NATIONAL NEWS
Washington Post: Will doubling the number of engineers make trains safer?
In a move that might have spared those involved in a deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia last year, federal regulators Monday said they want a minimum of two engineers aboard most of the nation’s trains. The proposal has been under discussion since before the May 13, 2015, Amtrak derailment that killed eight people and injured more than 200 when a train traveling twice the posted speed limit spun off the tracks on a curve.
Tech Times: US Secretary of Transportation says he’s not surprised that Google’s autonomous car crashed
U.S. transportation secretary Anthony Foxx is still supportive of Google's autonomous car initiative, but also admitted that "it's not a surprise that at some point there would be a crash of any technology that's on the road."
International Business Times: Bernie Sanders Endorsement: Amalgamated Transit Union is backing the Vermont Senator for president
“The sincerity of Bernie Sanders and his long-standing fidelity to the issues that are so important to working people are what convinced us that standing with Bernie is standing with the 99 percent of America that has been left out of the mainstream public debate, cheated out of our jobs and denied the true meaning of the American dream,” Larry Hanley, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents some 200,000 workers, said in a statement Monday.
The Hill: Safeguarding the data that power safer cars
In our parents' and grandparents' time, cars were simply a means to get from Point A to Point B. No longer. Cars are in the fast lane to becoming supercomputers on wheels, and that will change the way we live our lives. Connected car technology will transform the safety and convenience of the vehicles we drive. A full 94 percent of the 32,675 fatalities in car accidents last year were caused by accidents involving human error. The Department of Transportation believes that connected cars can drop the number of fatalities to zero, and has accordingly launched efforts to accelerate the introduction of vehicle-to-vehicle communication and autonomous vehicles.
STATE NEWS
Crosscut: Council bails out Seattle’s bike share program
http://crosscut.com/2016/03/council-bails-out-pronto-bike-share-program/
Optimism beat trepidation Monday, as the Seattle City Council overwhelmingly voted to release $1.4 million in city funds to bail out the insolvent “bike share” system Pronto. The council also voted to release an additional $50,000 to better engage low-income and minority communities.
KLIV: Next phase of BART Silicon Valley extension approved by Federal Transit Administration
Federal approval has been given to the next phase of the BART Silicon Valley extension.
The Federal Transit Administration has approved the six mile Phase 2 of the plan to bring the BART rail line into downtown San Jose.
Star Tribune: Study: Transit pass program brings academic, social and economic benefits to MPS students
The Minneapolis School District's decision to have high school students use public transportation to get to class instead of riding yellow school buses is paying off with better attendance and better grades according to a new study by University of Minnesota researchers.
Rhode Island Public Radio: New city transit corridor replaces Providence streetcar project
http://ripr.org/post/new-city-transit-corridor-replaces-providence-streetcar-project
Rhode Island Transit officials today announced the creation of a new bus corridor through downtown Providence. The new bus lines will move people from the Providence train station to the hospitals, on the other side of Interstate 95. The 1.4 mile transit project replaces the now-scrapped city streetcar project. The state will use $13 million in federal funds originally awarded for the streetcar.
Baltimore Business Journal: Baltimore is set to award a bike-share contract
A Canadian company specializing in electrically assisted bicycle systems is about to receive a $2.4 million contract to run a bike-share system in Baltimore. Baltimore's Board of Estimates is expected to approve Wednesday a contract that will have St. Georges, Quebec-based Bewegen Technologies Inc. designing,
Twin Cities Pioneer Press: Will Fourth Street become St. Paul’s Nicollet mall?
http://www.twincities.com/2016/03/14/fourth-street-closure-st-paul/
Rather than driving next to the Lowertown light-rail stop at Fourth and Wacouta streets in downtown St. Paul, imagine sitting in an outdoor cafe smack in the center of the westbound lanes, within view of CHS Field, the St. Paul Farmers’ Market and Mears Park. From Landmark Towers to CHS Field, property and business owners are contemplating what passes in some corners for heresy: closing at least part of a major downtown street to motorists.
Politico Morning Transportation
By Martine Powers | 03/15/2016 05:45 AM EDT
With help from Lauren Gardner, Heather Caygle and Alex Byers
FULL STEAM AHEAD: If you thought T&I Chairman Bill Shuster was going to back off his air traffic control plan during the recess, think again: As the three-and-a-half month extension came to the House floor on Monday afternoon, Shuster was as adamant as ever that a nonprofit corporation would be a coup for U.S. taxpayers. Now, he's got through the summer to get more legislators on his side. But if he doesn't, will he consider supporting the Senate Commerce version of an FAA reauthorization? MT caught Shuster briefly outside House chambers, and he said he is open to checking out their version. "We'll see what the Senate produces and go from there," Shuster told POLITICO. "The time is right to do what we're trying to do, but we'll see what they do, and take a close look at it, and go from there."
Despite a heated back and forth on the House floor, Shuster and T&I ranking Democrat Peter DeFazio shook hands after the short-term extension passed and chatted breezily for several minutes before exiting House chambers. "Bill is persistent, and he believes that he's proposing the best path forward," DeFazio said later, recounting their post-vote confab. But, he added, "I would say the odds are longer than ever, given what's about to happen in the Senate." Even with a new mid-July deadline, he conjectured, could Shuster move a bill through the House, negotiate with the Senate, change hearts and minds, ensure that the idea wouldn't prompt a filibuster, and win over a sizeable number of Democrats? "It's a very long shot, shall we say," DeFazio told MT. "Buy a lottery ticket."
AS FOR THE SENATE SIDE: The short-term extension was a slam dunk in the House, but it may not be such smooth sailing in the Senate. Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune told our Heather Caygle that the extension as written "could run into resistance over here," due to a provision that extends aviation tax collection authority through March 2017. "I don't know for sure yet. We're still checking," Thune added. It's a troublesome prospect because, as Heather explains, "a holdup from a single senator could threaten to sink the extension in its current form since the Senate would need agreement from all 100 members to move the short-term patch quickly through the chamber this week before leaving for recess."
Pack a lunch - and a dinner. And then there's Wednesday's markup of a longer-term aviation bill. There are about 130 amendments to the bill - "I bet half of them are Blumenthal and Markey," Thune joked - and an additional 40-something amendments on the FCC bill also scheduled for a Senate Commerce markup on Wednesday. So in short, it's not going to be a short one. "I mean the most contentious part in the House was the ATC reform. We don't have that. But we do have 128 amendments filed. ... We're trying to winnow that down and see what we can accept, see what we can get withdrawn and all that." That'll take some assistance from Sen. Bill Nelson, the committee's ranking Democrat. "I was just talking to Nelson and we think if we can keep both bills fairly clean, we can get out in pretty good shape. But if people start insisting on having votes," Thune added, "it gets pretty drawn out."
IT'S TUESDAY: Good morning and thanks for tuning into POLITICO's Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on all things trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
MT wants to hear about any transpo geeks with March Madness brackets. Send 'em over and we'll compare notes! Don't be shy: mpowers@politico.com or @martinepowers.
RULE THE RAILS: The Federal Railroad Administration's new notice of proposed rulemaking has got the freight rail industry up in arms, after the agency announced that it's seeking to establish new regulations generally requiring two crew members on board all railroads. As our Lauren Gardner explains , it's not just a proposal to improve current safety conditions, but also part of an effort to head off arguments that newly installed positive train control technology would mean that multiple crew members on trains were no longer necessary.
Lauren's got more details on the two possible approaches that the FRA envisions : "One would typically require two workers on board a passenger or freight train, with one employee charged with being able to communicate with the engineer outside the cab. Low-risk operations, such as low-speed trains or tourist excursions, could qualify for a one-person exception. Under the second proposal, existing one-person operations would have to submit information to FRA to continue working, and any new operations with one-person crews also would be required to provide data to the agency before starting up - though they could operate without first receiving federal approval."
'No safer': The Association of American Railroads was not happy with the announcement. "Notwithstanding an extensive body of evidence showing that two-person crews are no safer than one-person crews, the nation's Class 1 freight railroads currently operate with two-person crews, and have committed to continuing that practice for trains without PTC systems in place," AAR President and CEO Ed Hamberger said.
They also pointed to a 9-month-old video from a House hearing on the Philadelphia Amtrak crash, in which NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart says, "We don't find that two-person crews are an improvement over single-person crews." But some lawmakers swooped in to defend the proposal, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). "The cost of adding a second, skilled crewmember pales in comparison to the costs of avoidable crashes and collisions," Blumenthal said in a statement.
DERAILMENT IN KANSAS: The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of a Kansas Amtrak derailment that has injured at least 32 people. "Condition of the track really is going to be the focus of the investigation," said NTSB Board Member Earl Weener. "There's some indication that there was some misalignment." According to the Chicago Tribune, an engineer spotted a "significant bend" in a rail and applied the emergency brakes moments before the crash occurred.
MT EXCLUSIVE: Obama appointee Katie Thomson will be stepping down from her post as DOT general counsel at the end of May. Thomson, who started at the agency in 2009, has worked on everything from drone integration to fuel economy standards to crude oil transportation safety to travel to Cuba. In a statement, former Secretary Ray LaHood called her "one of my most trusted advisers," and Anthony Foxx praised her "unflappable nature and sound judgment."
** A message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce & Chamber Foundation: Join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Foundation to explore the newest innovations in aviation at our 15th Annual Aviation Summit on March 22. Speakers include: Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO, American Airlines Group; and Charles F. Bolden Jr., Administrator, NASA. Use code "AERO" for 50% off bit.ly/Aviation16MT **
GOOGLE WANTS HILL HELP ON DRIVERLESS CARS: Congress needs to step in to give the Department of Transportation new authority to green-light new vehicle safety technologies, Google's Director of Self-Driving Cars Chris Urmson will tell the Commerce Committee during testimony this afternoon. "We strongly support NHTSA's goals and believe that congressional action is needed to keep pace with safety technologies being developed by vehicle manufacturers and technology innovators, including fully self-driving cars," Urmson writes in prepared testimony. The issue, he says, stems from long-standing vehicle safety standards that were designed without autonomous vehicles in mind and could potentially make self-driving cars less safe.
Industry representatives are making the same case in Austin at SXSW, where Pro Technology's Nancy Scola reports that "there's palpable concern that U.S. officials are moving too slowly and allowing states to fill the void with a patchwork of regulations that could ultimately stymie experimentation and investment in the futuristic vehicles." So far, NHTSA has taken the approach of asking companies to submit requests for one-off interpretations of its existing rules. That case-by-case approach can take years to produce real change, said David Strickland, former NHTSA administrator and now an attorney at the law firm Venable. "It's a speed issue," Strickland said. Without clarity from Congress, self-driving cars may still find a place on U.S. roads, but "it will just take a really, really long time."
ENJOY THE JOYRIDE: Want to see a self-driving car up close and personal? Three autonomous vehicles will be hanging out on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in advance of the hearing on the technology. Thune and Nelson will take a short jaunt in the Continental Chrysler 300c and the Tesla Model S, respectively. The cars will be outside Russell and Dirksen along First Street and C Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Unfortunately (for MT), only senators will be allowed to demo the vehicles.
TRANSIT UNION FEELS THE BERN: The Amalgamated Transit Union, the country's largest union representing transportation workers, endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for president - a choice it's attributing to the politician's record on labor rights, health care, minimum wage, and free college tuition.
KEEPING MUM: The outgoing head of FTA, Therese McMillan, was unsurprisingly tightlipped Monday on the sidelines of APTA's legislative conference about who her successor might be: "Not something that I can say right now. It's working its way through." But she did tell our Lauren Gardner that FTA's safety oversight role is on solid ground as she moves on from Washington.
"We have an incredible team here that is continuing to work closely on WMATA," McMillan said. "I think that safety is one of the issues that absolutely should span any administration, irrespective of where you are. I can't think of any reason, justification or rationale that would make it any less important for the people that use and work on the system, no matter who takes the helm." McMillan starts her new gig at LA Metro April 11.
DRONES ON THE MIND: MT got a hold of an exclusive copy of a letter sent by the Consumer Technology Association to Senate Commerce leadership with some further drone-related asks for the FAA reauthorization bill. Specifically, they're seeking provisions that would Include a "micro rule to ease compliance burdens for owners of smaller drones," tailor the aeronautic knowledge tests to different types of drone users, revise the bill's section on the Federal Trade Commission's role in privacy protection, and strike a part of the legislation that lays out technology mandates.
SORRY, PITTSBURGH! MT was remiss in forgetting Pittsburgh on the list of yesterday's Smart City Challenge finalists. Its proposal: to create "Smart Spines" that use sensors to gather data on major transportation corridors and provide new mobility options for underserved neighborhoods and offer up-to-the-minute info for commuters.
FLORIDA 'GOUND ZERO' FOR RISING SEA LEVELS: With all eyes on the Florida primary tonight, the newest installment of POLITICO Magazine's "What Works" series takes a deep dive into one of the major challenges that Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush's home state faces. Florida ranks most vulnerable in an assessment of all 50 states for their risk to climate change. Cities in South Florida like Miami are responding to rising sea levels amid a political reality indifferent to the exigencies of climate change. http://politi.co/1RiBVM9
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
- "FAA Years Ago Raised Questions About Germanwings Co-Pilot." The Wall Street Journal.
- "Do Consumer Drones Endanger the National Airspace? Evidence from Wildlife Strike Data." George Mason University's Mercatus Center.
- "E&C subcommittee to vote on PHMSA bill this week." POLITICO Pro.
- "The arms race for Internet connectivity at 35,000 feet is likely to lead to faster connections that cost less." The New York Times.
- "Lyft to Launch Car-Rental Program, Aiming to Attract, Motivate Drivers." The Wall Street Journal.
- "Wall Street Tours the Tesla Factory - and Loves What It Sees." Bloomberg.
- Foxx: Google self-driving car crash "not a surprise." BBC.
- "Taxi! Singapore's Uber Disruption Fades." Bloomberg.
THE COUNTDOWN: DOT appropriations run out in 199 days. The FAA reauthorization expires in 16 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 237 days. Highway and transit policy is up for renewal in 1,661 days.
THE DAY AHEAD:
8:15 a.m. - Airports take on Capitol Hill for the 2016 ACI-NA/AAAE Washington Legislative Conference. Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill 400 New Jersey Ave NW.
8:45 a.m. - The American Public Transportation Association's Legislative Conference holds a panel discussion with Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Jeff Denham, and Bob Dold, as well as Sen. Sherrod Brown. JW Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.
9 a.m. - The FAA holds the 17th meeting of the RTCA Special Committee 227. RTCA Inc., 1150 18th NW, Suite 910.
10 a.m. - The House T&I's Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee holds a hearing on "The President's FY2017 Budget Request for Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs." 2167 Rayburn.
10 a.m. - The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holds a hearing on "The Security of U.S. Visa Programs." 342 Dirksen.
2 p.m. - The House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee hold a hearing on the budget for the Transportation Department and Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General. 2359 Rayburn.
2:30 p.m. - The Senate Commerce Committee holds a hearing titled "Hands Off: The Future of Self-Driving Cars." Witnesses include Chris Urmson, director of self-driving cars at Google X, and Mike Ableson, vice president for program management at General Motors. 253 Russell.
3:15 p.m. - The American Public Transportation Association and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute hold a briefing on "Advancing Mobility Sustainably: Ridesourcing and Public Transport Together." Livestream at www.eesi.org/livecast. SVC-200, U.S. Capitol.
3:30 p.m. - SXSW panel discussion on "The Policies Impacting Drones and the Future of Flight," focusing on the key issues affecting drones, from innovation and economic impact to safety and privacy. Speakers include Marke "Hoot" Gibson of the FAA and Jon Resnick of DJI. This panel will be live-streamed at ipd2016.com.
Did we miss an event? Let MT know at transpocalendar@politicopro.com.
** A message from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce & Chamber Foundation: Hear top experts discuss new trends and innovations that are impacting the future of space and aviation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Foundation's 15th annual Aviation Summit on March 22. Speakers include: Alan Pellegrini, President and CEO, Thales USA; Marion Blakey, Chairman, President, and CEO, Rolls-Royce North America; and Robin Hayes, President and CEO, JetBlue Airways. Use code "AERO" for 50% off registration: bit.ly/Aviation16MT **
Stories from POLITICO Pro
FAA extension could hit opposition in Senate Back
By Heather Caygle | 03/14/2016 06:37 PM EDT
The short-term FAA extension that rolled through the House via voice vote this afternoon could hit some choppy waters in the Senate later this week.
Sen. John Thune told POLITICO some of his colleagues may not be on board with House bill's language that would renew FAA policy through mid-July while extending aviation tax collection authority through March 2017.
"I think that could run into resistance over here, but I don't know for sure yet. We're still checking," Thune said, citing specifically possible opposition from Senate tax writers about the 12-month portion of the extension (H.R. 4721).
A holdup from a single senator could threaten to sink the extension in its current form since the Senate would need agreement from all 100 members to move the short-term patch quickly through the chamber this week before leaving for recess.
Thune said he expects far less fireworks on the Senate's long-term FAA bill, due for a committee vote Wednesday.
Thune and the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Bill Nelson, are currently working to winnow down the nearly 130 amendments already filed, about "half of which" he jokingly estimated came from Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey.
FRA to push rule requiring two-person train crews: Back
By Kathryn A. Wolfe | 04/09/2014 10:19 AM EDT
The Federal Railroad Administration says it plans to propose a rule requiring two-person crews on crude oil trains and establishing minimum crew size standards for "most main line freight and passenger rail operations." Some of the proposals follow recommendations made by a working group created after the deadly Lac-Megantic derailment in Canada last summer.
FRA said the working group had been unable to reach a consensus on crew size, and so it was moving forward with its own rulemaking instead. Crew size figured prominently in the Lac-Megantic derailment of a crude oil train, which was being operated at the time of the accident by only one person. Most large train operations already use two-person crews as standard practice, but others do not - especially short-line railroads.
FRA noted that the NPRM will "most likely require a minimum of two person crews for most mainline train operations including those trains carrying crude oil" but also noted that there will be some exceptions.
FRA also said this morning that it plans to move forward on a rule on train securement, as well as recommending a rulemaking on the movement of hazardous materials.
"We believe that safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple person crew - safety dictates that you never allow a single point of failure," FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo said. "Ensuring that trains are adequately staffed for the type of service operated is a critically important to ensure safety redundancy."
NTSB: Early data suggest track issue in Kansas Amtrak derailment Back
By Kathryn A. Wolfe | 03/14/2016 06:41 PM EDT
In its first on-scene briefing related to an Amtrak derailment in Kansas last night, the NTSB suggested that attention is being focused on the condition of the track.
It is still early with much information yet to be collected, but NTSB Board Member Earl Weener said so far, there is "every indication the train was being operated properly," and noted that the agency believes it was running within allowed speed for the area.
"Condition of the track really is going to be the focus of the investigation," Weener said. "There's some indication that there was some misalignment."
He also credited the Amtrak engineer at the controls with vigilant action, hitting the emergency brakes after apparently having noticed something amiss with the tracks.
"That was probably responsible for the train derailment not being any worse than it was. But we'll know a lot more about that in the next day or two," he said.
Weener said the track was last inspected on Thursday.
Weener said the train, Amtrak's Southwest Chief, carrying approximately 130 people and 14 crew members, derailed at 12:02 a.m. Central time, tipping over six of the 10 cars against a berm, with "minor to serious injuries reported." The other cars, and the two locomotives, remained upright.
ATU endorses Sanders Back
By Brian Mahoney | 03/14/2016 03:24 PM EDT
The Amalgamated Transit Union endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, according to the Huffington Post.
The 190,000-member AFL-CIO union is Sanders' fourth national union endorsement, following National Nurses United, the Communications Workers of America, and the American Postal Workers Union.
"The sincerity of Bernie Sanders and his long standing fidelity to the issues that are so important to working people are what convinced us that standing with Bernie is standing with the 99 percent of America that has been left out of the mainstream public debate, cheated out of our jobs and denied the true meaning of the American dream," Larry Hanley, the union's president, said in a statement, according to the Huffington Post.
E&C subcommittee to vote on PHMSA bill this week Back
By Andrew Restuccia | 03/14/2016 01:12 PM EDT
A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee is slated to vote this week on pipeline safety legislation, according to a committee aide.
The Wednesday markup in the Energy and Power Subcommittee comes as House lawmakers are working behind the scenes to build support for the bipartisan legislation, which would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is crafting its own pipeline bill and the two pieces of legislation will need to be reconciled before a House floor vote, which is expected this summer. The Senate approved its version of the PHMSA reauthorization earlier this month.