Transit
Top Categories
Transit Riders Launch Grassroots Lobbying Push in Dire Political Climate
Advocates for urban transit riders in 14 metro areas climbed the Hill
today to pitch lawmakers face-to-face on the need for extra federal
transit operating aid, a grassroots lobbying effort that could face
considerable challenges even as Democrats craft a new jobs bill with a
focus on infrastructure.
January 27, 2010
Feds on New Miami HOT Lanes: Good for Transit
Miami's conversion of HOV lane space to new high-occupancy toll (HOT)
lanes as part of the federal Urban Partnership
program, which also prompted New York City's congestion pricing push,
is cutting travel times for local transit and boosting use -- but
overall bus ridership in the corridor has stayed static, according to a
new report
from the U.S. DOT.
January 22, 2010
How Will Obama’s Sustainability Team Spend Its $150M? A Preview
Before the U.S. DOT gave some early clues as to how the agency would craft its new transit funding rules, deputy housing and urban development (HUD) secretary Ron Sims answered another question that’s been on the minds of transit and local-planning wonks: How will the Obama administration’s three-agency partnership for sustainable communities spend its $150 … Continued
January 21, 2010
U.S. DOT Previews How New Transit Rules Could Define ‘Livability’
When the Obama administration announced
an ambitious revamp of transit funding rules to, as the Transportation
Secretary put it, "take livability into account," urban planners and
rail fans alike were pleased -- but also uncertain.
January 21, 2010
Could a Green Bank Hitch a Ride on the Jobs Bill?
Fans of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that would help leverage private-sector funding for transportation projects are still hoping
for Hill action after the House declined to add the idea to its $154
billion jobs bill. But the NIB isn't the only new financing strategy on
the table, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) reminded President Obama
yesterday.
January 15, 2010
Enviro Group Sees State DOTs’ Transport Predictions — and Raises Them
Just before New Year's, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Washington voice for state DOTs
that's often dubbed the "road lobby," counted down 10 hot topics for 2010.
January 15, 2010
LaHood Wants More TIGER Aid in the Congressional Jobs Bill
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made a splash yesterday
by announcing that the U.S. DOT would look at the environmental and
community-building benefits of transit projects, not just their
adherence to a government cost-effectiveness standard.
January 14, 2010
NY MTA Opens Data, General Transit Feed Specification Formalized
As we've reported, the last bastion of closed transit data had been the New York Metropolitan region, served by the nation's largest transit operator, the NYMTA, which is comprised of the Long Island Railroad, Metro North Railroad, and the NYC subways system. Today, with the redesign of its website, the NYMTA also opened its data to third party developers and unveiled its new Developer Resources page.
January 13, 2010
Big Transit News: Bush-Era Rule Tossed, Enviro Benefits on the Table
Transportation reformers and members of Congress have long clamored for changes
to the federal government's major transit grant program, otherwise
known as "New Starts," and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood answered today with an announcement of sweeping changes in the works.
January 13, 2010
Bailout Beneficiary Wells Fargo Loses Transit Tax-Shelter Lawsuit
The tax tricks known as SILOs
-- in which major banks snapped up rail cars and other pieces of public
infrastructure from cash-strapped localities, only to lease them back
and claim a tax write-off -- has prompted an outcry from the Hill as Wall Street's biggest players invoked obscure claims to wring money from local transit agencies.
January 13, 2010