Introduction to the 50th Anniversary Issue‪.‬

This Winter 2011 issue marks the 50th anniversary of the Transportation Journal. The Transportation Journal was founded by the American Society of Traffic and Transportation (AST&T) in 1961, but the groundwork for the journal began several years prior to that. AST&T was a professional organization founded in 1946, the mission of which was to set standards of education, experience, and ethics for employees working in the field of traffic and transportation. The founding members included industry professionals, university educators, and government officials. AST&T members recognized the need for a publication devoted to articles "which would contribute to a clearer understanding of transportation management and would cause critical appraisals of practices and techniques of transportation then in existence." This objective, as quoted in the History of the American Society of Traffic and Transportation (Yeley and Waters 1972, 59), was a cornerstone of the editorial mission outlined in the first issue of the Transportation Journal (Fahl 1961, 2). An editorial review board was established from the beginning, and an educator and an industry practitioner were appointed in each area of expertise, which included transportation economics, transportation and distribution management, general business, transportation law and regulation, and general interest. These areas closely corresponded with the examinations for the AST&T certification of that time period. The review board made recommendations for acceptance or rejection of material submitted for publication and encouraged the submission of articles that would maintain the level of quality sought by AST&T. Less tangible objectives were as follows: "Articles will be of such a nature that businessmen will feel a little more academic when they read them; that academicians will feel a little more practical; and that students and candidates [for AST&T certification] will feel a little more knowledgeable and better prepared for their appointed tasks" (Yeley and Waters 1972, 59).