(Source: The Transport Politic & GAO; Photo: Swanksalot@flickr)

General Accountability Office sees federal involvement in planning and financing as necessary for high-speed rail construction

(Source: National Journal; Photo: Cliff @ Flickr)

Is High-Speed Rail Worth It?

Lisa Caruso @ the National Journal has kicked off an interesting dialogue on America’s proposed investment in Highspeed rail.  She asks:  “What do you think of President Obama’s decision to make high-speed passenger rail service a centerpiece of his transportation agenda? Is it a wise use of taxpayer dollars to spend $33 billion in the next five years (according to the stimulus and his FY10 budget outline) to make a down payment on constructing a rail network that could take decades to create? Or are there better ways to spend this money on transportation?

 So far the following folks, including Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood, have recorded their opinions on this interesting dialogue.  7 responses: Steve Heminger, Phineas Baxandall, Greg Cohen, Gov. Tim Kaine, Peter Gertler, Ray LaHood, Bob Poole  

So, continue to watch the thread as more folks step up to share their take  on why HSR is very important for this nation.

Click here to read and follow the entire discussion.

(Source:  FHWA Press Release)

Into Second Year, National Trend Tops 122 Billion Miles

New estimates released today show the decline in American driving continued in January 2009 with 7 billion fewer vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), or 3.1 percent less, compared to the same month a year earlier. This is the first “back-to-back” decline for January since 1981-1982.

The decline now exceeds 122 billion VMT, compared to the same 14-month period – December 2006 to January 2008 – a year earlier. A recent end-of-the-year data calibration adjusted the November 2007 data, revealing that the trend did not begin in November 2007, as originally reported, but rather in December 2007.

As it has since the trend began, the decline in rural driving in January 2009 outpaced urban driving.

Click here to read the entire press release.  Shown below is the USDOT’s report on Traffic Volume Trends Report for January 2009.

(Source: Fast Lane, The offical blog of the U.S. Sec. of Transportation)

March 19, 2009

 (Source: The Transport Politic)

HUD and DOT will encourage communities to combine federally-mandated metropolitan area housing and transportation plans 

 A New Approach to Traffic Signal Timing Education and Training: Mobile Signal Timing Training (MOST) Webinar

When:  April 15, 2009
Time:  1:00-2:30 P.M. ET
Cost:  All T3s are free of charge

For more information and to register:  http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/s090415_most.asp

 Please forward this announcement to colleagues who may be interested in attending this webinar.

 •  T3 Webinars are brought to you by the ITS Professional Capacity Building, a program of the U.S. DOT’s ITS Program.  Visit the ITS PCB website for more information about T3 webinars and other ITS learning opportunities:  http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/default.asp

 •  Visit the T3 archives to view presentations and to listen to audio transcripts from previous T3 webinars:  http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/res_t3_archive.asp

 •  Cut and paste links into your web browser if they fail to open the webpage.

 ——————————————————–

 Important Information for Federal T3 Webinar Participants

 Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) requirements are currently being implemented in federal agencies.  Please contact your IT staff to determine if these requirements affect your ability to connect to T3 webinars via Microsoft Live Meeting from your federal PC or laptop.  This link contains information about Live Meeting and can be provided to your IT staff for further reference:  http://www.pcb.its.dot.gov/t3/info_requirements.asp

(Source: USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

Surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 4.1 percent higher in 2008 than in 2007, reaching $830 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The 4.1 percent rate of growth was the smallest year-to-year growth rate since 2003 (Table 1).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico grew 8.6 percent during the first six months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.  It declined 0.3 percent in the final six months and 9.4 percent in the October-to-December period compared to 2007. For 2008 data by month, see the BTS December North American Surface Freight press release athttp://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2009/bts010_09/html/bts010_09.html

Total North American surface transportation imports rose 2.7 percent in 2008 from 2007, and exports rose by 5.9 percent during the same period (Table 2). 

In 2008, 86 percent of U.S. merchandise trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land.   Total North American surface transportation trade value in 2008 was up 47.5 percent compared to 2003, and up 83.7 percent compared to 1998, a period of 10 years (Table 3). 

Click here to read the entire press release or click here to download the PDF report.  Shown below is the “Read-only” version of the PDF report.

(Source: NHTSA)

The website states ” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has provided the information in this booklet in compliance with Federal law as an aid to consumers considering the purchase of new vehicles. The booklet compares differences in insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger cars, utility vehicles, light trucks, and vans on the basis of damage susceptibility for the vehicle. However, it does not indicate a vehicle’s relative safety for occupants. ”

Click here to print or download a PDF.    Shown below is the PDF version for viewing:

(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: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Transportation)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 – The nation’s largest airlines had a higher rate of on-time flights this past January than in either January of last year or in December 2008, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). 

According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 77.0 percent in January, an improvement over both January 2008’s 72.4 percent and December 2008’s 65.3 percent. 

 The monthly report also includes data on lengthy tarmac delays, flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays by the reporting carriers, as well as information on reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division.  This report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.