Recent Streetsblog USA posts about U.S. DOT

New ‘Clunkers’ Analysis: Trucks, SUVs More Popular Than Suggested

By Elana Schor | Aug 7, 2009 | 5 Comments

When the Obama administration first called for more "cash for clunkers" last week, two influential senators said they could not back an extension without stronger efficiency standards for the program’s trade-ins — only to drop their opposition after viewing U.S. DOT sales figures that showed buyers snapping up gas-sipping cars. Is this Ford Escape the […]

Audit Finds U.S. DOT’s Transit Record-Keeping ‘Unreliable,’ ‘Inaccurate’

By Elana Schor | Aug 6, 2009 | No Comments

The disjointed state of "New Starts," the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) program to fund new rail and bus lines, is well-known on the Hill — in fact, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) recently quipped that it ought to be renamed "small starts, low starts, and no starts." Thousands gathered to board the new […]

Portland’s Transport Research Guru Headed to Obama Administration

By Elana Schor | Aug 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

The U.S. DOT is expected to announce today that it has tapped Robert Bertini, a Portland State University professor who headed Oregon’s state-wide transport research effort, as the No. 2 at the Research and Innovative Technology Administration — the government’s home for stats on all things transportation. Robert Bertini (Photo: Oregonian) Bertini’s hiring is an […]

AP: Obama Administration Won’t Release Full Data on ‘Cash for Clunkers’

By Elana Schor | Aug 4, 2009 | 2 Comments

A $2 billion renewal of "cash for clunkers" is now almost assured, with GOP senators easing up on their threat of a filibuster and one key Democrat remarking that "the statistics [for the program] are much better than everyone thought." But if the "clunkers" data is so successful, why won’t the U.S. DOT release it […]

LaHood to Convene Texting-While-Driving Summit

By Elana Schor | Aug 4, 2009 | No Comments

Ray LaHood will announce today that his Department of Transportation plans to convene a summit next month for safety officials, lawmakers, academics, and law enforcement representatives to examine the risks of texting while driving. (Photo: GT Channel) The summit comes on the heels of a new congressional proposal to prod states into bans on texting […]

Letting Highway Trust Fund Earn Interest: How Much Would it Help?

By Elana Schor | Aug 3, 2009 | 3 Comments

The Senate released a proposed $26.8 billion patch to the nation’s highway trust fund two weeks ago that included a long-sought priority of transportation policy-makers: restoring the fund’s ability to keep the interest it accrues on unspent balances. But the deal left open the question of how much that fix would benefit lawmakers as they […]

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