Transportation Policy
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The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?
(Chart: Oregon DOT) The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesias asserting that “a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes” and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel … Continued
February 10, 2010
New Report Maps a High-Speed Rail Link For Every Major U.S. City
Now that the Obama administration has
awarded $8 billion in high-speed rail grants to more than two dozen
states, with $2.5 billion more coming soon, why not keep thinking big
when it comes to bullet-train expansion?
February 9, 2010
Two Troubling Transportation Numbers for the Obama Administration
Today brought news of two grim transportation numbers from the Obama administration: 2 and $53 million.
February 4, 2010
Senate Dems to Call Up Jobs Bill Monday … With Transport Details TBA
Senate Democratic leaders appeared this morning to tout their
commitment to passing a job-creation bill by the end of next week --
but the substance of their jobs measure, including the fate of pivotal
transportation provisions, remains up in the air.
February 4, 2010
A Modest Proposal: Ask Developers to Help Pay For Better Transport
At today's debate on conservative support for transit, developer Chris
Leinberger had a modest proposal for lawmakers who are desperately
seeking new transportation financing strategies in an era of diminishing gas tax returns: Ask real-estate developers to pay for projects that will increase their profits.
February 2, 2010
U.S. DOT Names the Transit Projects Set for Federal Funding
The Obama administration last night revealed the names of local
transit projects getting recommendations for federal aid under the U.S.
DOT's New and Small Starts programs, which are set to receive $1.8
billion during fiscal year 2011.
February 2, 2010
LaHood Talks Budget: “Very Bright” Future for Infrastructure Fund
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today that he sees "very
bright" prospects for congressional approval of the Obama
administration's $4 billion National Infrastructure Innovation and
Finance Fund, the new iteration of the long-discussed National Infrastructure Bank proposal.
February 1, 2010
The White House Transportation Budget: What’s In Line for the Axe?
In a fiscal year 2011 budget that proposes to increase spending on several core transportation
priorities, the White House also aims to eliminate a few
infrastructure programs that may prove popular with lawmakers.
February 1, 2010
White House Budget Includes $530M for Local Sustainability, $1B for HSR
The White House officially unveiled its $3.8 trillion budget
for the fiscal year 2011 this morning, seeking $1 billion to continue
its high-speed rail investment and $530 million for the transportation
leg of the Obama administration's inter-agency push to promote sustainable planning on the local level.
February 1, 2010
Biden Says High-Speed Rail Money Ignored Politics — Was He Right?
During yesterday's Tampa event awarding
$8 billion in federal rail grants, Vice President Joe Biden pointed to
the two states receiving the biggest share of stimulus money for true
high-speed train projects: Florida and California, both run by GOP
governors.
January 29, 2010