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{{Organization
|OrganizationName=Department of Transportation
|OrganizationType=Executive agency
|Mission=The mission of the Department of Transportation (DOT) is to ensure a fast, safe, efficient, accessible, and convenient transportation system that meets vital national interests and enhances the quality of life for the American people, today and into the future. This includes promoting the safety of travel, increasing mobility, fostering economic growth through improved transportation infrastructure, protecting the environment, and ensuring national security.
|ParentOrganization=Executive Office of the President
|CreationLegislation=Department of Transportation Act
|Employees=55000
|Budget=$81.5 billion
|OrganizationExecutive=Secretary of Transportation
|Services=The DOT provides services that include regulating aviation through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), managing highways and traffic safety via the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), overseeing public transit systems through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), managing maritime and coastal activities with the Maritime Administration (MARAD), ensuring safety in rail transportation with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), promoting safe and efficient transportation of hazardous materials, advancing research and innovation in transportation, and administering grants and funding programs for infrastructure projects.
|Regulations=The DOT oversees a broad range of regulations concerning transportation safety, infrastructure development, and operational standards. This includes aviation safety regulations, motor vehicle safety standards, highway safety laws, railroad safety requirements, pipeline safety, commercial motor vehicle regulations, transit safety, maritime safety and security, accessibility standards for transportation systems, environmental regulations related to transportation projects, and regulations concerning the transportation of hazardous materials across various modes.
|HeadquartersLocation=38.87582, -77.00285
|HeadquartersAddress=1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590
|Website=https://www.transportation.gov
|Wikipedia=United States Department of Transportation
}}
{{Short description|Federal executive department}}

{{Redirect|USDOT|U.S. Treasury Department|United States Department of the Treasury}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = United States Department of Transportation
| type            = Department
| logo            = Flag of the United States Department of Transportation.svg
| logo_width      = 175
| logo_caption    = Flag of the USDOT
| seal            = United States Department of Transportation seal.svg
| seal_width      = 175
| seal_caption    = Seal of the USDOT
| picture         = USDOT headquarters - Navy Yard.jpg
| picture_caption = Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation
| formed          = {{Start date and age|1967|4|1}}
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]
| headquarters    = 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, [[Washington, D.C.]]
| coordinates     = {{Coord|38|52|32.92|N|77|0|10.26|W|display=inline,title}}
| employees       = 58,622
| budget          = {{US$|link=yes}}87.6 billion ([[Fiscal year|FY2021, enacted]])<ref name="dot.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2021-05/Budget-Highlights2022_052721_FINAL.PDF |title=Department of Transportation 2022 Budget Highlights |page=11 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405114731/https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2021-05/Budget-Highlights2022_052721_FINAL.PDF |archive-date=April 5, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| chief1_name     = [[Pete Buttigieg]]
| chief1_position = [[United States Secretary of Transportation|Secretary]]
| chief2_name     = [[Polly Trottenberg]]
| chief2_position = [[United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation|Deputy Secretary]]
| child1_agency   = [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]]
| child2_agency   = [[Federal Highway Administration|FHWA]]
| child3_agency   = [[Federal Railroad Administration|FRA]]
| child4_agency   = [[Federal Transit Administration|FTA]]
| child5_agency   = [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]]
| child6_agency   = [[Template:DOT agencies|Additional agencies]]
| website         = {{official URL}}
| footnotes       = 
}}
[[File:Seal of the United States Department of Transportation (1980).svg|thumb|upright|The seal of the U.S. Department of Transportation before 1980]]
[[File:Flag of the U.S. Department of Transportation (1967–1980).png|thumb|upright|The flag of the U.S. Department of Transportation before 1980]]

The '''[[Department of Transportation]]''' ('''USDOT''' or '''DOT''') is one of the [[United States federal executive departments|executive departments]] of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. federal government]]. It is headed by the [[United States Secretary of Transportation|secretary of transportation]], who reports directly to the [[president of the United States]] and is a member of the president's [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]].

The department's fiscal year 2022–2026 strategic plan states that its mission is "to deliver the world's leading transportation system, serving the American people and economy through the safe, efficient, sustainable, and equitable movement of people and goods."<ref>{{cite web |title=Fiscal Year 2022-2026 U.S. Department of Transportation Strategic Plan |url=https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-04/US_DOT_FY2022-26_Strategic_Plan.pdf |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref>

==History==
In 1965, Najeeb Halaby, the chief of the independent [[Federal Aviation Agency]] strongly urged President Lyndon Johnson to set up a cabinet-level Department of Transportation. Halaby proposed merging the responsibilities of the undersecretary of commerce for transportation and the Federal Aviation Agency to achieve this goal. While the federal government was granted authority over aviation and railroads through the commerce clause of the Constitution, the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration primarily provided funding for state and local projects, without significant influence over road construction and operation. Halaby emphasized the need for improved coordination and expressed frustration at the lack of an overall plan. "One looks in vain", he told Johnson, "for a point of responsibility below the President capable of taking an evenhanded, comprehensive, authoritarian approach to the development of transportation policies or even able to assure reasonable coordination and balance among the various transportation programs of the government."  Johnson convinced Congress to act and The Department of Transportation was authorized in October 1966 and launched on 1 April 1967, with a mission to ensure that federal funds were effectively used to support the national transportation program. Johnson proclaimed upon signing the act: "Transportation has truly emerged as a significant part of our national life. As a basic force in our society, its progress must be accelerated so that the quality of our life can be improved."<ref>Richard Dean Burns and Joseph M. Siracusa, ''Historical Dictionary of the Kennedy-Johnson Era'' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) p. 118.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ntl.bts.gov/historian/history.htm |title=The United States Department of Transportation: A Brief History |publisher=National Transportation Library |date=March 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025185007/http://ntl.bts.gov/historian/history.htm |archive-date=October 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/transportation/timeline |title=Department of Transportation Timeline |first=Chris |last=Edwards |website=Downsizing the Federal Government }}</ref><ref>[https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32182 April 1, 1967 : the opening day of the U.S. Department of Transportation.] January 1, 2017 By Martin, David; Strayhorn, Nicole C.; Wilson, Amanda J.   Official website of United States Department of Transportation, National Transportation Library, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.</ref>

==Agencies==
* [[Advanced Research Projects Agency–Infrastructure]] (ARPA-I)
* [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA)
* [[Federal Highway Administration]] (FHWA)
* [[Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration]] (FMCSA)
* [[Federal Railroad Administration]] (FRA)
* [[Federal Transit Administration]] (FTA)
* [[Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation]] (GLS)
* [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]] (MARAD)
* [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] (NHTSA)
* [[Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation|Office of Inspector General]] (OIG)
* [[United States Secretary of Transportation|Office of the Secretary of Transportation]] (OST)
* [[Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration]] (PHMSA)
* [[Research and Innovative Technology Administration]]，which includes the agencies below, among others：
* [[John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center]]
* [[Bureau of Transportation Statistics]] (BTS)

==Former agencies==
* [[Transportation Security Administration]] – transferred to [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] in 2003
* [[United States Coast Guard]] – transferred to Department of Homeland Security in 2003
* [[Surface Transportation Board]] (STB) – spun off as an independent federal agency in 2015

== Budget ==
In 2012, the DOT awarded $742.5 million in funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 11 transit projects. The awardees include light rail projects. Other projects include both a commuter rail extension and a subway project in New York City, and a bus rapid transit system in Springfield, Oregon. The funds subsidize a heavy rail project in northern Virginia, completing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metro Silver Line to connect Washington, D.C., and the Washington Dulles International Airport<ref name="EERE2009">{{cite web |url=http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12512 |access-date=August 9, 2010 |title=DOT Awards $742.5 Million in Recovery Act Funds to 11 Transit Projects |work=EERE Network News |date=May 13, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528034759/http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=12512 |archive-date=May 28, 2010 }}</ref> (DOT had previously agreed to subsidize the Silver Line construction to Reston, Virginia).<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual Report on Funding Recommendations – Fiscal Year 2010  |url=http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/20090508_Release_FY_2010_Annual_Report.pdf |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |pages=A-75 (101) & seq |date=April 29, 2009 |access-date=August 9, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528085500/http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/20090508_Release_FY_2010_Annual_Report.pdf |archive-date=May 28, 2010 }}</ref>

President [[Barack Obama]]'s budget request for 2010 also included $1.83 billion in funding for major transit projects. More than $600 million went towards ten new or expanding transit projects. The budget provided additional funding for all of the projects currently receiving Recovery Act funding, except for the bus rapid transit project. It also continued funding for another 18 transit projects that are either currently under construction or soon will be.<ref name="EERE2009" /> Following the same, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 delegated $600 million for Infrastructure Investments, referred to as Discretionary Grants.

The Department of Transportation was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2016 of $75.1 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as follows:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/DOT_BH2017_508%5B2%5D.pdf |title=Transforming Communities in the 21st Century |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429182605/https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/DOT_BH2017_508%5B2%5D.pdf |archive-date=April 29, 2017 |access-date=September 18, 2022 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Agency / Office
! Funding (in millions)
! Employees (FTE)
|-
| [[Federal Aviation Administration]]
| $16,280.7
| 45,988
|-
| [[Federal Highway Administration]]
| $43,049.7
| 2,782
|-
| [[Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration]]
| $580.4
| 1,175
|-
| [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]]
| $869.0
| 639
|-
| [[Federal Transit Administration]]
| $11,782.6
| 585
|-
| [[Federal Railroad Administration]]
| $1,699.2
| 934
|-
| [[Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration|Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration]]
| $249.6
| 575
|-
| [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]]
| $399.3
| 835
|-
| [[St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation|Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation]]
| $28.4
| 144
|-
| Office of the Secretary
| $935.4
| 1,284
|-
| Office of the Inspector General
| $87.5
| 413
|-
| '''TOTAL'''
| '''$75,536.1'''
| '''55,739'''
|}
In 2021, President [[Joe Biden]] signed the [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]]. The $1.2 trillion act included over $660 billion in funding for transportation-related infrastructure projects over the five-year period of fiscal years 2022–2026.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.transportation.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/faq |title=Bipartisan Infrastructure Law FAQs |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=April 14, 2023 }}</ref>

==Related legislation==
<!-- This section is linked from [[List of United States federal legislation]] -->
{{Div col |colwidth=25em}}
* 1806 – [[Cumberland Road]]
* 1862 – [[Pacific Railway Act]]<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4608/ |title = Profile Showing the Grades upon the Different Routes Surveyed for the Union Pacific Rail Road Between the Missouri River and the Valley of the Platte River |website = [[World Digital Library]] |date = 1865 |access-date = July 16, 2013 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131102054019/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4608/ |archive-date = November 2, 2013 }}</ref>
* 1887 – [[Interstate Commerce Act]]
* 1916 – [[Adamson Railway Labor Act]]
* 1935 – [[Motor Carrier Act of 1935|Motor Carrier Act]]
* 1946 – Federal Airport Act, {{USStatute |1=79 |2=377 |3=60 |4=170}}
* 1950 – Federal Aid to Highway, {{USStatute |1=81|2=769|3=64|4=785}}
* 1954 – [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]] Act
* 1956 – [[Interstate highway|Federal-Aid to Highway/Interstate Highway Act]], {{USStatute |1=84|2=627|3=70|4=374}}
* 1957 – Airways Modernization Act, {{USStatute |1=85|2=133|3=71|4=349}}
* 1958 – Transportation Act of 1958, {{USStatute |1=85|2=625|3=72|4=568}}
* 1958 – Federal Aviation Act, {{USStatute |1=85|2=726|3=72|4=731}}
* 1959 – Airport Construction Act, {{USStatute |1=86|2=72|3=73|4=155}}
* 1964 – [[Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964|Urban Mass Transportation Act]], {{USStatute |1=88|2=365}}
* 1965 – [[Highway Beautification Act]], {{USStatute |1=89|2=285|3=79|4=1028}}
* 1966 – Department of Transportation established, {{USStatute |1=89|2=670|3=80|4=931}}
* 1970 – [[Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1970|Urban Mass Transportation Act]], {{USStatute |1=91|2=453|3=84|4=962}}
* 1970 – [[Rail Passenger Service Act]] PL 91-518
* 1970 – [[Airport and Airway Development Act]] PL 91-258
* 1973 – [[Federal Aid Highway Act]] PL 93-87
* 1973 – [[Amtrak Improvement Act]] PL 93-146
* 1973 – [[Federal Aid Highway Act]] PL 93-87
* 1974 – [[National Mass Transportation Assistance Act]] PL 93-503
* 1976 – [[Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act]] PL 94-210
* 1976 – [[Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act]] PL 94-435
* 1978 – [[Airline Deregulation Act]] PL 95-504
* 1980 – [[Motor Carrier Act of 1980|Motor Carrier Act]] PL 96-296
* 1980 – [[Staggers Rail Act]] PL 96-448
* 1982 – [[Transportation Assistance Act]] PL 97-424
* 1982 – Bus Regulatory Reform Act PL 97-261
* 1984 – [[Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984|Commercial Space Launch Act]] PL 98-575
* 1987 – [[Surface Transportation Act]] PL 100-17
* 1991 – [[Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act]] PL 102-240
* 1998 – [[Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century]] PL 105-178
* 2000 – [[Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century]] PL 106-181
* 2001 – [[Aviation and Transportation Security Act]] (PL 107-71)
* 2002 – [[Homeland Security Act]] (PL 107-296)
* 2005 – [[SAFETEA-LU|Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users]] (PL 109-59)
* 2012 – [[Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act]] (MAP-21) PL 112-141
* 2015 – [[Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act]] (FAST Act) PL 114-94
* 2021 - [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]] PL 117-58
{{Div col end}}

==Freedom of Information Act processing performance==
In the latest [[Center for Effective Government]] analysis of 15 federal agencies which receive the most [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] FOIA requests, published in 2015 (using 2012 and 2013 data, the most recent years available), the Department of Transportation earned a D by scoring 65 out of a possible 100 points, i.e., did not earn a satisfactory overall grade.<ref>[http://www.foreffectivegov.org/access-to-information-scorecard-2015/ Making the Grade: Access to Information Scorecard 2015] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313194455/http://www.foreffectivegov.org/access-to-information-scorecard-2015/ |date=March 13, 2016 }}. March 2015, p. 80, [[Center for Effective Government]]. Retrieved March 21, 2016.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Transportation}}
* [[American Highway Users Alliance]]
* [[National Highway System (United States)]]
* [[National Transportation Safety Board]]
* [[Passenger vehicles in the United States]]
* [[Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]
* [[Transportation in the United States]]
* [[Transportation policy of the United States]]
* [[Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center]]
* [[United States Federal Maritime Commission]]
* [[United States Secretary of Transportation]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|United States Department of Transportation}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-transportation Department of Transportation] on [[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006|USAspending.gov]]
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/transportation-department United States Department of Transportation] in the [[Federal Register]]

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[[Category:United States Department of Transportation| ]]
[[Category:Transportation government agencies of the United States]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1966]]
[[Category:United States federal executive departments|Transportation]]
[[Category:1966 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]