All posts from the month of January 2010
Today’s Headlines – 1/21/10
January 21, 2010By Transportation for America
Environmental groups are refusing to let the loss of a Democratic Senate seat in Massachusetts derail climate legislation. (NRDC Blog)
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Jim Oberstar is seeking President Obama’s support to proceed on a $500 reauthorization bill. (Hill)
A Complete Streets bill before the Washington State Legislature would add important momentum to the push for livability. (Post-Intelligencer)
Kansas legislators are launching a discussion on the sparse state’s transportation future. (AP)
The construction industry, which includes road, highway and sewer builders, is weathering a 22 percent unemployment rate. (Reuters)
And, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says there is no doubt about it: the stimulus bill created jobs. (DOT Blog)
Today’s Headlines – 1/20/10
January 20, 2010By Transportation for America
Republican Scott Brown’s election to the Massachusetts Senate seat is unlikely to alter the prospects for a transportation bill, but certainly imperils climate change. (Streetsblog)
President Obama could potentially save climate legislation by highlighting its job-creation potential in his State of the Union address. (NRDC Blog)
New Jersey’s Department of Transportation looks to be in the hands of competent professionals under Gov. Chris Christie, but revenue remains tight. (Record)
A full transportation reauthorization bill should reach the president’s desk by year’s end if the funding can come together, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. (Transport Topics)
The union representing Chicago transit workers claims the city sent layoff notices to the wrong people. (Sun-Times)
And, a suburban Northern California newspaper decried the impact of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s budget on public transportation. (CC Times)
Distracted driving hits the mainstream: Oprah dives in deep
January 19, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
In a show that was overwhelmingly informative, shocking and sobering, Oprah Winfrey focused her top-rated talk show yesterday on the epidemic of distracted driving and the preventable injuries and fatalities caused each and every year. Secretary Ray LaHood for one, appreciated the focus on an issue that he’s spent his first year trying to elevate in our national consciousness.
It is fitting that The Oprah Winfrey Show chose the Martin Luther King Day of Service to air its program on distracted driving. Spreading awareness about this deadly epidemic is a huge contribution to the safety of millions of Americans. For that public service, I enthusiastically thank Oprah. And I encourage everyone who didn’t see the show to visit Oprah’s website where you can watch segments of the show, read the transcript, and SIGN THE PLEDGE! Oprah’s online pledge draws a line in the sand that says, “NO! We will not do this anymore.”
The most heart-wrenching part of the show was the “after the show” feature that had relatives of those killed in distracted driving accidents share the names of their loved ones and tell their stories. The first two families to tell their story had relatives killed while walking and biking, respectively.
Is it just me, or does it seem like this show could represent a bit of a tipping point for this issue? Then again, many of the automakers spent the recent Detroit Auto Show rolling out new (dangerous) ways to use phones and the internet while behind the wheel.
What do you think?
Today’s Headlines – 1/19/10
January 19, 2010By Transportation for America
Transportation for America is cited in a review of what the DOT’s livability criteria and do and do not cover. (Newsweek)
The Baltimore Sun editorialized in favor of following up the new guidelines with real revenue. (Sun)
A $300 million project is underway to replace Washington DC’s Anacostia bridge. (WP)
Distracted walking may be dangerous, but it is no match for distracted driving. (NYT)
And, Oprah took on the epidemic of distracted driving on her Martin Luther King Day program. (DOT Blog)
Today’s Headlines – 1/15/10
January 15, 2010By Transportation for America
Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell, a Republican, will not put forward a transportation plan this year, saying “we’re not going to go into a session and fail. That’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.” (WP)
In Georgia, the Governor proposed a temporary bond package for transportation and said voters should decide on a sales tax hike in 2012. (AP)
Following months of safety lapses and oversight shuffles, Washington DC Metro General Manager John Catoe Jr. announced he will step down in April. (WP)
Pro high-speed rail Floridians are upping their lobby effort for stimulus dollars. (Herald)
Reducing the nation’s vehicle miles traveled is a key priority for the EPA’s air quality chief. (Streetsblog)
And, eighty cities around the country could qualify for streetcar funding under the DOT’s new livability criteria. (WSJ)
Cleaner buses can create jobs, improve the environment
January 14, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
A new study by Duke University illuminates the fact that thousands of green jobs are waiting to be tapped in transit bus manufacturing — if the federal government will make a sustained commitment to investing in public transportation.
The Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness released a new report this morning during a briefing at the Natural Resources Defense Council that evaluated the many U.S. job opportunities that can reduce carbon emissions in public transit buses. Jobs in and related to public transportation are some of the lowest hanging fruit in the push for green jobs, so what’s keeping the domestic manufacturing industry from ramping up?
The U.S. market for heavy-duty transit buses is small, currently delivering 5,000 to 5,500 buses per year. U.S.-based firms dominate the North American bus market, with an 88% share in total buses and a 51% share in heavy-duty transit buses. Under current U.S. transportation policy, which favors highway spending and de-emphasizes public transit, bus orders are small and sporadic; this makes it difficult for the bus industry to grow.
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| Non-comprehensive chart of the domestic supply chain for buses. From the Duke CGGC report, p.30 |
The report is well worth a read, but for a much simpler case study of what this means in real life, consider one piece of the complex supply chain for transit buses that we tend to take for granted: seats. On a crowded bus or train, you may not get the chance to sit in one, but when you do, you probably don’t think about the design or innovation that went into that seat. It probably didn’t occur to you that seats can add hundreds or thousands of pounds of weight that the bus needs energy to carry.
David McLaughlin, vice president of the American Seating Company, a U.S.-based manufacturer of seats for buses and railcars (among many other things), made it clear at this morning’s briefing that increased investment in transit would be good for business. But he also stressed that those benefits are not limited to American Seating alone. As a result of the stimulus bill from 2009, McLaughlin’s company calculated $2.9 million in new business, the bulk of which resulted from seat orders for buses and railcars ordered by transit agencies across the country with stimulus dollars.
“$2.9 million means 11 new jobs for us at American Seating,” he said. In another internal study, His company discovered that 1 job at American Seating sustained roughly 6 others in their immediate supply chain.
Take those two facts together and you begin to see the economic impact of the small public transit investment in the stimulus — and what could happen on a much larger scale. American Seating, just one manufacturer of one particular component that goes into transit vehicles, created the equivalent of 11 jobs through the stimulus. Those 11 jobs create or sustain 66 more at the company that supply them.
Stimulus spending will not be enough, however. Although the economic activity resulting from the stimulus was important, McLaughlin said his business needs investment that is reliable, consistent and predictable — like the funding that could result from a full six-year transportation bill. Stable funding sources will fuel the research and development that can cut seats weights even further and enable buses to use less energy.
“The stimulus package has been a good thing, but what we really need is sustained predictable investment, so we can make the investments we need to make to ensure our viability. This isn’t just a public issue, it’s a public-private issue. …It’s jobs,” he said.
The message from all fronts this morning was consistent. To spur job creation through manufacturing cleaner transit buses, the industry needs reliable, predictable investment and government policies that encourage innovation. Increasing the available federal funding for new transit lines and rolling stock is one aspect. Ensuring operation of these new transit lines remains affordable is another. Both are needed. As the report says:
If federal, state and local policy were to shift to a clear, sustained commitment to public transit, the nation would have the manufacturing capability to meet the resulting increased demand for transit buses. However, the transit bus industry is unlikely to have significant market growth in the absence of several major changes: better management of public transit funds and improved coordination with manufacturing firms; significant, sustained public funding; and perhaps most important, a comprehensive transportation policy shift that encourages public transit use.
Or, in other words, give transit agencies money to buy new rolling stock — and the money to operate them — and you’ll be creating green jobs on Main Street all across America. Buy new hybrid buses for New York City or San Francisco to reduce emissions there, and support new jobs in towns like Grand Rapids, Michigan that need jobs more than anything.
Obama Administration’s Improved Screen for Transit Projects Will Help The Economy, Environment and Local Communities
January 14, 2010By Transportation for America
Transportation for America and Smart Growth America applaud repeal of rules that hampered communities seeking deserving rail and rapid bus projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to Secretary LaHood’s announcement today that funding guidelines for major transit projects will be selected based on livability benefits, including economic development and the environment, James Corless, campaign director of Transportation for America, and Geoff Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America, had the following reactions:
“We applaud the Obama Administration for recognizing that smart transportation projects can have a powerful effect on the livability of communities across America,” Anderson said. “For too long federal rules have taken a blinkered approach to the cost-benefit analysis of transit projects, deliberately ignoring benefits to communities looking to provide more options, shape growth, reduce environmental impacts and spur economic development. This policy change represents a significant shift that will ensure our federal investments contribute to greater economic development, protect the environment and improve the health of the American people.”
“As discussion around the federal transportation authorization bill continues,” Corless said, “there could not be a more important moment for forward-looking, innovative approaches to transforming our existing system. The next step is to ensure our entire transportation program addresses the essential issues of economic development, the environment and public health by focusing on livability and sustainability in the selection of all transportation projects.”
“We need to complete our transportation network by devoting a greater share of funds for public transportation. We also need to give state and local leaders the option of choosing the best solutions for their communities, by equalizing both the rules and required funding matches for transit and highways. It is clear that Americans are looking for a new era of leadership to provide the safer, cleaner, and smarter transportation options that will help them save money pump even as our communities become more energy-efficient, healthy and livable.”
Cross-posted at Smart Growth America.
Today’s Headlines – 1/14/10
January 14, 2010By Transportation for America
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blogs about yesterday’s announced livability criteria for transit projects. (DOT Blog)
Michigan, crippled by higher than average unemployment and a struggling auto industry, could benefit from the changes. (Detroit News)
Smart Growth America addressed last week’s AP story on transportation stimulus and job creation. (SGA Blog)
Georgia Republicans abandoned a push for a transportation sales tax, due in part to tea party opposition. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
And, gated communities, which house 12 percent of Americans, lengthen travel time, limit social cohesion and are often no safer than non-gated areas. (NRDC Blog)
Feds announce change to consider livability in funding transit projects
January 13, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
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| TriMet MAX on the Transit Mall Originally uploaded by paulkimo90 |
| From the Transportation for America Flickr group. |
Following through on a policy change hinted at for much of 2009, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced this morning that federal transit officials would begin considering expanded criteria as they select which transit projects to fund, bringing a new focus on improving livability and sustainability.
At the Transportation Research Board’s annual conference this morning, Secretary LaHood made it clear that a wider range of positive benefits would be considered in the application process for new transit lines or systems. These applications were being unfairly burdened by the previous administration’s cost-effectiveness measurement, which left out such benefits as energy efficiency, economic development and reduced emissions.
“Our new policy for selecting major transit projects will work to promote livability rather than hinder it,” he said. “We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live.”
Of course, the one problem that this will not fix is the very high demand for a limited supply of New Starts funding. Even under the old narrow rules for winning approval, only a small percentage of the many applicants were receiving limited funding, and even then, the federal government was only matching about half of local funds, compared with at least 80 percent for road projects.
Still, this change is keeping in line with the positive reforms contained in Chairman Jim Oberstar’s draft reauthorization bill released back in the summer. In June, we quoted the bill’s section on New Starts reform, noting that the proposal to remove the cost-effectiveness requirement and include other “livability” criteria “equalizes the treatment of proposed transit projects and elevates the importance of the benefits that will occur in the community once the project is built.”
The Obama administration and all the leaders at USDOT and the Federal Transit Administration are to be praised for their leadership in changing this program for the better. The next step is securing a greater share of funds for public transportation in the upcoming reauthorization and improving federal match rates to equalize the choices state or regional leaders face between new highways and new transit lines.
Update: Chairman Oberstar responded with a statement of his own praising the change, also observing that New Starts needs greater funding to meet the overwhelming demand. ”Now we need increased investment dollars to follow this reform, so that we can move forward with transit projects that relieve congestion, reduce emissions, increase our energy independence, and promote more livable communities across the country,” he said. (From Elana Schor’s post on Streetsblog Capitol Hill)
TEN study: minority and women-owned businesses got small slice of stimulus
January 13, 2010By Sean Barry
Although unemployment turned out worse than some forecasters anticipated, there has been some consensus among economists that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlier this year prevented even higher job losses while channeling much-needed relief to states.
With a 1/3 of the money out the door already, the stimulus was able to work, in part, because the money was spent relatively quickly. But spending money quickly often relies on formulas and methods that are outdated, or — as evidenced in a report last month by the Transportation Equity Network (TEN) and Good Jobs First — inequitable. Minority-owned businesses have received only 10.2 percent of stimulus funds toward federal contracts, while women-owned businesses received 5.9 percent.
There were similar shortcomings at the state level. The head of the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has said he was “not aware of a single one of our members who’s received a contract related to the stimulus package.” In Colorado, the Denver Post reported that the state Department of Transportation failed to meet its minority hiring target of 7.5 percent.
These numbers have been noticed in Washington. The Congressional Black Caucus is pushing Democratic leaders to make sure the in-progress jobs bill provides real relief to many of their majority-minority districts, and President Obama has pressed governors to step up their efforts as well. If and when the Senate takes up job-creation legislation similar to the House version passed in December, it will provide an opening to learn from the stimulus and ensure everyone takes part in America’s economic recovery.
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- Oppose House bill that slashes public transit funding, falls short on repair and axes bike & pedestrian safety
February 7, 2012 - T4 coalition announces opposition to House energy and transportation bill
February 6, 2012 - House committee ignores broad opposition, decimates transit funding anyway
February 3, 2012 - Massive letter opposing House leadership attack on transit sent to Capitol Hill
February 3, 2012 - House leadership making unprecedented assault on public transit
February 2, 2012
- Oppose House bill that slashes public transit funding, falls short on repair and axes bike & pedestrian safety
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