U.S. DOT
Basics
Obama’s Engaged With Transit More in 9 Months than Bush Did in 8 Years
The Obama administration has brought both good news and bad news to transit riders. But here's a positive sign you haven't heard before, straight from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff: In the nine months of the new presidency, the FTA has fielded more requests for information "directly from the White House" than in the entire eight years of the Bush administration.
October 7, 2009
$8B for High-Speed Rail, $1.5B in Transport Stimulus Coming This Winter
It's shaping up to be anything but a quiet winter for the U.S. DOT, with $9.5 billion in grants for clean transportation set for release to the winners of two highly competitive contests for federal aid.
October 6, 2009
The Good Problem With Housing Near Transit: It’s Almost Too Popular
Local officials are catching on to the power of transit-oriented development to transform quality of life while decreasing congestion, as my colleague Ryan Avent has explored. But now that the federal government is starting to explore how to expand transit-accessible housing, an intriguing problem is arising: it's almost too popular.
October 1, 2009
Obama Bans Texting While Driving for Guv Workers — And There’s More
The U.S. DOT's distracted driving summit came to a close today with the unveiling of an executive order from President Obama that prohibits federal employees from texting behind the wheel of a government car or using a government-provided messaging device while driving any vehicle.
October 1, 2009
U.S. DOT’s Distracted Driving Summit: Follow it Live
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is hosting a summit on the issue of distracted driving -- specifically, driving while texting -- with an eye to marshaling support for a national ban on the practice.
September 30, 2009
Can State DOTs Be Trained to Kick the Sprawl Habit?
I had the chance to listen in yesterday to top staffers from USDOT explain their collaboration with HUD and the EPA -- the "Partnership for Livable Communities" that was first unveiled in March and touted again by President Obama in July. Three officials, including one of Ray LaHood's top deputies, Beth Osborne, outlined their plans via conference call to several hundred people from all parts of the country.
September 25, 2009
LaHood Praises NYC But Shrugs at Transport Reform to Empower Cities
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood praised the New York City area's clean-transportation strategy today in a speech to the region's metropolitan planning organization (MPO), promising a stronger focus on urban priorities even as he all but ruled out two reforms long sought by the nation's cities.
September 24, 2009
Obama Administration Sends $100M in Stimulus Aid to 43 Transit Agencies
The U.S. DOT announced today that 43 local transit agencies from more than two dozen states would share the $100 million in competitive clean-transport grants included in this winter's $787 billion economic stimulus law.
September 21, 2009
Warner Scores a (Small) Win for White House’s Transportation Agenda
While it pushes for an 18-month delay in the next federal infrastructure bill, the Obama administration has proposed a data collection effort that would help states and localities begin tracking ridership and usage of transit, roads, buses, and the like -- a small put pivotal step towards enacting national performance standards for transportation.
September 17, 2009
A Few Words on Transportation User Fees
We tend to have a few good laughs when Randal O'Toole fires up his Cato computer and weighs in on transportation issues. It's hard to take seriously a man who thinks that having the government tax people to build something which it then gives away for free is the libertarian ideal.
September 17, 2009
