INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Fortune: How this clean air NGO caught Volkswagen cheating emissions tests
Volkswagen has set aside €6.5 billion to cover the costs of the growing scandal over cheating on emissions tests in the US. Putting a number on the cost further down line will be far harder, however, as it is a crisis which calls into question the ethical credentials of the company and the industry, as well as posing tough questions about the regulators and authorities who were duped.
NATIONAL NEWS
The Atlantic’s City Lab: The Unbreakable U.S. High-Speed Rail System
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/09/the-unbreakable-us-high-speed-rail-system/406927/
The Republican smackdown of federal high-speed rail funding was supposed to be the death of the national system of fast trains the White House envisioned early in President Obama’s first term. And yet cities across the country keep trying to make HSR happen. The latest example is XpressWest, the proposed bullet train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Last week project officials announced a new partnership with China Railway International, complete with $100 million in seed money, to “accelerate launch” of the line. The September 2016 target date to start construction seems ambitious, but given that the project’s environmental documents are already in order, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
STATE NEWS
The Charlotte Observer: GOP legislators defend budget’s light-rail killer
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article36091740.html
RALEIGH -State Rep. Paul Stam was pleased to discover a provision that House and Senate negotiators had inserted in the state budget – four lines that probably will kill prospects for light rail transit in Orange and Durham counties.
Star Tribune: Bus rapid transit projects move forward in the Twin Cities
http://www.startribune.com/bus-rapid-transit-projects-move-forward-in-the-twin-cities/328746071/
A Metro Transit bus pulled up to the 46th Street station in Minneapolis during rush hour one recent morning, and its inhabitants peered at traffic on Interstate 35W inching forward ever-so-slowly toward the heart of the city.
Chron: Bike sharing program poised for major expansion
http://blog.chron.com/thehighwayman/2015/09/bike-sharing-program-poised-for-major-expansion/
Houston area officials are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into widening Interstate 45, and they could be paying much more for even larger upcoming projects along the corridor. But a comparatively-paltry sum is about to boost bike sharing in Houston in a big way. The same transportation improvement plan aiming $140 million at I-45 includes $4.7 million meant to expand the B-Cycle program in the city. The plan is set for discussion Friday by the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Transportation Policy Council.
POLITICO Morning Transportation
By Jennifer Scholtes | 09/24/2015 05:53AM EDT
With help from Lauren Gardner
BRACING FOR SHUTDOWN, ONE WEEK OUT: The start of fiscal 2016 now hangs exactly one week on the horizon. And while neither chamber of Congress has voted to pass a bill to forestall another government shutdown, the sense on Capitol Hill is that leaders will be able to pull this one off before reaching the brink. Still, it's hard to shake that sour memory of the 16-day funding lapse the nation endured in 2013. So federal officials have got their contingency plans back out, considering just how many people they'll need to furlough and how they'll limp along if lawmakers fail them again.
Potential pain: Sizing up the possible damage based on DOT's lapse plan from two years ago, just over a third of the department's roughly 55,000 workers can expect to be furloughed under a funding freeze, including a nearly proportionate percentage of the FAA's workforce of about 46,000. A majority of employees from DOT's smaller agencies wouldn't be coming to work or getting paid, including those at NHTSA, FRA, PHMSA, the Maritime Administration and STB. While essential duties like air traffic control would continue, much of the department's watchdogging work would cease and it wouldn't be able to make grant payouts. But even though DOT would surely feel the pain, its backup plan isn't nearly as austere as departments like Health and Human Services, which furloughed more than half of its workers the last time around.
Decision time: House GOP leaders are set to meet today to talk over next steps on government funding and to weigh whether to wait on the Senate to go first with passage of the spending bill lawmakers in the upper chamber rolled out earlier this week. POLITICO's John Bresnahan and Rachael Bade report that nearly a dozen House GOP freshmen are cautioning their colleagues against holding the stopgap spending measure hostage over funding Planned Parenthood. And Lauren French writes that House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer says he expects his caucus will join with Republican leaders to pass the Senate's bill and avoid shuttering the federal government next week.
IT'S THURSDAY: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Reach out: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.
"The sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their daddy's magic carpet made of steel." http://bit.ly/1BDVVUP (H/t Paul Page)
VW CRISIS COSTS GERMANY ITS HIGH GROUND: Six days after the EPA announced the uncovering of Volkswagen's scheme to trick emissions tests, the scandal continues to dominate headlines and occupy world leaders. In the U.S., so much work lies ahead: slap VW with billions of dollars in fines, carry out a criminal investigation into the automaker's actions and ensure nearly half a million over-polluting vehicles get fixed. But those challenges are dwarfed by the burden being felt in Berlin.
Reporting from the German capital, POLITICO Europe's Matthew Karnitschnig writes this morning about how hard this news has hit that country: "Of the myriad crises to land on Angela Merkel's desk in recent years - from Europe's debt woes to the refugee emergency - nothing has confronted the German leader with the kind of challenge she faces in the emissions scandal engulfing Volkswagen. ... Given the importance of the industry to the economy - some economists estimate it accounts for as much as a quarter of German output when including the long tail of services connected to the sector - the panic may be justified."
PAPAL VISIT IMPARTS TRANSPORTATION PLANNING LESSONS: Pope Francis' journey through the nation's capital actually brought an unusual quiet to much of our normally-bustling city on Wednesday since many locals opted to telecommute rather than risk a congested ride into work. And while it's still early, today's D.C.-area traffic reports and public transit stats are likely to influence commuting trends in Philly and New York as his holiness makes his way north over the next few days. For transportation planners, the Pope's visit has been a lesson in flexibility. NJ Transit, for example, had opted to sell only advance tickets for its commuter-train service from Atlantic City to Philadelphia for the Pope's weekend stop there; but the rail service had sold less than 10 percent of the 28,000 tickets available by Wednesday evening, prompting officials to consider offering day-of purchases, the Wall Street Journal reports.
'Even keel': In New York, city officials are advising people to use mass transit rather than driving in Midtown Manhattan. If folks there heed that warning the way D.C.-area residents stayed off the roads on Wednesday, everything will work out the way traffic commanders have planned. But the man who oversees the city's traffic center tells the New York Times that the city has handled all kinds of congesting events and is prepared for whatever the Pope's visit will bring. "We've been through terrorist attacks, we've been through blackouts, we've been through pope visits, we've been through Super Bowl parades, we've been through scenarios that occur on a regular basis," said John Tipaldo, director of systems engineering at New York City's transportation department. "We try to keep an even keel here."
** A message from American Public Transportation Association: It's time to make transportation infrastructure a priority. Congress, find a dedicated funding solution. Pass a six-year bill with increased funding for public transportation and highways. Learn more at publictransportation.org. **
VW OWNERS FACE IDENTITY CRISIS: Of the nearly half a million Volkswagens caught up in the "defeat device" scandal in the U.S., one happens to belong to an expert on corporate social and environmental responsibility. Trina Hamilton, a University at Buffalo geography professor, owns a 2013 Jetta SportWagen - one of the diesel models at the center of the controversy. And Hamilton told our Lauren Gardner that VW will likely take a big hit in the years to come since environmentally conscious consumers won't want to be associated with a tainted brand. The consumer blowback against Volkswagen may be greater than that experienced by other corporations caught in environmental scandals, Hamilton says, pointing to BP in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf oil spill as an example. The oil giant saw a slight dip in sales after the accident, but drivers' choices in gasoline aren't nearly as visible as their car picks, she said. "When you're driving around in your car and you're driving something that's got this tarnished image," Hamilton explained, "it's got this very clear connection to your identity."
TRADE NEGOTIATORS BROADEN AUDIENCE FOR AUTO TALKS: Trade officials from the four countries taking on TPP auto talks prepare now to expand the group of negotiators with a meeting next week of all 12 countries involved. Pro Trade's Adam Behsudi reports that the U.S., Japan, Canada and Mexico didn't reach an agreement during their discussions this week but feel confident enough in their headway to take the talks to their Trans-Pacific Partnership peers. One trade official said that the fight - which is over how much of a vehicle's parts must originate from TPP countries in order for the final product to get tariff benefits - is now centered on bridging the difference between the tight integration of the auto industry achieved under NAFTA's rules and the standard Japan is seeking to take into account its extensive supply chain throughout Asia.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS CALL FOR VW EMISSIONS OFFSETS: Now that folks have begun to calculate the impact of Volkswagen's deception on U.S. air quality, some are calling on the U.S. to not only require VW to fix the cars in question but to make up for the environmental damage it has done. Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, told Bloomberg Business this week that federal officials should force VW to do things like fund power-plant emissions cuts. "Paying a fine would not be adequate in our opinion," O'Donnell said. "They are going to have to come up with ways to reduce emissions further."
Running the numbers: Bloomberg's Alan Levin and Jeff Plungis calculate that, based on the EPA's estimate of 482,000 vehicles polluting at up to 40 times the legal limit in the U.S., Volkswagen "added the equivalent of as many as 19 million chemical-spewing cars to American roads." And taking into account the 11 million noncompliant Volkswagens estimated to be on roads throughout the world, The Guardian reports that the company's trickery means it could be responsible for nearly 1 million metric tons of air pollution every year, "roughly the same as the UK's combined emissions for all power stations, vehicles, industry and agriculture."
MT MAILBAG: Well, this one's more like a mail truck. The Senate Commerce Committee has rounded up nearly 40 letters from rail operators (plus retailers, manufacturers and labor groups) urging Congress to extend the positive train control deadline.
MOVING ON UP: The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has promoted Jacob Craig to the post of director of engineering and project oversight. Craig joined the department in 2007 after working as a civil engineering consultant and has since been working on environmental impact studies in Virginia and North Carolina for the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor project.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
- Reasons car-sharing is on the rise in cities. Route Fifty: http://bit.ly/1VaYvZE
- Trucking makes a comeback, but small operators miss out. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1KRKaQp
- The unbreakable U.S. high-speed rail system. CityLab: http://bit.ly/1G2Swiy
- Boeing to open first China plant. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1LxZkLe
- Volkswagen test rigging follows a long auto industry pattern. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1KBCEp5
- Hyundai Motor workers strike at all three South Korea plants. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1KAVN9R
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 36 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 7 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 410 days.
THE DAY AHEAD:
9 a.m. - The FAA holds the sixth meeting of Special Committee 231. 1150 18th St. NW, suite 910.
10 a.m. - Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx attends Pope Francis' address to Congress. U.S. Capitol.
Noon - Foxx speaks about public-private partnerships during the Institutional Investor Conference. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW, room 152AB.
1 p.m. - The National Telecommunications and Information Administration meets to talk about commercial and private use of drones and related privacy, transparency and accountability concerns. American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Ave. NW, boardroom.
Did we miss an event? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com.
** A message from APTA: With expiration of federal funding for the nation's transportation infrastructure looming, Americans recognize the urgent need to invest in public transportation for the many benefits it provides, including broad economic benefits.
Three out of four Americans support increased investment in public transit infrastructure-whether they use it or not. Public transportation is a boost to local communities, spurring new business development, increasing property values and attracting new families.
While other nations significantly invest in their transportation infrastructure, America now ranks 28th in infrastructure investment and continues to fall behind our global competitors. We can do better.
Congress, find a dedicated funding solution. Pass a six-year bill with increased funding for transportation infrastructure. Learn more at publictransportation.org. **
To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/tipsheets/morning-transportation/2015/09/bracing-for-shutdown-one-week-out-013823
Stories from POLITICO Pro
GOP freshmen urge party to avoid shutdown Back
By John Bresnahan and Rachael Bade | 09/24/2015 05:53AM EDT
Nearly a dozen House GOP freshmen are urging their colleagues to avoid a government shutdown next week and pass a short-term spending bill a week before federal agencies run out of money.
In a "Dear Colleague" letter, eleven new Republicans urged their fellow GOP lawmakers to pass a continuing resolution by Sept. 30 - and not hold any stopgap spending bill hostage over funding for Planned Parenthood.
The small group, part of the centrist Republican Main Street Partnership, is seeking to be a counter to the hardline House Freedom Caucus, whose members are pressuring leadership to defund the women's health care organization, even if it means shuttering government agencies.
"[W]e are writing today to express our strong support for a funding resolution that will avoid another unnecessary and harmful government shutdown," the letter obtained by POLITICO states. "[W]e were elected by our constituent's to be principled, pragmatic leaders... The sixteen-day government shutdown in 2013 ... not only hurt taxpayers with the loss of important government services - it actually cost more taxpayer money to close the federal government than to keep it open."
Standard & Poor's estimated that the 2013 shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion.
The full centrist group actually comprises more than 65 Republicans, and a source familiar with the group speculated that most - if not all - of those members would likely back Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on a "clean" CR without the Planned Parenthood rider.
The new members-only letter, however, was aimed specifically at debunking the notion that "young agitators" are pushing the House to the right, the source said.
Signatories include: Reps. Ryan Costello (Penn.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Mimi Walters (Calif.), Daniel Donovan (N.Y.), John Katko (N.Y.), Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), Amata Radewagen (American Samoa), Cresent Hardy (N.V.), Bruce Poliquin (Maine), Martha McSally (Ariz.) and Tom MacArther (N.J.).
With the Senate set to vote Thursday on a CR defunding Planned Parenthood, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), meanwhile, took to the floor to urge immediate passage of a spending bill to avoid a shutdown.
"I'm tired of the political games," Ayotte said. "I'm tired of the president's game on this. I'm tired of the people on my side of the aisle who are pushing this strategy even though they know they don't have the votes to pass the U.S. Senate, and they certainly don't have the votes to override a presidential veto."
The chorus of moderate GOP voices comes just a day before Senate Democrats are expected to block a short-term spending bill that strips Planned Parenthood of any access to federal funds.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), also eager to avoid a shutdown, is expected to call up a "clean" funding bill if Democrats succeed in filibustering the first bill.
House GOP leadership on Thursday will powwow to plot their next moves. Boehner has tried to offer alternative proposals on defunding Planned Parenthood to his most hardline conservatives, although some are warning they will try to oust Boehner unless he's able to defund the group.
z
Hoyer: Dems will back bill to avoid shutdown Back
By Lauren French | 09/24/2015 05:53AM EDT
House Democrats would likely support a stopgap government funding bill that maintains current spending levels, a senior lawmaker said Wednesday.
Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said his caucus would need to review the specifics of any Senate-passed bill, but he expects House Democrats will join with Republican leaders to pass the legislation and avert a government shutdown next week.
But the Senate stopgap - expected to be passed in the next several days - would only stave off a shutdown for a few months and senior aides say House Democrats will pressure Republicans to eliminate or reduce sequester spending cuts in any long-term funding bill. Given that the House GOP may need Democratic votes to pass any spending measure, the minority party will likely have some leverage over any final agreement.
"We have been clear that we want to keep the government open," the Maryland Democrat said. "Under the circumstances it might [get] our support but I don't want to say that until I see what the Senate does."
Hoyer and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have said that Democrats are unlikely to support any long-term government funding measure that doesn't increase budget caps for defense and domestic spending.
The government will run out of money next Wednesday if the Senate and House cannot come together to pass a funding measure. But conservatives in both chambers want any CR to defund Planned Parenthood after the release of several sting videos showing the alleged sales of fetal tissue by the women's health group.
In the House, Speaker John Boehner is facing a revolt from his right flank with more than 40 lawmakers pledging not to vote for any bill the gives federal money to Planned Parenthood.
Democrats, meanwhile, are insisting on a "clean" funding bill.
There is still debate between Democrats and Republicans over the length of the first short-term stopgap bill, called a continuing resolution. The White House and House Democrats want that funding measure to only last through November but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill this week that would extend to mid-December.
Still, Hoyer was not entirely optimistic that lawmakers would be able to come together and avoid a shutdown.
"Hopefully common sense and reasonableness will prevail but there is not a lot to base that hope on," he said.
Pope's arrival fails to bring traffic apocalypse Back
By Kevin Robillard | 09/24/2015 05:53AM EDT
The warnings had gone out for months: Don't commute into Washington, D.C., when the pope's in town. Roads would be closed for security. Tourists looking to catch a glimpse of the pontiff would pack Metro's trains.
Nightmare averted, at least for now.
Although Washington has some of the worst traffic in the nation, Metrorail ridership was actually down compared to a typical weekday, WMATA said. Roughly 220,500 travelers had boarded a train as of midday, down 26 percent from last week, likely because of exhortations from the federal government and other employers to telecommute if possible.
Metrorail hasn't been completely free of problems since Pope Francis' arrival - a Green Line train carrying more than 200 people lost power and was stuck in a tunnel for more than an hour Tuesday evening, and there were delays on the Blue and Orange lines Wednesday morning - but the commute appeared free of crippling problems.
On social media, many commuters expressed shock at how empty their trains were, some of them tagging their comments with the #popecalypse or #popeindc hashtags.
"Easy peasy #WMATA commute. Wishing the pope could move here," tweeted Kytja Weir, a Center for Public Integrity reporter who used to cover the oft-troubled transit agency.
"Delighted by the lack of pope swarms on my wmata train," @magneticdynamo tweeted, along with a picture of a sparsely populated train car.
Only two of the agency's parking lots, at the Rhode Island Avenue and Fort Totten stations just over the Maryland line in Northeast D.C., were at or near capacity.
Major traffic problems were also few and far between. While roads around the White House, the Capitol, the Papal Nuncio and three churches the pope plans on visiting were closed - including southbound Massachusetts Ave., a major thoroughfare - traffic in and out of the city was running relatively smoothly.
"Knock on wood, we're doing OK. We're surviving," said Jim Battagliese, the director of traffic and weather operations for WTOP. "This morning was very light, so it looks like people got the message that things were going to be busy and stayed off the roads."
Battagliese did warn plenty of traffic hurdles remained: The papal motorcade could create tie-ups as it travels around the city, and a combination of pope-related traffic and a Washington Nationals game tonight could create problems.
"Just because we got through this morning's rush hour doesn't mean tomorrow will be smooth," he said.
No deal on TPP auto rules, but enough progress to move forward Back
By Adam Behsudi | 09/24/2015 05:53AM EDT
The United States, Japan, Canada and Mexico have failed to reach a "landing zone" on tariff rules for automobiles in the Trans-Pacific Partnership but made enough progress to move towards a meeting of all 12 countries involved in the talks next week in Atlanta, say officials close to the negotiations.
The four nations wrapped up two days of meetings in San Francisco Tuesday, where they discussed the rules of origin for autos and auto parts. The rules would be used to determine how much content must originate from TPP countries in order for a final product to get tariff benefits.
An official close to the negotiations said the four countries "took an important step forward" without elaborating on the details of the talks.
Canada and Mexico are pushing for requirements that would maintain the tight integration of the auto industry achieved under NAFTA's rules. Japan is seeking rules that take into account its extensive supply chain throughout Asian countries, many of which are not participating in TPP talks.
The auto issue tripped up an effort to conclude TPP talks in Hawaii in July after Mexico balked at a deal between the U.S. and Japan. The deal would have allowed the Asia auto powerhouse a lower content value threshold, but was deemed unacceptable by Mexico, which said it could undermine the gains the country's auto industry had made under NAFTA.
One country's official said the work is now focused on bridging the difference between the NAFTA rule and the standard rule for Japan.
A Canadian Ministry of Trade spokeswoman said Ottawa will continue to "advocate forcefully" for an outcome that "must protect and respect the integrated nature of the North American automotive industry."