Infrastructure in the News: May 8, 2015
NATIONAL NEWS
Brookings: Expanding opportunity through infrastructure jobs
http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports2/2015/05/07-opportunity-infrastructure-jobs-kane-puentes
In the face of dour news about stagnant wages, rising inequality, and a vanishing middle class, metropolitan areas are raising local minimum wages, experimenting with newapprenticeship programs, and considering a range of other development tools to tackle their workforce challenges. Collectively, these strategies represent crucial steps to boost incomes and improve economic mobility during the recovery. In the same way, infrastructure investment is supporting more and better jobs throughout the country, drawing from a variety of efforts across the public and private sector.
Vox: The real story behind the demise of America's once-mighty streetcars
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562007/streetcar-history-demise
This post is part of a series on the past, present, and future of commuting in America.
Back in the 1920s, most American city-dwellers took public transportation to work every day.
WNYC: Why Left Turns Are So Deadly
http://www.wnyc.org/story/left-turns/
One of the most challenging maneuvers for a driver to make — a left turn — is also one of its most dangerous for pedestrians.
Yahoo Homes: Where Can Millennials Afford to Buy Homes?
https://homes.yahoo.com/news/where-millennials-afford-buy-homes-214059072.html
Now that we’re well into the year of the millennial migration — when young adults are expected to overtake Generation X as the largest group of home buyers — it’s time to consider where millennials can afford to buy.
STATE NEWS
The Hill: Michigan voters reject gas tax hike
http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/241311-michigan-voters-reject-gas-tax-hike
Voters in Michigan have rejected a proposal to increase gas taxes in their state to help pay for transportation projects, the Detroit Free Press reports.
WBAL TV: MdTA approves toll reductions in Maryland
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/mdta-approves-toll-reductions-in-maryland/32862652
ANNAPOLIS, Md. —The Maryland Transportation Authority approved on Thursday seven toll reduction packages across the state, an increase in E-ZPass discounts and the elimination of the monthly E-ZPass account fee.
FOX CT: CTFastrak surpasses ridership expectations just 5 weeks in
http://foxct.com/2015/05/06/ctfastrak-surpasses-ridership-expectations-just-5-weeks-in/
HARTFORD–After five weeks of operation, CTFastrak Bus rapid Transit system has surpassed 150,000 rides on the bus-only roadway routes.
POLITICO MORNING TRANSPORTATION
By Jennifer Scholtes | 5/8/15 5:43 AM EST
With help from Heather Caygle.
WITH NO PLAN OF THEIR OWN, TOP DEMS TRASH GOP OVER TRANSPORTATION: In the spotlight, Senate Democratic leaders like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer are bad-mouthing Republicans for not delivering a big-picture plan for transportation funding. But they are reluctant to admit that their own party isn’t unified on pay-fors either and quick to forget that they too failed to enact a sweeping overhaul of the transportation funding scheme during their tenure in the majority. That partisanship has not plagued all of the upper chamber’s members, though. Behind the scenes, a few lawmakers from each party are trying to get their colleagues to settle on the length of a short-term patch and to begin conceptualizing that long-term strategy that has been so elusive in recent years. Sen. Tim Scott described the situation best this week when he said his caucus is “struggling” to sort this out. “Please pray for us,” he said Thursday. “We need some help.” More from Pro: http://politico.pro/1F2hK3j.
Indiscriminate criticism: The outside groups pushing for Congress to come through with a multi-year plan are certainly not blaming just one party for inaction. The American Road and Transportation Builders Association has partnered with the American Public Transportation Association to launch a radio campaign targeting congressional leaders from both parties in their home districts. The groups are running 30-second spots in states and districts represented by Republican and Democratic leaders in both chambers, as well as the heads of the Senate Finance Committee.
“For the past seven years,” the ads say, “our presidents and the Congress have added over $50 billion to our nation’s debt … just to maintain current road and public transit funding. Now they’re talking about doing it again. That puts a huge burden on future generations. And it’s wrong. It’s guaranteeing our kids will have worse debt, … traffic congestion and poor infrastructure. Tell [Congressman/Senator…] you’re tired of funny money politics and budget schemes on transportation. It’s not fair to our kids.” Listen for yourself: http://bit.ly/1bBV0v3.
V-DAY FLYOVER FILLS D.C. SKIES: DCA’s airspace will be closed off from noon to 1 p.m. today as a fleet of 56 World War II aircraft take to the skies of the nation’s capital to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the day the Allies accepted Germany’s surrender. In sight from the National Mall, the planes will swoop in 15 formations representing the war’s major battles. Look to the clouds around noon to watch the spectacle live from pretty much any spot in D.C., or catch it online: http://bit.ly/1JOtOIr.
FOXX HOPS ABOARD SILVER LINE: Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will ride the Silver Line this morning with Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock, traveling five stops to the end of the line in Reston, where they will hold a press conference about the need for investment in public transportation. Around the same time, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission will be hosting a forum on the region’s transit network, across from the Greensboro stop on the Silver Line. Comstock is set to speak at that event too, along with Deputy Secretary of Transportation Victor Mendez, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne and Sen. Tim Kaine, as well as Reps. Don Beyer, Barbara Comstock and Gerry Connolly. http://bit.ly/1IkXUTo
INNOVATING IN THE FIELD OF DRIVERLESS CARS: Jonathan Margolis, the acting deputy assistant secretary at the State Department, will trek to Dupont this morning to talk about driverless cars at Brookings. The panel will focus on how the U.S. and Germany are promoting innovation and influencing regulations for that industry. Check it out: http://brook.gs/1FSqYjb.
THAT FRIDAY FEELING: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Today, MT is really digging this sassy cartoon Bloomberg Business drew up to show how Detroit-based Shinola has executed its vision of making an all-American bike: http://bloom.bg/1IlhleI.
Reach out: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.
“I can be the train and you can be the tracks.” (h/t Adam Snider) http://bit.ly/1ITNmtw
FAA ASKS AIRPORT NEIGHBORS ABOUT NOISE: The FAA announced this week that it will soon start contacting people living near airports to get a sense of how they feel about noise from planes flying around their homes. The agency says the effort will be “the most comprehensive study using a single noise survey ever undertaken in the United States.” Communities around 20 of the nation’s airports will be surveyed, but the FAA says it can’t disclose which will be chosen, in order to preserve the scientific integrity of the study. http://politico.pro/1AJeJiY
DOT POLICY WONK CHIDES NEW YORK FOR TRANSIT INACTION: DOT’s Peter Rogoff scolded New York state’s policymakers on Thursday for failing to fund a five-year plan to keep the region’s transit system up to snuff. “We in Washington may have foolishly thought that something as fundamental as the MTA capital plan would certainly have a solution by now,” said Rogoff, DOT’s undersecretary of transportation for policy. More from Dana Rubinstein for Capital New York: http://politico.pro/1F8Qm5n.
TENNESSEE AUTO UNION ASPIRES FOR GERMAN-LIKE ORGANIZING: Fostering a little German labor culture in the states, the United Auto Workers Local 42 plans to formalize a works council at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., and become the exclusive representative for the plant’s workers. Pro’s Brian Mahoney explains that “works councils are common throughout Europe and especially in Germany, where VW is located. They are cooperative bodies in which managers and workers meet to discuss a variety of issues affecting the plant and its workers. Volkswagen USA has already established a sort of proto-works council in Chattanooga. … But there are limits under U.S. law on how closely VW may follow the German works council model without recognizing a union to represent workers.” http://politico.pro/1Kn3FNN
CRUDE TREATMENT PROBABLY WON’T PREVENT MANY EXPLOSIONS: DOT says North Dakota’s new pre-treatment standard for Bakken oil “will not have a drastic effect” in reducing fire and explosions from train derailments since most of the state’s crude already has a vapor pressure below the state’s aim of 13.7 pounds per square inch. Our Kathryn A. Wolfe explains: http://politico.pro/1P4qY5v. DOT’s final regulatory impact analysis: http://1.usa.gov/1EYzQ63.
BROOKINGS PITCHES INDEXING GAS TAX TO INFLATION: In an infrastructure funding report released Thursday, the Brookings Institution proposes indexing the federal gas tax to inflation and linking it to changes in the price of oil. Pro’s Katy O'Donnell reports that, under the proposal, “the tax would rise when the price of gasoline falls — and vice versa — in order to limit the economic consequences of fluctuations in the after-tax retail price of gasoline. The authors suggest setting a floor and ceiling on the variations.” More on that: http://politico.pro/1dR82Xb. The report: http://bit.ly/1IT5P9m.
DOT TRIMS DERAILMENT DAMAGE PREDICTION: The cost of damages from oil train derailments over the next 20 years might not be as bad as DOT initially estimated. The final analysis the department published with its new oil train rules states that projected damages will probably be around $3 billion through 2034, rather than the $4.5 billion first estimated in the draft analysis. Kathy explains that “the difference mostly seems due to two major adjustments — one, the draft analysis used a cost of $300 per gallon spilled with an average of just over 83,000 gallons spilled per incident, while the final rule uses an estimated cost of $200 per gallon spilled. … Additionally, the final analysis also takes into account that the industry has voluntarily committed to building jacketed CPC-1232 cars for crude oil service going forward, which PHMSA estimates will be expected to grow to 34 percent of the fleet by 2019 even without more regulations.” http://politico.pro/1ITJVD9
LOBBYING ACTION: POLITICO Influence reports that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has hired Forbes-Tate to lobby on a number of issues — Pilots Bill of Rights 2, General Aviation Pilot Protection Act and any legislation affecting aviation aircraft owners and pilots. The group spent $2.5 million on lobbying last year. http://politi.co/1GSkU6y
MT MAILBAG: Chamber of Commerce posts and business groups from throughout the country have been writing to Cabinet officials and congressional leaders in recent weeks, siding with U.S. airlines in the fight over Open Skies agreements with Qatar and UAE. One of the most recent letters, penned by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, states that — if U.S. leaders don’t take action to stop what the groups say are unfair subsidizes to foreign airlines — “the effects of this uneven playing field will radiate outward from major airports across the country and threaten businesses large and small throughout the U.S.” The lot of letters: http://bit.ly/1KP4UG9.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
— Banned from driving, Saudi women turn to Uber and other ride-share apps. LA Times: http://lat.ms/1KopLPO
— In the fight to prevent cars and other vehicles from hitting pedestrians on city streets, San Francisco has a “secret weapon.” Route Fifty: http://bit.ly/1H2ARJR
— Mobile apps get picked up by independent truckers for better routes. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1KQvMpf
— China blacklists four people for misbehaving while traveling. AP: http://yhoo.it/1H59a5Z
— With bended knee, Rosslyn hosts a marriage proposal. The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1zHUXJm
— Op-Ed: Here's one bit of infrastructure we can't afford to neglect anymore. Crain’s Chicago: http://1.usa.gov/1GSqgid
— Raise the gas tax? Proposals for highway spending go outside the lines. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1bC2pdN
— Verizon partners with Lyft to preload app on select Android phones. LA Times: http://lat.ms/1ctuZzg
— New Mexico's commuter rail line faced with financial burdens. AP: http://yhoo.it/1RiEgdn
— Chinese authorities visit Uber's Chengdu office. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1RiF8P8
— Houston's urban interstate debate: Transform, or tear down? CityLab: http://bit.ly/1JSiQ4L
— European Commission and Parliament want to give Uber a free ride. POLITICO Europe: http://politico.pro/1H52epA
— Foreign car makers hit China sales speed bump. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1cttQI6
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 23 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 145 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 551 days.
THE DAY AHEAD:
8 a.m. — The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission hosts a forum on helping the region develop a transit network that spurs business growth. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Victor Mendez will speak along with Virginia Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne and Sen. Tim Kaine, as well as Reps. Don Beyer, Barbara Comstock and Gerry Connolly. 1710 SAIC Dr., McLean, Va.http://bit.ly/1IkXUTo
8:30 a.m. — The Transportation Research Board holds a conference on "Transportation for Sustainability.” 500 Fifth St. NW. http://bit.ly/1yNUe94
10 a.m. — Brookings hosts a discussion on how the U.S. and Germany are leveraging research and development to promote innovation and influence regulations for driverless cars. 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW. http://brook.gs/1FSqYjb
11 a.m. — Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Rep. Barbara Comstock ride the Silver Line and hold a press conference on the need for investment in public transportation. The ride begins at the East Falls Church Metro station and ends at the Wiehle-Reston East station.
12:10 a.m. — A fleet of 56 World War II aircraft fly over D.C.to commemorate the 70th anniversary of V-Day:http://bit.ly/1JOtOIr.
2 p.m. — The Department of Homeland Security’s deputy secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, holds a press conference at Miami International Airport to highlight CBP operations and how trusted traveler programs, along with new technology, have reduced wait times across the country. Officials from American Airlines, CBP, the Airports Council International and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department will join. Miami International Airport, Concourse D.
Did we miss any events? Let MT know at transpocalender@politico.com.
Stories from POLITICO Pro
Senate leaders throw transportation bombs, while authorizers toil on a way forward
Transit leaders lament cross-Hudson mess
UAW: We're ready to start a Chattanooga works council
European Commission and Parliament want to give Uber a free ride
Senate leaders throw transportation bombs, while authorizers toil on a way forward back
By Jennifer Scholtes and Heather Caygle | 5/7/15 6:03 PM EDT
Senate Democrats are trashing GOP leaders for not having a proposal to reauthorize highway and transit funding, even though they have no unified plan of their own — all while a deadline looms.
“It’s time for Republicans — Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell — to man up and lead,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters Thursday afternoon, in one exchange that has typified the week’s rhetoric.
But this sort of saber rattling stands in contrast to what’s going on out of the spotlight, where some Democrats are working with their Republican counterparts on a way forward. Meanwhile, industry groups who desperately want action say both parties share the blame for the current gridlock and are pushing to break the process loose.
Indeed, earlier Thursday Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who had called a press conference to rip at Republicans for not laying out a long-term surface transportation plan, admitted Democrats don’t have any polished proposal either.
“We have ideas. But you know, it takes two to tango. Our Republican colleagues are the majority. We think they should be putting forth a plan,” Schumer told reporters. “We’re giving them broad outlines. We’re telling them it shouldn’t be flat funding. We’re telling them it shouldn’t be a patch. But we need to hear what they’re going to say. We haven’t heard a peep.”
Schumer, who aspires to be the Senate’s next Democratic leader, admitted his party has not agreed on funding offsets this year that would enable long-term stability for the Highway Trust Fund. But he neglected to mention that Congress also failed to enact anything to fix the Highway Trust Fund’s structural revenue problem while his own party held control of the Senate.
“There are a number of people who have different ideas in our caucus,” Schumer said. “But again, [Republicans] need to put forward something. We’re not going to negotiate against ourselves.”
While Schumer and Durbin — along with Minority Leader Harry Reid and a handful of other Democrats — have been bashing the GOP for proposing another short-term transportation extension and not having a grand plan for long-haul investment, other Democratic senators like Tom Carper (Del.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.) seem to be working closely with Republicans such as Environment and Public Works Chairman Jim Inhofe (Okla.) to rally agreement on a temporary patch as well as a multiyear reauthorization.
“We’ve been faced with a chicken and egg situation, as you all know, for a long period of time,” Inhofe told reporters this week, adding that he and Boxer plan to finish up work in the next few weeks on a five- or six-year reauthorization.
“So we decided … that we’d go ahead and start drafting the bill, and we’d come up with something where we would say exactly how much we need, when we need it, and come up with a good bill and work with the House at the same time,” he said.
But Inhofe is pitted against the very lawmaker whose cooperation he needs to deliver a multi-year bill — Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
Hatch and his House counterpart, Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), are lobbying heavily for an extension that would run through the end of the year. The hope is that would buy time to push through a tax overhaul that would enable enough revenue for a multi-year transportation bill.
And they’re not alone. House Transportation Committee leaders Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), as well as Ways and Means ranking member Sander Levin (D-Mich.), have all said they don’t think a patch through July is enough time to really get anything done.
“I think to do it for two months instead of the end of the year would diminish the chances of finding a long-term solution that I very much favor,” Levin said Thursday. “We’re now discussing where we’ll find the $11 billion, so stay tuned.”
And some Republicans have argued that the EPW plan, if it includes tax increases, would be dead upon arrival in the House.
Those in the infrastructure industry are frustrated by the deja vu, having seen this scenario play out just ten months ago, and are becoming increasingly vocal about the need for legislators to take action of any kind to backstop the trust fund.
“The simple fact is Congress has had nearly 10 months and all the necessary information to finalize ‘a long-term solution to the Highway Trust Fund’ and yet we are right back to the same scenario, with the same rhetoric and, potentially, the same ‘solution’ as took place last July,” the Transportation Construction Coalition wrote in a letter this week to leaders from both parties and in both chambers.
And officials from both the Chamber of Commerce and the transportation arm of the AFL-CIO have said Inhofe’s plan is the best option because it will force Congress to actually act before departing for the monthlong August recess.
Caught in the middle are rank-and-file lawmakers, particularly Senate Republicans who have to decide whether to support the chairman in charge of transportation policy or the leader of the powerful tax-writing committee.
Sen. Tim Scott, who has a spot on the Senate Finance Committee and leads the Senate Banking transit panel, didn’t mince words when asked how the caucus was handling the issue: “Struggling.”
“The question is, time to do what? If we can get a six-year reauthorization by extending it longer, I’m in favor of doing that. If we’re just going to patch it again, we might as well just do it in July,” Scott (R-S.C.) said. “Please pray for us. … We need some help.”back
Transit leaders lament cross-Hudson mess back
By Dana Rubinstein - Capital New York | 5/7/15 5:16 PM EDT
The Obama administration is not impressed with Albany's handling of transportation infrastructure.
Speaking to the tri-state region’s transportation leaders Thursday afternoon, the federal undersecretary of transportation for policy lit into New York State for failing to fund a five-year plan to keep the region’s mass transit system in a state of good repair.
“We in Washington may have foolishly thought that something as fundamental as the MTA capital plan would certainly have a solution by now,” said Peter Rogoff.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office had no comment on Rogoff’s remarks, which he made during a transportation summit-turned-collective lament on the state of cross-Hudson transportation, and the inadequacy of the resources and political leadership available to deal with the problem.
”A short list of the challenges we jointly face will suffice to underscore the gravity of this moment in the history of the region’s transportation system,” said John Degnan, the post-Bridgegate chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which helped organize the summit on the 63rd floor of One World Trade Center, the first in what he billed as a year-long series of conversations contemplating the issue.
The tunnels connecting New Jersey to Midtown Manhattan are a century old and still suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which inundated them and deposited salts that continue to eat away at their structure elements.
Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman last year said the two tunnels (which also carry New Jersey Transit trains) may have fewer than 20 years left before one or both have to be taken out of service and repaired.
Twelve percent of Manhattan's workforce comes from New Jersey.
“The loss of a tunnel could have cataclysmic impacts on the entire regional economy,” said Rogoff.
To avoid that eventuality, Amtrak says it needs to build a new tunnel to which it can transfer some service, so it can take the existing tunnels out of service and properly repair them.
After New Jersey governor Chris Christie spiked the last plan to do that, Amtrak came up with a new proposal, called Gateway. It will cost at least $15 billion and isn’t funded yet.
"We really don’t have time to appoint commissions to study it,” said Rogoff. “We don’t have time for funding partners to kind of engage in the usual shadow boxing of, ‘Well what are you going to put in, well, what am I going to put in?’ … We need to recognize that we need to get on with it.”
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is at capacity and its structure is deteriorating. Demand for its services is only expected to grow.
It was built “around the time that Ralph Kramden was the most famous bus driver in the country,” said Scott Rechler, the Port Authority’s vice chairman.
(There’s a statue of Kramden on the Port Authority’s Eighth Avenue frontage.)
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wants to replace the terminal, the busiest in the country, but says it could cost more than $10 billion.
Rechler argued that while the new bus terminal would be bigger and better, it would only do so much to solve congestion within the adjacent Lincoln Tunnel.
“To me, that’s like trying to force ten pounds of bologna into a five-pound bag,” he said.
The nearby Penn Station, which Amtrak says is the nation’s busiest train station, is not considered a model transportation facility either.
The region, said Rechler, is facing “tough questions.”
Should it build a bus terminal on the New Jersey side instead? Should it build two bus terminals, one in Midtown, one in Lower Manhattan? Should ferries be more seriously considered?
“If you go to cities that have waterways like ours, whether that’s Sydney, Australia or Hong Kong, you look out the window in the morning, it looks like they’re being attacked by ferries,” he said.
Asked whether Christie had any comment on the focus of today’s summit, his spokesman said that “the Governor has always recognized the need for additional trans-Hudson rail capacity. That includes being open to any plan that is well-engineered but also fair and equitable to New Jersey — with costs shared between all benefiting jurisdictions.”
A spokeswoman for Governor Andrew Cuomo noted that in December, Cuomo joined Christie in calling for the initiation of a long-term planning process for expanding transit capacity.
Rogoff said that without a funded MTA capital plan, "We’re going to call into question what kind of system we will be connecting to, even if we can get all these New Jersey residents into New York.”
Capital Pro provides customizable news in real time. For more information and complimentary access, please contact subscribe@capitalnewyork.com.back
UAW: We're ready to start a Chattanooga works council back
By Brian Mahoney | 5/7/15 3:41 PM EDT
The United Auto Workers Local 42 union said it wants to formalize a German-style works council at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., and become the exclusive representative for the plant’s workers.
“UAW Local 42, with advice and counsel from the international union, is advancing a German-style works council concept that we jointly developed with Volkswagen Group of America in January 2014,” UAW's Gary Casteel said in a statement released today.
Works councils are common throughout Europe and especially in Germany, where VW is located. They are cooperative bodies in which managers and workers meet to discuss a variety of issues affecting the plant and its workers.
Volkswagen USA has already established a sort of proto-works council in Chattanooga through what it calls its Community Organization Engagement policy. Under the policy, VW management receives input from Local 42 and also from a business-funded rival non-union group called the American Council of Employees. Different levels of access are granted employee groups based on the how many workers they represent, with the UAW currently receiving greater access than ACE.
But there are limits under U.S. law on how closely VW may follow the German works council model without recognizing a union to represent workers. UAW lost an election last year to represent the plant after prominent Tennessee politicians argued strongly against unionization and suggested it might cost the plant financial support from the state and a new production line from VW.
Casteel told reporters in a press call that he didn’t want another union election; he wants the company to recognize the union as an exclusive bargaining representative. Casteel didn’t spell out what the mechanism might be for doing so, but a likely basis would be a card check that Local 42 says indicates it has support from 55 percent of plant employees.
UAW released documents related to the concept.back
European Commission and Parliament want to give Uber a free ride back
By Zoya Sheftalovich | 5/7/15 2:27 PM EDT
The European Commission and Parliament gave a sympathetic ear to Uber on Thursday, despite the growing number of countries rejecting the ride-sharing service, including Spain, Germany, France and, last month, Portugal.
Uber took center stage at a working lunch with members of Parliament across the political spectrum, including Andreas Schwab, a German from the European People’s Party, and Elzbieta Bienkowska, European commissioner for the Internal Market.
What the company wants is as controversial as its app: Uber asked political leaders to consider treating the company as a digital — not transport — service. The distinction is important: The EU has the power to regulate digital services under the 2006 Services Directive, but transport is largely left to the 28 member countries.
“Protectionism is denying Europeans growth and jobs,” warned Mark MacGann, head of public policy for Uber. “What's holding us back is this rearguard protectionism in some member states."
The Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport is currently dealing with Uber. They don't have power over the Services Directive.
The sharing economy in Europe is estimated to be worth €10 billion ($11.2 billion) and forecasted to grow to €250 billion ($281.6 billion) in the next decade, according to Bienkowska.
“This is a new way of doing business. We need to align with this, not fight it," she said, adding, "This is a single market issue. This is definitely our job.”
Schwab agreed, but said he expected resistance from some countries.
"The problem is the law that allows us to intervene quickly on this excludes transport services,” he said, adding, "We could enlarge the services directive. But we have to be careful, if you go for a fight, you could have a long battle with no one winning but lots of losers."
However, the tide could be slowly turning for Uber in Europe. The U.K. has embraced Uber, Belgium is set to follow suit, and the company continues to gain millions of users despite operating in a gray zone across much of the continent.
MacGann said some countries cracking down on the Uber app were beholden to powerful taxi cartels, which were cozy with politicians who prop up near-monopolies.
"Don't get me started on France," MacGann said. "In Paris one family has close to 70 percent of the taxi market. In other industries if one company had 70 percent of the market (the Directorate-General for Competition) would be knocking on their door."
This article first appeared on POLITICO.EU on May 7, 2015.back
POLITICO Pro Transportation Whiteboard: DOT shaves $1.5b off 20-year projected oil train damage totals
5/7/15 4:16 PM EDT
The final regulatory impact analysis published with DOT’s final oil trains rule revises the 20-year estimate for projected property, environmental and other damages from derailments, slashing some $1.5 billion from the estimated cumulative total included in an earlier draft.
The final version pegs the projected damages at $3 billion through 2034, down from $4.5 billion in the draft regulatory impact analysis.
The difference mostly seems due to two major adjustments — one, the draft analysis used a cost of $300 per gallon spilled with an average of just over 83,000 gallons spilled per incident, while the final rule uses an estimated cost of $200 per gallon spilled. That means the projected average cost of an incident fell from $25 million to $16.7 million. The $300 per gallon cost was derived from costs associated with the derailment last year in Lynchburg, Va. But in its final analysis, DOT revised the methodology to weight “the costs associated with crude oil and ethanol spills and … the costs by forecast future volume for each commodity.”
Additionally, the final analysis also takes into account that the industry has voluntarily committed to building jacketed CPC-1232 cars for crude oil service going forward, which PHMSA estimates will be expected to grow to 34 percent of the fleet by 2019 even without more regulations. So in the final analysis, the full projected damages were only applied to a portion of the fleet size.
— Kathryn A. Wolfe
To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=53164