Today’s Headlines

  • The Energy Department awards $150 million in grants to innovative tech projects, many of them in the transportation sector (WSJ Blog)
  • Rail companies, including Amtrak, are lobbying against a federal mandate to implement the safety program known as "positive train control" (WSJ)
  • Uh-oh: Philadelphia transit workers may start their strike during the World Series (AP)
  • Minnesota DOT welcomes the presence of a roadside cleaning group that comes with its own firearms (AP)

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Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
House Dems continue a growing drumbeat in favor of infrastructure investment to create new jobs … but the funding question remains unanswered (WSJ) Texas Republican gubernatorial foes Hutchison and Perry trade jabs over transportation funding (News Messenger) A new poll with an eye-rolling setup: 6 in 10 people think transit and carpooling are good for […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
No. 2 House Democrat talks up high-speed rail in upstate New York (Utica O-D) Minnesota is still locked in negligence litigation with two companies after its deadly 2007 bridge collapse — but the state DOT is giving them millions of dollars in work anyway (AP) "Cash for clunkers" is a stellar economic stimulus … for […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
Early draft of Senate jobs bill emerges: $20B for the highway trust fund and Build America Bond language, but no new funding for TIGER grants (Politico) AASHTO unveils website touting more than 280,000 "highway and transit jobs" created or sustained by the stimulus law’s focus on transportation — Democrats hail the news (EPW Press) In […]

Trump Picks Road Industry Lobbyist to Lead Transportation Transition

By Angie Schmitt |
So much for “draining the swamp.” Under Donald Trump, it looks like the White House and Congress will be more infested with lobbyists than ever. In a story about the lobbying bonanza that will accompany unified GOP control of Washington, the New York Times reports that Trump has picked Martin Whitmer to head his “transportation and infrastructure” […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
Regional partnerships are helping to maximize the impact of federal stimulus dollars (TNR) Arizona craziness: Traffic safety officials allege man is evading 37 photo-enforced speeding tickets by wearing a monkey mask (AZ Republic) Is suburbia the real by-product of government regulation? (Yglesias, Ryan Avent) National Transportation Safety Board bans staff from using cell phones behind […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
Ahmedabad, India, wins the Sustainable Transport Award from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (Express) Freight rail industry has a mixed reaction to LaHood’s revamp of transit funding rules (Fleet Owner) Why are politicians always so scared of the word "tax"? A scientific explanation (MoJo Blog) Amtrak to add free wi-fi on the Acela […]