Transportation Policy
New Report Finds American Auto Fleet Shrinking
Could the nation be turning away from its decades-old yen for auto ownership? Americans got rid of more cars than they retained in 2009, reversing a trend that saw total U.S. vehicles exceed the number of drivers more than 35 years ago, according to a report released today by the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).
January 6, 2010
Biden’s Homage to Amtrak
The nation's Amtrak rider-in-chief, Vice President Joseph Biden, has penned an op-ed for the rail network's monthly magazine entitled "Why America Needs Trains."
January 6, 2010
Dodd and Dorgan Retiring: The Consequences For Transportation Policy
In a surprising one-two punch, Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan (ND) and Chris Dodd (CT) have let slip their plans to leave Congress at the end of this year.
January 6, 2010
Stimulus Jobs From Transit vs. Roads: A Tale of Two States
Smart Growth America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group today reported that transit stimulus spending created nearly twice as many jobs per dollar as highway stimulus projects -- a conclusion that Streetsblog Capitol Hill first previewed a few weeks ago.
January 5, 2010
Environmental Reviews: Helpful (and Hurtful) to Many Ideologies
Writing at the Heritage Foundation's blog, Nick Loris says that the White House's pending decision on whether to consider climate change in federal environmental reviews amounts to "more green tape."
January 5, 2010
Grassley Looking Into Citibank’s Million-Dollar ‘Clunkers’ Deal
Chuck Grassley (IA), the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, today asked the U.S. DOT to answer a question Streetsblog Capitol Hill first wondered about months ago: How did Citibank, the beleaguered recipient of a $45 billion government bailout, snag a contract to administer the Obama administration's "cash for clunkers" program?
January 5, 2010
Transit Fare Inflation Hitting Health Insurance-Like Levels?
That's the implication buried in a roundup of dismal news from urban transit agencies that ran in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. After noting the overall ridership decreases tallied by APTA and the specter of punitive service cuts in many cities, the newspaper noted:
January 5, 2010
A Step Towards Pricing of Pollution? 11 States Back Low-Carbon Fuel Rules
While many in Washington spent their holiday breaks wondering if Senate Democratic opposition would deal a major blow to progress on a climate change bill, 11 northeastern governors were agreeing on a deal that suggests otherwise.
January 4, 2010
The 2009 Capitol Hill Streetsies: Meet the Winners!
It's been a momentous, dramatic year for transportation policy in Washington -- which made choosing the winners of this year's Streetsies all the more difficult. But after tallying up readers' votes and breaking a couple of ties, we're ready to single out the brightest (and dimmest) of 2009. Congratulations to all the winners, and Happy New Year to all! We'll see you back here bright and early on Monday.
December 31, 2009
The 2009 Capitol Hill Streetsies: And the Nominees Are …
The year-end Streetsie Awards are a time-honored tradition at Streetsblog -- check out New York's first round of honorees, hot off the presses today -- and Capitol Hill certainly has provided plenty of material. Without further ado, here are the nominees for Washington's brightest and bleakest moments of 2009. Winners will be announced on New Year's Eve, so don't forget to root for your favorites (by emailing elana [at] streetsblog [dot] org).
December 29, 2009