Robert W. Poole Jr., an MIT-trained engineer, is co-founder and director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation, where he has advised numerous federal and state transportation agencies. He is the author of Rethinking America's Highways (University of Chicago Press) and the Reason Foundation's 2024 study, "Reforming Environmental Litigation."
Robert Poole
Latest from Robert Poole
Federal Aviation Administration
How Political Meddling in New York and New Jersey Causes Airline Delays in the Entire U.S.
Congestion and slowdowns in the airspace around New York City account for up to 75 percent of all airline delays, yet efforts to depoliticize its management remain stalled.
It's Time To Reform Environmental Litigation
Thanks to the lengthy approval process and special interests surrounding environmental review, it takes far longer to build anything in the United States than in other developed countries.
A Brief History of Single-Family Zoning
California recently enacted legislation that invalidates single-family zoning, as an effort to increase housing supply. Other alternatives would be wiser.
What the Southwest Meltdown Means for Airline Policy
Re-regulating the airline industry won’t help prevent massive service disruptions in the future.
Robert Heinlein's Dream of Private Space Travel Is Coming True
A new generation of companies has made space travel affordable.
Why Can't You Buy a Starbucks on the Interstate?
In 1960, Congress forbid service plazas on the new Interstate highways. It’s time for that to change.
How Will Reason Staffers Vote in 2020?
A survey of presidential preferences and regrets
Air Safety Is Important. We Shouldn't Let Politics Put It at Risk
It's time to remove this vital function from the government budget.
Debate: For Political Change, Choose Exit Not Voice
Should we try to make the existing system better-or should we try to launch a new one?
If You Can Afford a Plane Ticket, Thank Deregulation
Forty years after the Civil Aeronautics Board was abolished, look how far we've come.
Who Benefits from the Status Quo?
Several key groups benefit from the current tax-funded, government-run air traffic control system.
Your Flight Is Delayed
The frenzied battle to reform American air traffic control
Will Congress Fix Air Traffic Control at Long Last?
After almost 50 years, Reason's fight for air traffic control reform might finally pay off
Time to Get U.S. Air Traffic Control Out of the 1960s
Dozens of countries have modernized successfully.
Bob Poole Remembers Tibor Machan, A Fellow Founding Co-Editor of Reason Magazine
Machan was one of the libertarian community's most prolific writers and thinkers.
How to Convert the FAA's Air Traffic Control Into a Non-Profit
The Reason Foundation's director of transportation policy testified before Congress.
Who's Going to Pay for New Highways?
Our Interstates are wearing out. Here's what we need to do to fix them.
Conservatives Should Embrace Obama's Plan For Tolls to Rebuild Interstate Highways
The president's plan would actually give states more control, tap the private sector's capital, and move the country closer to the Tea Party's user-pays principles.
Is This Any Way to Run an Airway?
Aviation disasters make headlines. The Federal Aviation Administration doesn't. This indictment cites case after case to prove FAA responsibility for major crashes. With airline deregulation leading to a surge in air traffic, replacement of the FAA is imperative, and this article shows how it can be done.
Fixing America's Freeways
The private sector is reinventing our expressways, one lane at a time.
Toll-road FAQs
Responses to common arguments against toll lanes
Why Air Traffic Controllers Fall Asleep on the Job
They have the last word on their work schedule, including the notorious 2-2-1.
Dave Nolan, R.I.P.
Remembering the great libertarian activist and the man who inspired "the world's smallest political quiz"
Get the Government Out of Airport Screening
The TSA's conflicts of interest prevent better, cheaper security
Road to Ruin
Federal highway taxes should be spent on interstate highways, not urban transit.