Railroad grade crossing incidents are the second leading cause of leading cause of all rail-related deaths in the United States, according to Federal Railroad Administration data, yet there may not be enough funding available to make such crossings safer – an issue discussed during a House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hearing on […]

President Trump signed an executive order on February 12 establishing a comprehensive national policy promoting the responsible use of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services – such as the U.S. global positioning system (GPS) – to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience. [Above photo by NASA.] “Since the United States made GPS available worldwide, PNT services provided by […]

The Federal Transit Administration issued two notice of funding opportunities or NOFOs for fiscal year 2020 on February 7; one via its Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities program and the other via its Passenger Ferry grant program. [Above photo via the FTA.] The transit bus NOFO is offering some $454.6 million in competitive grant […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued more than $8.9 million worth of grants to 80 federally recognized American Indian Tribal Nations on February 11 to support 91 transportation projects; most of them focused on improving traffic safety and quality of life for tribal communities, noted USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao in a statement. [Above photo by […]

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., proposed legislation this week with bipartisan support that would rename the U.S. Department of Transportation’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., after William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr. (in photo above at right) – the fourth U.S. Secretary of Transportation and first African American to serve in the position. [Above photo of the late […]

The Federal Aviation Administration filed a Request for Comment on February 3 to seek feedback from industry stakeholders and the general public to its proposed Unmanned Aircraft Systems policy to certify certain civilian and commercial delivery UAS units – commonly called drones – as a “special class” of aircraft. [Above photo by the Colorado DOT.] […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is splitting $300 million among three funding opportunity announcements or FOAs to spur sustainable transportation research and development activity. Announced during a speech by Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes (seen above) at the Washington Auto Show on January 23, this fiscal year 2020 funding aims to diversify the […]

The Federal Transit Administration issued a notice of funding opportunity on January 24 offering up to $130 million in competitive grant funds through its Low or No Emission (Low-No) Bus Program to spur the purchase or lease of transit buses that produce little to no harmful exhaust pollutants. [Above photo by New Flyer.] Eligible projects include the purchase […]

The Federal Highway Administration issued $4.3 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief or ER funds to the North Dakota Department of Transportation on January 27 to help repair roads and bridges damaged by a series of floods last year. [Above photo by the North Dakota DOT.] Heavy rains in the late summer and fall of […]

At the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (above at left) provided a broad outline of her agency’s regulatory approach in relation to the nascent urban air mobility or UAM market. [Above photo by the WEF.] “These vehicles have the potential to create new mobility options […]