Three things we learned from talking about maintenance this week
Last week was “maintenance week” at T4America, a week spent focusing on our first new principle for transportation investment to prioritize repair and commit to reducing the repair backlog by half. After a Twitter chat on Wednesday, on Thursday we joined a briefing on Capitol Hill for congressional staffers focused on the issue. Here are three quick things we learned.
Our three policy recommendations for cutting the maintenance backlog in half
Yesterday we discussed our first of three new principles and outcomes for transportation investment: “Prioritize repair.” But how? Today we’re taking a quick look at three policy recommendations Congress should consider implementing to help reduce the maintenance backlog by half.
It’s time for Congress to actually set a goal for repairing our infrastructure
We shouldn’t build new roads before fixing the ones we have. But that’s not how the federal transportation program is designed. Despite funding boosts, our backlog of maintenance needs have only increased because there is no requirement that federal funds be spent on repair.
Members of Congress launch a new caucus on transportation policy
Today, Representatives Chuy García (IL-4), Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), and Mark Takano (CA-41) launched a new caucus dedicated to creating a vision for the future of our transportation system that emphasizes equity, access, and sustainability.
The Senate’s first transportation reauthorization bill gets an F
Authorizing federal spending on surface transportation is complicated, with different Congressional committees writing separate portions of the bill. That’s why we’ll score every reauthorization bill by how well it achieves our three simple principles for transportation investment. The America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act fails on all counts.
Rural areas desperately need a transportation overhaul, too
People disparage rural areas with the term “flyover country,” but our federal transportation program currently treats rural areas even worse—as “driveover” country. If Congress adopts Transportation for America’s three new policy principles, transportation investments could truly help rural areas prosper.
Explaining our three principles for transportation investment
Today, T4America is releasing a new set of three concrete, measurable principles for transportation investment.
Why we are no longer advocating for Congress to increase transportation funding
Since our inception in 2008, Transportation for America has always primarily advocated for reforming the federal transportation program. But raising the gas tax or otherwise raising new funding overall has also been a core plank of our platform since 2013. With the release of our brand new policy platform and principles coming this Monday, Transportation for America is no longer asking Congress to provide an increase in money for federal transportation program. Why?
Shutdown averted; another crisis created
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is refusing to obey the rules and Congress has so far been powerless to stop them. At stake are billions in federal funding for new and expanded transit systems that USDOT doesn’t want to award. But a policy change that attempts to reign in USDOT and make it obey the law could just be making matters worse.
In the San Francisco Chronicle: We need more than electric vehicles
A new opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle explains why electric vehicles and improved fuel efficiency aren’t enough to reduce emissions—and how our federal transportation program shoots any climate change effort in the foot. Today, a new op-ed from Transportation for America Director Beth Osborne makes the case that instead of putting all of our […]
Behold! The entirety of our #BeyondEVs Tweet Chat
It’s #CoveringClimateNow week, and over 220 media outlets have pledged to devote coverage to climate change. Unfortunately, there’s usually something missing in these important conversations: driving. Driving makes up most of transportation emissions (and the transportation sector emits more greenhouse gases than any other). And every year, vehicle miles traveled increases. If we don’t do […]
Broad coalition takes the offensive on federal automated vehicle policy
Instead of waiting for Congress to release a new bill to regulate autonomous vehicles worse than last year’s notorious AV START Act, T4America joined a diverse coalition of safety, public health, consumer, and transportation groups to urge lawmakers to take a smarter approach than last year’s reckless hands-off approach for the driverless car industry.
Federal grant brings Gulf Coast passenger rail ever closer to fruition
Gulf Coast passenger rail is closer than ever to returning. With state and federal funds already secured to make capital investments required to bring new and drastically improved passenger rail service back between New Orleans and Mobile, AL, a second vital federal grant to help operate the new service completes the other biggest part of the funding puzzle.
Driving less needs to be included in #CoveringClimateNow
We’re thrilled that over 220 media outlets have dedicated this week to #CoveringClimateNow. But when it comes to transportation, we’re worried that electric vehicles and improving fuel efficiency—two critical methods of reducing transportation emissions—will get more attention than the simple need to reduce driving overall. Transportation emissions are rising despite the gains we’re making in electric […]
Federal transportation policy is undermining any progress on climate
The conversation on climate change tends to focus on a few big things—electric vehicles, renewable energy, putting a price on carbon—but no matter how much progress we make on those fronts, Democrats and Republicans remain deeply committed to antiquated policy that undermines any action we take on climate change: spending billions to build new highways, encouraging more and more driving.
Reps. García and Pressley host briefing on transportation and climate, announce caucus
Last week, Representatives Chuy García (IL-4) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-7) co-hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill on the nexus of transportation and the climate crisis and announced the imminent launch of a caucus focused on creating a new vision for our transportation system.
USDOT touts major investment in infrastructure, but it all goes to highways
The INFRA grant program was intended to repair our crumbling infrastructure. So why is half of the money going toward expanding highways? The Trump administration recently announced $855 million in infrastructure grants through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary competitive grant program. INFRA grants have been touted by this administration as a major way […]
Voters love Phoenix light rail. Does USDOT?
On Tuesday, voters in Phoenix resoundingly voted to reaffirm their support for the city’s transit expansion plans. But while the city can now move beyond this threat to its transit ambitions, the region joins scores of others still waiting on the Trump administration for federal transit funding.
10 questions every presidential candidate should answer about transportation and climate change
On September 4, 10 Democratic presidential candidates will participate in a town hall focused solely on climate change. We have a list of questions related to transportation that we want every candidate to answer. Climate change is undoubtedly a defining issue of our times, and the transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse […]
Indianapolis rolls out the red carpet for transit
More than a decade ago, local business and civic leaders in Indianapolis realized that for the city to remain competitive it needed to be better at moving people. Today, after an exhaustive planning process, changes to state law, and a successful local referendum where local voters raised their income taxes to invest in transit, the first major piece of Indianapolis’s transit upgrade is set to open.
Our three principles
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure.
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