BAF IN THE NEWS:
Philadelphia Inquirer: Inquirer Editorial: Building for the next storm
A new White House report on rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy delivers the right message: that a true recovery must anticipate rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.
NATIONAL NEWS:
AAA Newsroom: Americans Growing Less Concerned about Dangerous Driving Behaviors
http://newsroom.aaa.com/2013/08/americans-growing-less-concerned-about-dangerous-driving-behaviors/
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 22, 2013) – Americans are less likely to perceive a serious threat from dangerous driving behaviors such as drunk, aggressive or drowsy driving, according to an analysis of four years of public surveys conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The decreased concern is accompanied by an estimated 5.3 percent increase in annual traffic fatalities, totaling more than 34,000 in 2012. This is the first annual increase in seven years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Economist: Was deregulation bad?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2013/08/airlines-america?fsrc=rss
THIS blog has long held that airline deregulation in America was a good thing, and that the late Alfred Kahn, who deserves a good deal of the credit for it, is a hero of air travel. Last week, writing about the Justice Department's move to block US Airways' planned merger with American Airlines, Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum highlighted a novel counterargument. Mr Drum says that it is still "an open question whether deregulation was such a boon for the flying public in the first place," and points to a 2012 article by Phillip Longman and Lina Khan.
Washington Post: AP: Former top US auditor struggles with a subtle enemy: US debt; can you spare a trillion?
NEW YORK — The economy is slowly growing, the government’s yearly budget deficit falling. But the nation’s former top auditor doesn’t buy the idea that everything is OK.
New York Times: The Government and the Entrepreneurs
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/the-government-and-the-entrepreneurs/?_r=0
Entrepreneurship seems like the quintessential private sector activity. An individual or a small group of colleagues decide to set up a business and raise some capital. If things go well, sales grow and they can hire more people. The business grows based on retained profits – or they may be able to attract funding from venture capital or some other risk-taking investors. Success brings legitimate big rewards to the people who are willing to risk an equity investment, which could rise in value or become worthless, and to those who work hard to make the business growth possible.
New York Times: Chinese Manufacturing Grows More Than Expected
HONG KONG — A closely watched survey of manufacturing-sector activity in China provided the latest indication on Thursday that the world’s second-largest economy appears to have bottomed out after many months of slowing growth.
The Hill: LaHood named fellow at Illinois alma mater
Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has been named a senior fellow for a Peoria, Ill. university.
StateTech: 3 States Investing in Smart Transportation
http://www.statetechmagazine.com/article/2013/08/3-states-investing-smart-transportation
Connected cars, buses and trains will be key to the future of transportation. In addition to easing traffic congestion, the technology could cut down on fossil fuel use, reduce accidents and even create jobs. It’s a technology that is top of mind for many governments. Here’s a look at three stat
Railway Age: Rail’s superior safety remains unappreciated
The latest pushback during a given discussion over drinks doesn't catch me unawares, but the vehemence still takes me aback. "You talk trains and safety. But you just want to take away our cars."
Railway Age: Crude by rail: The outlook is good
“Narrowing oil price differentials are impacting carloadings in the near term, but should not deter shippers from making long-term investments in crude-by-rail, which has many inherent logistical benefits that can override price in determining a transportation mode in certain scenarios,” says Cowen and Co. Managing Director and Railway Age Contributing Editor Jason H. Seidl. “Price differentials may slow CBR but won’t stop it.”
STATE NEWS:
Charlotte Business Journal: Charlotte hybrid busmaker DesignLine files for bankruptcy protection
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/08/16/charlotte-hybrid-busmaker-designline.html
Charlotte busmaker DesignLine Corp. — which has struggled with production delays and lawsuits since relocating its headquarters here from New Zealand in 2006 — filed Thursday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to court documents.
The Transit Wire: MBTA’s mobile ticket app reaches $10m in sales
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s mobile ticketing platform has reached $10 million dollars in sales since it was launched in November 2012. Commuter rail riders have purchased more than 1 million tickets, representing 15% of all non-corporate commuter rail ticket sales.
Streetsblog: Desperate to Keep Highway Money Flowing, Texas Foists Costs Onto Cities
Faced with an impending budget crisis, the Texas Department of Transportation has decided not to rethink its $5.2 billion plan for a third outerbelt through undeveloped grasslands around Houston. Instead, the agency has developed a proposal to basically shift a big part of its costs to the state’s major cities.
Kansas City Star: Railroads seek to install cameras to watch crews
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/21/4425448/railroads-seek-to-install-cameras.html#storylink=cpy
OMAHA, Neb. — At least two major U.S. freight railroads are seeking to install cameras in their locomotives to make sure crews are following rules and avoiding cellphone use.
The Atlantic: The 'Rapid' Story: Trains, Planes, and the Making of a City
One of the things that makes it worthwhile to visit small American cities away from the busy urban centers of the coasts is that in many cases the history of the place still stirs the imagination: questions about settlement have not been rendered all-but-invisible by development. So one wonders, How was this place settled? Who came here? Why? How?
Dallas Morning News: Editorial: Boost for Texas bullet-train project
A single addition to the staff of a Texas bullet-train enterprise packs a potent message to North Texas that the project means business and isn’t a California-style pipe dream.
WDDE: Amtrak unveils new electric locomotive
http://www.wdde.org/48830-amtrak-new-locomotive#sthash.LjRXkrBJ.dpuf
Amtrak is in the final phase of testing its newest locomotives – and Wednesday offered Senator Tom Carper (D-Delaware) and others a sneak peak at its Wilmington Maintenance Facility.
Politico Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider | 8/22/13 5:30 AM EDT
Featuring Kevin Robillard
DON’T WORRY, DRIVE HAPPY: Fewer Americans are worried about drunk, tired and aggressive driving, according to a new AAA survey being released today. There are also slightly fewer people who think that texting while driving is a major safety threat — 81 percent in the new poll compared to 87 percent four years ago. The full results — out today — come from 11,000 interviews with drivers between 2009 and 2012. More via the AP: http://bit.ly/14F3sjh
PATENT TROLL UPDATES — APTA settles: Two big bits of news on patent troll/patent assertion entities, depending on how you view the issue. First up, APTA has settled with ArrivalStar, which had sued at least 11 transit agencies for using real-time arrival systems that the company says it owns the rights to. Under the settlement, ArrivalStar won’t be able to sue any of the transit group’s members. “This is a good day for the public transportation industry and now public transportation agencies and businesses can move forward with innovative technology without threat of baseless litigation,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy.
Airlines sued: One transportation patent infringement case might be off the table, but there’s another to take its place. Loyalty Conversions Systems has sued ten U.S. airlines — including big ones like Delta, American and Southwest — over their use of customer loyalty programs, claiming the company has patents on a system to convert rewards from one program to another. “For example, frequent flier programs with systems that permit customers to electronically convert the loyalty points earned from a hotel or other service provider, into miles of the airline, would likely be covered by one or more of the 16 Loyalty Systems Conversion patents,” the company said.
Airlines not happy: “This complaint further highlights the need to reform the patent approval and enforcement process so that legitimate businesses aren’t subjected to frivolous patent troll lawsuits,” an A4A official told MT.
ANOTHER RECESS THURSDAY. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes and automobiles, where today we’re celebrating the 111th anniversary of President Teddy Roosevelt becoming the first U.S. leader to ride in a car in public view (check out NYT’s original article: http://nyti.ms/174F2DO). Please be in touch: asnider@politico.com. And follow on Twitter: @AdamKSnider and @POLITICOPro.
“Who been drivin' my Terraplane for you since I been gone …” http://bit.ly/1dqYHAO
**A message from POWERJobs: New jobs on our radar this week: Manager/Director of Government Affairs at American Land Title Association, Senior Legislative Counsel at Human Rights Campaign and Software Engineer at The Boeing Company. Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at POWERJobs.com; finally, a career site made for YOU!**
HAPPENING TODAY -- Don’t drive drunk: Ahead of the booze- and travel-filled Labor Day weekend, DOT is going through an annual routine: Telling people not to drink and drive before a big holiday. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joins NHTSA head David Strickland, MADD President Jan Withers and others today to roll out the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign. Drunk driving is a serious issue — more than 10,000 people are killed each year in crashes thanks to impaired drivers. In 2010, somebody died at the hands of a drunk driver every 51 minutes. The event at DOT today starts at 10 a.m.
Airline outlook: An hour later and a few miles away, Airlines for America holds a briefing on U.S. passenger airlines’ financial results and a look ahead to the September ICAO meeting.
CALIFORNIA HSR, FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE: Financial firm Sterne Agee has a new “industry report” on the Golden State’s fast train project that was recently slapped down — but not halted — by a judge. The report says the opportunities from the $68 billion project “remain considerable” but the group is maintaining “a cautiously optimistic view as both funding and political obstacles appear significantly challenging.” Sterne says the price tag “raises many doubts” since it needs about $57 billion in funds not yet secured: “While only a couple billion in private funding appears likely, state and federal governments remain expected to fund the remainder. In the meantime public support appears to be waning.” Read the full report: http://bit.ly/1asLoAj
LaHOOD STAYING BUSY: Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood now has a title much longer — Honorary Senior Distinguished Fellow at Bradley University’s Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service. LaHood has a long-running association with Bradley, which is based in his hometown of Peoria. Both he and his wife went to school there and LaHood served on the board of trustees from 1999 to 2006. “It is where I met my wife Kathy and received a great education,” the former secretary said of his alma mater and new employer. “I believe that the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service at Bradley can inspire a new generation of public service leaders to use a bipartisan and collaborative approach to resolving America’s toughest issues.”
ABOUT GADGETS ON PLANES … It seems the United States isn’t the only country where residents are itching to play a game on their phone during takeoff or landing. Transportation legend Mort Downey wrote in after a recent trip to China, noting that the Civil Aviation Administration of China doesn’t let fliers use iPads or phones, even in airplane mode. There’s no being sneaky, either, Downey wrote to MT: “Flight attendants sternly enforce!”
IN TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER — Baltimore grand prix: The FHWA has issued final notice on the cloture of part of I-395 in Baltimore (south of Conway St.) for the Baltimore Grand Prix over the Labor Day weekend. More info: http://1.usa.gov/14XpAou
SPACE — THE FINAL (CONNECTED CAR) FRONTIER: Your MT host is loving all the space-based news lately. The newest: Ford is starting a research project with St. Petersburg Polytechnic University in Russia to look at how robots in space talk to each other, with the hope it can further connected car tech. Emergency vehicle communication is one area they’re looking at: “Ford is analyzing how emergency messages should be sent to ensure delivery if network failures were to occur, identifying the systems and methods that provide redundancy in case of primary delivery failure,” the company says. More info from Ford: http://ford.to/15b5qeS
CONCRETE EXAMPLE: The concrete industry is asking for an exemption from a new FMCSA rule requiring truckers to take a 30 minute rest break for every eight hours of work. In a posting this week in the Federal Register, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association says the rule poses an unique burden on the industry because it only takes 90 minutes for concrete to dry, become unusable and damage a truck. More: http://1.usa.gov/1d365Vt
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- DFW Connector set to open nine months early. Dallas Morning News: http://bit.ly/1d6bOsC
- Fliers angry over puny compensation checks for expensive airline problems. Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/12qHRgX
- Former United flight attendant to plead guilty to bomb threat after the company didn’t investigate his claims of sexual harassment from a superior. AP: http://bit.ly/1f3pUYg
- Navigant Research releases market report on car-sharing programs. http://bit.ly/19KbL5o
- There’s an objection to the Toyota unintended acceleration settlement over $30 million for a program “shifting the blame” to drivers. Center for Auto Safety: http://bit.ly/19ykkwx
- Washington state DOT working to protect Amtrak’s Cascades route from landslides. Progressive Railroading: http://bit.ly/13H7nkV
- ACI-NA gives environmental awards to airports in San Francisco, Vancouver, Detroit and Victoria. http://bit.ly/184AbQ6
- A historical look at the popularity of “rails to-trails” projects. Huff Po: http://huff.to/13H7CME
THE DAY AHEAD: All day — The 2013 North American Inspectors Championship, hosted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and held in conjunction with the American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships. Salt Lake City.
9 a.m. — The Center for Strategic and International Studies holds a discussion titled “Building a Culture of Resilience: Forward Thinking in Disaster Recovery and Preparedness.” 1800 K St. NW, B-1C conference room.
10 a.m. — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joins NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, law enforcement officers and safety advocates for the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” national enforcement crackdown and awareness campaign. DOT, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE.
11 a.m. — A4A hosts a review of U.S. passenger airlines’ year-to-date 2013 financial and operational results. 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
THE COUNTDOWN: DOT funding and passenger rail policy both run out in 40 days. Surface transportation policy is up in 405 days and FAA policy in 770 days. The mid-term elections are in 449 days.
CABOOSE — Tucson streetcar: Arizona state Sen. Steve Farley, from Tucson, passes along this shot from June 1, 1906, the day the original Tucson electric streetcar was delivered. It’s especially timely given that the first of the city’s new streetcars should be delivered next week. Farley also passes along word that his support for the streetcar didn’t exactly endanger his job: “My opponent in the last election mailed out a hit piece on me, calling me ‘the Streetcar Godfather’ due to my longtime advocacy for the line. I won by ten points in a competitive district that does not touch the streetcar route.” Give the picture a look: http://politico.pro/13GUDuC
BAF IN THE NEWS:
Philadelphia Inquirer: Inquirer Editorial: Building for the next storm
A new White House report on rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy delivers the right message: that a true recovery must anticipate rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change.