Elana Schor
Recent Posts
As “Cash for Clunkers” Sputters, a Privately Funded Spinoff Picks Up
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The U.S. DOT began signaling yesterday that it would bring the "cash for clunkers" program to an end amid growing unease from auto dealers about the government’s slow pace of reimbursement and General Motors’ decision to begin fronting "clunkers" repayments to its own salesmen. Photo: AmericaJR.com But with auto-industry forecasters predicting a cool 1 million […]
Carper: Climate Bill Must Focus on Transport, Not Just Power Plants
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Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), chief sponsor of a plan to give green transportation 10 percent of the emissions allowances in the upcoming climate change bill, took to the pages of his home-state newspaper yesterday with an op-ed that begins with a pithy description of "the problem": Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) (Photo: DTI) We use a […]
Transit Cuts Report Underscores Cities’ Congressional Influence
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In a report released this morning, Transportation for America (T4A) expands on its months-long effort to map transit cutbacks across the nation and concludes that 10 of the largest 25 local agencies are being forced to hike fares by more than 13 percent. (Photo: T4A) T4A’s report illustrates the punishing effect of such cuts on […]
Transport Construction Industry Mobilizes for Oberstar’s Bill
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Acrimonious opposition to health care reform has become the biggest political story of an otherwise sleepy August, but that doesn’t mean lobbying on the House’s transportation bill has evaporated. (Image: ARTBA) The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), which represents major construction companies, released a bulletin to members today urging them to connect with […]
The Gas Needle and the Damage Done
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NRDC’s depiction of how hard states are hit by gas costs, ranked by percentage of income spent. America’s oil addiction is readily acknowledged, even by its biggest enablers. But what is the nation actually doing to kick the habit and embrace a safer, healthier, more realistic energy future? An attempt to answer that question was […]
Audit Finds U.S. DOT Transit Record-Keeping “Unreliable,” “Inaccurate”
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The disjointed state of "New Starts," the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) program to fund new rail and bus lines, is well-known on Capitol 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 […]
PBS NewsHour Takes on Alabama’s “Zombie Highway” Tonight
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A stretch of the Birmingham highway that would eventually link up with the Northern Beltline. Photo: WNET.org What is a "zombie highway"? Exactly what the name suggests: a road that won’t die, swallowing government funds and congressional earmarks while posing potential harm to those who live near it. Tonight the Blueprint America segment of PBS’ […]
Portland’s Transport Research Guru Headed to Obama Administration
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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 […]
Following “Cash for Clunkers” With “Riches for Rail”
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Tom Toles cartoon: Washington Post Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, began his hearing on transit today by displaying the above cartoon by Pulitzer prize-winner Tom Toles. The senator’s message parallels Toles’: In a world where the auto industry can get $2 billion more in one week, what’s to be […]
Separating Myth From Fact on “Cash for Clunkers”
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As debate rages on in the capital over whether to keep assisting the auto industry by giving out more "cash for clunkers" rebates, two assertions are becoming commonplace: the program is helping diminish U.S. oil consumption, and the program is not paid for with new money. Photo: AP The first argument was reiterated on Friday […]
House Quickly Sends $2 Billion More to ‘Cash for Clunkers’
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The "cash for clunkers" rebate program, which promises new auto buyers up to $4,500 for fuel-efficiency upgrades as small as 2 miles per gallon, is back to life after burning through $1 billion in taxpayer cash. Minutes ago, the House approved $2 billion more in auto rebates by transferring cash that was already headed for […]
‘Cash for Clunkers’ Out of Cash — But Not Quite Finished
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The U.S. DOT may have notified car dealers last night that its watered-down "cash for clunkers" plan was already out of cash, but that doesn’t mean the rebates are on their last legs. With the White House vowing to protect the program, Congress soon could have to decide whether to keep the good times rolling […]