<P> Since the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, the federal government had regulated various transportation modes, starting with the railroad industry, and later the trucking and airline industries . Increasing public interest in deregulation led to a series of federal laws beginning in 1976 with the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act . The deregulation of the trucking industry began with the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which was signed into law by President Carter on July 1, 1980 . </P> <P> Studies of the legislative process leading up to passage of the MCA indicate that the Act resulted from a concert of action by the Carter Administration, Congressional leaders, including Senator Ted Kennedy, an extensive coalition of "civil society" organizations which was a follow - on to coalitions created for rail and air transport regulatory reforms, and Interstate Commerce Commissioners appointed by Presidents Nixon and Carter who supported the pro-competition objectives of the legislative initiatives of 1971 to 1980 (notably A. Daniel O'Neal and Darius Gaskins). </P> <P> The MCA was envisioned to be a sweeping de-regulation of the trucking industry . When President Carter signed the bill, he proclaimed: </P> <Dl> <Dd> This is historic legislation . It will remove 45 years of excessive and inflationary Government restrictions and redtape . It will have a powerful anti-inflationary effect, reducing consumer costs by as much as $8 billion each year . And by ending wasteful practices, it will conserve annually hundreds of millions of gallons of precious fuel . All the citizens of our Nation will benefit from this legislation . Consumers will benefit, because almost every product we purchase has been shipped by truck, and outmoded regulations have inflated the prices that each one of us must pay . The shippers who use trucking will benefit as new service and price options appear . Labor will benefit from increased job opportunities . And the trucking industry itself will benefit from greater flexibility and new opportunities for innovation . </Dd> </Dl>

Deregulation of the railroad industry led to quizlet