Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Oberstar to Back 3-Month Delay in Transport Bill As Soon As Next Week
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House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is readying a proposal to extend current infrastructure law by three months — 15 months less than the delay preferred by the White House — and could introduce the legislation as soon as next week, his office said today. "It’s obvious that we’re running out of September," Oberstar […]
Warner Scores a (Small) Win for White House’s Transportation Agenda
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While it pushes for an 18-month delay in the next federal infrastructure bill, the Obama administration has proposed a data collection effort that would help states and localities begin tracking ridership and usage of transit, roads, buses, and the like — a small put pivotal step towards enacting national performance standards for transportation. Sen. Mark […]
Senate R’s Attempts to Strip Bike/Ped Requirment Dies on Senate Floor
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Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) attempt to curb federal investment in bicycle and pedestrian paths, as well as other "transportation enhancements," was defeated on the Senate floor today — but it managed to pick up two unlikely Democratic supporters in the process. A college-age Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), with her father at right. (Photo: Klobuchar for […]
New Investigation Finds 2,100 Transport Lobbyists Working the System
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Interest groups seeking to influence transportation policy-making have long flooded the capital with campaign cash and lobbyists — and their numbers are rising at an eye-popping rate. Nearly 1,800 interests are employing at least 2,100 transportation lobbyists to work the system in anticipation of the next federal infrastructure bill, according to a Center for Public […]
The New White House Fuel Efficiency Rule: Count the Loopholes
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The final fuel-efficiency rule released by the Obama administration this morning includes what some lobbyists have nicknamed "the German provision," giving automakers that sell less than 400,000 vehicles in the U.S. an exemption for 25 percent of their fleet. GM CEO Fritz Henderson’s company can earn fuel-efficiency "credits" for its Chevy Volt. (Photo: IB Times) […]
Jane Jacobs’ Is Planetizen’s Top Urban Planner, Shoup Fifteenth
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Jane Jacobs. Photo: BusinessWeek She may be experiencing an intellectual reconsideration in some corners, but Jane Jacobs is still a beloved figure for the urban planners and designers of Planetizen. After a month-long online poll that saw more than 14,000 votes cast, the site released its list of the "Top 100 Urban Thinkers" today — […]
McCain’s List of Wasteful Transit Includes Wilshire Bus-Only Lanes and Gold Line Extension
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Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a self-styled foe of what he labels wasteful government spending, has launched a broadside against transit projects in the U.S. DOT’s 2010 spending bill, which is slated for a vote this week in the upper chamber of Congress. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (Photo: Scrape TV) McCain had proposed more than 20 […]
Oberstar Stands Firm on Transportation Bill, Gets Industry Backup
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In case any doubts remained about his willingness to challenge the White House and the Senate on prompt passage of a long-term infrastructure bill, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar’s (D-MN) op-ed in the Politico this morning should clear them up: House transport committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Capitol Chatter) Unfortunately, the administration and […]
Department of Energy Gets Basic Math Wrong in its Rail Analysis
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When it comes to the carbon consumption of cars, trains, and buses, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) Transportation Energy Data Book [PDF] is an indispensable resource. But this year’s Data Book contains an eyebrow-raising error in its analysis of rail’s energy use. (Image: DoE) Page 66 of the Data Book, reprinted on the DoE’s […]
Consensus on National Transport Goals Still Eludes Industry Pros
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Policymakers and private-sector players seem to be struggling to agree on how — and whether — to set national performance targets for America’s transportation system, as evidenced by today’s debate at a high-profile infrastructure conference. (Photo: UVA) "Performance-based" is a popular buzzword in transportation circles, where clear and definable national standards are seen as the […]
How Much Would Most People Pay For a Shorter Commute?
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(Data: IBM’s CPI) As Washington conventional wisdom has it, raising gas taxes or creating a vehicle miles traveled tax to pay for transportation is impossible during the current recession. After all, who would want to squeeze cash-strapped commuters during tough economic times? As it turns out, the public is very willing to pay for the […]
Was the Auto Industry Bailout Legal? It’s Debatable, Oversight Panel Says
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The Treasury Department sent $81 billion in taxpayer-subsidized aid to General Motors and Chrysler — which is unlikely to be recouped in full — using legal authority that "is the subject of considerable debate," according to a report released today [PDF] by the congressionally appointed bailout oversight panel. Ron Bloom, the president’s top manufaturing adviser. […]