Today’s Headlines

  • Big business interests roll out new campaigns in favor of congressional action on climate change (Politico)
  • LaHood’s message to Florida: Get serious about funding commuter rail, or forget about having a slice of the Obama administration’s high-speed rail pie (Sentinel)
  • Federal Transit Administration is hard at work on a new proposal that would set minimum safety standards for state-level rail systems (WTOP)
  • New Jersey Transit continues to push for federal legislation helping local agencies avoid getting slammed by Wall Street tax shelter deals (NJbiz.com)
  • President Obama signs an executive order implementing energy-saving sustainability initiatives at federal agencies (WH Press)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

In Homage to Daniel Inouye, Feds Commit to Funding Honolulu Transit

|
Senate titan Daniel Inouye passed away Monday at 88. The Hawaii senator was the longest-serving member in the chamber at the time he died. As a fitting tribute, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood yesterday signed a full funding grant agreement with Inouye’s widow at his side, committing the federal government to $1.55 billion in transit assistance. The […]

America’s “New” Rail Systems Are Showing Their Age

|
What should we make of the recent headline-grabbing service disruptions at Washington Metro and BART? This chart from Houston transit advocate Christof Spieler offers some important perspective. These transit systems are reaching the age where maintenance needs are increasingly urgent. Alex Block at City Block writes: BART, the snake digesting the mouse: Until seeing the data presented this way, I never appreciated how much of the […]

FRA Chief: America Is Driving Less and Congress Needs to Catch Up

|
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Federal Railroad Administration chief Joe Szabo said that people are driving less and using transit more — and that those changes are permanent. “America’s travel habits are undergoing rapid change,” he said. It’s a fact, he said (“not opinion — statistically proven”), calling on Congress to show that it understands […]

10 New Rail, BRT Projects Selected for Funding by DOT

|
From bus rapid transit in Michigan to light rail in Arizona, ten new local transit projects are in line to receive federal capital funding under the President’s 2012 Budget proposal. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today released a list of 10 new projects in nine cities that would receive a total of $569 million in funding […]