The images below are from Pew States (most of them), tweeted out as part of the #StuckinTraffic Twitter chat featuring U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and House T&I Committee Chair Schuster.  Please note that most of the images have embedded URL links pointing to a webpage/report. So, feel free to click on the ones that pique your interest to learn more.

P.S: Pardon any shoddiness as you scroll down. This post is a quick hack/harvest of compelling charts from the #StuckINTraffic twitter feed to show the landscape of transportation funding issues and why it is important to get the reauthorization done ASAP.

Image Courtesy: Pew States – US transportation funding 101—& why fed, state investment is declining:

Image Courtesy – Pew States – DYK? Transportation infrastructure funding stems mainly from states:

Image Courtesy: Pew States – Fed, states facing funding challenges as gas tax revenues stall: h

Image Courtesy: Pew States – US #transportation fed grant funding dips 9% from ’08 to ’14:

Image Courtesy: Pew States – New Pew report spotlights surface DOT funding declines, overall down $27B in real terms since 2002

Image Courtesy: Pew States – 66% of fed transportation revenue stems from gas tax—why it matters:

Image Courtesy: Pew States – Fed Highway Trust Fund—major source of state, local funds—running low

Image courtesy; Pew States

Image courtesy: Wonkblog via @TransportDems – 1 in 4 US bridges is deficient. #StuckinTraffic

Image Courtesy: @BikeLeague – What role do transit, bike and pedestrian projects play in local economies?

The future of personal mobility looks more and more “connected” as the two economic forces, technology and automobiles, are colliding at a far greater velocity.  This paves way for a landscape that is expected to feature unprecedented levels of connectivity (i.e, tethered vehicles). Here is a neat infograph from Statista that shows the landscape of connected cars and what’s ahead.

That said, one big question that looms large in my mind is this – how are going to manage all that troves of data from these connected cars? How are we going to parse/analyze and make sense out the digital mess that is ready to flood our roads? Only time will tell (or the app developers?).

Image Courtesy: Statista via Forbes

Today’s White House blog post documents the revival and resurgence of the American auto industry that was once believed to be on the verge of extinction. The whole story is explained in the following three simple gifs.

Image courtesy: Whitehouse.gov

Image Courtesy: Whitehouse.gov

Image Courtesy: Whitehouse.gov

Strongtowns.org has a compelling piece that explains the funding crisis in transportation and why the U.S. transportation system is going broke. This Strongtowns article points to the set of graphics below, which are actually part of a lengthy write-up on Star Tribune that dissects the state of Minnesota’s transportation funding issues.  In all, you get a good understanding of the fundamental disparities when it comes to the state of our unsustainable transportation financing methods and how badly we need a dramatic shift in our approach (H/T Streetsblog for sharing this article via Facebook).

Image Courtesy: Star Tribune. Click on the graphic to be linked to the source story

Image Courtesy: Star Tribune via Strongtowns.org. Click on the graphic to be linked to the source story

Image Courtesy: Star Tribune. Click on the graphic to be linked to the source story

via Yahoo Tech

Image courtesy: Yahoo.com “Calling for an ride after midnight? We hope you saved up for it.”

The chart comes to us via Dan Tynan’s “12 Ways to Avoid Uber and Still Get Home Safely on New Year’s Eve“.  If you are one of them brave souls venturing out tonight in the West Coast cities of Sacramento, San Francisco, San Diego or Seattle , I highly recommend checking out FlyWheel, who is offering a $10 flat fee rides from 8PM until 3AM. Dan Tynan has done a great job identifying the various alternatives for you to get around safely after a fun night out. One additional smartphone app that I’d like to recommend in addition to Dan’s collection is @RideScout. This mobile app will help you get from point A to point B faster and smarter. RideScout shows you real-time information about transportation options that are available right now around you, including transit, bus, bike, taxi, car share, rideshare, parking and walking directions – all in one view. Now, how cool is that!

I’d like to also use this as an opportunity to wish all my reader a SAFE & Happy New Year! Thank you for your continued support and I promise to keep you even more informed in 2015.

With gas prices falling faster than a drop of water from the sky (as we speak, the national average is well below $3 – the 1st time since Dec 22, 2010), you can expect more Americans tempted to drive instead of opting for other modes of transportation.  AAA expects the travelers to spend an average of $573 over the course of their holiday travels.  Click here to view the complete AAA/IHS Global Insight 2014 Thanksgiving Travel Forecast.

Image courtesy: Newsroom.AAA.com via cspnet.com

Related articles

• Marylanders traveling for Thanksgiving to reach seven-year high
• 4.2% more Americans will travel this Thanksgiving – AAA
• AAA: Gas Prices At 46 Month Low

Image Courtesy: BounceCars.com via now-here-this.timeout.com

Click here to read more about the unlicensed minicabs issue in London.

Now that the mid-term election is over and everybody is debating the performance of candidates, it is time to take a look at how the public reacted to a slew of transportation ballot measures across the country.  Our friends at AASHTO has pulled together a nice summary of articles that explain how these transportation issues played out. One important item that caught my eye was the defeat of Nick Rahall, a top Democrat (from West Virginia) on the transportation committee, lost his seat after 38 years. These midterm election results are plain c

Photo by hjl

razy! Anyways, check out the list below:

• Wisconsin Voters Approve State Transportation Fund Amendment
  Link to article in the Journal Sentinel
• Maryland Voters Approve Transportation Lockbox
  Link to article in The Baltimore Sun
• Traffic-Tied Texans Tap Oil and Gas Taxes for Transportation
  Link to article in Governing
• Voters in Austin, Texas Defeat Urban Rail Transportation Bond
  Link to story on KXAN-TV
• Transportation Measures in San Francisco, Alameda County Win Support
  Link to article in the San Francisco Chronicle
• Seattle Voters Approve Public Transit Package, Reject Monorail Extension
  Link to article in the Puget Sound Business Journal
• Atlanta Transit Expansion Overwhelmingly Approved
  Link to article in The Hill
• Mass Transit Initiative in Tampa Bay Area Fails
  Link to article in The Tampa Tribune
• Transportation Tax Soundly Defeated in Alachua County, Florida
  Link to article in The Gainesville Sun
• Forsyth County, Georgia Voters Approve Transportation Bond Referendum
  Link to article in Forsyth County News
• Driver Cards Rejected by Wide Margin in Oregon
  Link to article in the Statesman Journal
• Cleveland, Maple Heights Voters Smack Down Red-Light Cameras
  Link to Northeast Ohio Media Group article
• Rep. Nick Rahall, Top Democrat on Transportation Committee, Loses Seat After 38 Years
  Link to article in The Hill

Related articles

• Seattle voters approve public transit package, preschool funding
• Austinites defeat urban rail transportation bond
• Highway funding gets overwhelming support from voters

Below is a tweet that got me wondering.  Despite knowing the bad status of the Highway Trust Fund, why is congress so hesitant to raise the gas tax? I’m sure many of you are left asking the same question. Several years have gone by and many transportation reauthorizations bills have been enacted since the last time we raised the gas tax (in the early 1990s). But there is still no appetite to raise the gas tax, even by a few cents (and there seems to be any sense of urgency as well).  Hopefully this trend is reversed in the upcoming re-authorization in 2015.  BTW, am I alone in thinking that this picture below also subtly answers why we love our cars so much and like to build houses far from the urban core? What would happen to our current development model/real estate practices if gasoline was taxed like how it is done in Europe?

#roadfinancing #advocacy RT @ARTBA: Funding = road quality, just ask the EU #TMAW #FixtheHTF http://t.co/POeb0cEyq3 pic.twitter.com/HSHKuEFsbT

— CarolineVisserGRL (@GlobalRoadLinks) June 24, 2014

If you get a chance, visit this brilliant website (by ARTBA), Transportation Makes America Work, to see the impact of how this current gas tax situation is affecting the nation’s progress (you can even check out the impact on your particular state’s infrastructure). Also if you are interested, you can take action by contacting your local representative right on the website (and if you are a transportation nerd like me, you can always download the app on your phone and be ready to spill the facts in any discussion).

Image courtesy: tmaw.com –

Related articles

• Looming Highway Trust Fund Crisis: Impact on State Transportation Programs
• Do Low Oil Prices Justify Raising the Gas Tax?