(Source: Streetsblog)

How can federal policy encourage walkable street networks instead of highways and sprawl? 

(Source: Earth2Tech & CNET)

According to IBM, which has just unveiled a new “smart rail” project in China, its software can help cut delays, increase uptime, reduce emissions and slash fuel costs, . The company has already rolled out software for high-speed rail projects in the Netherlands and Taiwan. As Big Blue readies for a round of layoffs, those projects could be key to the company’s bid for high-speed rail stimulus funds.  

IBM’s latest smart rail projects add computing intelligence behind the scenes — they’re less about connecting passengers with the web (Cisco’s focus in the San Francisco demo) and more about automating system management to improve efficiency.

In Taiwan, the High Speed Rail Corporation is using IBM’s Maximo software to manage maintenance and logistics (for example, reporting on conditions of signals, tracks and communication devices and automatically filing work orders) for a network of hundreds of trains, each capable of going up to 186 mph, IBM said in an announcement today. A relevant comparison for those of you in Silicon Valley: Caltrain maxes out at 79 mph.  The same software, Maximo, will power the asset management platform IBM is building for the state-owned rail operator in China’s Guangzhou City. IBM says it’s building a classification and coding system for all of GZ Metro’s software, services, tracks, trains, station shops and advertising spots as the railway operator gears up for a $176 billion expansion expected to double passenger capacity to 4 million per day.

CNET reports that Netherlands Railways used software from Ilog, which IBM bought last year, to optimize its schedule to best match its equipment–5,000 trains, 390 stations, and 2,800 kilometers of track–with passenger travel. By fine-tuning this complex system, the rail authority lowered its operating costs between 5 and 10 percent, saving about 20 million euros a year, according to IBM.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation is using an “asset-management package,” which IBM gained when itacquired MRO Software, to get trains running from the north side of the island to the south with a punctuality rate of 99.15 percent. The 90-minute trip replaces what would be a 4 1/2-hour trip by convention rail.

This CNET article also discussed the efforts undeertaken by the US in speeding up the High-speed rail investment.  IBM considers government funding for high-speed rail is the equivalent of “seed money” for large projects, said Ken Donnelly, transportation strategy manager for IBM’s Maximo asset-management product. As problems over traffic congestion and pollution become more acute, IBM’s Dierkx expects interest in rail to gain steam.

“In an economic downturn, a lot of green initiatives can come under pressure if you don’t have strategic foresight,” he said.

Click here to read the entire article.  Shown below is a video from IBM’s YouTube Channel (IBMSocialMedia), outlining the Transportation needs in China and how IBM is helping the government meet this challenge. 

(Source: U.S. Department of Energy; Photo Courtesy: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty via Autoblog)

DOE Support for Advanced Battery Manufacturing and Electric Vehicle Deployment to Create Tens of Thousands of U.S. Jobs

On March 19th, President Barack Obama announced the availability of $2.4 billion in funding to put American ingenuity and America’s manufacturers to work producing next generation Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run. The initiative will create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs and help us end our addiction to foreign oil. Americans who decide to purchase these Plug-in Hybrid vehicles can claim a tax credit of up to $7,500.

“This investment will not only reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it will put Americans back to work,” President Obama said. “It positions American manufacturers on the cutting edge of innovation and solving our energy challenges.”

While visiting Southern California Edison’s Electric Vehicle Center, the President announced the following:

• The Department of Energy is offering up to $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce these highly efficient batteries and their components.
• The Department of Energy is offering up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components.
• The Department of Energy is offering up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate Plug-In Hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts — like truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles.

Click here to read the entire DOE press release. Or, Click here to read the President’s remarks.  Shown below is Part I of the video from the event, courstey of  You Tube (Part I & Part II).

(Source: TreeHugger; Photo via: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

The American auto industry has gotten a bad wrap over the years, and justly so in many ways. While a lot of negative responses continue to circulate around the Big Three, their Bailout, and their past inferior vehicles, they have actually risen above this ridicule and at the very least deserve a second look.

(Source: Federal Computer Week)

The Transportation Department has established a special team to oversee the $48 billion it is slated to receive under the economic stimulus law, said Calvin Scovel, DOT’s inspector general. 

The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery team would make sure that the department provides accountability and transparency for the massive amount of additional funding authorized by the law, Scovel said in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee today. 

However, dealing with that large infusion of money, which must be distributed quickly and with the limited staff resources available, will force the department to limit its focus on its mission of transportation safety, Scovel said.

DOT must balance the quick distribution of funds to create jobs with significant oversight of that money and the $70 billion the department spends annually on safety and mobility projects, he said. The stimulus funds would flow through existing DOT program spending, most of which is channeled to the states in the form of grants, he added.

(Source: GAO)

 The Department of Transportation received about $48 billion of recovery funds for investments in transportation infrastructure from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As with other executive agencies, DOT is faced with the challenges of using these funds in ways that will aid economic recovery, making wise funding choices while spending the money quickly, and ensuring accountability for results. GAO will report to Congress bimonthly on how states and localities use the recovery funds received from DOT.

DOT and Congress will also be faced with numerous challenges as they work to reauthorize surface transportation and aviation programs.

Click here to read the HTML version of the entire report.  Or download the PDF file here. 

[ipaper id=13181892]

(Source: Smart Growth America)

A detailed report titled, “Spending the Stimulus: How Your State Can Put Thousands Back to Work by Jumpstarting a 21st Century Transportation System” published by Smart Growth America (you can find the full report here) illustrates the breadth of investments that a state can make with the STP funds it receives through ARRA, by outlining 20 project types in 5 main categories, and providing an example for each.

The website says “Smart Growth America is launching an immediate, six-month campaign to support our state partners in shaping stimulus spending and state DOT budget decisions. The need and opportunity are clear. States and DOTs, asked to develop lists of “ready to go” projects, have developed lists that consist almost entirely of road and other conventional projects. Without this campaign, the stimulus money will likely fund destructive road expansion projects rather than providing a down payment on a clean, green transportation infrastructure for the 21st Century.

This campaign aims to:

1. Influence how state DOTs and governors spend the substantial amounts of money they receive from the federal government,
2. Hold the state DOTs and governors accountable on the stimulus spending; and
3. Increase the capacity of state advocacy groups for subsequent state, local, and federal campaign work.”

Click here to read the entire article.  Also click here to read a related write-up by our Sarah Goodyear, at Streetsblog.

 Transportgooru encourages readers to Donate to Smart Growth America today and help in furthering its mission and to ensure that the future for America is a bright one. Click the Donate button to proceed.

Attached is the detailed report called Spending the Stimulus published by Smart Growth America:

[ipaper id=13172497]

 (Source:  Autobloggreen)

Last month, Germany reported a shocking 21 percent improvement in auto sales, and the greatest driver in the uptick was a used vehicle scrapping plan that pays drivers 2,500 euros ($3,150) to remove their old car from the road. With new car sales in most other countries down by at least that much, it was widely speculated that other governments would look closely at Germany’s new system to see if it would be worth adopting in their areas.

An opinion piece at Automotive News (sub. req’d) suggests that it’s time for the United States to implement its own vehicle scrapping program. President Obama’s recently-passed economic stimulus plan does contain provisions that are intended to help spur new vehicle sales, but has nothing as dramatic as what’s been enacted in Germany. 

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

President Barack Obama’s auto team will spend Monday at the Detroit home of the Big Three as the administration begins to narrow its options for helping the reeling auto sector.

The field trip wraps up nearly three weeks of fact gathering by the team since General MotorsCorp. and Chrysler LLC submitted their rescue plans to the Treasury Department in the hopes of winning billions more in government loans. Ford Motor Co. is not seeking government aid.

Top Treasury Department advisers Steven Rattner and Ron Bloom, who are leading the auto task force, plan to use the day in Detroit to hone an array of lingering questions surrounding the companies’ rescue plans, which many analysts have criticized as overly optimistic. The team will also meet with the United Auto Workers union to discuss its willingness for deep compromises over wages, staff cutbacks and funding for its retiree health plan.

The weeks ahead are filled with peril for both the White House and the auto makers as administration officials face a March 31 deadline for deciding whether to give the companies nearly $22 billion more in federal assistance.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source:  Associated Press via Forbes)