop initiatives tailored towards improving the system. The government can achieve this through increasing research funds in the research transportation system. The federal agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) are better placed to finance researches that can lead to innovations in the system. Together with other federal agencies, they can encourage and fund initiatives that foster innovation. This way, as pointed out by Holguín-Veras, Paaswell, & Perl (2008), the government can be a catalyst for the much-needed innovation in intermodal transportation.
While the feder...