Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Federal Funding

Eight Senate Dems Offer $2B Plan for Emergency Transit Operating Aid

By Elana Schor | May 25, 2010 | No Comments

Transit agencies forced to raise fares or cut service to close budget gaps would be eligible for $2 billion in emergency operating funds under legislation unveiled today by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and seven other Democratic senators, including two members of the party’s leadership. Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT), left, Charles Schumer (D-NY), […]

Jesse Jackson Joins Transit Unions to Rally for More Federal Operating Aid

By Elana Schor | Apr 27, 2010 | No Comments

Rev. Jesse Jackson, center, joined Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) for a similar transit workers rally in New York City earlier this month. (Photo: Noah Kazis) "CONGRE$$ PLEASE HELP." "THINK BEFORE YOU CUT." "HANDS OFF OUR BUS OPERATORS." The messages were stark on Capitol Hill today as hundreds of transit workers gathered to protest the wave […]

MTA Touts Carbon Avoidance in Bid for New Revenue Stream

By Noah Kazis | Apr 22, 2010 | 3 Comments

Graphic: MTA Without its transit system, the New York region would emit 17.4 million more metric tons of greenhouse gases each year, the MTA announced yesterday. By taking cars off the road, decreasing congestion so the remaining cars emit less, and promoting dense land use patterns, the MTA is making a major dent in the […]

Arizona to Other States: Take Our Transit Funding… Please

By Ben Fried | Apr 21, 2010 | 4 Comments

Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek passes along this tale of legislative dysfunction from sunny Phoenix, Arizona. The narrator is Arizona state legislator Steve Farley, a public artist and community activist who recently brought home a $63 million TIGER grant to fund a new streetcar in Tucson. It’s a good thing the feds provide funding opportunities outside […]

The Gas Tax: A Trip Back in Legislative Time

By Elana Schor | Apr 15, 2010 | No Comments

As Tax Day prompts a rush of political rallies and media coverage, it’s worth looking back at the history of the federal levy that helps pay for transportation projects: the gas tax. The late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) in 1982, when he battled his own party’s attempts to raise the gas tax. (Photo: TIME) Most […]

Would the New Senate Fuel Tax Deal a Death Blow to the Transport Bill?

By Elana Schor | Apr 6, 2010 | No Comments

Eight Democrats yesterday joined nearly the entire transportation universe, from road-builders to transit advocates, to warn the three Senate authors of a new climate bill against raising gas taxes without using the money for infrastructure. Their message, translated from the often impenetrable language of Washington: Imposing new fuel fees that are not routed to transport […]

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