Elana Schor
Recent Posts
A Progress Report on State-Level Oil Dependence
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NRDC’s depiction of how hard states are hit by gas costs, ranked by percentage of income spent. America’s oil addiction is readily acknowledged, even by its biggest enablers. But what is the nation actually doing to kick the habit and embrace a safer, healthier, more realistic energy future? An attempt to answer that question was […]
Senate’s New DOT Spending Bill Eases One Transit Funding Barrier
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An artist’s rendering of the proposed multi-modal Columbia River Crossing, with light rail and a bike path beneath the bridge. (Photo: Oregonian) During the lengthy process of pursuing a "New Starts" funding agreement with the U.S. DOT, local transit officials are often at the mercy of cost-benefit calculations that have failed to keep pace with […]
The Peculiar Federalism of Transit Safety: No National Standards Exist
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The recent crash of two D.C. Metro trains has laid bare a glaring lack of authority at the obscure local committee that is supposed to ensure transit riders’ safety, as the Washington Post reported today. But the problem is bigger than the nation’s capital: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has not issued broad safety rules […]
Senators Propose $4 Billion for Transit-Oriented Development Grants
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Making good on a vow first reported in Streetsblog Capitol Hill, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and three colleagues today offered a bill authorizing $4 billion in grants to help states and cities pursue transit-oriented development, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and other green transport projects. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) (Photo: […]
Audit Finds U.S. DOT’s Transit Record-Keeping ‘Unreliable,’ ‘Inaccurate’
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The disjointed state of "New Starts," the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) program to fund new rail and bus lines, is well-known on the Hill — in fact, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) recently quipped that it ought to be renamed "small starts, low starts, and no starts." Thousands gathered to board the new […]
Lobby Firm Behind Climate Forgeries Helped Kill Higher CAFE Standards
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The Washington lobbying firm of Bonner & Associates is facing protests and a possible wire fraud probe after it was revealed to have forged at least a dozen letters to Congress this summer that claimed to represent local grassroots groups opposed to fighting climate change. A still from a 2001 Coalition for Vehicle Choice TV […]
Portland’s Transport Research Guru Headed to Obama Administration
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The U.S. DOT is expected to announce today that it has tapped Robert Bertini, a Portland State University professor who headed Oregon’s state-wide transport research effort, as the No. 2 at the Research and Innovative Technology Administration — the government’s home for stats on all things transportation. Robert Bertini (Photo: Oregonian) Bertini’s hiring is an […]
AP: Obama Administration Won’t Release Full Data on ‘Cash for Clunkers’
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A $2 billion renewal of "cash for clunkers" is now almost assured, with GOP senators easing up on their threat of a filibuster and one key Democrat remarking that "the statistics [for the program] are much better than everyone thought." But if the "clunkers" data is so successful, why won’t the U.S. DOT release it […]
Following ‘Cash for Clunkers’ with ‘Riches for Rail’
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(Photo: Washington Post) Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, began his hearing on transit today by displaying the above cartoon by Pulitzer prize-winner Tom Toles. The senator’s message parallels Toles’: In a world where the auto industry can get $2 billion more in one week, what’s to be done about […]
LaHood to Convene Texting-While-Driving Summit
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Ray LaHood will announce today that his Department of Transportation plans to convene a summit next month for safety officials, lawmakers, academics, and law enforcement representatives to examine the risks of texting while driving. (Photo: GT Channel) The summit comes on the heels of a new congressional proposal to prod states into bans on texting […]
Separating Fact from Fiction on “Cash for Clunkers”
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As debate rages on in the capital over whether to keep assisting the auto industry by giving out more "cash for clunkers" rebates, two assertions are becoming commonplace: the program is helping diminish U.S. oil consumption, and the program is not paid for with new money. (Photo: AP) The first argument was reiterated on Friday […]
Bailout Recipient Citigroup Gets Contract to Run ‘Cash for Clunkers’
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As the Senate gears up for debate this week on approving $2 billion more in "cash for clunkers" new-car rebates, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has vowed to work with the program’s main private contractor — Citigroup — to iron out any kinks in the system that auto dealers use to apply for taxpayer-subsidized reimbursements. Transportation […]