The U.S. Department of Transportation provided $40 million in grants on January 14 to five states seeking to improve highway-railway line crossing safety. [Above photo by the FRA.] The agency said that the Federal Highway Administration is issuing those grants in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration to commuter rail authorities […]

The Federal Transit Administration is disbursing $14 billion in federal funding allocations to continue supporting public transportation systems during the COVID-19 pandemic – money provided via $900 billion in COVID-19 emergency relief aid included in a year-end legislative package signed into law December 27. State departments of transportation received $10 billion in aid via that same measure. […]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking public comment on a draft of its revised Cybersecurity Best Practices for the Safety of Modern Vehicles published January 12 in the Federal Register – an update to its existing “best practices” document originally crafted in 2016. [Above photo by the Ford Motor Co.] “Vehicle cybersecurity has […]

The National Transportation Safety Board issued several safety recommendations on January 13 to improve first responder safety when facing electric vehicle fires involving high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. [Above graphic by the NTSB.} Those findings are contained in Safety Report 20/01, which documents the agency’s investigation of four such EV fires. In three of those cases, the lithium-ion batteries ignited […]

The Federal Highway Administration awarded $49.6 million worth of Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment or ATCMTD grants to 10 projects using advanced intelligent transportation systems technologies designed to improve mobility, safety, and support vehicle connectivity. [Above photo by the Georgia DOT.] “The program selections this year look to the future to help ensure […]

Fifteen “teams” in 15 states will receive a combined $41 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation via two agency-sponsored “design challenges” that seek to improve transportation access to persons with disabilities and individuals with mobility issues. [Above photo by MARC.] USDOT said in a statement that it split more than $38 million in grant […]

The Federal Aviation Administration recently established an Airport Coronavirus Response Grant Program to distribute some $2 billion in COVID-19 relief funding included within a legislative package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on December 27. [Above photo by the FAA.] The agency said in a statement that those funds are available to “all […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a call for proposals for its fiscal year 2021 Small Business Innovation Research or SBIR program. The agency said it is providing a pre-solicitation “preview” of the 13 topics expected to be featured in its FY2021 program, with an opportunity to submit questions via the its SBIR Q&A website. […]

For many of the tens of thousands of people living in sparsely populated communities across the country, rural transit is the only travel option available – and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic strained that lifeline like never before. [Above photo via the Michigan DOT.] Andrea “Andy” Brush knows that better than anyone does. A […]

The states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, along with the District of Columbia, signed a memorandum of understanding or MOU on December 21 committing themselves to a “multi-jurisdictional program” to pursue systematic and substantial reductions in motor vehicle greenhouse gas or GHG emissions while “re-investing” $300 million annually in cleaner transportation infrastructure. [Above graphic via the […]