TRB Special Report 234 - Data for Decisions: Requirements for National Transportation Policy Making examines data requirements necessary to support strategic transportation policy making and the institutional changes necessary to make those data available on a permanent basis. The report calls for the establishment of a statistical agency within USDOT (this recommendation became helped create the Bureau of Transportation Statistics), the development of performance indicators, and regular reporting to the Secretary and Congress on important trends in system performance.

Includes the proceedings of a conference to advise the United States Department of Transportation, the community at large, and state and local elected officials on the appropriate planning and decision-making process needed to select and develop projects that will improve urban mobility, with emphasis on efficiency, concern for the environment, and shared responsibilities among agencies and affected groups, all within the context of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA).

Recommends development of a national policy to promote better management and investment decisions in order to maintain and improve the capacity of the nation's freight system. This report recommends four principles to guide decisions about using, enlarging, funding, or regulating the freight transportation system.

The conference on Setting an Intermodal Research Framework brought together a distinguished assembly of public officials, academicians, commercial leaders, and military specialists. During the conference, each of these groups of professionals found noteworthy synergies in their intermodal interests. Papers contained in these proceedings reflect those synergies. The conference was another step toward a strengthened intermodal partnership.