Elana Schor
Recent Posts
We’re Not Just Driving Less, We’re Also Flying Less
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s statistical arm today released its latest tally of airline travel, showing that the number of nationwide plane passengers has decreased from the previous year for a record 13 straight months. This is a view fewer Americans are seeing lately. (Photo: ETF Trends) The DOT found that U.S. airline flights, both […]
Rep Carnahan Steps up Push for Federal Help With Transit Operations
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While lawmakers maneuver to fill local transit agencies’ operating budget gaps with economic stimulus cash, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) is taking it a step further with a proposal that would make federal operating aid permanent — and use it as an incentive to spur more state-level funding as well as emissions reductions. Rep. Russ Carnahan […]
When Will Oberstar’s Transportation Bill Drop? Place Your Bets Now
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At first it was slated to emerge by June 1. Then its release was said to slip to this week. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) now plans to release his version of the six-year federal transportation bill by the end of the month, with a full House vote unlikely to come […]
Lawmakers Push for Federal Help With Transit Operating: Read the Letter
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The House and Senate are racing to reach agreement on a $90 billion bill to keep the Iraq and Afghanistan wars funded, but the legislation also could mark a pivotal victory for transit. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR). Photo: UPI The Senate version of the war bill contains a provision that would allow transit agencies to […]
GOP-ers and Dems Agree: Feds Need to Get Their Transpo Act Together
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Reports on federal transportation policy — like campaign fundraisers and lobbying groups — seem to proliferate in Washington, most of them drawing a few days’ worth of news coverage before fading from memory. (Remember the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Commission?) Former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), […]
House to Vote This Week on Weak ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Plan
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The House is poised this week to take up the so-called "cash for clunkers" bill, which aims to boost the slumping U.S. auto market by giving out tax credits of $3,500 and up to anyone who trades in a gas-guzzling car for a more efficient model. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is backing a stronger version […]
LaHood Vows to Avert Federal Transpo Bankruptcy and Pay For It
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The Obama administration is working on a plan to fill the shortfall in the nation’s highway trust fund by August without adding to the federal deficit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congress today. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (Photo: HillBuzz) The circumstances behind the trust fund’s financial troubles are well-known: a nationwide decline in driving coupled […]
Transit Planners to Congress: Please Figure Out How to Fund Us
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To all but the most ardent transit wonks, the phrase "New Starts" sounds like a motivational tape sold on late-night TV. But those two words actually represent Washington’s predominant mechanism to pay for major transit expansions — everything from expanding an existing rail station to building a new bus line. Minnesota’s Hiawatha rail line is […]
LaHood, Biden Meet with Governors on High-Speed Rail
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Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Vice President Biden met at the White House this afternoon with officials from 20 states in contention for funding as part of the Obama administration’s high-speed rail program. The high-speed Midwest Regional Rail Initiative’s proposed reach. (Photo: Michigan Messenger) "This is how the interstate highway system started, folks," Biden told […]
Obama’s Highway Chief: Wishy-Washy on Emissions?
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Victor Mendez, nominated by the White House to lead the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), spent more than an hour this morning with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — but the most illuminating moment in the hearing came as the clock was running down. FHWA nominee Victor Mendez testified before the Senate today. (Photo: […]
Bush Transpo Secretary’s Biggest Disappointment: Bush
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DC Velocity magazine has just released a lengthy interview with Norman Mineta, the Bush-era transportation secretary and former Bay Area Democratic member of Congress. Former U.S. DOT chief Mineta (r.), with his biggest disappointment. (Photo: Academy of Achievement) In the interview, Mineta — who now works on infrastructure at the consulting firm Hill & Knowlton […]
Solve the Congestion Crisis And Win $50,000
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Have you ever idled in traffic or waited for a late bus while thinking: "The city government should put me in charge of fixing this mess"? Good solutions to this could net you $50,000. (Photo: ITSA) Well, it’s time to make notes on that brilliant traffic-calming idea. The Intelligence Transportation Society of America (ITSA) kicked […]