Center for Transportation Research News

Green Car Reports reports that several new plug-in cars are expected to come onto the US market soon. The article examines concerns about the increased electrical demands of these cars in concentrated areas where “early adopters” will be likely to live.
The answer, in short, is: No. The current power grids in the U.S. are more [...]

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The Federal Highway Administration posted its October Transportation and Climate Change Newsletter. It contains the latest news in this area of policy and study.

U.S. DOE and U.S. EPA announce the 2010 Fuel Economy Guide for model year 2010 vehicles.
World Resources Institute issues provisional GHG emissions reporting standard for public sector
EESI publishes State Actions on Climate Change: A Focus [...]

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BCBS Parking Garage, Detroit, MI
Photo: Fabrizio Costantini for USA TODAY
With the upswing in transit-oriented development, parking garages are the latest buildings to get an eco-makeover.
“Green” is the new black in planning, design and construction philosophy, and it’s no different for the parking industry. Parking designers are embracing practices such as using recycled materials, solar [...]

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Continuing to aid the American auto industry, the House passed a bill on Wednesday to approve an expansion of U.S. government-led research in the creation of more fuel-efficient and green vehicles.
Chevy Volt. Picture from www.autospectator.com
The bill would authorize $2.9 billion to the Energy Department to boost the research over five years. It would push the government [...]

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photo: Daimler AG
This fall Daimler AG brings its carsharing pilot program of car2go to Austin. During this test phase, Daimler will make 200 of its fleet of Smartcars available to a select group of city employees and their families. In 2010 the program will be expanded to all Austinites.
For us, Austin is the perfect city [...]

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New technologies and new mindsets have begun to help transform traditional blacktop.
A new road can reduce the travel time and distance for transporting people and products and other material from place to place. However, for each mile of these new but traditionally constructed roads, thousands of tons of materials such as aggregate rock, concrete, [...]

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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has launched a new website outlining key recommendations in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
“This is a 40-year-mission, but every day counts,” said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley. “The stakes are too high to get this wrong and that’s why we’re hoping policy makers, journalists, [...]

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Dr. Susan Handy, University of California, Davis.
Article quotes Dr. Susan, Handy, who worked at UT Austin and performed transportation studies though the Center for Transportation Research, on the hidden hybrid that cuts down on the use of vehicles: available neighborhood shops.
Academics who study travel behavior say that the presence of neighborhood businesses is a major [...]

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An article by economists, Lucas W. Davis, Assistant Professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and Matthew E. Kahn, Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment, the UCLA Department of Economics and the UCLA Department of Public Policy, suggests that the “Cash for Clunkers” program might have unintended [...]

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