A new 43-page report issued by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Investment Advocacy Center indicates 37 states have introduced 185 bills aimed at boosting transportation investment in the first two months of 2019, with 21 of those states proposing to increase one or more types of fuel taxes. [Above photo by Arkansas […]

The National League of Cities released a report on March 11 to help local governments understand and establish road user charge or RUC pilot programs. [Above photo by Oregon DOT.] NLC explained in a statement that a RUC system, also referred to as a vehicle miles traveled or VMT tax or a mileage based user […]

The U.S. Government Accounting Office recommended in a March 11 report that the U.S. Department of Transportation take steps to “reform” its Build America Bureau organizational structure, as it “lacks a plan” to guide its ongoing and future efforts. [Above photo of GAO headquarters.] The Bureau – established in 2016 – evaluates applications for three […]

A recent telephone survey conducted by AAA found that 71 percent of those polled are “afraid” to ride in fully self-driving vehicles – a result of what the organization called several “high-profile” autonomous vehicle crashes. [Above photo by Uber.] “Automated vehicle technology is evolving on a very public stage and, as a result, it is […]

One of the biggest challenges in the future facing state departments of transportation when it comes to the broader deployment of connect and autonomous vehicles or CAVs is how to integrate them and their needs with the non-CAV population. “The good news is that there are a ton of things going on and a ton […]

New principles may be needed to guide the “interaction” between connected and autonomous vehicles or CAVs and railroad crossings as CAVs will require “brighter” signs and even data connections with crossing guard equipment in order to operate effectively. Those were some of the takeaways from a panel discussion held March 6 during a two-day Second […]

An executive order issued by Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto (seen above) on March 4 is being touted as a “national model” to guide autonomous vehicle testing in cities and communities around the world. The mayor’s order, which designates the city’s department of mobility and infrastructure as the “principal point of contact” for the five entities currently […]

A 44-page report issued by the National Association of Manufacturers notes that U.S. investment in infrastructure is now one-third of what it was in 1960; an inadequate level the group believes will lead to the loss of 5.8 million jobs by 2040. [Above photo by VDOT.] “Infrastructure investment means jobs. It means safer families, better […]

The National Roadway Safety Awards is a competition sponsored every two years by the Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation to recognize transportation organizations – including state departments of transportation – that have made “verifiable and significant strides” toward improving the safety of our nation’s highways through infrastructure improvements or operational improvements. In […]

The Federal Transit Administration officially announced on Feb. 28 that Florida, New Jersey, and New York obtained federal certification of their rail transit state safety oversight or SSO programs, in advance of an important safety deadline. [Above photo of the Miami Dade Transit Metrorail by Phillip Pessar.] The FTA noted in a statement that federal […]