Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor
Jul 21, 2009

Federal highway safety regulators knew that cell phone use while driving — even on a hands-free device — was a massive safety risk, but they hid it from Congress (NYT)

LaHood’s stimulus tour stops in Sarasota, Florida (Herald-Trib)

Don’t fret, New Yorkers: The $8 billion Hudson transit tunnel is on track for federal money whether or not Congress approves a transport bill this year (NJ.com)

Washington is approving a lot of road stimulus projects, but that doesn’t mean shovels are in the ground (LAT)

House GOPers want to force the White House to release more details on its dealings with the domestic auto industry (CQ)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Congress Can’t Let Self-Driving Car Makers Treat People as Guinea Pigs, Say Public Safety Watchdogs

By Angie Schmitt | May 7, 2018

A bill in Congress to allow large numbers of self-driving cars on American streets needs substantial revisions to protect people inside and outside of autonomous vehicles.

Rising Fuel Costs and Ridership Strain Local Transit Systems Nationwide

By Ben Fried | Jul 16, 2008

Waiting for the bus in Syracuse, NY. Transit agencies all over the country are nearing a state of emergency. At the same time that rising gas prices are leading more Americans to opt for buses and trains, transit operators are being forced to cut service and raise fares due to budget shortfalls. In Minneapolis, the […]

Keeping CNN Honest: 10 Ways Anderson Cooper Got the Rail Story Wrong

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 31, 2013

Last Friday, CNN’s Anderson Cooper ran a segment about high-speed rail as part of his “Keeping Them Honest” series. Reporter Drew Griffin did an “exposé” of a Vermont rail project that spent .00006 percent of the federal stimulus money on needed track improvements and came in on time and under budget. Scandal! It amounts to […]

Government Shutdown Would Be a Punch in the Gut to Transit Agencies

By Tanya Snyder | Apr 8, 2011

A powwow between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, President Obama, and House Speaker John Boehner last night failed to yield a compromise that would put a budget in place before the government shuts down at midnight tonight. The failure of yet another attempt to negotiate makes a government shutdown all but inevitable. Just a month […]

When Will the Feds Stop Outlawing Railcars Used By the Rest of the World?

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 13, 2016

The removal of 115 railcars from service in Philadelphia last week was the latest example of the troubles American commuter rail agencies face when purchasing rolling stock. Thanks to cracks in a critical component of the railcars, riders are looking at severe service reductions for at least the entire summer. While U.S. DOT floated a regulatory change that could prevent similar […]

If Self-Driving Cars Aren’t Safer Than Human Drivers, They Shouldn’t Be on Public Streets

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 20, 2018

More details are emerging about how an Uber self-driving car struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, raising red flags about the testing of autonomous vehicles on city streets.