Final Obama Fuel-Efficiency Rule Gives Breaks to Electric, Luxury Cars
The Obama administration today released its final rule raising U.S. auto fuel-efficiency standards to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016, winning plaudits from environmental groups while offering extra benefits to makers of electric and luxury cars. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, at left, with EPA chief Lisa Jackson at right. (Photo: Getty … Continued
April 1, 2010
New Report: Congress Should Boost Truck Efficiency by Raising Gas Tax
As the federal government moves forward on a mandate to set stronger fuel-efficiency rules for trucks and buses, a new report from an independent scientific body is urging lawmakers to take another approach: raise fuel taxes. The 2007 federal energy law aimed to set new fuel-efficiency rules for trucks as well as buses. (Photo: TTI) … Continued
April 1, 2010
Could Gas-Tax Bond Pay for Next Transportation Bill
House infrastructure committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), facing steep
political odds in his push to pass a new six-year federal
transportation bill this year, has begun to pitch an outside-the-box
solution to the financing shortfall that is still
stalling congressional action: Treasury bonds.
April 1, 2010
Wall Street Swaps Haunting Cities: How Many Transit Agencies Hold Them?
The vast majority of Americans could not recognize the term
"credit-default swaps" until 2008, when the obscure type of Wall Street
deal was pinpointed as a
leading cause of the U.S. financial meltdown. Now another type of swap,
centered on interest rates, is making headlines as a growing number of
urban governments start to regret their bets on borrowing costs.
March 31, 2010
As Minneapolis Joins NACTO, Oberstar Backs Shift on Transit Operating Aid
At an event in Minneapolis yesterday, House transportation committee
chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) announced his support for giving urban
transit agencies more flexibility to spend federal transportation
formula money on
operating -- a change in the current law that has already
won the backing of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood but has
split the transit industry.
March 31, 2010
New Poll: Support For Transit Expansion Transcends Rural-Urban Divide
How respondents replied to the following statement: “My community would benefit from an expanded and improved public transportation system, such as rail or buses.” (Chart: T4A) Despite the frequent reluctance of rural lawmakers to support more federal investment in transit, a majority of rural and urban voters alike believe their home towns would gain from … Continued
March 31, 2010
‘A Dozen or So’ Senators Delay Passage of Oberstar’s Highway Funding Fix
A contentious congressional dispute
over $932 million in transportation funding remains unresolved this
week after the Senate approved a one-month extension of federal
aviation law rather than a three-month version of the bill that included
a fix to the provision at issue.
March 30, 2010
Oberstar Stays Optimistic About New Transport Bill in 2010
House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) on Friday
renewed his call for action on a new federal infrastructure bill before
year's end, using a hearing on the Obama administration's stimulus law
to urge passage of long-term legislation as well as a second round of
short-term investment in roads, bridges, and rail.
March 29, 2010
New Stimulus Data: Road Funds 77% Under Contract, Transit at 74%
As of the end of February, nearly $5.4 billion of transit stimulus
money, or 74 percent, was under contract for projects in the 50 states
and D.C., according to a Streetsblog Capitol Hill analysis of data
released today by the House transportation committee.
March 26, 2010
Boxer Aims to Put TIGER-Type Program in Next Federal Transport Bill
During an otherwise-abbreviated hearing yesterday, Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined the chorus of praise for the stimulus law’s TIGER program, declaring her intention to add a version of the competitive infrastructure grants to the next long-term federal transportation bill. Bicyclists in Philadelphia, where $23 million in TIGER money was awarded to build … Continued
March 25, 2010