Transportation Funding
Streetsblog LA
Transit Outsourcing Booms — But Are There Safety Trade-offs?
The Wall Street Journal reports
today on the growing number of cities around the country that are in
talks to outsource local transit systems to cope with the budgetary
pressures of the recession.
July 13, 2009
Court Orders California to Stop Robbing Transit (Updated)
Things may have gotten a little more difficult for Governor Schwarzengger, who is already wrestling with the titanic task of trying to pass a balanced budget for the fiscal year starting today, when a California court of appeals ruled that the state needs to stop taking funds dedicated by voters towards transit projects and use it to try and close the gaping funding hole.
July 1, 2009
Calpirg, Smart Growth America Slam State Stimulus Spending
When the government passed the stimulus bill last spring, it set a 120 day deadline for states to allocate at least half of transportation funds in the bill. As that deadline passes today, CALPIRG and Smart Growth America released a report detailing how California is spending its stimulus dollars.
June 29, 2009
The Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency
The D.C. Metro accident that killed nine riders this week has renewed calls for rail safety upgrades and reminders that car travel remains far riskier
than transit. But the crash is also shedding light on a problem that
goes beyond Washington: tax shelter deals between banks and struggling
transit agencies -- deals that were given a retroactive pass by
Congress even though the IRS considers them illegal.
June 26, 2009
Report: Nation’s Cities Getting Stiffed on Stimulus
The nation's largest metropolitan areas -- which account for 63 percent
of the U.S. population and 73 percent of the gross domestic product
(GDP) -- have received less than half of the surface transportation
money allocated so far under the Obama administration's economic
stimulus plan, according to a new report compiled for the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.
June 16, 2009
Congress Agrees to Keep Transit Operating Aid in War Bill
House
and Senate negotiators struck a deal last night on a $106 billion war
spending bill that also gives cash-strapped transit agencies the
ability to use 10 percent of their economic stimulus grants to pay operating costs.
June 12, 2009
Bush Transpo Secretary’s Biggest Disappointment: Bush
DC Velocity magazine has just released a lengthy interview with Norman Mineta, the Bush-era transportation secretary and former Democratic member of Congress.
June 2, 2009
Metro Sort of Passes Budget, Punts on Ansaldo Breda, Insults Public
The big news from today's Metro Board meeting was that after our leaders subjected themselves to the pain of listening to the public, they were able to sorta-kinda pass the FY 2010 budget and put off a decision on whether to abandon their contract with Ansaldo Breda for another two months.
May 28, 2009
Why Buy More Trains If You Can’t Afford to Run Them?
Down in balmy South Florida, D-Day is approaching for riders of the the
popular Tri-Rail transit system. A looming $18 million shortfall has
forced the Tri-Rail board to approve a budget that slices daily service and stops all trains by 2011 -- although ridership has doubled since 2005.
May 27, 2009
Illinois Congressman Pushes For Pro-Bike Transportation Bill
Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), an early supporter
of the congressional "complete streets" bill, is circulating a letter
to his House colleagues that urges support for pro-bike provisions in
the upcoming federal transportation bill. Here's how Lipinski put it:
May 19, 2009