Center for Transportation Research: Highlights

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing “Making Our Roads Safer: Reauthorization of the Motor Carrier Safety Programs” will be held this afternoon at 2:30 Eastern/1:30 Central. The Witness Panel will include: The Honorable Anne Ferro, Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The Honorable Christopher Hart, Vice Chairman of the [...]

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The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it’s changing the way it evaluates transit projects that are candidates for federal funding, and the new policy could benefit the Central Corridor light rail project. In recent years, transit projects that seek funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts or Small Starts program have had [...]

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The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to extend federal higway and transit programs, which were to expire September 30, until the end of the year. House Democratic leaders brought the measure, HR 3617, sponsored by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar, D-MN, to the floor late this afternoon using an expedited procedure [...]

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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 [...]

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Today, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy is releasing $377M in funding for almost 50 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) located at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms. The funding comes out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These centers are expected to “lay the scientific groundwork [...]

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State transit officials told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that without additional federal funds, rail systems nationwide will deteriorate further. The transit executives called on lawmakers to provide federal funds for ” significant capital investments,” such as expanding rail systems, purchasing additional rail cars and upgrading power and maintenance facilities. Read “US Rails Will Deteriorate Without [...]

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A new report by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), “How States and Territories Fund Transportation: An Overview of Traditional and Nontraditional Strategies”, takes a look at nontraditional funding approaches for state transportation revenues. “The nation’s transportation system faces many pressures, including a growing imbalance between system use and system capacity, [...]

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