Transportation Policy
Basics
Don’t Waste the Next Two Years: A Blueprint for Reform Under GOP Control
So longtime chair James Oberstar is gone from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the Republicans in charge now are unlikely to take up a transportation bill as expansive as the one he proposed last year. That doesn’t mean transportation advocates should take the next two years off. In "Moving Past Gridlock: A Proposal for a Two-Year Transportation Law" [PDF], Robert Puentes of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program argues that there’s a lot to do even in the absence of a long-term reform bill.
December 16, 2010
Report: Investing in Transit Could Create 180,000 Jobs, for Free
Between calls for renewed stimulus on the one hand and for deficit reduction on the other, Washington, D.C. is stuck. A new report by the Transportation Equity Network, however, shows one easy way to put people back to work without increasing federal spending: shifting our transportation investment to transit.
September 3, 2010
House Approves Transpo Spending Bill After Stripping Out $ for Livability
The House of Representatives passed its 2011 appropriations bill for Transportation and Housing and Urban Development yesterday, significantly increasing the amount going to both highways and transit while decreasing spending overall. A fight over $200 million in funds for the Obama Administration's new livability initiatives, however, showed that substantive changes in federal transportation policy will remain difficult to achieve until Congress tackles the long-term transportation reauthorization bill.
July 30, 2010
To Address Demand for Oil, We Must Focus on Transportation
Editor's note: Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) sent us this commentary on the the BP oil spill, climate change and the need for transportation reform.
June 21, 2010
AFL-CIO Flexing Its Muscle for Senate Transit Operating Aid Bill
The AFL-CIO, a formidable lobbying force in Washington, is throwing its weight behind a Senate bill offered last week that would authorize $2 billion in emergency funding for transit agencies forced to hike fares or cut service in lean budgetary times.
June 1, 2010
Cyclists Laud LaHood’s Bike-Ped Advocacy
Several dozen cyclists rode to U.S. DOT headquarters today to present Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood with a letter signed by hundreds of local bike-ped groups, hailing the former GOP congressman's support for their cause during his first 16 months on the job.
May 28, 2010
New Report Examines the Media’s Role in the Gas Tax Debate
The success of state-level plans to increase gas taxes is tied to the media's portrayal of the proposals in question, with narratives tied to "crumbling infrastructure" and "economic progress" showing more success than those emphasizing long-term transportation budget gaps, according to a new report released by the University of Vermont's Transportation Research Center (TRC).
May 26, 2010
Eight Senate Dems Offer $2B Plan for Emergency Transit Operating Aid
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.
May 25, 2010
Tracing the Fault Lines Between Public and Private Transit Operators
Should private transit companies enjoy the same federal gas tax exemption that many public operators receive? How does the existence of private inter-city bus service affect the government's development of new high-speed rail lines? And does it matter that private transit firms are eligible for public subsidies, even if at a much smaller rate than public rail and bus agencies?
May 25, 2010
Feds to Start Scoring Transportation Potential of Housing Grant Applicants
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan said late Friday that his agency will soon start gauging the "location efficiency" of its grant applicants, determining each project's potential for connecting residents to surrounding neighborhoods -- and mirroring the recommendations of a recent report that found a correlation between homeowners' foreclosure risk and their dependence on car ownership.
May 24, 2010