Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Transit Fare Inflation Hitting Health Insurance-Like Levels?
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That’s the implication buried in a roundup of dismal news from urban transit agencies that ran in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. After noting the overall ridership decreases tallied by APTA and the specter of punitive service cuts in many cities, the newspaper noted: Riders of Chicago’s El train, shown above, were spared fare hikes in […]
Pollution Pricing? NY Among 11 States to Back Low-Carbon Fuel Rules
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While many in Washington spent their holiday breaks wondering if Senate Democratic opposition would deal a major blow to progress on a climate change bill, eleven northeastern governors were agreeing on a deal that suggests otherwise. Photo: Scientific American The eleven governors, including New York’s David Paterson, vowed to develop a shared low-carbon fuel standard […]
Senate Climate Bill Invests Big in Transit, Reaps Big Deficit Reduction
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As the Copenhagen climate talks reach a turning point, congressional negotiations over emissions cuts are taking a back seat to global debate. But some undeniably good news on the domestic front came late yesterday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. John Kerry described the Copenhagen talks this week as a motivator for Senate climate action. […]
Ray LaHood Visits ‘The Daily Show’ to Talk Transportation
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Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night to talk about his department’s role in the stimulus debate, infrastructure modernization, and development of a U.S. high-speed rail system. Check out the video above (and let us know what you think in the comments).
House Jobs Bill Mimics the Stimulus: $27.5B for Roads, $8.4B for Transit
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The House is slated to vote as soon as today on a job-creation package that includes $27.5 billion for highways and $8.4 billion for transit, according to a transportation committee document obtained by Streetsblog Capitol Hill. House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) (Photo: Bike Portland via Flickr) That funding divide mirrors the spending levels […]
Bus vs. Rail: Transit’s Quiet Culture Clash?
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The question of running buses or building rail has preoccupied transit planners in many an American town, with Maryland’s Montgomery County being the latest locality to choose between trains and bus rapid transit (BRT), which tends to be the less expensive option. Bogota’s Transmilenio BRT has won praise for its roomy coaches and well-designed stations. […]
Sadik-Khan Joins Blumenauer, Byrne for “Cities for Cycling” Launch
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Addressing a packed house in Washington last night, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, founder of the Congressional Bike Caucus, posed a Zen-like ‘universalist cyclist question’. Photo: Cities for Cycling "How many people, right now," he asked, "are stuck in traffic on their way to ride a stationary bike in a health club?" The quip got a big […]
White House Backs $50B For ‘Merit-Based Infrastructure Investment’
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President Obama today threw his weight behind significant new transportation spending as part of a broad jobs bill taking shape in Congress, with $50 billion slated for transit, roads, bridges, and ports and the administration endorsing "merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars." President Obama gave a high-profile jobs speech today. (Photo: NYT) During his […]
Rendell: National Infrastructure Bank Could Move as Part of New Jobs Bill
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Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), who is in Washington today continuing his push for a "front-loaded" federal transportation bill, told Streetsblog Capitol Hill that he sees momentum building for a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) to be created as part of the jobs bill now moving forward in Congress. Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) (Photo: Post-Gazette) Rendell, […]
Streetsblog Capitol Hill Q&A: Blumenauer Talks Economic Recovery
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On the issue of clean transportation, from transit to bike paths to clean water, few members of Congress are as knowledgeable or active as Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Chief of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus and founder of the new Livable Communities Task Force, the Portland lawmaker is on the front lines of Washington’s biggest infrastructure […]
Congress Gets Project Lists for Jobs Bill: $15B for Transit, $48B for Roads
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AASHTO’s chart of projects deemed "ready to go" by its members. As Democrats in both chambers of Congress work on drafting new economic recovery legislation, they now have a preliminary list of how much spending can be set in motion on short notice: $15 billion for transit projects and $48 billion for highway projects. Those […]
In New Orleans, LaHood Unveils $280M in Streetcar and Bus Grants
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During a visit to New Orleans, where city planners are seeking nearly $100 million in federal stimulus money for three new streetcar lines, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced plans to award $280 million in grants for streetcar and bus networks. New Orleans is counting on bonds, backed by sales taxes, to finance new streetcar […]