(Source:  Autobloggreen)

Today, Ford celebrates a new milestone in the life of its hybrid SUV platform as the 100,000th vehicle rolls down the assembly line at the Blue Oval’s Assembly Plant in Kansas City. This production total includes all Ford Escape Hybrids, Mercury Mariner Hybrids and Mazda Tribute Hybrids produced since 2004, the year that Ford launched its first ever fuel-saving gas/electric model.

Perhaps now would be a good time to remind our readers that Ford hit the 60,000 hybrid mark in the 4th quarter of 2008, meaning that the automaker’s federal hybrid tax credit will be cut in half beginning in April of this year. Buyers wanting to capitalize on the full rebate will need to make their purchase before the end of this month.

Click here to read more and to view the awesome picture gallery of the Ford Escape Hybrid.

(Source:  Autobloggreen)

 Automakers, fuel suppliers and engine builders would be among the organizations that would have to submit annual reports on their CO2 (and other greenhouse gas) emissions to the EPA, should a new proposed rule go through. In all, the 13,000 facilities that account for 85-90 percent of the GHGs emitted in the U.S. would be affected. To understand the baseline issue, here’s how the EPA explains the proposed rule: 

In general, EPA proposes that suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions submit annual reports to EPA. The gases covered by the proposed rule are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), and other fluorinated gases including nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) and hydrofluorinated ethers (HFE). 

Click here to read the entire article..

(Source:  Bnet.com Auto)

When people use the word “tax” and the phrase “electric car” in the same sentence, they’re usually talking about the lucrative tax credits you can grab onto by buying one.

But there’s another way to look at the tax issue. Suppose, as many analysts are now concluding, the bulk of the car fleet shifts from gasoline to electric. Will we tax EV recharges the way we now tax gas (at 18.4 cents a gallon)? Dr. Lyle Dennis, whose website GM-Volt.com champions Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid, asks, “Will they raise taxes on electric rates and make EV recharging more expensive? It’s an important question.”

It seems to make more sense to simply switch to a “vehicles miles traveled” tax that’s agnostic on how cars get around. Mileage could be tracked with GPS devices installed in cars. But that’s off the table for now. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said his department was studying the idea, but an Obama spokesman quickly denied it is now or ever will be U.S. policy.

Click here to read th eentire article.

(Source: Greenwire via New York Times)

A temporary hike to the federal gas tax and a controversial plan to charge Americans for every mile they drive will be part of the funding mix for future roadwork, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said today.

Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), whose committee is drafting the House bill that will finance the bulk of the nation’s surface transportation for the next six years, said because federal revenues from fuel taxes have fallen, his committee has no choice but to use new financing mechanisms to make up the difference.

“We will have multiple revenue sources as we go into the authorization period,” Oberstar told reporters today. “Vehicle miles traveled will be one.”

 Charging drivers a small fee for every mile they travel is “a more efficient, more effective, more beneficial way to generate revenues into the Highway Trust Fund because it will more accurately measure the effect on the roadways of congestion, of wear and tear on our road and bridge surfaces than a simple gas tax,” he added.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: CNN iReport)

The society’s adjustmentsto the changing economic climate has some positive implications for the global climate.  Listen to what the younger generation has to say .. I am sure Kyle is not alone..Refreshing to see more people abandoning the “need a car” attitude and starting to think “Yes, I can do without a car”..Kudos to Kyle for sharing his thoughts and Transportgooru wishes you the very best for your “no car” life..

(Source: Office of Planning, Environment and Realty Federal Highway Administration)

Recent Events

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Announces Principles for Global Warming Legislation. On February 3, S

en. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced her intent to move quickly on global warming legislation and issued principles that she would like to see included. These include setting short and long term emissions targets that are certain and enforceable, using a carbon market to fund various efforts to reduce GHG emissions, and ensuring a level global playing field so that countries contribute their fair share to GHG emissions reductions. For more information including a link to Sen. Boxer’s Principles, see the Committee’s press release.

House Subcommittee Receives Testimony on Surface Transportation Energy Reduction.On January 27, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit heard from nationally recognized transportation experts and a panel of industry representatives about ways to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainability in the surface transportation sector.  Video of the proceedings and written testimonies (scroll down) are available on the Subcommittee website.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Holds Meeting on Maritime Transport and the Climate Change Challenge. On February 17, FHWA’s Mike Savonis presented (via videoconference) results from USDOT’s Gulf Coast Study Phase I to an international audience in Geneva.  Additional information and presentations from the three-day event are available on the meeting website.

U.C. Davis Provides Congressional Briefing on Low-Carbon Transportation Policies & Strategies. On January 12, 2009, the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) Institute of Transportation Studies provided a briefing to Congressional staffers on the future of low-carbon transportation. More information about UC Davis climate change activities is available on the UC Davis ITS website.

House Subcommittee Conducts Hearing on Monitoring GHG Emissions.  On February 24, the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment conducted a hearing on how to monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas emissions.  The purpose of the hearing was to determine the federal role in the funding of research and development of monitoring technologies as well as models to support reliable baseline data for GHG emissions.  The subcommittee heard testimony from businesses, government agencies, and localities on procedures and methods that can be used to monitor, report, and verify greenhouse gas emissions.  More information can be found on the Committee’s website at: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2359

State News

Oregon Governor Introduces VMT Fee Legislation. Following a study on charging a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee in place of a state gas tax, the Governor of Oregon introduced legislation that could move the state closer to adopting a per mile road user fee in place of the 24-cent per gallon gas tax. Governor Kulongoski’s Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 requires the Oregon DOT to develop VMT fee collection technology that could be used to replace the gas tax.  The Act also directs Oregon DOT to further study gas tax alternatives.

Click here to read the entire newsletter.

(Source: Transportation for America)

Do you know how transportation policy affects housing? Oil? Climate? Economic opportunity?

Here is your chance to find out.

Transportation is the second biggest federal discretionary spending category — second only to defense spending. Where and how we choose to invest in transportation will have deep impacts on our housing and job markets, public health, energy needs, climate, economic competitiveness, and nearly every other pressing issue facing our country today.

The first four sessions are open now, so visit the webinars page to see the list of sessions and sign up for one today. Open sessions include:

Transportation and Economic Opportunity

Speakers will explore how the transportation sector drives the economy and creates opportunities for American workers. Topics will include the transportation sector’s ability to create jobs and sustain global growth, and the use of transportation as a driver of neighborhood revitalization.

March 19th at 1 PM EST / REGISTER NOW

Transportation and Social Equity

Social equity activists, labor groups, and community development professionals will examine how transportation access and mobility affects basic needs such as healthcare, education, and economic opportunity for millions of Americans.

March 24th at 4 PM EST/ REGISTER NOW

Transportation, Climate Change, and Energy Security

Within the United States, transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Webinar attendees can learn how various modes of transportation impact the environment and energy security, and how our land-use patterns affect vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and air quality.

April 2 at 2 PM / REGISTER NOW

Transportation, Housing, and Development

Real estate development professionals and affordable housing advocates will explore the linkages between transportation and housing development, the shift in housing and real estate preferences and value, and the creation of affordable mixed-use development near jobs and transit.

April 16 at 4 PM EST / REGISTER NOW

Transportation and Public Health and Safety

Transportation influences the health and safety of communities by affecting physical activity levels, traffic speeds, and air pollution. This session will investigate the needs of paratransit and transit-dependent populations, the success of Complete Streets and non-motorized transportation programs, and the connections between transportation and active living.

Transportation in Rural Areas and Small Towns

Click here to read more

(Source: In Transition via Planetizen)

By some estimates, the only thing Ferraris, Hummers and Priuses have in common is that 95 percent of the time they’re all going nowhere. Though idleness would seem to be the most benign aspect of America’s automotive fleet, UCLA Planning Professor Donald Shoup has written 733 pages that say otherwise. Because when cars aren’t going, they are parked somewhere, and when they are parked in one place, an average of six spaces per car nationwide stand vacant. Shoup considers the proliferation of parking spaces to be a plague on American cities, and because the vast majority lie open for the taking, they represent the largest devaluation of real estate short of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Published in 2005, The High Cost of Free Parking has begun to influence planners and policymakers in cities across the country.

Published in 2005, Shoup’s The High Cost of Free Parking amounts to an unwieldy volume full of data, regressions, and intricate analysis of these most overlooked squares on the grid of American cities. If America’s streets were a Monopoly board, it would be a dull contest indeed, with almost every space “Free Parking.” Each of the country’s roughly 200 million vehicles typically demands spaces at home and work, with shares of countless spaces at the market, restaurant, post office, mall and every other imaginable destination. Eighty-seven percent of all trips are made by personal vehicle and 99 percent of those trips arrive at a free parking space.

(Source: Autobloggreen)

California Air Resource Board chairwoman Mary Nichols told an EPA hearing last week that the state would consider withdrawing its request for a waiver allowing it to regulate carbon dioxide. Before that happens though a national standard needs to be put in place. If such a standard were established it would make automakers much happier. Currently, 13 other states have adopted the proposed California mandate. The problem is that the California rule establishes average CO₂ emissions requirements for an automaker’s entire fleet, much like CAFE does for fuel economy. 
With CAFE, the entire sales volume for an automaker is averaged across the country. If CO₂ is regulated at the state level, even though each state has the same standard, automakers have different sales mixes in different states. An average would have to be calculated for the sales in each state. In states more where a greater number of larger, heavier emitting vehicles are sold, automakers may have difficulty meeting the averages while sales in other states where more smaller cars are sold could not be used to offset those. 

Click here to read the entire article.  (Video: Mary Nichols, talking about fuuture of climate regulation)

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Should a tax on foreign-made pickup trucks that was first instituted way back in 1963 as a retaliation for a European tax on U.S.-bred chickens affect sales of modern and fuel efficient pickups from India in the United States? That’s the question that Global Vehicles, hopeful U.S. importers of India’s Mahindrapickups, is currently asking policymakers in Washington. The answer they are hoping for would rid the United States of the so-called chicken tax and would allow the importation of Mahindra’s latest trucks, featuring clean diesel engines and around 30 miles per gallon, without the 25 percent tariff.

Click here to read the entire article.