NATIONAL NEWS:
The Hill: Bill would nearly double federal gasoline tax
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/infrastructure/191758-bill-filed-to-hike-gas-tax
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is introducing legislation that would nearly double the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax that is traditionally used to pay for federal transportation projects. Blumenauer's bill would increase the gas tax by 15 cents, matching a proposal that was included in the 2011 Simpson-Bowles budget reform recommendations.
Newsday: Kirsten Gillibrand urges feds to do safety review of MTA's rail system
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand reached out to the nation's railroad administrator Monday, asking for a swift and comprehensive safety evaluation of the MTA's commuter rail system after Sunday's derailment in the Bronx.
Associated Press: The Washington Post: NYC train derailment airs queries about technology
YONKERS, N.Y. — The revelation that a New York City commuter train derailed while barreling into a sharp curve at nearly three times the speed limit is fueling questions about whether automated crash-avoidance technology could have prevented the carnage.
Transportation Nation: Just How Likely Are You To Die on A Commuter Train?
http://www.wnyc.org/story/just-how-rare-it-die-commuter-train/
The terrifying Metro-North commuter train derailment on Sunday might make some hesitant to get back on the rails any time soon – particularly as it comes just months after two Metro-North trains collided near Fairfield, Conn. leaving 123 people hurt. But federal railroad data shows such accidents are rare – even for Metro-North, which seems to be having a really rough year.
Salon: Why mass transit is doomed in America: Politicians don’t know people who use it
If you want to know why mass transit is doomed in the United States, look at the place where it is undoubtedly more successful — and more widely used — than anywhere else in the country: New York.
McClatchy: Sun Herald: Obama spends $600 million on rail projects that benefit private companies
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/02/5155028/obama-spends-600-million-on-rail.html
… The nation’s freight rail network has been the quiet recipient of more than $600 million in federal investment during the Obama administration.
Greater Greater Washington: Rural Virginia leads eastern US in cars per household
Several broad trends are visible, most of them not surprising to anyone. But it is surprising that so many counties in Virginia stand out, with higher rates than otherwise comparable counties in nearby eastern states.
The New Republic: Amazon's Drones and the Problem of "Disrupting" Transportation
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115786/amazons-drones-and-american-infrastructure
… Amazon's drones are meant to solve the so-called "last mile" problem, and it's not necessarily one that's created by aging highways and crumbling bridges. But in opting for drones, Amazon is saying that it doesn't want to work within the current system, it wants to make a new one.
STATE NEWS:
Streetsblog: Q&A With Robert Grow: How Utah Decided to Embrace “Quality Growth”
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/12/02/qa-with-robert-grow-how-utah-decided-to-embrace-quality-growth/
If you’ve ever wondered how a deep-red state like Utah has managed to build some of the most ambitious transit expansions in the country, the short answer is: Envision Utah.
The Hill: DC Metro Silver Line extension delayed
The Washington, D.C. Metrorail subway system's extension toward Dulles International Airport has been delayed, officials building the line announced on Monday.
Star Tribune: Building a better bus stop
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/234102111.html
City leaders want more people to use transit as they seek to grow Minneapolis' population, but some local urbanists feel some relatively simpleimprovements are being overlooked.
Transportation Nation: Christie Sarcastically Denies Involvement in GW Bridge Traffic Controversy
http://www.wnyc.org/story/christie-denies-sarcasm-involvement-gw-bridge-traffic-controversy/
TRENTON – For the first time today, Governor Chris Christie addressed the controversy over lane closures that led to a massive traffic jam on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge in September. And not only did he deny the suggestion that he had anything to do with it, he dismissed the accusation as absurd.
Arizona Republic: Feds clear next leg of light rail in Mesa
…The decision was the last federal hurdle to be cleared before work could proceed. In a nutshell, it means the trains won’t damage environmental or cultural resources as they carry people from the east side of Mesa’s downtown to Gilbert Road, a major transit corridor and a psychological dividing line between the city’s east and west sides.
Politico Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider | 12/3/13
Featuring Kathryn A. Wolfe and Kevin Robillard
METRO-NORTH TRACK CLEANUP CONTINUES: NTSB officials continue their investigation today — rail cars from the fatal accident have been moved and workers started track repairs last night, but the route might be closed until late this week (http://politi.co/1cNeyru). New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo revised his estimate to “toward the end of the week.” The MTA is still running bus service today in place of the shuttered train line.
Train was going 82 mph in 30 mph zone:The train was going more than double the speed limit for the curved part of track in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood of the Bronx, NTSB member Earl Weener said Monday from New York. Not only was the curve rated for 30 mph, but the train was going faster than the 70 mph limit on the straight part of track before the turn. Weener said the train had made nine successful stops prior to derailing and that so far NTSB hadn’t found any anomalies with the brakes. The engineer at the controls had been tested for drugs and alcohol and his cell phone had been given to a forensics team for analysis — presumably to see whether he had been using it prior to the derailment. Kathryn has more in her story: http://politi.co/1bbAZXP
Derailments on the downturn: The string of recent derailments belies the overall downward trend. According to FRA stats, there were 59 derailments last year, down 25 percent from 78 ten years ago. When factoring in all other railroad classes, like freight, derailment statistics look even better, down by some 40 percent — from 2,133 in 2003 to 1,284 in 2012. Of course, those stats don’t tell the whole story, as Kathryn reports: “For one thing, they lump together all sorts of derailments from the serious to the mundane, such as those that might happen at a switching yard well away from passengers. But there’s no question that accidents and incidents across the board have been on a historical downswing. Train accidents per million train miles for Amtrak and commuter lines decreased by nearly 53 percent between 2003 and 2012, according to the FRA.”http://politico.pro/1jdJW7n
See for yourself: Two MTA videos of inspectors on the scene show some of the damage up close: http://bit.ly/IHTMkp,http://bit.ly/18zsc4n
TRIO OF TRANSPORT BILLS IN THE HOUSE TODAY: House members vote on three TSA and aviation bills today. On the suspension agenda: The TSA Loose Change Act (http://1.usa.gov/Izh2jn), which calls for money left at TSA checkpoints to be donated to military charities; the Transportation Acquisition Security Reform Act (http://1.usa.gov/1gvBrlS); and the Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013 (http://1.usa.gov/1fWSW0M). The upper chamber returns to session next week and senators could take up any (or none) of the House bills then.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where this time last year we were worrying about the new T&I subcommittee rosters and Steve LaTourette’s phone was “not ringing” in the White House search for a new DOT leader (http://politi.co/1janPyE). Please send me your tips, news and insights: asnider@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @AdamKSnider.
“I’m just sitting out here watching airplanes take off and fly …” http://bit.ly/IHXivc (h/t Jane Calderwood)
ROAD RAGE: Maybe the traffic or the annoying top 40 songs on the radio have gotten to people — but either way, there’s definitely a lot of rage on the nation’s roads. The results of a new survey from State Farm out this morning show nearly two-thirds of drivers deal with aggressive driving on a regular basis. But the figures offer an interesting glimpse at a trend: While 64 percent of drivers say they “experienced an act of aggressive driving from another driver” at least six times in the past three months, only 44 percent said they themselves had driven aggressively even once in the past three months. What’s not surprising is what sets drivers off the most: traffic jams (63 percent), running late (55 percent) and road closures or construction (47 percent). Full results of the survey by KRC Research come out today at 8 a.m.:http://prn.to/IoMtxE
** A Message from Stop Air Tax Now: As part of a potential budget deal, Congress is seeking to double the TSA Passenger Security Tax! As if raising the cost of air travel were not bad enough, the funds collected would not be used to improve aviation security. It’s a classic bait and switch! **
DELIVERY BY DRONE STILL HAS HOOPS TO FLY THROUGH: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos wants to see U.S. skies buzzing with autonomous delivery drones that get customers their products mere minutes after ordering. But it’s not that simple, with regulators, lawmakers and advocates in the way. Kevin and Morning Tech’s Alex Byers look at the biggest obstacles — whether the FAA will allow it, how exactly the system will work, privacy concerns and how to win support from a myriad of cities and states: http://politi.co/1bdwgBE
Basking in the glory: Kevin reports for Pros: “Consumers have plenty of reasons to get excited about Amazon’s (theoretical) plan to (eventually) deliver products direct to their door in 30 minutes or less via drone. The drone industry has even more.”http://politico.pro/1jdJW7n
FAA throws up the stop sign: The agency reiterated its rules barring most drones, including autonomous ones: “The FAA is committed to safe, efficient and timely integration of unmanned aircraft systems into our airspace. The FAA approves UAS operations by public entities on a case-by-case basis. So far, only a single commercial UAS operator has been approved to operate, and it is in the Arctic. UAS operators must abide by local, state and federal privacy laws.”
Hear me out: The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the economic benefits and privacy risks of domestic drones, including the Amazon plan, Alex Byers reports.
Dwight’s take: Rainn Wilson, best known as Dwight on “The Office,” had a funny question: “@rainnwilson: .@amazon I would like to order my own drone but have it delivered by UPS. Possible?”http://bit.ly/1b9Dyuo
MAILBAG — Privacy please: Sen. Ed Markey has sent letters to 20 top automakers asking for info on how their vehicles are protected from cyber-attacks or other privacy violations. Amid reports of people being able to “hack” into cars to mess with the computer system (which controls just about everything in modern vehicles), Markey wants to know what’s being done to prevent it. Read the letters to Toyota, Tesla, Porsche, Lamborghini, Honda, GM, Ford, BMW, Chrysler, Nissan and more: http://1.usa.gov/1bdGaTL
WRDA up: The Chamber of Commerce writes House and Senate water bill conferees about a final version, including support for a greater federal share of the Olmsted Locks and Dam project that was in the spotlight as part of the “Kentucky Kickback” in the debt deal earlier this year. Letter: http://uscham.com/1cVAEbc
SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER: Morning Trade author Adam Behsudi has the story: “Forget super-fast magnetic levitation trains: Andrew Nelson envisions a world in which passengers can rocket from New York to Tokyo in under two hours. Nelson’s company, XCOR Aerospace, has developed a two-seat spacecraft called the Lynx that would take thrill seekers on a half-hour suborbital flight for $95,000. ‘People are buying flights from us already,’ Nelson said. ‘I have customers lined up around the world that want to have a Lynx flying in their country.’” Pro story:http://politico.pro/1k1EPoy
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood talks stimulus, says DOT should have gotten $480 billion, not $48 billion. CNS News has video: http://bit.ly/1be4Uex
- House T&I ranking member Nick Rahall visits the port in Jacksonville, Fla. Florida Times-Union: http://bit.ly/1bbjibR
- The National Consumer League warns: Travel insurance is a rip-off. LA Times:http://lat.ms/1g1mkTT
- The MBTA will experiment with late-night weekend service next year. Boston Globe:http://b.globe.com/1c8hTiV
- Highway project in Savannah, Ga., uncovers artifacts from old slave quarters. Atlanta Journal-Constitution:http://bit.ly/1aryAVy
- A thousand cyclists had a “die-in” to demand safer streets in London. Streetsblog has the crazy picture:http://bit.ly/1arUlV5
- MWAA needs more time, software upgrades before handing Silver Line to WMATA. http://bit.ly/1jdEL7A
- Cramped seating and bag fees might not be the worst part of flying — how about a tuberculosis scare? CNN:http://cnn.it/1bdRQpI (h/t Bob King)
- FAA fines Great Lakes Aviation $304,000 (http://1.usa.gov/1dM5ZlN) and docks Southwest Airlines $325,000 for violations (http://1.usa.gov/1eQxvM4).
- Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is in danger of losing its title of world’s busiest — Beijing Capital International Airport is catching up fast. AJC: http://bit.ly/18i6pZk
THE DAY AHEAD: 11 a.m. — The RAND Corporation holds a briefing titled “The Future of Mobility: Transportation 2030.” 2168 Rayburn House Office Building. Registration: http://bit.ly/1hu3O6U
12:45 p.m. — The Washington Space and Business Roundtable holds a discussion titled “Arianespace and the Global Launch Industry: Continuously Reinventing Access to Space.” Mayflower Renaissance, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW.
2 p.m. — The Eno Center for Transportation holds a webinar to release a paper titled “Lessons Learned from the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) System Expansion.” Online.
4 p.m. — FAA briefing with Jim Williams of the UAS Integration Office, Karlin Toner from the Joint Planning and Development Office and Carlos Siso with the Chief Counsel. 2212 Rayburn House Office Building.
6:30 p.m. — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will speak at the 2013 Charlotte Chamber Annual Meeting. NASCAR Hall of Fame, 400 E Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Charlotte, N.C.
CAPITAL NEW YORK RELAUNCHES:Don’t miss today’s debut of the new-and-improved Capital New York. With an expanded staff of nearly two dozen journalists, Capital offers a POLITICO-style experience for anyone who cares about city politics, state politics or the business of media. Check out the redesigned site for the latest on City Hall, Albany and the media industry atwww.capitalnewyork.com, and sign up for the Capital Playbook email athttp://bit.ly/18fRKh7
THE COUNTDOWN: Surface transportation policy is up in 302 days and FAA policy in 667 days. The mid-term elections are in 336 days. DOT appropriations run out in 44 days.
CABOOSE — Circular bike storage: Your MT host was recently in Manhattan and noticed the car elevators that give small lots extra space. On the bike parking side of things, here’s a similar way to get the most out of precious space with a round bike parking station. The Atlantic Cities:http://bit.ly/1betThU
** A Message from Stop Air Tax Now: Passengers and airlines already pay 17 federal aviation taxes annually, which totaled $19 billion last year. The federal tax bite on a typical $300 domestic round-trip ticket is now $62, or 21 percent of the total ticket price. Higher taxes drive up the cost of air travel for our customers and dampen demand, which hurts the economy, jobs and reduces air service to communities. A4A, labor and consumer groups have joined together to oppose this unfair and unwarranted tax hikes. Let Congress and the President know that you oppose the proposed increases to the TSA Passenger Security Tax. Go to stopairtaxnow.com to let your voices be heard — loud and clear — and to stay updated on our progress.**
Stories from POLITICO Pro
Train derailments on the decline
Commercial spaceflight industry fears reforms could leave it grounded
Train derailments on the decline
By Kathryn A. Wolfe | 12/2/13
Sunday’s crash of a Metro-North train in New York, the line’s second major derailment since May, has raised fresh questions about train safety — but in fact, derailments nationwide have declined significantly over the past decade.
According to statistics maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak and commuter rail operations — including Metro-North — have seen derailments reduced by nearly 25 percent over the past 10 years, dropping from a total of 78 in 2003 to 59 last year.
When factoring in all other classes of railroads, such as freight rail operations, derailment statistics look even better, down by some 40 percent — from 2,133 in 2003 to 1,284 in 2012.
These figures don’t tell the whole story. For one thing, they lump together all sorts of derailments from the serious to the mundane, such as those that might happen at a switching yard well away from passengers.
But there’s no question that accidents and incidents across the board have been on a historical downswing. Train accidents per million train miles for Amtrak and commuter lines decreased by nearly 53 percent between 2003 and 2012, according to the FRA.
In fact, FRA spokesman Mike Murray said, 2012 was the safest year in the rail industry’s history, “thanks in part to the FRA’s commitment to reducing and eliminating risk wherever possible.” He noted that derailments are also down and said the “vast majority” of what remains “occur in switching yards and other environments where trains are not carrying passengers.”
Even Metro-North’s statistics have been improving, according to FRA’s database. Its number of train accidents per million miles is down about 86 percent over the past 10 years, well outpacing the national average, though its derailments have stayed static overall.
The American Association of Railroads attributed the reduction in accidents and other incidents to the amount of money that freight railroads have poured into their networks, and pointed to a chart showing that as investments have grown, train accidents, derailments and employee injuries have declined.
Patricia Reilly, a spokeswoman for AAR, said the decline is due to the industry’s “record billion-dollar investments … aimed at infrastructure and equipment maintenance, heightened attention to safety practices and procedures, as well as advances in technology that allow us to detect problems before they cause accidents.”
Train travel also remains much safer than driving to get from point A to point B — though buses and planes are even safer. According to a 2013 study published in Research in Transportation Economics, commuter and long-haul trains were responsible for 0.43 fatalities per billion passenger miles between 2000 and 2009, compared with 7.28 fatalities per billion passenger miles for cars and light-duty trucks.
Commercial spaceflight industry fears reforms could leave it grounded
By Adam Behsudi | 12/2/13
Forget super-fast magnetic levitation trains: Andrew Nelson envisions a world in which passengers can rocket from New York to Tokyo in under two hours.
Nelson’s company, XCOR Aerospace, has developed a two-seat spacecraft called the Lynx that would take thrill seekers on a half-hour suborbital flight for $95,000.
“People are buying flights from us already,” Nelson said. “I have customers lined up around the world that want to have a Lynx flying in their country.”
Since 2009, XCOR has inked deals with South Korea and Curacao to lease the spaceship, as well as pilots and technicians, to companies in those countries, providing the thrill of an up-and-down space ride to foreigners with g-force-size wallets and zero-gravity dreams.
But Nelson, the company’s chief operating officer, is among several industry officials who fear their global expansion plans, and the evolution of the suborbital spaceflight industry as a whole, could be left behind in the U.S. government’s effort to overhaul export regulations, including those for the commercial spaceflight industry.
The Obama administration’s intensive effort to revamp U.S. export control regulations, which began in 2010, involves the sometimes onerous process of transferring less militarily sensitive technology from the State Department’s strictly controlled U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Department’s less stringently guarded Commerce Control List.
The reforms would relieve longstanding restrictions on the export of commercial satellites, but manned spacecraft of the kind U.S. companies plan to launch could be left on the Munitions List because of their rocket technology, which government officials say could be used to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles.
A final regulation could be published by February or March, said a senior Commerce Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Although industry officials say they understand the reasons for government’s concerns, they stress that strict controls over commercial spaceflight exports are misguided and in the long run could prevent their companies from amassing the safety data needed to develop point-to-point travel, which they hope could someday make speedy suborbital flights around the world as common as transatlantic flights are today.
“The only way you’re going to get there is to fly a whole lot of flights and learn a lot of lessons along the way,” Nelson said. “You’re going to build up those lessons learned and that database much much faster if you have a lot of these vehicles flying around the world.”
Federal officials say they are working hard to find a middle ground in reforming the export regulations, safeguarding national security without squelching the up-and-coming industry.
Although the officials are bound by law to keep the controls on commercial spaceflight, the senior Commerce official said, “We are nonetheless thinking through it to see how we can make it more tailored.”
The overall goal of the regulatory changes is to protect the most sensitive military technology while allowing more leeway to export less significant parts and equipment, putting “higher walls around fewer items,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said when the initiative was launched. Munitions list categories covering aircraft and jet engines have already been streamlined, and ships, submarines and military vehicles will be next.
But the spaceflight industry has run up against special concerns over the years, beginning in 1999, when Congress took away the White House’s authority to ease restrictions on the export of spacecraft parts after satellite launch technology that had been placed on the Commerce list was exported to China and allegedly used to enhance Beijing’s military capabilities.
Aerospace industry officials said the restriction had unforeseen consequences: The domestic satellite industry eroded to a point that allowed competitors in Europe to capture a huge share of the market.
Lawmakers, as part of the export control reform effort, returned the authority to the administration through provisions in the 2012 defense authorization bill, but the rocket engines in suborbital spacecraft remain a concern of U.S. officials who want to prevent potentially missile-building technology from falling into the wrong hands.
In addition, exports of rockets that can deliver payloads over certain distances are generally barred under the Missile Technology Control Regime, an international export control agreement that the U.S. and 33 countries participate in, including Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Commercial spaceflight companies say the proposed U.S. rule is outdated and doesn’t take into account the rapid strides being made in the private-sector space industry.
“While we fully understand the reasoning and appreciate the concerns behind U.S. export controls affecting our industry, the restrictions were established decades ago when space travel was the purview of governments and privately funded and developed ventures such as ours could hardly be imagined,” said Bruce Jackson, vice president of trade controls and export strategy for Virgin Galactic. He added that he fears the suborbital tourism industry ultimately will be left out of the U.S. export reforms.
The rule changes come at a critical time for his company, Jackson said. After an exhaustive test flight program concludes, Virgin Galactic hopes to begin commercial spaceflights in the second half of 2014 from its spaceport in southern New Mexico, he said.
Gregory Suchan, a senior adviser at the aerospace advisory firm Commonwealth Consulting, which works on export control policies for XCOR, said a spacecraft shouldn’t end up on the Munitions List just because it’s manned.
“I don’t think anybody would consider using the power plant from the Lynx or Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo to power a ballistic missile,” Suchan said, adding that the engines “just wouldn’t work that way.”
The Lynx, for example, has four engines, each the size of a coffee can, which provide about 2,500-3,000 pounds of thrust apiece — far less than the 90,000 pounds generated by a commercially available jet engine, XCOR’s Nelson said.
Another problem with keeping manned spacecraft on the Munitions List is that investors would see the strict export controls as a major hurdle to developing the industry, and one that brings a lot of risk, industry officials say.
“The problem with the [munitions] regime is it operates on a guilty-until-proven-innocent basis,” said Mike Gold, director of D.C. operations for Bigelow Aerospace.
The company, founded by hotel magnate Robert Bigelow, develops inflatable modules that serve as expandable rooms in space stations — something like an outer-space version of a pop-up camper. It entered into an agreement with NASA in January to attach one of its modules to the International Space Station, but getting the first prototypes into space wasn’t easy, or cheap, Gold said.
The first of the modules was deployed by a Russian Dnepr rocket — a converted intercontinental ballistic missile — from a launch site in Siberia. Although the module itself doesn’t carry any risks associated with the export of U.S. rocket engine technology, launching it did require the use of a Munitions List item: a simple stand resembling an upside-down coffee table.
Because the stand was on the Munitions List, Gold said, Bigelow had to get a special license to send it overseas, guard it with security personnel and pay two U.S. government minders $150 an hour to monitor the operation.
“We had to have two guards on a 24/7basis watching this coffee table and two monitors watching the guards watch this coffee table,” he said.
Such requirements would make long-term operations in foreign countries unfeasible for U.S. companies using strictly controlled items, he said, adding that any plan to ease regulations on spacecraft exports would be “one small step for the commercial space industry, and one giant leap for common sense.”
“Now we can at least have the conversation,” he said.
At the very least, the government’s final export regulation should allow foreign customers to participate in U.S. commercial spaceflight activities, Gold said. The rule initially required companies to obtain licenses for that, but the administration granted an exception last year at the request of Bigelow and Virgin Galactic.
“I expect we’ll be extending that passenger experience relief,” Gold said. “Even if we launch our system from the United States, that doesn’t mean we’re not going to have foreign customers.”
But Gold, Jackson and Nelson also say a final export regulation must offer U.S. commercial spaceflight companies the opportunity to expand to overseas markets under less onerous restrictions.
“You are preventing the aviation industry from taking off in the 1920s globally, or you’re preventing the Internet from getting outside DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency] and spreading around the world and creating the commerce and industry that we have today,” Nelson said. “That’s the analogy that we’re looking at.”
NATIONAL NEWS:
The Hill: Bill would nearly double federal gasoline tax
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/infrastructure/191758-bill-filed-to-hike-gas-tax
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is introducing legislation that would nearly double the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax that is traditionally used to pay for federal transportation projects. Blumenauer's bill would increase the gas tax by 15 cents, matching a proposal that was included in the 2011 Simpson-Bowles budget reform recommendations.