NATIONAL NEWS:
The Washington Post: AP: Wall of storms threatens to upend holiday travel
CHICAGO — A wall of storms packing ice, sleet and rain could upend holiday travel plans as millions of Americans take to the roads, skies and rails Wednesday for Thanksgiving.
Herald Extra: AP: New breed of buses draws Thanksgiving travelers
CHICAGO -- As millions of Americans hurtle through the jumble of transportation arteries for Thanksgiving, many are discovering that bus travel may be the cheapest, comfiest and even coolest way to stay Zen during the nation's largest annual migration.
Good: Walkable Cities are Good News for Small Business
http://www.good.is/posts/walkable-cities-are-good-news-for-small-business
When a city is more walkable—supporting pedestrians with narrower streets, wide sidewalks, and nearby recreational outlets—shops are frequented more often and do far better than those in less walkable areas.
NPR: Big Travel Day Could Be A Big Mess Due To Weather
Rain, sleet, snow and an estimated 43.4 million Americans traveling to be with family or friends. Happy Thanksgiving!
The Hill: Airlines waiving fees in preparation for NE storm
Airlines are waving fees for passengers rebooking flights at airports that are predicted to be affected by a large storm that has been forecasted for the northeast.
STATE NEWS:
The Washington Post: AP: Group sues Pa. transit agency over non-theist ads
PITTSBURGH — A Washington, D.C. group that seeks to encourage people who don’t believe in God has sued the Pittsburgh-area’s mass transit agency for refusing to run its ads.
The Washington Post: Tunnel tolls foes ask Va court to revisit case
NORFOLK, Va. — Opponents of tolls on two Hampton Road tunnels are asking the Virginia Supreme Court to revisit their case.
The Washington Post: AP: Travel Roundtable: Thanksgiving transit advice
So you’re heading out of town for Thanksgiving. Be warned: You’re wading into a vast sea of people doing exactly the same thing, moving across the United States on one of the hugest travel weekends of all — with a lot of rough weather in the mix.
The Washington Post: AP: Transportation conference set in Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. — The 2013 Governor’s Transportation Conference is set for next week in Richmond.
The Washington Post: Delays, backups on roads as rain continues
The combination of rain, heavy traffic and minor crashes contributed to long delays on major roads at times late Tuesday, as thousands slowly lurched toward their Thanksgiving destinations.
The Washington Post: Montgomery County Council approves transportation plan
The Montgomery County Council gave final approval Tuesday to a long-range transportation plan that envisions a network of bus-only lanes to help whisk commuters who might otherwise be stuck in traffic to their destinations.
The Washington Post: VDOT to lift lane closures through the holiday
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Department of Transportation is lifting lane closures during the Thanksgiving holiday period.
The New York Times: An Intense Influx of Housing for a Honolulu District
The flat, low-slung neighborhood of Kakaako near downtown Honolulu was once an alluvial plain dotted with fish ponds that deteriorated into a gritty area with auto repair shops and warehouses.
Denver Post: Denver's northern suburbs welcome RTD rail line
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_24600461/denvers-northern-suburbs-welcome-rtd-rail-line
People and circumstances over the years have tried to change the gritty image of Commerce City.
Kennebec Journal: OUR OPINION: Maine should listen when it hears the train a comin’
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail alone has more than 130,000 boardings every day, with another half-million or so on the subway itself. The trains from suburban Boston into the city and back out are as important to the operation of that large metropolitan area as the Maine Turnpike and Interstate 95 and all the state routes are to central and southern Maine.
Transportation Nation: Washington First City in Nation to Deploy Stop Sign, Crosswalk Cams
http://www.wnyc.org/story/washington-first-city-nation-deploy-stop-sign-crosswalk-cams/ Enlarge
As Washington becomes the first city in the U.S. to deploy cameras to catch drivers who run stop signs and crosswalks, block the box, and drive oversized or overweight commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods, safety researchers are launching a study to measure the new cameras' effectiveness
Politico Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider | 11/27/13
Featuring Kathryn A. Wolfe and Kevin Robillard
TURKEY DAY TRAVEL: It’s going to be a busy travel day, with millions of American taking to the roads and the skies to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Stay safe out there, everybody — allow extra time for long TSA lines at the airport and drive safely.
TSA PROTEST IN TAMPA TODAY: Between storms that could cancel flights, long lines, crowded planes and planning ways to avoid talking politics with your family, the TSA agents at the airport probably aren’t the first thing on your mind if you’re flying home for the holiday. But “Restore the Fourth,” a civil liberties group, will try to change that with a rally against the TSA tonight at Tampa International Airport. “We want to remind people that this was done in the name of our security,” protest organizer Timothy Crosby told Creative Loafing. “We were told that this was done to give up our privacy and give up our rights and give up our liberties at the airport to protect us from terrorists with box cutters.” Things could get interesting — the group doesn’t have the necessary permit. “Isn't the First Amendment our permit?,” Crosby replied, though he promised today’s protest will be peaceful. It’s all a bit reminiscent of the recent truckers protesting on the Beltway, which was largely a flop that went unnoticed. More in the story: http://bit.ly/1c7fitf
Context: In a 2012 Gallup poll, 54 percent said TSA does a “good” or “excellent” job while 85 percent rated the agency “somewhat effective” or better. Brush up with the full results: http://bit.ly/185yXFo
THE RISE OF THE MIDDLE EASTERN AIRLINES: Kathryn has the story on how carriers from the Persian Gulf are threatening U.S. and European powerhouses: “They are rich and fast-growing, they’re buying nearly $150 billion in new Airbus and Boeing airplanes and they’re making inroads into European and U.S. aviation markets. They are the ascendant airlines of the Persian Gulf — Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways — and they represent a serious threat to European and U.S. legacy carriers, who are still struggling to get on solid financial footing after a decade of market turbulence. Now these three airlines are expanding, seeking to siphon off the sort of international routes that U.S. carriers rely on to bulk up their bottom lines. Internationally, air traffic is increasing, and Middle East carriers are setting the pace. According to the International Air Transport Association, the global airline industry has grown 6.8 percent compared to last year — and Middle East carriers’ growth was the strongest at 15 percent.” Full story: http://politico.pro/InVcQT
DENHAM WANTS ANSWERS: House Railroads Chairman Jeff Denham wants the GAO to look into the California high-speed rail project in light of a Sacramento judge’s smack-down. Denham is asking the government watchdog to investigate, among other things, whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority is or is close to violating any federal agreements and whether the FRA needs to reevaluate the project in light of the judge’s ruling. Read Denham’s letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro: http://1.usa.gov/17WmQ2E
TODAY IS FOR TRAVEL. TOMORROW IS FOR TURKEY. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where on this day in 1910, Pennsylvania Station opened to the public in midtown Manhattan. Please send me your tips, news and insights: asnider@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @AdamKSnider.
“From the train in Manchester, England …” http://bit.ly/17GXbV3 (h/t Justin Harclerode)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: MT is taking a few days off to eat turkey, watch football and hopefully avoid a transportation horror story in a trip to New York City for Thanksgiving. Enjoy the break, everybody, and rest up for a busy end of 2013 and start of 2014. MT is back Monday morning, so in the meantime please don’t stop sending me your tips, news and notes for the “welcome back” post-Thanksgiving edition.
**A message from POWERJobs: Jobs on our radar this week: Program Manager at SAIC, Military Police at METRO and Director, Business Development at Evolver. Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at www.POWERJobs.com; finally, a career site made for YOU!**
MT READS TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO: The FAA issues an airworthiness directive for Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 747-8s with certain GE engines that could have icing problems near storms. Read it: http://1.usa.gov/1a14J63
And the FRA has an interim agency interpretation and comment period on railroads using train control tech that’s been approved for use by different rail companies. Comments are due in 60 days: http://1.usa.gov/194Cfst
SHUT UP: Sen. Lamar Alexander will introduce legislation banning cell phone conversations on planes “if necessary,” he said Tuesday on the eve of the busy Thanksgiving travel rush. Much like other lawmakers of late, the Tennessee senator didn’t dance around the topic of annoying cell phone talkers: “Imagine two million passengers, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts,” he said in a statement. “The Transportation Security Administration would have to hire three times as many air marshals to deal with the fistfights. Stop and think about what we hear now in airport lobbies from those who wander around shouting personal details into a microphone: babbling about last night’s love life, bathroom plans, next week’s schedule, orders to an assistant, arguments with spouses. Imagine this noise while you travel, restrained by your seatbelt, unable to escape.” http://1.usa.gov/185lM7o
FCC on the hot seat: A House Energy and Commerce panel will hold an FCC oversight hearing in a few weeks — and it just so happens to fall on Dec. 12, the same day the commission votes on the contested proposal to let fliers talk on their cell phones. So you can bet your sweet behind that the policy change will be talked about when all five commissioners testify. More info on the hearing: http://1.usa.gov/1idcy2B
INSECURE: In its annual audit of cybersecurity protocols and controls, the DOT’s inspector general says the agency has been slow to make progress to secure its data, and that many recommended actions are “incomplete” or have not yet been started. According to the report, nearly 75 percent of the agency's 450 IT systems reside at the FAA. Richard McKinney, DOT's CIO, responded to the audit by saying that the agency “generally” agrees with the audit's recommendations for strengthening the program, and said it will provide separately “a specific response to each recommendation that identifies and prioritizes actions planned and anticipated milestones.” Read the full IG report: http://1.usa.gov/1c72S4t
FLYERS RIGHTS BILL OF RIGHTS: The airline consumer advocacy site FlyersRights.org is working on a “Passenger Bill of Rights 2.0” that it will present to Congress and DOT in mid-December. And you can help. The group has posted a preliminary version (http://bit.ly/1dyPeKG) but is taking comments (globetrotter1947@hotmail.com) through Dec. 10. Among the rights in the current draft: “Reinstate the reciprocity rule allowing passengers on canceled or delayed flights (over 90 minutes) to use their tickets on another airline with available seating flying to the same or nearby destination. / Set a minimum fine of $3,000 per passenger for tarmac delays in violation of the 3-hour rule. Of that, $1,000 will be paid to affected passenger plus $10 per minute for delays over 3 hours. / Reinstate legislation requiring airlines to honor tickets of other airlines shut down by insolvency. / Require that stranded passengers receive meals, lodging and ground transportation.”
The taxman cometh: One more thing caught MT’s eye: “Fees over $50 shall be subject to taxes the same as airfares,” with the explanation that airline fees aren’t currently taxed and that “tax loophole for airline fees will drain the aviation transportation trust fund.” Airport and other groups have raised concerns about the tax-free fees siphoning money away from tax-reliant trust funds.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- FMCSA has shut down five moving companies in the last week; three were in Florida. http://1.usa.gov/1bTsQ7U
- Nevada is competing to be a drone test site. Las Vegas Review-Journal: http://bit.ly/1epmNLv
- Company aims to be the Uber of buses. PandoDaily: http://bit.ly/1fHT5Fs
- DOT fines Brazilian airline GOL $250,000 for violations of consumer protection rules. Release: http://1.usa.gov/1crZGP8
- The Heritage Foundation’s “necessary” WRDA reforms it wants out of conference: http://herit.ag/1eoxBcO
- Associated Equipment Distributors announces Brian P. McGuire as new president and CEO.
PRO TRADE IN ASIA NEXT WEEK: Our own Doug Palmer, one of the top reporters in international trade, is headed to Bali & Singapore for the WTO ministerial meeting and the TPP negotiations. Both the WTO & TPP have major implications for trade, and we’ll have one of the top journalists on the scene with minute-by-minute coverage, real-time multimedia features, exclusive insight and more. Go Pro today for full access to our around-the-clock coverage by calling (703) 341-4600 or emailing info@politicopro.com.
THE COUNTDOWN: Surface transportation policy is up in 308 days and FAA policy in 673 days. The mid-term elections are in 342 days. DOT appropriations run out in 50 days.
CABOOSE — Tiny Dulles: Dulles Airport seems a lot easier to navigate in miniature. Here’s a model of the airport from architect Eero Saarinen, circa 1958. Shorpy: http://bit.ly/1b3arET
**A message from POWERJobs: Tap into the power of POWERJobs for the newest job opportunities in the Washington area from the area’s top employers, including METRO, Evolver, Boeing and AIPAC. Powered by names you trust — POLITICO, WTOP, WJLA/ABC-TV, NewsChannel 8 and Federal News Radio- POWERJOBS is the ultimate career site with more than 2 million job searches and nearly 17,000 applications submitted this year so far. Connect through Facebook or LinkedIn, search jobs by industry and set up job-specific email alerts using www.POWERJobs.com, the site for Washington’s top talent.**
Stories from POLITICO Pro
U.S. airlines seek to thwart Mideast rivals’ push for customs site
U.S. airlines seek to thwart Mideast rivals’ push for customs site
By Kathryn A. Wolfe | 11/27/13
They are rich and fast-growing, they’re buying nearly $150 billion in new Airbus and Boeing airplanes and they’re making inroads into European and U.S. aviation markets.
They are the ascendant airlines of the Persian Gulf — Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways — and they represent a serious threat to European and U.S. legacy carriers, who are still struggling to get on solid financial footing after a decade of market turbulence. Now these three airlines are expanding, seeking to siphon off the sort of international routes that U.S. carriers rely on to bulk up their bottom lines.
Internationally, air traffic is increasing, and Middle East carriers are setting the pace. According to the International Air Transport Association, the global airline industry has grown 6.8 percent compared to last year — and Middle East carriers’ growth was the strongest at 15 percent.
“The strong demand trend is expected to continue, with August data showing solid progress in non-oil producing sectors in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” IATA said.
For U.S. airlines and some of their labor unions, nowhere does that market danger loom larger than in a plan to open a U.S. Customs pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where Etihad, the United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier, is dominant.
Pre-clearance facilities allow travelers to clear U.S. Customs while still overseas, a convenience for passengers since the wait times are generally more palatable than at U.S. airports. DHS has pre-clearance facilities already in place at 14 airports in Canada, the Caribbean and Ireland.
For the administration, creating these facilities is a matter of security: It allows passengers to be screened before they ever get to the United States, keeping potential threats outside the U.S. border.
But the airline industry and some unions don’t see it that way, especially with three deep-pocketed Persian Gulf competitors breathing down their necks for access to routes that U.S. carriers might otherwise fly.
Part of the tailwind for Gulf airlines comes from geography: The United Arab Emirates are located in a particularly strategic location, between Asia, Europe and the Americas. That positions their home airports to serve as a hub for international travelers, drawing travelers for lucrative long-haul routes.
The Gulf airlines also benefit from a combination of cheaper fuel and labor costs, as well as governments committed to ensuring their success through lavish infrastructure investments, tax breaks and fuel subsidies. And some of the flashy on-board amenities don’t hurt (UAE’s biggest airline, Dubai-based Emirates, boasts first class private suites on some flights, equipped with “a sliding door, a personal mini-bar, adjustable ambient lighting and its own vanity table, mirror and wardrobe.”)
Against that backdrop, U.S. airlines and some unions have lobbied aggressively against the effort to establish the Abu Dhabi pre-clearance site, including launching a website and attracting a flurry of bill introductions on Capitol Hill.
Jean Medina, a spokeswoman for Airlines for America, said the Abu Dhabi site’s traffic doesn’t seem to justify its creation.
”The bigger issue is we have long wait lines here in the U.S., which discourages travel. We think resources would be better used to fix it here first, before setting up a pre-clearance facility that would only process fewer than 600 people a day,” she said.
According to Customs and Border Patrol, 200,000 arrived from Abu Dhabi in fiscal 2012, although that number is expected to double in fiscal 2013.
U.S. airlines and their pilots union say a pre-clearance facility would use taxpayer money to effectively put a thumb on the scale in the Gulf carriers’ favor. They are also targeting the Ex-Im Bank, which they complain subsidizes foreign aircraft purchases — including for Gulf airlines — at low rates that U.S. carriers can’t get, further contributing to an unfair marketplace.
So far the furor kicked up by U.S. airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association has won enough support on Capitol Hill to engender several legislative attempts — none yet successful — to throw a monkey wrench in the facility’s gears.
Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in July, Nick Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, said Etihad expects the pre-clearance facility to draw new traffic through Abu Dhabi, a trend Calio contended will hurt U.S. airlines, jobs and the economy.
“At a time when U.S. carriers and airports are fighting to maintain our global competitiveness, the U.S. government should not be signing a deal with the UAE that benefits a foreign emirate and its wholly-owned national carrier,” Calio said. “This deal clearly puts U.S. airlines and U.S. international hub airports and their employees at a competitive disadvantage, and it will only get worse.”
The allure of flying lavishly is real, especially for business travelers who have been increasingly squeezed and nickel and dimed as legacy U.S. carriers look for ways to scratch out a profit. And U.S. airlines understandably worry that a businessman going from Mumbai to New York City might prefer a flight in a tricked-out cabin connecting through Abu Dhabi — an airport that no U.S. airlines currently serve — where they can clear Customs early, too.
Speaking to POLITICO from the Dubai Airshow, where record-breaking Boeing sales were announced, as well as billions more for Airbus, Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at the Alexandria, Va.-based Teal Group, was distracted briefly as he passed by a table laden with goodies.
“I’m walking past the ultimate buffet of food here. It’s like — my God, they have a lot of money in this part of the world,” Aboulafia said.
Ken Button, director of George Mason University’s Center for Transportation, Policy, Operations and Logistics, dismissed unions’ and airlines’ arguments as mostly protectionism.
“The inability of European airlines to fly [routes inside] America — the unions support that, that’s not anti-competitive,” he said sarcastically. “If you’re on the other end, and you have a competitor … that’s likely to do you some harm, you’re likely to complain.”
The UAE will bear the vast majority of the cost of the latest pre-clearance facility, and the Customs agents hired to staff it. The facility is estimated to cost about $5 million a year, but only $500,000 of that cost will be borne by U.S. taxpayers. Because the UAE will be footing the lion’s share of the price tag, the administration estimates that its creation will allow about 15 Customs officers to be redirected to process international traffic at other airports.
For DHS, beyond convenience for travelers, these facilities are a way to extend the security perimeter, stopping travelers who may be security threats before they ever set foot on U.S. soil, and demonstrating “our commitment to layered security and the protection of our citizens against potential terrorists targeting our aviation system, while also streamlining legitimate travel and commerce,” according to Peter Boogaard, a DHS spokesman.
In July, Kevin McAleenan, acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told a House Foreign Affairs panel that in fiscal 2012 some 8,000 people were denied boarding at pre-clearance locations, saving about $20 million in detention, processing and repatriation costs.
The Abu Dhabi facility has the potential to be the most cost-effective global airport operation, he said. Of flights from Abu Dhabi to the United States, he said many have a “high percentage” of foreign citizens who take longer to process, which adds to wait time for travelers on all carriers.
“If these processes can be accomplished in Abu Dhabi, it not only removes the burden from CBP officers at these key domestic airports, but those CBP officers can devote time and attention to other travelers,” benefiting both air carriers and travelers who will see decreased wait times, he said.
But there may be an even stronger counter-message at play as U.S. policymakers consider how to handle the dispute: The eye-poppingly massive dollar value of aircraft orders placed by Gulf airlines at the Dubai Airshow.
On the first day of the airshow, Boeing announced orders estimated at some $100 billion — roughly half of which came from Emirates alone. France’s Airbus announced a first-day take of some $40 billion, also from Gulf airlines.
James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad, hinted at just what’s at stake for the United States, saying in a statement that the deal is good for Etihad, “good for Boeing and it is also good for economic development both in the UAE and in the USA.”
He went on to note that for the United States, “this order translates into a direct impact on America’s gross domestic product and supports employment throughout the aerospace supply chain.”
The administration also praised the massive purchase. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker issued a statement saying Etihad’s order “will further strengthen the U.S. aerospace industry and support tens of thousands of American jobs,” while Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), a Boeing booster who also chairs the Senate Commerce committee panel in charge of aviation, said Etihad’s purchase will “help write the next chapter in aviation history: large wide-body, fuel-efficient planes, built by a highly skilled U.S. composite workforce.”
Cantwell’s office had no comment when asked for her opinion on plans to build a pre-clearance facility in Abu Dhabi.
Aboulafia, the analyst, said it makes sense that U.S. airlines would feel threatened, but suggested they should be relieved they aren’t in the position of the European legacy carriers, whose profits have already been eroded by the growth of the Gulf carrier.
“You’ve got geography and a concerted strategy, translating into astronomical growth rates,” Aboulafia said. “Now they’re expanding to North America — if you look at what they’ve done in other regions it makes sense that U.S. airlines would be concerned.”
But can they do anything about it?
“Not realistically. So you go after the margins. Ex-Im Bank, pre-clearance,” Aboulafia said. But he said even in the best of circumstances, it probably won’t change the Gulf airlines’ growth rates.
“It might make a difference in the margins — 1 percent here, half a percent,” he said.
NATIONAL NEWS:
The Washington Post: AP: Wall of storms threatens to upend holiday travel
CHICAGO — A wall of storms packing ice, sleet and rain could upend holiday travel plans as millions of Americans take to the roads, skies and rails Wednesday for Thanksgiving.