Transportation Policy

Obama administration officials "need to align together" to work on reducing the nation's total vehicle miles traveled -- work that should go beyond a pending congressional climate bill -- the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air-quality chief said today.

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.

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.

Congressional efforts to set national goals for the American transportation system are stalled for now, but the U.S. DOT said today that it is preparing for an eventual transition to a world where performance targets are the norm for transit, roads, bridges, and ports.

After touring the Detroit Auto Show yesterday with fellow lawmakers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took one question yesterday: Why are Democrats not pursuing a federal gas tax hike, given its potential to cut carbon emissions and its support from auto industry players aiming to stoke demand for efficient cars?

The Associated Press published a piece today that, after putting "economists and statisticians" to work on analyzing $21 billion in federal stimulus money for transportation, reached a volatile conclusion:

The potential for a cap-and-trade climate bill to set aside significant amounts of money for reforming local land use and transportation planning is often touted by Democrats, environmental groups, and this particular Streetsblogger.

The claim to a link between economic growth and vehicle mileage -- that, in other words, auto travel is essential to keeping U.S. productivity high -- remains controversial and much-debated in transportation policy circles.

Washington transportation policymaking can often resemble an unwieldy soup of anywhere between 50 and 535 local perspectives, as lawmakers from different states and districts vie for a fixed (or even shrinking) amount of federal funding.