Affordability. The U.S. Department of Transportation has set a Key Performance Indicator to reduce national transportation cost burden by 5%, including transportation travel cost as a percent of income, by Fiscal Year 2030.

Safety. Boston has committed to Vision Zero 2030 — the goal of reaching zero traffic fatalities by 2030 — one of dozens of U.S. cities with an identical pledge on the books.

Sustainability. California’s Plan Bay Area, under state law SB 375, targets a 16 percent per-capita reduction in transportation greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.

The pattern. Different jurisdictions, different levels of government, specific, numeric, publicly adopted commitments. The goals aren’t vague, and they aren’t secret.