(Source: ITS America Newsletter & White House Office of Urban Affairs)

Shelley Poticha - Image Courtesy: Planetizen

On Thursday, July 15, the White House Office of Urban Affairs will host a live chat with the leadership of the Sustainable Communities Partnership, an agreement between HUD, Transportation, and EPA to coordinate federal housing, transportation, and environmental investments. Last month, the Partnership released a joint notice of funding availability — $35 million in TIGER II Planning grants and $40 million in Sustainable Community Challenge grants — for local planning activities that integrate transportation, housing, and economic development. And, HUD also announced $100 million in funding for Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant program that will support regional planning efforts that integrate housing, land use, economic development, and transportation.

What:
Sustainable Communities Live Chat

Who:
Shelley Poticha, Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, HUD
Beth Osborne, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Policy, Department of Transportation
Tim Torma, Deputy Director of the Office of Sustainable Communities, EPA
Moderated by Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President on Urban Policy, White House

When:
2:00PM EST, Thursday, July 15, 2010

How:
Watch and participate at www.whitehouse.gov/live
Send questions in advance to Planetizen.

For more information on the partnership, read their latest blog that summarizes their work and accomplishments.

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The U.S. Department of Transportation‘s (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS-JPO), part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), will hold a three-day workshop to present and discuss IntelliDrive ^SM* Safety program research roadmaps, including applications, technical and policy activities from July 20-22, 2010 in Chicago, IL.

Safety is critical to the mission of the transportation industry. This workshop is intended as an opportunity for stakeholders to review and provide feedback for refinement on the safety program roadmaps, including technical and policy issues.

There will also be a Professional Capacity Building Workshop (PCB) to engage stakeholders on setting a new strategic direction for the ITS PCB program considering the goals of the new ITS Strategic Research Plan, gather stakeholder input on learning needs, and discuss the future goals for the program.

The sessions and your participation are essential in assisting the ITS-JPO to advance transportation safety.

USDOT has adjusted the agenda based on stakeholder feedback from recent workshops. The new modified agenda features:

Tuesday, July 20 – 9:00-5:00 CDT (webinar available – See webinar info. below)
IntelliDrive Safety Program Roadmaps and Discussion (V2V, Safety Pilot, DSRC Device Certification, V2I Safety)

Wednesday, July 21 – 9:00-noon CDT

• Professional Capacity
• Building Workshop

Wednesday, July 21 – 9:00-noon CDT
DSRC Device Bidder’s Conference

Wednesday, July 21 – 1:00-5:00 CDT IntelliDrive Safety Policy Roadmaps Discussion focused on V2V and V2I

Thursday, July 22 – 8:30-2:30 CDT (webinar available – See webinar info. below)
Breakout Sessions on IntelliDrive Policy Topics and V2I Roadmap – A series of discussion sessions will be held on Thursday morning (July 22nd) to answer questions and elicit feedback on the Safety Program Policy Roadmap (presented on Wednesday afternoon).   The discussion sessions will provide workshop participants with an opportunity to explore details and provide input on expected requirements.  The workshop designers have identified two areas of interest for discussion that are described below.  However, time will be set aside on Wednesday afternoon to identify additional discussion sessions based on the interest of participants.

Breakout 1.  Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Roadmap Discussion – The focus of this discussion session is to carry forward questions from the Tuesday afternoon presentation on Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) and provide the time for an in-depth Q&A.  The objective of this session discussion is to validate the technical roadmap and identify policy issues associated with moving the technical research forward.

Breakout 2. Cost-Benefit Analysis – Cost-benefit-analysis (CBA) is an essential step in deriving the societal benefits of IntelliDrive for the Nation. However, CBA is comprised of different types of analysis that, overall, provide stakeholders with an understanding how IntelliDrive benefits their organizations.  The purpose of this breakout session is to present on the different approaches proposed for IntelliDrive CBA and to stimulate discussion with stakeholders on their perspective on the opportunities and direct financial impacts of IntelliDrive.  The session will explore specific cases; for example, the case wherein IntelliDrive could enhance or substitute for older technologies such as loop detectors.  The objective of this session discussion is to validate the CBA and seek input as to the most efficient methods of seeking data from stakeholders.

Policy Breakout Session Descriptions – DOC

Who Should Attend

• Transportation Industry Professionals
• Transportation System Operators
• Government Transportation Specialists
• Academia Transportation Specialists
• Roadway Safety Activists
• Wireless Communication Device Manufacturers
• Auto Manufacturers
• Anyone interested in learning about IntelliDrive safety practices and their practical implementation in improving transportation sector safety.

Registration Cost
All attendees FREE

On-site registration will be available but pre-registration is encouraged.

To Pre-Register contact:

ITS America Staff: Brei Whitty
E-mail: bwhitty@itsa.org
Fax: 202-484-3483
Website: www.intellidriveusa.org

Hotel Information/ Meeting Location

Participants are responsible for their own hotel reservations. Please mention the room block “IntelliDrive” when booking by June 28, 2010.

Hilton Chicago Northbrook
2855 North Milwaukee Avenue
Northbrook, IL 60062-6103
Phone: 847-480-7500
Fax: 847-480-0827
www.northbrook.hilton.com

WEBINAR Info:

Meeting Name: IntelliDriveSM Safety Workshop
When:  Tuesday – 07/20/2010 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Thursday – 7/22/2010 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Time Zone:  (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US and Canada)
Website:  http://itsa.na5.acrobat.com/intellidrivews/
If you have never attended a Connect Pro meeting before:
Test your connection: http://itsa.na5.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm
Get a quick overview: http://www.adobe.com/go/connectpro_overview

AUDIO Conference Details:
Conference Number(s): 1-866-502-8312
Participant Code: 175569

Click here for our one-page workshop flyer.

*IntelliDrive is a service mark of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

June 2010

Prepared by the Office of Planning, Environment and Realty Federal Highway Administration: www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/climate/

To view PDF files, you need the Acrobat® Reader®.

Recent Events

Report Highlights Roadway Corridor Energy Efficiency Strategies. Environmental Corridor Management was prepared as part of the NCHRP 25-25 “quick turnaround” research. The chapter “the Energy Efficient Highway: How Efficient Are Our Corridors?” includes a lengthy and informative discussion of Oregon’s experiences implementing their Oregon Solar Highway program. Among numerous other sustainability strategies, the document also reports on experiences with:

• wind generation in highway rights of way
• solar powered LED and compact fluorescent lighting for signs,
• LED luminairs and signals,
• highly retroreflective sign material in place of sign lighting,
• increased energy efficiencies from operations,
• minimizing need for new construction via operational improvements,
• more efficient fleets, and
• recycled materials in roadway construction.

EPA Announces 2009 Clean Air Excellence Award Winners. Several of the 2009 winners have demonstrated or are working toward transportation greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The District Department of Transportation was recognized for launching the SmartBikeDC bike sharing program, and Car2Go and the city of Austin were recognized for their car sharing program. Sunline Transit Agency in CA was honored as the first agency to own and operate a hydrogen generating and dispensing station. They have upgraded the facility so that it can serve commercial customers as well as the transit agency’s own busses. More details on these and other award winning initiatives are available on EPA’s Clean Air Excellence Awards website.

FHWA/AASHTO Climate Change Adaptation Peer Exchange Report Released. FHWA with the support of AASHTO convened a peer exchange on current climate change adaptation activities and strategic needs in Schaumburg, Illinois, on December 8, 2009. This workshop included senior officials of state departments of transportation, FHWA headquarters and division offices and AASHTO. This report summarizes the results of the exchange, and is one of series of FHWA reports documenting the results of national peer exchanges on integrating climate change considerations into the transportation planning process.

State and Local News

Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States Launch Transportation and Climate Initiative. On June 16, 11 Northeast states and the District of Columbia launched a Transportation and Climate Change Initiative “to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimize our transportation system’s reliance on high-carbon fuels, promote sustainable growth, address the challenges of vehicle-miles traveled and help build the clean energy economy.” More information and a copy of the signed declaration of intent are available on the Georgetown Climate Center website.

MassDOT Announces Comprehensive Sustainable Transportation Initiative. On June 2, MassDOT launched GreenDOT, an effort to incorporate sustainability into all of the DOT’s activities. The initiative has a goal of reducing GHG emissions by over 2 million tons by 2020. The DOT aims to combat climate change by measures such as balancing highway expansion projects with projects that promote biking, walking, public transit, and smart growth. The DOT will also make investments in a green fleet and renewable power. The policy directive includes an illustrative list of the initiatives that MassDOT is implementing to achieve the GreenDOT goals. For more information, see the MassDOT Policy Directive or the press release.

New York City Panel on Climate Change Releases Adaptation Resources. The NPCC has released Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response, to provide a “foundation” for climate change adaptation in New York City and tools to start formulating an adaptation response. The document includes a brief analysis of NYC’s transit system vulnerabilities. NPCC’s eight step Adaptation Assessment Guidebook is included as Appendix B. And a workbook on “Incorporating Climate Change into Design and Performance Standards” is Appendix C.

California Air Resources Board Releases Draft Regional GHG Reduction Targets. CARB has released the draft GHG emission reduction targets for passenger vehicles for the state’s 18 MPOs as part of the implementation of SB 375. The 2020 and 2035 targets are expressed in per capita ghg emissions range compared to 2005 levels. The targets were informed by scenario planning analyses. As most of the infrastructure decisions affecting the 2020 network have already been made, the nearer term targets are based largely on operational improvements. Many MPOs also adjusted their 2020 forecasts to take the economic downturn into account. The four largest MPOs have a draft 2020 reduction target of 5-10 percent.

Announcements

FHWA Seeks Pilot Locations For Climate Vulnerability/Risk Assessment. FHWA is soliciting interested DOTs and MPOs to partner with us in piloting approaches to conduct climate change vulnerability and risk assessments of transportation infrastructure. The purpose of the pilots is twofold; 1) to assist State DOTs and MPOs more quickly advance existing adaptation assessment activities and 2) to assist FHWA in “test-driving” the model. Based on the feedback received through the pilots, FHWA will revise and finalize the model for national application. It is anticipated that 3-4 awards will be made at approximately $200,000 to $300,000 each. By Federal statute, a 50% non-Federal match is required for these funds to be awarded to the pilot areas. In-kind contributions such as staffing can be counted towards the match requirement. Applications are due to the relevant FHWA Division Office by July 30. For more information, see the solicitation announcement and the conceptual model which will soon be available on the FHWA Climate Change Activities Webpage.

FTA Seeks Applicants for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction Projects. FTA has $75 million in FY10 funds available in its Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program for grants to public agencies. The grants are for capital projects that reduce GHG emissions or energy use from public transit systems. Projects must request between $1,000,000 and $25,000,000. Applications for projects less than $1,000,000 may be applied for if they are part of a consolidated proposal submitted by the State DOT that, in total, meets or exceeds the $1,000,000 threshold. Applications are due August 11. For more information, see the announcement on the grants.gov website.

Northern Transportation and Air Quality Summit to be Held Aug 24-26 in Cambridge, MA. Registration is now open for NTAQS, the biennial Air Quality conference sponsored by FHWA and EPA Regions 1, 2, and 3. Several presentations on climate change are planned. The Boston MPO and NESCAUM are co-sponsors of this years’ event.

EPA Seeks 2010 Clean Air Excellence Award Nominations. In a June 21 Federal Register Notice, EPA issued a call for nominees to recognize efforts toward achieving cleaner air. These recognition awards are open to both the public and private sector. Applications must be postmarked by August 13.

If you have any suggestions for inclusion in future issues of Transportation and Climate Change News, or if someone forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like to receive it directly in the future, please send your suggestions or request to Becky Lupes at Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov.

FHWA HQ Contacts in the Office of Planning, Environment & Realty:

Office of Natural and Human Environment, Sustainable Transport & Climate Change Team
Diane Turchetta, Acting Team Leader Diane.Turchetta@dot.gov
Kathy Daniel, Kathy.Daniel@dot.gov
John Davies, JohnG.Davies@dot.gov
Connie Hill Galloway, Connie.Hill@dot.gov
Robert Kafalenos, Robert.Kafalenos@dot.gov
Faiz Khan, Faiz.Khan@dot.gov
Becky Lupes, Rebecca.Lupes@dot.gov

Office of Planning
Robin Smith, Robin.Smith@dot.gov

Office of Project Development & Environmental Review
Shari Schaftlein, Shari.Schaftlein@dot.gov

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(Cross posted on The Young Professionals in Transportation Blog)

Click the image to access the report

AASHTO released its latest report, Unlocking Freight, at a national news conference in Des Moines, Iowa, and at two regional news conferences in Tennessee and Pennsylvania on July 8th. The report includes new data, state examples of urgent capacity needs, and solutions to solve the pending transportation crisis in America’s freight system.  The reports shows that investments are well below what are needed to maintain – much less improve – the movement of freight in this country.  As a result, according to this report released, the transportation system that supports the movement of freight across America is facing a crisis.

The transportation system that supports the movement of freight across America is facing a crisis. Our highways, railroads, ports, and waterways require investment well beyond current levels to maintain – much less improve – their performance. Millions of jobs and our nation’s long-term economic health are at risk.

• Significantly more freight will be moved across the country and around the world in the 21st century.
• The current capacity of our nation’s roads, rails and seaports is not keeping pace with demand.
• The nation’s freight transportation system directly affects economic development, current and future jobs, and the quality of life in our communities.
• Greater investment, better planning and more highway and rail capacity are needed to address these problems.
  – Expand the capacity of the Interstate Highway System.
  – Create and fund a national freight program that could include multi-state freight corridor organizations at the state, regional, and multi-state level.
  – Invest in Intermodal Connector Improvements.

In 10 years, an additional 1.8 million trucks will be on the road; in 20 years, for every two trucks today, another one will be added. Already bottlenecks on major highways used by truckers every day are adding millions of dollars to the cost of food, goods, and manufacturing equipment for American consumers.

Unlocking Freight finds our highways, railroads, ports, waterways, and airports require investments well beyond current levels to maintain – much less improve – their performance. The report identifies key projects in 30 states that would improve freight delivery and dependability, and offers a three-point plan to address what is needed to relieve freight congestion, generate jobs and improve productivity.

Despite more long-distance freight being moved by intermodal rail, the report finds that trucks will still carry 74 percent of the load. On average, 10,500 trucks a day travel some segments of the Interstate Highway System today. By 2035, this will increase to 22,700 commercial trucks for these portions of the Interstate, with the most heavily used segments seeing upwards of 50,000 trucks a day. Yet between 1980 and 2006, traffic on the Interstate Highway System increased by 150 percent while Interstate capacity increased by only 15 percent. The report identifies the 1,000 miles of most heavily traveled highways used by trucks.

Each year, 147 million tons of freight pass through Tennessee by way of trucks, rail cars and barges. Nearly half of Tennessee’s Gross Domestic Product comes from the movement of goods and more than half of the statewide employment is in goods-dependent industries. The segment of I-40 through Tennessee and Arkansas alone accounts for nearly one-third of the nation’s busiest truck miles.

A current strain on the movement of freight in the Tri-State region is the lack of vehicular and rail crossings along the Mississippi River, according to Nicely. Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas are currently working to develop a third Mississippi River bridge crossing – dubbed the Southern Gateway Project. Environmental studies on the project are now underway and include consideration of a multi-use bridge that would include both vehicle and rail access.

Unlocking Freight is the second in a series of reports generated by AASHTO to identify the need to increase capacity in our transportation system. For more information and to see state examples of freight capacity needs, go tohttp://expandingcapacity.transportation.org.

To view the first report in the series, Unlocking Gridlock, go to http://expandingcapacity.transportation.org.

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Webinar Overview

TSAG Case Studies Workshop & Webinar
2009 Fort Hood, Texas Army Base Shooting Incident
A Multi-Agency Emergency

Date: August 3, 2010
Time: 1:00–4:00 P.M. Eastern Time
Cost: All T3s are free of charge
PDH: 3.0 — Webinar participants are responsible for determining eligibility of these PDHs within their profession.
Register On-line
Contact the T3 Administrator

T3 Webinars are brought to you by the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program (ITS PCB) at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office, Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). Reference in this webinar to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by U.S. Department of Transportation.

Note: This workshop and webinar is a unique learning opportunity offered by the Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) and the US DOT ITS Joint Program Office’ Talking Technology & Transportation (T3) program. The workshop will be presented to a live audience at the workshop location as well as to remote T3 webinar participants. T3 participants are invited to submit written questions before the Webinar as well as during workshop question and answer periods.

Webinar participants may attend remotely for any portion of the 3 hour workshop. An audio of the event’s proceedings, synchronized with its presentations, will be available in the T3 Webinar archives and on the TSAG website (www.tsag-its.org) approximately 4 weeks following the workshop.

Background

The Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) is sponsored by the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) and serves to promote technology for public safety. TSAG advises the ITS Joint Program Office on public safety technologies and on their impacts on public safety including operations management, emergency response, and emergency responder safety. Through a broad based membership comprised of transportation and public safety professionals, TSAG initiates programs that promote inter-disciplinary, inter agency and inter jurisdictional coordination and cooperation, and that promote partnerships for advancing public safety technologies. For more information, visit the TSAG website.

Through its Case Studies Workshops series TSAG conducts post reviews of actual recent events and incidents, and of associated emergency responder experiences. Case Studies Workshops facilitate discussions by multi discipline and multi agency professionals for identifying technology, institutional and policy based success, failures and lessons learned. Case Studies Workshops & Webinars are focused on the fundamental TSAG “technology for public safety” TSAG mission.

TSAG operates through resources provided by the US Department of Transportation and serves its program mission in compliance with US DOT regulations, policies and specified contract provisions.

Fort Hood, Texas Army Base Shooting Incident

On November 5, 2009, a gunman opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, Texas. Thirteen people were killed and 43 others were wounded or injured. Initial emergency alerts of the incident were communicated via calls to one of the Central Texas Regional Consolidated Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), and subsequently were transferred to Fort Hood’s 9-1-1 Call Center. Two minutes and forty seconds after the initial 911 call, first responders from Fort Hood arrived of the scene. Soon after, EMS assets from the surrounding entities arrived to support Fort Hood responders. One-and-a-half minutes later, the assailant was incapacitated and emergency treatment and evacuation was initiated.

The initial response to the incident was prompt and efficient. Two ambulances and an incident commend vehicle from the Fort Hood Post Hospital arrived on the scene within two minutes and fifty seconds. Ultimately, ambulances and EMS personnel from throughout the region responded, treated and evacuated the wounded and injured.

The foregoing narrative illustrates how efficiently the initial response to this event was handled. The incident however, raised important questions about the degree to which the Department of Defense is prepared for similar incidents in the future, especially multiple, simultaneous incidents. It also brought into sharp focus the need to review the connections, both in relationships and technology, between the defense community and the civilian first responder community called to support in military protection incidents.

Case Studies Workshop & Webinar Overview

Case Studies Workshop & Webinar presenters will walk the audience through details of the Fort Hood incident with a focus on how the integration between the military and civilian responders between responder disciplines worked. The Workshop will focus on emergency response and management protocols, strategies and technologies, including communications between and among Police, Emergency Medical Services, and Public Safety Dispatch Personnel. Workshop presenters will discuss successes, failures and lessons learned and will highlight emergency response activities of local and regional emergency responders and will review operations strategies and technologies at the time of and in response to the incident.

Target Audience

Workshop participants include TSAG members, NRITS registrants, and other like interest guests. T3 Webinar target audiences include state and local public safety interests including emergency responders, transportation operations, emergency communications, and other public safety practitioners. Additionally, private and academic and technology research interests are encouraged to participate.

TSAG Case Study Workshop Concept and Purpose

The TSAG Case Studies Workshop concept targets case-studies of actual incidents or events associated with each of the eight (8) TSAG interest-community teams. TSAG communities of Interest include:

• Academic & Research
• Emergency Communications
• Emergency Management
• Emergency Medical Services
• Transportation Operations
• Fire and Safety
• Law Enforcement
• Technology and Telematics

Thus, through reviews of actual recent events, incidents, and first-responder experiences, Case Studies Workshops facilitate after-event discussions by multi-discipline and multi-agency professionals for the purpose of:

• Clarifying actual circumstances of the event / incident
• Reviewing established response protocols and procedures
• Reviewing public safety technology applications
• Identifying unique management and response circumstances and challenges
• Reviewing successes, failures, and lessons-leaned

The TSAG Case Studies Workshop & Webinar series is focused on the fundamental TSAG “technologies for public safety” TSAG mission.

Learning Objectives

The broad learning objectives of the TSAG Case Studies Workshop series include:

• Identify transportation-safety technologies and their real-time applications to operations surveillance and management
• Identify incident identification, emergency response and management
• Identify inter-agency and inter-discipline coordination and communications
• Learn of technology successes, failures, and lessons-learned

Federal Host:

Linda Dodge, Chief of Staff, US DOT, ITS Joint Program Office

Presenter:

Jim Reed, Executive Director, The Central Texas Council of Governments (CTCOG), Belton, Texas

Jim Reed serves as Executive Director of The Central Texas Council of Governments (CTCOG) in Belton, Texas. As CTCOG Executive Director he administers a seven county region that includes both urban and rural areas. He oversees various regional programs, including Transportation Planning, Aging Services, Housing, Homeland Security, Regional Planning, Economic Development, and Partners with Workforce. Under his direction, CTCOG was recognized as having the number-one rated Homeland Security program in the Nation. Mr. Reed has served as the Chair of the Texas Association of Regional Councils Executive Director’s Council and is the Past President of the National Executive Director’s Council. He also serves on the National Council of Peers for RPO America and has received the Al Notzon Regional Unity Award and the Walter Scheiber National Leadership Award. This year he was a nominee for the American Institute of Certified Planners National College of Fellows.

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(Source: Brookings Institution; The New Republic)

Click image to access the report

The comprehensive report The State of Metropolitan America is a signature effort by Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program portrays the demographic and social trends shaping the nation’s essential economic and societal units—its large metropolitan areas—and discusses what they imply for public policies to secure prosperity for these places and their populations.

The report shows that while Americas still drive to work alone in far greater numbers than any other way, the share of Americans that commute by transit actually increased from 2000 to 2008. That’s the first time that’s happened in 40 years. The map shows that part of the increase is due to big gains metropolitan areas with large transit systems and extensive rail networks such as New York and Washington.

Here is a compilation of the report’s findings on “commuting”:

• Reversing a pair of 40-year trends, the share of Americans that commute by transit increased from 2000 to 2008, while the share of those that drive alone to work fell slightly. However, driving alone remains the method by which fully three-quarters of Americans get to work. Transit usage increased among whites and Asians, while carpooling dropped significantly among blacks and Hispanics.
• Regional differences distinguish metropolitan commuting modes. Commuters drive alone to work in high proportions in mid-sized Midwestern and Southern metro areas like Youngstown and Baton Rouge. Carpooling is most popular in Southern and Western metro areas, including many with large Hispanic populations like Bakersfield and McAllen. Public transit commuting is concentrated in the nine large metro areas that have rates above the metropolitan average (7 percent), including New York, San Francisco, Washington, and Boston.
• Metropolitan areas with large transit systems were not alone in seeing increased transit usage during the 2000s. While metropolitan areas such as New York and Washington with extensive rail networks saw the largest increases in the share of commuters using transit, metro areas that opened light rail lines this decade such as Charlotte and Phoenix saw upticks as well. Others that rely almost exclusively on buses for transit commuting (Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, and Seattle) also experienced notable increases.
• In only 19 of the 100 largest metro areas did more than a quarter of the workforce in 2008 commute by a mode other than driving alone. In only two of those metropolitan areas (New York and San Francisco) did more than a quarter of workers commute other than by car. Carpooling is an important alternative to driving alone in both mid-sized (Honolulu, Stockton) and large (Los Angeles, Seattle) metro areas.
• Residents of cities and older, high-density suburbs are more likely to use transit than commuters elsewhere in metro areas. Suburban transit users have higher incomes than both city transit users and suburbanites overall. Rates of working at home are roughly the same across cities and all types of suburbs, though more common among higher educated workers.

Rob Puentes, one of the authors of this report, observes in his article on the New Republic: It is important to note that while two-third of metros saw increases in commuting by transit during the 2000s, most of these increases were very small. Only four were more than 1 percent and important places like Houston, Memphis, Las Vegas, and Milwaukee saw transit drops. But at the same time, the only decrease in transit use larger than 1 percent was in the New Orleans metro area, due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Click here to access the entire report.

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(Sources:The Independent, UK; CNN Money; Mashable; WSJ)

Today Google announced it will buy online travel software company ITA Software for $700 million cash, a move that positions the search giant in the highly competitive airfare market, pitting it against the likes of Bing Travel, Expedia and Kayak.

Boston-based ITA, founded in 1996 by a team of MIT computer scientists, specializes in organizing airline data, including flight times, availability and prices. Its data is used on a host of websites like Kayak, Orbitz, Expedia.com, TripAdvisor and Microsoft’s  Bing, as well as a number of airlines’ websites. Nearly half of airline tickets are now bought online, according to Google.

On a website that Google’s created with more details about the acquisition, the company says: “Searches for travel-related information are among the highest-volume queries we receive at Google,” highlighting the obvious opportunity that exists in the space. Google does note, however, that whatever they launch will “refer people quickly to a site where they can actually purchase flights … we have no plans to sell flights ourselves.”

Marissa Mayer, Google’s user experience head, said she envisions using ITA’s software to field more advanced searches, like “Where can I travel for $700?”

Google said the acquisition will benefit passengers, airlines and online travel agencies by making it easier for users to comparison shop for flights and airfares and by driving more potential customers to airlines’ and online travel agencies’ websites. Google added that it won’t be setting airfare prices and has no plans to sell airline tickets to consumers.

Still, the acquisition could come under regulatory scrutiny because it would pair the largest search site on the Web with the dominant travel-search software company. Antitrust issues have been part of the negotiations, according to people familiar with the matter.

The concerns center around how Google might combine its dominance in the general searchbusiness with ITA’s strengths in the travel sector. ITA, for instance, provides data from its airline searches to others, including Kayak, Birge said.

“What if they decided to stop providing that data? What if they only provided that data to the parent company? What if they provided better data for those airlines to their parent company?”.

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WHO: Former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, Janet Kavinoky, Colin Peppard, Rob Puentes, and Kathy Ruffalo

WHAT: National Transportation Policy Project Briefing on practical strategies for beginning a transition to a performance-based national transportation program

WHEN: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 3:30PM

WHERE: Room 406, Dirksen Senate Office Building

Congressman Sherwood Boehlert and other leading transportation experts will discuss transitioning to a performance-based system

Washington, D.C. – The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) National Transportation Policy Project will host a briefing this Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at 3:30PM on transitioning to a performance-based federal surface transportation policy.  The briefing will be held in 406 Dirksen.

Former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert, an NTPP co-chair, will welcome attendees to the event followed by a panel discussion with Janet Kavinoky, Director, Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Colin Peppard, Deputy Director, Federal Transportation Policy, National Resources Defense Council;  Rob Puentes, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; and Kathy Ruffalo, President, Ruffalo and Associates.

In conjunction with this briefing, BPC will release its latest report, Transitioning to a Performance-Based Transportation Policy.  The report details the steps necessary for building the foundation and capacity to successfully transition to a performance-based system.  NTPP has been actively researching how to move U.S. transportation policy to a system that establishes a set of national goals and holds federal investments accountable for demonstrating results toward these goals.

NTPP released its blueprint for surface transportation reform, Performance Driven: A New Vision for U.S. Transportation Policy, last June, which called for a program with accountability and incentives for the achievement of clear national goals and interests.  Along with Congressman Boehlert, NTPP is led by its other co-chairs: former Senator Slade Gorton; former Congressman Martin Sabo; and former Mayor of Detroit Dennis Archer, and is composed of a broad, bipartisan coalition of transportation experts and business and civic leaders.

Media interested in the attending the briefing should RSVP to press@bipartisanpolicy.org.