BAF IN THE NEWS:
Better Roads Magazine: IBTTA Executive Director, CEO Patrick Jones calls for tolls as means to relieve congestion
Patrick Jones, executive director & CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), this week pointed to tolling as a solution to traffic congestion. At the U.S. Travel Association’s Connecting America Through Travel Conference in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Jones called on the travel industry to embrace tolling as a means to relieve congestion in the U.S…Other panel members included U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and former Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell.
NATIONAL NEWS:
Scientific American: Has the U.S. Passed Peak Gasoline?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=has-the-us-passed-peak-gasoline
American drivers are consuming less and less fuel, following a trend of reduced car ownership and distance traveled, according to a new report by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
NPR: Electric Bus Fleet Brings Chinese Manufacturing To America
http://www.npr.org/2013/11/23/246599461/electric-bus-fleet-brings-chinese-manufacturing-to-america
Public transit vehicles may be the key to China's success in the U.S. auto market. Chinese company BYD, based in Shenzhen, is manufacturing electric buses. It's an appealing option for a place like California, where emission standards are strict.
STATE NEWS:
The Mercury: Later, more expensive still better than never on Pa. roads
http://www.pottsmerc.com/opinion/20131125/later-more-expensive-still-better-than-never-on-pa-roads
The Pennsylvania General Assembly finally got its act together last week and gave final approval to some desperately needed investment in the state’s road, bridge and public transit systems.
The Tribune-Democrat: Speed limits going up on some highways
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/latestnews/x1050749816/Speed-limits-going-up-on-some-highways
HARRISBURG — Motorists can look forward to road work zones all over the commonwealth when Gov. Tom Corbett signs a $2.4 billion a year transportation funding plan.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Legislative leaders to advise PennDOT secretary in spending $40 million of transportation money
http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/5124834-74/projects-money-bill#axzz2lfRIG6X5
HARRISBURG — The $2.3 billion transportation bill awaiting Gov. Tom Corbett's signature funnels $40 million next year to a state agency controlled by legislative leaders for projects, which critics claim are a form of so-called “walking-around money.”
Los Angeles Times: Part of truck-heavy Terminal Island Freeway could become a park
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-long-beach-freeway-20131118,0,6791569.story#axzz2lDUCr0MR
The around-the-clock rumble and hum of big rigs and cars funneling in and out of one of the world's busiest port complexes have for years defined daily life in west Long Beach.
Los Angeles Times: Paying for L.A. County's transit future
… We have serious reservations about an additional sales tax. Advocates say an increase would allow Metro to launch new projects that could be completed within 10 years. That's tempting. But county residents already pay some of the highest sales taxes in the state. Would new transportation projects be worth increasing that burden?
Star Tribune: Low-wage workers need transit options
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/233086711.html
At a time of looming decisions on multiple mass transit proposals, a McKnight Foundation-sponsored synthesis of nine studies from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies reaffirms the many economic and societal benefits of investing in transit.
Star Tribune: Complaints rise about Metro Transit bus drivers
http://www.startribune.com/local/233173721.html
Cut off in traffic by a bus and then flipped off by its driver, Roger Watts filed a complaint with Metro Transit. Mark Jackson did the same thing after he endured a harrowing bus ride with “a very aggressive driver.”
Transportation Issues Daily: Prospects Dimming for Washington State Transportation Revenue Proposal
Washington state transportation stakeholders are adjusting their hope for a transportation investment bill. After several possible (but unlikely) deadlines were missed, stakeholders now look to December for the Legislature to pass a bill.
The Reporter-Times: Legislative panel passes mass transit funding plan
INDIANAPOLIS — A legislative panel on Thursday endorsed a Central Indiana mass transit funding plan that could mean a tax increase for residents and businesses and require approval from local officials and voters.
The Boston Globe: Stuck in neutral
Plane, train, automobile: These are the main choices facing stressed-out, soon-to-be-weary travelers headed to New York City for Thanksgiving. There might be a fourth option, if we could make real the fantasies of some past and present governors. They envision a voyager’s nirvana, and not just for one of the busiest travel days of the year.
The Washington Post: Expected $1.2 billion funding won’t fix all of Fairfax County’s traffic ‘disaster zones’
Over the next six years, Fairfax County anticipates receiving an unprecedented infusion of about $1.2 billion in transportation money to help alleviate the daily headaches along Interstate 66 and other clogged roads.
The Washington Post: Why does Metro’s Red Line seem so bad?
In the first of this month’s rush-hour messes on Metro’s Red Line, commuters were delayed for up to an hour after hydraulic fluid leaked from a piece of track-maintenance equipment, forcing trains headed in opposite directions to share a single track for four hours.
Politico Morning Transportation
By Adam Snider | 11/25/13
Featuring Kevin Robillard and Kathryn A. Wolfe
SHUSTER, AMTRAK POPULAR IN PENNSYLVANIA: A new round of polling on Pennsylvania’s 9th district shows a big lead for T&I Chairman Bill Shuster over challenger Art Halvorson (53-18 with 29 percent unsure). Like other polls done by DFM Research for the SMART Transportation Division, it shows big support for Amtrak in a solidly Republican district. The passenger railroad has a 75-11 favorability margin and 74 percent want extra trains to places like Philly, New York and Chicago. Amtrak was slightly more popular with women and younger people. It score 84 percent favorability with Democrats, 75 percent with Republicans and 66 percent with independents. And it seems it’s much easier to fall in love with the rails when you ride them — Amtrak scores 95-2 on favorability with people who’ve taken it and 73-13 with those who haven’t.
Trains and trucks: The 400 respondents (47 percent of whom call themselves Republican) overwhelmingly support (84-11) a mandate on two-person train crews and oppose (19-74) boosting the truck weight limit from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds. See the full results: http://politico.pro/18AV7mG
TOP TALKER — In-flight phone calls? It seems silence is indeed golden. Fliers were eager to use their phones for apps and such during takeoff and landing, but there’s been a big backlash to news that people could be making in-flight voice calls. Even FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, whose agency could open the door to just that next month, doesn’t like it: “We understand that many passengers would prefer that voice calls not be made on airplanes. I feel that way myself,” he said in a statement. Wheeler also set the record straight about the FCC’s role in the issue, saying simply that his agency is giving the green light but it’s still be up to airlines to decide whether or not to let fliers talk above 10,000 feet. Delta, for example, has said they won’t allow it even if the FCC does. “We encourage airlines, pilots, flight attendants, and the public to engage in our upcoming rulemaking process,” Wheeler said. Kevin has the story: http://politico.pro/1aZ8ucj
Q&A: There’s more info about the policy change, up for a vote Dec. 12, in a FAQ posted by the FCC: http://fcc.us/19Uf2sx
Backlash: Opposition to the FCC’s move is growing. Sen. Mark Begich asked the FCC to withdraw its “ill-advised” proposal: “While the thought of listening to the constant babble of phone conversations during commercial flights already makes my head hurt, I am writing not about the annoyance such calls would bring, but rather about the more serious topic of in-flight safety,” the Alaska senator wrote in a letter to Wheeler. Read it: http://politico.pro/InDEDD
Clever: Sen. Ed Markey wins for the best quip so far: “Playing ‘Words with Friends’ is different than passengers having lengthy, loud ‘conversations with friends’ while in the tight, inescapable confines of an airline passenger cabin,” he said in a statement.
Petition: There’s also a “We the People” petition (http://1.usa.gov/1hbKzPx) up with a few thousand signatures. “On the tail of a wonderful move allowing electronics throughout the use of the flight, the FCC seeks to go TOO FAR in this instance,” it says. It needs 100,000 signatures by Dec. 21 (a month after creation) to get a White House response.
TURKEY TIME COUNTDOWN: T-MINUS THREE DAYS. Thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports, where on this day in 1990 the floating Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge sank to the bottom of Lake Washington after a storm broke apart the 6,600-foot-long bridge that was made up of 22 floating pontoons bolted together (http://bit.ly/InCOqu). Please send me your tips, news and insights: asnider@politico.com. And follow me on Twitter: @AdamKSnider.
“And through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west …” http://bit.ly/17A0j9i (h/t Bob King)
DREAMLINER OR NIGHTMARELINER? Boeing’s troubled Dreamliner is back in the news again — this time because the company is warning 15 carriers that its 747-8 and 787 Dreamliner planes with GE engines could ice up if flown near thunderstorms (Reuters: http://reut.rs/1cKu7A7). That caused Japan Airlines — the same carrier that had a Dreamliner catch fire after an electrical issue — to pull the planes from a new Tokyo to Sydney route that was supposed to launch in a week and also yanked the plane from flights to Delhi and Singapore. Air India, however, sees the plane as vital to its bottom line and isn’t shying away from its 787s (Financial Express: http://bit.ly/191Rwuh).
**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!**
SHAMING WORKS: Texas tried to shame toll scofflaws into paying their overdue bills — and it worked to a degree. The state’s DOT, wielding new authority thanks to a recent law, published a list of the toll violators last month. That prompted the state to talk to 11 of the top 25 debtors, and six accounts have been settled up, TxDOT says. The biggest debt — over $236,000 thanks to 14,358 unpaid tolls — has been settled. But that just opens up some new spots on the top 25 list — so some new toll scofflaws will be posted online a week from now, on Dec. 2. Check out the list with those paid up crossed out before it’s updated in a week: http://bit.ly/1gnIZKJ
IN TODAY’S FEDERAL REGISTER: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially issues its final rule for seat belts on buses. Give it a look: http://1.usa.gov/1aZdsGa
LAX ON EDGE: Two terminals at LAX were evacuated Friday after a loud car crash was mistaken for gunfire and an anonymous caller reported seeing a gunman. “With what recently just occurred here, everybody’s still a little bit on edge,” Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Guardado said. Middletown Press: http://bit.ly/191SsyG
‘Bombs and behavior, not knives and liquids’: And when it comes to keeping our airports and airplanes safe, former TSA head Kip Hawley says knives aren’t the big threat — bombs are. CBS has more: http://cbsn.ws/Ib7Phk
ANOTHER ABU DHABI BILL: The Customs and Border Protection’s planned preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport is drawing multiple legislative reactions. The latest: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and seven other Dems have a bill calling for a security assessment before the facility can open. Industry groups A4A and ALPA International are in support. http://1.usa.gov/1ciKuUq
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)
- Sacramento County judge dismisses suit from Kings County Water District against the California high-speed rail project. Fresno Bee: http://bit.ly/1es40zN
- DOE sells Fisker Automotive loan for $139 million loss. Pro Energy’s Alex Guillén: http://politico.pro/18i3c1u
- FHWA approves Tier 1 EIS on Interstate 66 work in Virginia, a step forward for the project. Gov. Bob McDonnell: http://1.usa.gov/1bgy6aS
- Columnist: “Without a permanent trust fund, Amtrak could go to the dogs.” Railway Age: http://bit.ly/1aRncWr
- A woman fell on top of a Metro train in an apparent suicide attempt early Sunday morning, but suffered only minor injuries. WaPo: http://wapo.st/1aKJk5v
- CEI founder and his wife get in dispute with cyclist over a van in a bike lane. Greater Greater Washington: http://bit.ly/InKI2S
THE COUNTDOWN: Surface transportation policy is up in 310 days and FAA policy in 675 days. The mid-term elections are in 344 days. DOT appropriations run out in 52 days.
CABOOSE — Brinegar’s big shoes: The Onion strikes again. The satirical “news” site has the scoop about Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx feeling like he’s not living up to the legacy of Claude S. Brinegar, the nation’s third DOT leader. “I try my best everyday to ensure a safe and efficient nationwide transportation system, but there are days when I just stop and think, ‘Who am I kidding? I’m no Brinegar and I never will be,’” Foxx said in a quote MT wishes was real. “We’re talking about Claude Stout Brinegar here, for God’s sake. The man who tackled price gouging in the fuel industry, expanded commercial air service between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and navigated this country through the 1973 oil embargo. I mean, what chance do I stand against a legacy like that?” http://onion.com/1enacsP (h/t Jonathan Topaz)
**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
FCC angers some over in-plane phone calls
DOE sells Fisker loan at $139 million loss
FCC angers some over in-plane phone calls
By Kevin Robillard | 11/22/13
When the FAA started allowing gate-to-gate device use earlier this month, the nation’s airlines rushed to allow games of Angry Birds during takeoffs and landings.
But the appeal of using electronic devices in-flight may have its limits. People immediately raised concerns about seatmates gabbing nonstop and being loud with a captive audience after news of the proposal from the FCC.
Even FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who put forward the idea, said he would be annoyed with the change while traveling. He said the agency is simply looking at the safety of cell calls on planes, not pushing them.
“We understand that many passengers would prefer that voice calls not be made on airplanes,” Wheeler said in a statement Friday. “I feel that way myself. Ultimately, if the FCC adopts the proposal in the coming months, it will be airlines’ decisions, in consultation with their customers, as to whether to permit voice calls while airborne.”
The agency will consider allowing the calls at its Dec. 12 meeting — but Wheeler emphasized that the final decision will rest with the airlines.
And judging from initial consumer and airline reaction, that decision will be a “no.”
“The ability to use electronic items [that] access cellular data networks remains off the table and our customers have told us that in-flight voice communication would be disruptive,” Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins wrote in an email. “We continue to monitor feedback on this topic from our customers and would consider it should the FCC make any rule changes.”
”Disruptive” seems to be an understatement. On Twitter, in news stories and in congressional statements, the anti-cellphone backlash was swift.
“The only way I’d be in favor of this is if the FCC mandated that all those who want to use their cellphones must sit next to families with screaming children,” frequent flier Joe Winogradoff told The Associated Press.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), an influential lawmaker on FCC issues, was deeply skeptical.
“Playing ‘Words with Friends’ is different than passengers having lengthy, loud ‘conversations with friends’ while in the tight, inescapable confines of an airline passenger cabin,” Markey said in a statement. “Consumers could benefit from access to email, texts and related functions of their phones while in flight, but it’s clear that many have concerns about the atmosphere in airline cabins if unfettered phone conversations were permitted.”
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who wrote legislation in 2008 to ban calls on planes, told POLITICO on Thursday he would consider reintroducing the legislation. But Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), who co-sponsored DeFazio’s bill when he was chairing the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, was noncommittal in a statement.
“The idea of using iPads and other electronic devices would likely be welcomed by travelers, but the thought of listening to phone calls while trapped in a small space raises legitimate concerns,” Petri said.
Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) came out even more forcefully, saying allowing calls could be a safety threat. “We need people to be paying attention to cockpit announcements and the flight attendants, not talking on the phone. And we certainly don’t need any more potential causes for the growing phenomenon of ‘air rage,’ he said in a statement.
Some of the upset fliers invoked their First Amendment rights, starting a petition on Whitehouse.gov less than 24 hours after the FCC announced it plans to revisit its restriction on the use of cellphones in mid-air.
The petitioner — S.M. from Richmond, Va. — complains that the FCC has gone “TOO FAR,” and echoes a populist theme about the continuing degradation of the experience of air travel.
“During flights, passengers are forced into a restricted space, often for long periods of time. Forcing them to listen to the inane, loud, private, personal conversations of a stranger is perhaps the worst idea the FCC has come up with to date,” the person wrote, asking that the administration “nip this in the bud.”
The petition — which needs 100,000 signatures by Dec. 21 to get a response from the White House — had more than 1,200 signatures as of Friday evening.
Also fearing passenger backlash was the U.S. Travel Association, which issued a hold-your-horses statement.
“We should also carefully consider whether allowing open cellphone conversations during flights truly enhances the passenger experience,” U.S. Travel CEO Roger Dow said. “Personally, I have my doubts that the traveling public will wholeheartedly embrace this, but we should be abundantly clear on whether or not that’s true before this policy is allowed to proceed.”
There doesn’t appear to be any public polling on the subject, but Delta Air Lines said in a 2012 regulatory filing that 64 percent of its passengers opposed allowing calls in flight. Delta issued the staunchest statement against in-flight calls.
“Delta has years of customer feedback on the impact on the customer experience and voice communications and the overwhelming sentiment is to continue with a policy that would not allow voice communications while in flight,” the airline said.
Most airlines adopted a wait-and-see approach, with Alaska Airlines, American and United issuing statements similar to Southwest’s. JetBlue — a favorite of business travelers who may wish to work while they fly — seemed more open to the possibility.
“We would certainly welcome the opportunity to explore — especially since it doesn’t appear to compromise safety,” spokesman Morgan Johnston wrote in an email. “Our customer feedback indicates people may not want that policy but of course, tastes and desires change. We would prioritize making the cabin comfortable and welcoming for all — for those who want cell service and for those who like peace and quiet.”
A former FCC official, now in private practice, said the FCC probably should have rolled the proposal out in a different way, considering that Wheeler’s first comments were an oblique reference to “mobile broadband,” with no explanation that enabling voice communications would also be included in the review.
“The chairman of the FCC is brand new so I suspect that everyone thought — I know the staff definitely thought that this would be very well-received and sort of a feel-good, let’s get things off to a really good start kind of a draft,” the former FCC source said. “But it was not rolled out in a comprehensive way, and it really should’ve been.”
Still, the FCC source said there will be plenty of time for gathering comments considering that the agency’s processes can move slowly. “Lightning speed for bringing a rulemaking to conclusion is a year. So this is a ways away.”
Kathryn Wolfe contributed to this report.
DOE sells Fisker loan at $139 million loss
By Alex Guillén | 11/22/13
The DOE has sold off its loan to Fisker Automotive, the California hybrid maker whose financial problems made it a target for Republican criticism in the 2012 presidential election.
Fisker has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Fisker drew down $192 million of the loan before it was frozen after the company missed important benchmarks. DOE recovered about $28 million from the company.
The remaining loan has been bought for $25 million by Hybrid Technology LLC, which says it plans to acquire the rest of Fisker’s assets and restart production of the company’s Karma sedan.
According to DOE, the buyer has also agreed to move all of Karma’s manufacturing to the U.S.
Fisker and DOE took some fire for doing final assembly at a facility in Finland. That happened even though Fisker had said, before it even got a DOE loan, that it would assemble the car overseas. All of the DOE money was spent on parts manufacturing and design in the U.S., according to the company and the government.
Hybrid Technology will also provide up to $8 million in debtor-in-possession financing to pay for Fisker’s sale and bankruptcy proceedings.
Total loss to DOE: $139 million.
A DOE spokesman noted that the loss amounts to about 2 percent of the auto loan program and less than 0.5 percent of DOE’s overall loan program portfolio.
A loss reserve set up by Congress and safeguards implemented by DOE mean that “the Energy Department has protected nearly three-quarters of our original commitment to Fisker Automotive,” DOE spokesman Bill Gibbons said.
Fisker was a popular target for Mitt Romney during his presidential run in 2012 after the company shut down production. At one debate, Romney lumped Fisker alongside Solyndra as “losers” picked by President Barack Obama to receive aid.
In April, Fisker laid off about three-fourths of its U.S. workforce.
Supporters of DOE’s loan program point out that Henrik Fisker, the company’s founder, told lawmakers earlier this year that he was approached in 2008 by a George W. Bush-administration DOE official and urged to apply for a loan.
Marc Beilinson, Fisker’s chief restructuring officer, said the sale to Hybrid Technology “is the best alternative for maximizing Fisker Automotive’s value for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
“We believe that the Fisker Automotive technology and product development capability will remain a guiding force in the evolution of the automotive industry under Hybrid’s leadership,” he added.
Fisker’s is the second loan under its auto loan program that DOE has unloaded. In September, the agency sold its outstanding $45 million Vehicle Production Group loan for just $3 million.
The other three loans made under the program are in better shape. Tesla Motors has already paid back its $465 million loan, while multibillion-dollar loans to Ford and Nissan are in repayment.
BAF IN THE NEWS:
Better Roads Magazine: IBTTA Executive Director, CEO Patrick Jones calls for tolls as means to relieve congestion
Patrick Jones, executive director & CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), this week pointed to tolling as a solution to traffic congestion. At the U.S. Travel Association’s Connecting America Through Travel Conference in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Jones called on the travel industry to embrace tolling as a means to relieve congestion in the U.S…Other panel members included U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and former Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell.