Today’s Headlines

  • Massachusetts transit officials like the sound of the Obama administration’s pitch to help oversee light rail and subway safety (Globe)
  • In addition to its transit safety push, the administration has also issued safety rules for motorcoach buses (Bloomberg)
  • Even conservative Dems such as Sen. Ben Nelson (NE) are open to new transportation spending to help boost employment (HuffPost)
  • Meanwhile, Perlmutter joins the ranks of House Dems backing DeFazio’s Wall Street transpo tax (The Hill)
  • Better infrastructure is an important legacy to leave to the next generation — but we’re falling behind (NYT)
  • New study finds 1 in 3 teens confessing to a "frightening" habit of texting while driving (WashPost)
  • The nation’s senior transportation safety official decries the media’s focus on salacious, context-free details of crashes (CBS News)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Eight Senate Dems Offer $2B Plan for Emergency Transit Operating Aid

By Elana Schor |
Transit agencies forced to raise fares or cut service to close budget gaps would be eligible for $2 billion in emergency operating funds under legislation unveiled today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and seven other Democratic senators, including two members of the party’s leadership. Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT), left, Charles Schumer (D-NY), […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
House transport committee aides start acknowledging the uncomfortable truth: Despite Senate Dems’ vow to Voinovich, a new long-term federal bill could be delayed until 2011 (Bond Buyer) Gauging the prospects, both political and practical, for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd’s transit-oriented development legislation (Next American City) House takes up proposal to expand infrastructure-centric Build […]

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 |
Three senators propose bill forcing BP to pay a higher share of the damages incurred by Gulf Coast oil spill (HuffPost) On-the-ground details from Ohio State University’s Moving Ahead transportation conference (Col. Gov. Examiner) An op-ed response to the Gulf spill: Keep drilling, stop driving, use oil wisely (Streetsblog SF) More spill fallout, as the […]

Two More Senate Dems Back Plan to Devote Climate Money to Transit

By Elana Schor |
This week has brought news of a brewing compromise on the Senate climate change bill, introduced last month amid signals that the upper chamber would give only a bit more to clean transportation than the House’s meager 1 percent set-aside of revenue from cap-and-trade carbon regulations. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) (Photo: Sun-Sentinel) The stirrings of […]