Today’s Headlines

  • Washington D.C.’s transit system is looking at a budget deficit even if it hikes fares (GGW)
  • Arizona officials acknowledge their state’s era of ‘roads before transit’ is over (AZ Rep)
  • Columbus, Ohio, helping private company bid for stimulus cash to build high-speed rail cars (Dayton DN)
  • The government agency that regulates transport of dangerous cargo has been co-opted by industry (AP)
  • Google developing its own solar power technology (Reuters)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Tonight: PBS on Transit, States, and the Stimulus

By Ben Fried |
Streetsbloggers will want to tune in to PBS tonight for the latest installment in the Blueprint America series. At 8:30 (in New York), NOW will look at where all that stimulus cash is headed. Here’s the teaser: President Barack Obama’s stimulus money is nearly out the door and on its way to the states, but […]

White House Unveils Transit Safety Bill to Cautious Praise on the Hill

By Elana Schor |
Lawmakers on the House transportation committee today greeted details of the Obama administration’s transit safety plan with approval, but some sounded skeptical notes about the costs of state compliance with new federal rules even as transit agencies cope with billions of dollars in maintenance and repair backlogs. Washington D.C.’s transit safety oversight agency has less […]

Stimulus Jobs From Transit vs. Roads: A Tale of Two States

By Elana Schor |
Smart Growth America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group today reported that transit stimulus spending created nearly twice as many jobs per dollar as highway stimulus  projects — a conclusion that Streetsblog Capitol Hill first previewed a few weeks ago. But as the groups snag some big-media attention today, […]

Killing the Myth of the ‘More Shovel-Ready’ Road Stimulus

By Elana Schor |
During debate over the White House’s $787 billion economic stimulus law, transit advocates watched as their projects were shortchanged and more "shovel-ready" road projects got the lion’s share of the transport pot — about $8.4 billion, compared with $27.5 billion for highways and bridges. (Photo: DMI Blog) But transit money is getting put to use […]

In Seattle, Transit Supporters Get Ready to Flex Political Muscle

By Angie Schmitt |
Right now, legislators in Washington state are facing the possibility of gridlock over proposals for new transportation revenue and spending, in which case they could put the transportation package on the ballot. The key question legislators should consider, says Adam Bejan Parast Seattle Transit Blog, is whether their proposal would win over pro-transit voters. And the […]

Transit Industry to Join State DOTs in Blasting Senate Climate Bill

By Elana Schor |
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is set to join the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and two construction interests tomorrow in protesting the Senate climate bill’s proposed diversion of new fuel fees away from infrastructure — an argument that puts the transit industry’s leading D.C. lobbying group squarely in the […]