Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Streetsblog Capitol Hill

New Survey: 84% of Transit Agencies Facing Fare Hikes, Service Cuts

By Elana Schor | Apr 1, 2010 | No Comments

Budget shortfalls exacerbated by the lingering recession have forced 84 percent of local transit agencies to hike fares, cut service, or begin considering one or both of those options since the beginning of 2009, according to a report released today by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). (Chart: APTA) APTA’s bleak survey reflects data from […]

Final Obama Fuel-Efficiency Rule Gives Breaks to Electric, Luxury Cars

By Elana Schor | Apr 1, 2010 | 6 Comments

The Obama administration today released its final rule raising U.S. auto fuel-efficiency standards to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016, winning plaudits from environmental groups while offering extra benefits to makers of electric and luxury cars. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, at left, with EPA chief Lisa Jackson at right. (Photo: Getty […]

New Report: Congress Should Boost Truck Efficiency by Raising Gas Tax

By Elana Schor | Apr 1, 2010 | 2 Comments

As the federal government moves forward on a mandate to set stronger fuel-efficiency rules for trucks and buses, a new report from an independent scientific body is urging lawmakers to take another approach: raise fuel taxes. The 2007 federal energy law aimed to set new fuel-efficiency rules for trucks as well as buses. (Photo: TTI) […]

Could Gas-Tax Bonds Pay For the Next Federal Transportation Bill?

By Elana Schor | Mar 31, 2010 | 9 Comments

House infrastructure committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), facing steep political odds in his push to pass a new six-year federal transportation bill this year, has begun to pitch an outside-the-box solution to the financing shortfall that is still stalling congressional action: Treasury bonds. (Photo: Pop and Politics) Oberstar’s proposal would plug the hole in anticipated […]

Wall Street Swaps Haunting Cities: How Many Transit Agencies Hold Them?

By Elana Schor | Mar 31, 2010 | 5 Comments

The vast majority of Americans could not recognize the term "credit-default swaps" until 2008, when the obscure type of Wall Street deal was pinpointed as a leading cause of the U.S. financial meltdown. Now another type of swap, centered on interest rates, is making headlines as a growing number of urban governments start to regret […]

As Minneapolis Joins NACTO, Oberstar Backs Shift on Transit Operating Aid

By Elana Schor | Mar 30, 2010 | 6 Comments

At an event in Minneapolis today, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) announced his support for giving urban transit agencies more flexibility to spend federal transportation formula money on operating — a change in the current law that has already won the backing of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood but has split the transit industry. […]

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