United States Archives - Page 7 of 8

1985 **25^th anniversary** US Vice President George H.W. Bush announced that Christa McAuliffe would become the first teacher, and the first private citizen, in fly in space.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=38909

======================================================================

The Transportation Communications Newsletter is published electronically Monday through Friday.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit:

http://groups.google.com/group/tcnl/subscribe

If you have any difficulties please contact me at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

TCN archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transport-communications

Questions, comments about the TCN? Please write the editor, Bernie Wagenblast at bernie@bwcommunications.net.

Germans throw the biggest damn block party EVER.. on the Autobahn!!!

July 19, 2010 at 5:28 pm

(Source: via Irish Times, NY Times, Guardian, UK)

On July 18th, Germany shut down its busiest Autobahn for celebrating life – appropriately titled “Still-Life A40”. The “Still Life” festival on Sunday in the Ruhr region in western Germany offered some surreal images and video footage of the autobahn without cars and overrun with pedestrians.

A 37-mile stretch of Germany’s famous highway system, between Dortmund and Duisburg, was closed to motor vehicles for the street festival and replaced by a line of 20,000 tables, reports The Guardian. Around three million people attended the event.

The ambitious aim of “Still Life” was to change negative attitudes in Germany towards the Ruhr, a region known for the last six decades as the capital of smokestacks, steel mills, and soot.

Some five million people live in this urban sprawl of cities, where Duisburg runs into Essen into Bochum and on to Dortmund. Yesterday more than two million locals – every second resident – flooded the A40 expressway for this highlight of the 2010 European Capital of Culture in Essen and its Ruhr sister cities.

For one day the Ruhr was connected up with 20,000 tables and as many mini-parties from bowling clubs alongside school groups, scout troops and theatre troupes. A friendly festival on the otherwise hostile, anonymous Autobahn.

For kilometre after kilometre, the party kept on rolling. Strangers salsa danced in the sun near Duisburg and 100 newly wed brides in their gleaming white wedding dresses handed out red roses near Essen.

Television pictures from the air showed crowds milling around on a road where cars usually race along at speeds of 160 kph (100 mph) or more.

One lane of the autobahn, which crosses North Rhine-Westphalia state, was kept free for skaters and cyclists – and more than one million revellers brought bicycles, including the state premier, Hannelore Kraft.

There are no general speed limits on Germany’s autobahns. Cars often speed up to 200km per hour (125mph) or more. In dense or dangerous areas, drivers are often required to slow down to 120 km per hour (75mph).

Transportgooru Musings: I wonder what is the total fuel savings from this shut down? Does anyone have any idea of potential savings resulting from this event (fuel savings, CO2 Emissions reduction, etc). Oh well, beyond the economic/monetary benefits, it is always wonderful to see the community getting a chance to explore their own infrastructure by foot and bicycle. I dream of a day our Washington,DC’s infamous beltway shuts down once a year for a festivity like this, bringing together communities for a get together that celebrates the diversity of the region. It would be nothing but a MASSIVE hit and I’m sure my fellow American citizens would definitely celebrate this. After all, the Americans know how to throw a party, better than anyone on earth.

Related articles by Zemanta

Autobahn Party: German Highway Shut Down For ‘Still Life’ (huffingtonpost.com)
Life’s a picnic on Germany’s autobahn (guardian.co.uk)
Autobahn Closed for Festival (wheels.blogs.nytimes.com)
No autos on the autobahn: Germans party on highway (sfgate.com)
No Autos on the Autobahn: Germans Party on Highway (abcnews.go.com)
Two Million Join Party on German Autobahn (abcnews.go.com)
German motorway hosts huge party (bbc.co.uk)
Life in the Fast Lane: Two Million Join Party on German Autobahn (spiegel.de)
No autos on the autobahn: Germans party on highway (usatoday.com)
Jim: Coffeed Up: Still Life Festival In Germany Germans party on the autobahn – eTurboNews.com (eturbonews.com)
German autobahn closed for mass 60km picnic (newslite.tv)
No autos on the autobahn: Germans party on highway (ctv.ca)
Germans hold 60 km-long party on motorway (reuters.com)

Argentina Says Ni Hao! China Splashes $10B in Argentina’s Rail and Subway Projects

July 19, 2010 at 12:58 pm

(Source: Reuters & The Transport Politic)

China and Argentina have agreed to invest about $10 billion over several years to renovate the Latin American country’s dilapidated railway system and build a subway for its second-largest city. Funds come from the China Development Bank and will require a 15% match from the Argentinian government.

The $10B breaks down as follows:

Argentina will receive $4.35 billion to renovate three freight railroad lines, including $1.85 billion to improve conditions on the Belgrano Line, which links the country to Bolivia and is an important link for the nation’s agricultural producers. Argentina’s once-extensive rail network was largely dismantled during the privatisations of the 1990s. But as agricultural output soars, farmers and grain elevators — who send more than 80 percent of grains by costly road transport — have been calling for investment to revive the railways.

Road transport costs about 7 U.S. cents per tonne per kilometre in South America’s No. 3 economy — about twice the cost of rail cargo and four times what it costs to transport grains by boat, according to the grains exchange in the country’s biggest agricultural port, Rosario.

More than four billion dollars for the improvement of the Buenos Aires Subway and the creation of a four-corridor Metro in Cordoba — projects.

China in recent years has been dipping into its deep pockets to fund infrastructure projects in poor and emerging economies that bolster relations and often further Beijing’s own economic goals by helping bring goods and raw materials to market faster. I’d not be surprised if the Chinese are looking to export their rail technology to not just the developing parts of the world but also to advanced economies such as the USA. The world better learn fast how to say Ni Hao!

Click here to read more.

China splashes billions on Argentine rail, subway (reuters.com)
China to Invest $10B in Argentina’s Railways (abcnews.go.com)
China to invest $10B in Argentina’s railways (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
China signs deals to $10B invest in Argentina’s railways but no progress on soy dispute (taragana.com)
China to invest $10B in Argentina’s railways (sfgate.com)
Argentina Is Latest Country To Outsource Its Infrastructure To China (businessinsider.com)

Webinar Alert: Objectives-Driven, Performance-Based Planning for Transportation Operations – A New Resource

February 10, 2010 at 6:33 pm

Tuesday, February 23rd

1:00 to 2:30 PM EST

Please join us for a free Webinar hosted by the National Transportation Operations Coalition on Tuesday, February 23rd from 1:00 to 2:30 PM EST. Click on the URL below to register.

Integrating operations into a metropolitan transportation plan can lead to important improvements that customers care about: increased efficiency, reliability, safety, security, travel options, and more. The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration have developed a desk reference that can help metropolitan planning organizations and their planning partners meet the challenge of integrating operations into the plan and realize the benefits. The desk reference assists planners and operators in using specific operations objectives and performance measures to plan for operations. It contains an extensive menu of operations objectives and performance measures that planners and operators can draw from for their own plans. Excerpts from a sample plan illustrate the integration of operations into a plan.

This seminar will offer a preview of this new tool. Audiences will have an opportunity to hear how two MPOs are using an objectives-driven, performance-based approach to plan for operations and the desk reference. This is the second in a series of two Talking Operations Webinars on the objectives-driven, performance-based approach. Tune in to hear about the experiences of two more metropolitan planning organizations.

The speakers will be:

Richard Backlund, FHWA Office of Operations, Egan Smith, FHWA Office of Planning, and John Sprowls, FTA Office of Planning
Deena Platman, Principal Transportation Planner, Metro, Portland, Oregon
Lance Wilber, Central Region Director, Alaska Department of Transportation and former Municipality of Anchorage Traffic Director.

To Register, Click this URL: https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/webconference/web_conf_learner_reg.aspx?webconfid=19485

Read more Comments Off

Event Alert: U.S.- India Aviation Partnership Summit — December 7-9, 2009 @ Washington, DC

October 6, 2009 at 11:42 pm

To promote greater cooperation between the U.S. and Indian aviation sectors, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), in cooperation with the India Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, US. Transportation Security Administration, U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program, and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)/International Association of Airport Executives (IAAE), is sponsoring the U.S.- India Aviation Partnership Summit. The event will take place December 7-9, 2009, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The summit will include participation from India’s three key civil aviation agencies – Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India – key industry members in the aviation sector, the U.S. government (USTDA, DOT/FAA, TSA, Departments of State and Commerce), and select members of Congress.

The 2009 U.S.-India Aviation Partnership Summit is designed to foster high-level dialogue on key issues related to India’s ongoing modernization: aviation safety, air traffic control management, aviation security, airspace utilization, sector environmental practices, and sector training. The summit will serve as a technical, policy and commercial symposium to assist Indian civil aviation agencies and aviation industry representatives in identifying advanced technology and practices that would best suit its expansion and modernization needs. The summit will provide momentum to the growing strategic and commercial relationship between the Indian and U.S. aviation sectors for the long term.

The U.S. India Aviation Partnership Summit will include a two-day conference in Washington, D.C., followed by two days of site visits to FAA and industry facilities in the Washington, D.C., area, and the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J.

Topics To Be Covered

. Current State and Future Prospects of the India Aviation Industry
. Air Traffic Management Modernization in India: Opportunities and Challenges
. Airport Infrastructure Development/Financing
. Aircraft Maintenance and Certification
. Aviation Security
. Aviation Environmental Best Practices
. General Aviation Update (General Aviation Development in India and Helicopter Expansion)
. Aviation Training in India

Click here for more details

Read more Comments Off

BREAKING: House passes ‘cash for clunkers’ legislation

June 9, 2009 at 9:30 pm

(Source: Autoblog & Detroit Free Press)

The U.S. House approved the “cash for clunkers” legislation earlier today, paving the way for consumers to snag up to $4,500 for trading in their older vehicles for new, more fuel efficient transport.

The bill, which passed 298-119, drew overwhelming support from automakers, local business groups and dealers who claimed the passage could boost sales – further aiding GM and Chrysler’s “reinvention” – during the economic downturn.

The House bill sets aside $4 billion to pay for electronic vouchers given to owners of older vehicles toward new models. With auto sales running at their lowest rate in four decades, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill could spur sales of about 625,000 vehicles; backers are hoping for 1 million.

The act “will shore up millions of jobs and stimulate local economies,” said Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio. “It will improve our environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

The government’s interest in goosing the vehicle market extends to its ownership inGeneral Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, both of which are counting on a healthier U.S. market in the coming years for survival.

“The auto industry is going through a tremendous restructuring,” said Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak. “If there is not increased demand, that restructuring cannot succeed.”

Under the plan, owners of cars and trucks that get less than 18 m.p.g. could get a voucher of $3,500 to $4,500 for a new vehicle, depending on the mileage of the new model.

Read more Comments Off

House Legislators expected to vote on the watered down Cash for Clunkers bill this week

June 8, 2009 at 6:46 pm

(Source: Streetsblog & Rotor.com)

The House is poised this week to take up the so-called “cash for clunkers” bill, which aims to boost the slumping U.S. auto market by giving out tax credits of $3,500 and up to anyone who trades in a gas-guzzling car for a more efficient model.

With the Senate Majority Leader threatening to make Senators work five days a week to speed up work on legislative priorities, lawmakers expect to finish a war supplemental bill this week that would include a provision for cash for clunkers and then Congress will turn its attention to healthcare and climate change legislation.

House Democrats must settle the issue of whether to include in the war supplemental a provision that would give car buyers a voucher worth up to $4,500 for trading gas-guzzlers for more fuel-efficient vehicles. There is tremendous bipartisan support for this proposal, especially with the recent bankruptcy of General Motors.

The plan was originally touted as environmentally friendly, given that it would theoretically encourage the use of more fuel-efficient vehicles, but it has long since morphed into a thinly disguised gift to the auto industry. The “cash for clunkers” deal that the House will vote on, sponsored by Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH), offers money to truck drivers who improve their ride’s fuel economy by as little as 1 mile per gallon.

The likely passage of Sutton’s bill this week could be bad news for a stronger “cash for clunkers” plan that’s being promoted by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who displayed welcome candor last month in calling the Sutton plan “the auto industry’s version” of “cash for clunkers” and “unacceptable” to American drivers.

Feinstein’s proposal would require drivers to achieve a 25 percent fuel-efficiency increase before receiving a tax credit for ditching their clunkers. But Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) is pushing for a trade-in tax credit that’s very similar to Sutton’s — truck owners would only have to increase their fuel efficiency by 2 miles per gallon to be eligible.

Click here to read the entire article.

Read more Comments Off

Plug-In Prius Coming This Year; Toyota to Lease 200 PHEVs in Japan Starting at End of 2009, 500 Globally; Gen3 Prius Plus Li-ion Pack

June 5, 2009 at 6:57 pm

(Source: Green Car Congress & Wired)

Toyota’s third-gen Prius is already a huge hit in Japan (topping the sales numbers for May), and the automaker plans to lease a plug-in version to corporate and municipal customers by the end of the year.

Just 200 are slated for release in Japan under a joint program with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aimed at promoting the adoption of plug-in hybrids and EVs. Although the new Prius – like all those that came before – uses a nickel metal hydride battery, the plug-in features a lithium-ion pack.

“Toyota Motor Corp. believes that, in response to the diversification of energy sources, plug-in hybrid vehicles are currently the most suitable environmentally considerate vehicles for widespread use,” the company said in a statement. “TMC therefore intends to encourage the marketing of plug-in hybrid vehicles while introducing a total of 500 vehicles globally—primarily to fleet customers—to further use and understanding of the vehicles.”

TMC will introduce approximately 150 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the United States, as well as more than 150 vehicles in Europe, including 100 in France. TMC is also considering introducing plug-in hybrid vehicles in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.

In announcing the Japan lease program, Toyota said that:

TMC has positioned hybrid technologies as core environmentally considerate vehicle technologies and is using them in the development not only of plug-in hybrid vehicles but also electric vehicles and fuel-cell hybrid vehicles. TMC will continue its efforts to achieve sustainable mobility by developing and putting into practical use these next-generation vehicles, which are hoped to contribute to reducing petroleum consumption, reducing CO2 emissions and responding to the diversification of energy sources.

Toyota said that the plug-ins will operate as electric vehicles when used for “short distances” and operate as conventional hybrids when used for medium to long-distance trips.

Toyota has been testing an earlier plug-in prototype featuring a large NiMH pack rather than the proposed Li-ion pack, with an electric range of approximately 13 km (8 miles) under the Japan 10-15 cycle (Earlier post.)

The Japan lease program is in collaboration with local governments selected under the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s EV & PHV Towns program, which aims to promote the widespread use of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

The program features an intensive program for the introduction and promotion of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as accelerating the setting up of charging infrastructures and the development of societal awareness and preparedness through the collaboration of the national and local governments, regional businesses and auto manufacturers in Japan.

Plug-ins are touted for triple-digit fuel economy, but a test fleet of 17 plug-in Prius hybrids in the Seattle area has achieved an average of just 51 mpg. Officials there and plug-in advocates said the problem lies with driver behavior, not the technology.

Read more Comments Off

New report from Brookings Institute – “Making Transportation Sustainable: Insights from Germany”

April 17, 2009 at 3:57 pm

(Source: The Brookings Institute)

To help improve the energy efficiency and overall environmental sustainability of the U.S. transportation system, we will need to adopt policies that foster changes in the way Americans travel. A new Brookings report “Making Transportation Sustainable: Insights from Germany” finds that Germany may offer valuable lessons. Like the United States, Germany is a federal republic but it has taken impressive steps to improve transportation options, link transportation planning to land use, and advance other reforms – all while empowering metropolitan action.

Lessons for the United States:

Public policy can play a major role in reshaping America’s transportation system. The German experience offers five lessons to the United States for improving transportation sustainability through changes in travel behavior:

Get the Price Right in order to encourage the use of less polluting cars, driving at non-peak hours and more use of public transportation
Integrate Transit, Cycling, and Walking as Viable Alternatives to the Car, as a necessary measure to make any sort of car-restrictive measures publicly and politically feasible
Fully Coordinate and Integrate Planning for Land Use and Transportation to discourage car-dependent sprawl and promote transit-oriented development
Public Information and Education to Make Changes Feasible are essential in conveying the benefits of more sustainable policies and enforcing their results over the long term
Implement Policies in Stages with a Long Term Perspective because it takes considerable time to gather the necessary public and political support and to develop appropriate measures.

Click here to download the report. Here is the read-only version of the report.

Read more Comments Off

OPEC’s Nightmare! Oil Industry Braces for Drop in U.S. Thirst for Gasoline

April 13, 2009 at 2:55 pm

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

DALLAS — Since Henry Ford began mass production of the Model T nearly a century ago, car-loving Americans have gulped ever-increasing volumes of gasoline. A growing number of industry players believe that era is over.

Among those who say U.S. consumption of gasoline has peaked are executives at the world’s biggest publicly traded oil company, Exxon Mobil Corp., as well as many private analysts and government energy forecasters.

The reasons include changes in the way Americans live and the transportation they choose, along with a growing emphasis on alternative fuels. The result could be profound transformations not only for the companies that refine gasoline from crude oil but also for state and federal budgets and for consumers. Much of contemporary America, from the design of its cities to its tax code and its foreign policy, is predicated on a growing thirst for gasoline.

As Americans commute less, use more fuel efficient cars and take more public transportation, gas stations have shut down. There are 11% fewer places to pump gas in the U.S. today than there were a little over a decade ago.

In the vast market for crude oil, American gasoline consumption matters. One of every 10 barrels of crude ends up in U.S. gasoline tanks, more than is used by the entire Chinese economy.

Right now, the recession is curbing U.S. gasoline consumption, as laid-off workers stop commuting and budget-conscious families forgo long road trips. Drivers filled their cars with 371.2 million gallons of petroleum-based gasoline every day in 2007, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It expects that to fall 6.9% to 345.7 million gallons in 2009, as demand at the pump declines and the use of plant-based ethanol increases. Even if usage climbs after the recession ends, it won’t exceed 2007 levels, according to EIA forecasts.

Demand for all petroleum-based transportation fuels — gasoline, diesel and jet fuel — fell 7.1% last year, according to the EIA. This is the steepest one-year decline since at least 1950, as far back as the federal government has reliable data.

Many industry observers have become convinced the drop in consumption won’t reverse even when economic growth resumes. In December, the EIA said gasoline consumption by U.S. drivers had peaked, in part because of growing consumer interest in fuel efficiency.

Exxon believes U.S. fuel demand to keep cars, SUVs and pickups moving will shrink 22% between now and 2030. “We are probably at or very near a peak in terms of light-duty gasoline demand,” says Scott Nauman, Exxon’s head of energy forecasting.

If Exxon is right, the full impact of falling demand for fuel would take years to be felt. But some deep changes are under way.

Click here to read the entire article. Also, don’t forget to explore the interactive graphic that offers some stunning statistics. Below is a video report from WSJ for this story.

Read more Comments Off

TransportGooru

Bernie’s Transportation Communications Newsletter (TCN) – July 19, 2010

Germans throw the biggest damn block party EVER.. on the Autobahn!!!

Argentina Says Ni Hao! China Splashes $10B in Argentina’s Rail and Subway Projects

Webinar Alert: Objectives-Driven, Performance-Based Planning for Transportation Operations – A New Resource

Event Alert: U.S.- India Aviation Partnership Summit — December 7-9, 2009 @ Washington, DC

BREAKING: House passes ‘cash for clunkers’ legislation

House Legislators expected to vote on the watered down Cash for Clunkers bill this week

Plug-In Prius Coming This Year; Toyota to Lease 200 PHEVs in Japan Starting at End of 2009, 500 Globally; Gen3 Prius Plus Li-ion Pack

New report from Brookings Institute – “Making Transportation Sustainable: Insights from Germany”

OPEC’s Nightmare! Oil Industry Braces for Drop in U.S. Thirst for Gasoline

Recent Posts

Archives

Trending For @Transportgooru

Favorite Blogs

Favorite Podcasts

Links

Meta

Post Tagged with: "United States"

Related articles by Zemanta

Recent Posts

Archives

Trending For @Transportgooru

Favorite Blogs

Favorite Podcasts

Links

Meta