As federal and local officials plot out the future of U.S. high-speed rail, a prominent speaker at this week’s American Planning Association conference is urging fellow urban planners to "fight" the prospect of high-speed rail sharing roadbed with freight lines — a significant dilemma for Amtrak, which must split an estimated 70 percent of its […]

The trade group representing private-sector transportation contractors is urging the Obama administration to change the way environmental reviews are conducted for infrastructure projects, proposing to favor "categorical exclusions" (CEs) from federal review rules over the lengthier process of measuring the environmental impact of construction work. Environmental reviews added an estimated $1 million to the cost […]

The Obama administration today launched what it describes as the first federal push for increased enforcement of distracted driving laws, funding local police crackdowns in two northeastern cities aimed at drivers using hand-held cell phones.  (Photo: Girl’s First Car) The law enforcement boost, which begins today in Hartford, Connecticut, and on Saturday in Syracuse, New […]

Average gas prices are expected to hit $2.92 during this summer’s peak driving season, with fossil-fuel consumption rising overall as the economy begins to recover from a recession that limited U.S. emissions growth, according to a forecast released this week by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). (Photo: Pop and Politics) The EIA’s latest short-term […]

In financial reports that publicly traded companies file to their investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the words "material adverse effect" are often found. Automakers are bracing for new fuel-efficiency standards more than any coming climate bill. (Photo: TreeHugger) Put simply, the phrase is a red flag for any factor that could significantly […]

Two of the most popular transportation programs in the Obama administration’s stimulus law, the $1.5 billion in competitive grants known as TIGER and the $8 billion high-speed rail initiative, had an added feature that made them even more attractive to cities and states: the federal funding awards would not require a local match. Amtrak’s Empire […]

Eight Democrats yesterday joined nearly the entire transportation universe, from road-builders to transit advocates, to warn the three Senate authors of a new climate bill against raising gas taxes without using the money for infrastructure. Their message, translated from the often impenetrable language of Washington: Imposing new fuel fees that are not routed to transport […]

As Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) prepare to unveil a new climate change measure that includes a tax on motor fuels, eight of their colleagues are urging the trio not to forget local transportation planning — and warning that any new gas tax should be used to help pay […]

For several weeks last fall, as members of the House infrastructure committee pushed for passage of a new six-year federal transportation bill as a strategy to rouse the economy from recession, a proposal to pay for the legislation with a small tax on oil futures trades attracted a healthy crop of Democratic cosponsors and some […]

Budget shortfalls exacerbated by the lingering recession have forced 84 percent of local transit agencies to hike fares, cut service, or begin considering one or both of those options since the beginning of 2009, according to a report released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). (Chart: APTA) APTA’s bleak survey reflects data from […]