Transportation Policy
Basics
EPA Adopting ‘Fix-it-First’ Infrastructure Policy — For Water
Environmental groups have long called for a national "fix-it-first" standard to apply to new transportation projects, requiring states to focus on repair of existing infrastructure before constructing new lane miles. The approach has caught on in several state capitals, but not in Washington -- except when it comes to water infrastructure.
May 5, 2010
Expectations for High-Speed Rail Coming Down to Earth
Three months after the Obama administration announced the first winners of what it hopes will be the first of many federal grants to build U.S. high-speed rail networks, advocates and planners are settling in for a long battle to surmount the obstacles and unknowns that stand in the way of long-term bullet train development.
May 5, 2010
Senate Dems Unveil Auto Safety Legislation
Democrats are moving quickly on their plan to take a unified approach to auto safety reforms in the aftermath of the Toyota recalls, with Senate Commerce Committee members releasing a new bill today that would quintuple the maximum existing penalties for carmakers who -- like Toyota -- fail to promptly notify the public of defective products.
May 4, 2010
Obama Administration to Award $775M for Bus Transit Upgrades
The Obama administration plans to award $775 million in bus transit grants this summer, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff announced yesterday during a transit industry conference in Ohio.
May 3, 2010
Alabama ‘English-Only’ Ad Raises Specter of Lost Federal Transport Money
Some campaign commercials win instant fame, while others go the infamy route -- as is the case with an ad cut by Alabama Republican Tim James, who promises voters that if he is elected governor this fall, drivers' license exams will be given only in English.
May 3, 2010
Long-Shot NY Congressional Candidate Runs Against High-Speed Rail
Over the years, veteran Rep. Louise Slaughter (D) has pushed so doggedly for construction of a new train line in her upstate New York district that one state legislator christened her "Mrs. High-Speed Rail."
April 30, 2010
RITA Speaks: What Technology Can Do for Transportation Safety
Among the myriad of smaller agencies that comprise the U.S. DOT, the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) tends to stay in the background, not unlike the wonky, computer-hacking sidekicks often found in action movies.
April 29, 2010
Dem and GOP Senators Seek More Long-Term Rail Vision From Obama Aides
The senior Democratic and Republican senators in charge of setting annual transportation spending levels today urged the leader of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to develop a more comprehensive plan for using the White House's high-speed rail program to spur the development of viable U.S. train networks.
April 29, 2010
Is the ‘Road Gang’ Losing Power in Washington?
That is the thesis posited in a new investigation from the Center for Public Integrity, which sent a reporter to sprawl-saturated South Florida to examine how much of a return the transportation construction industry is getting on its multi-million-dollar contributions to congressional campaigns.
April 29, 2010
On Emissions, CA Lawmaker Questions Whether CA Should Lead the Way
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Lisa Jackson today told House members that she would soon begin work on new auto fuel-efficiency rules for the year 2017 and beyond, responding to calls from carmakers searching for certainty -- and warily eyeing the new fuel standards being crafted in California.
April 28, 2010