Photo: New Jersey Transit According to a new survey by the American Public Transportation Association, 34 percent of the 30 or so commuter railroads in the United States are testing, demonstrating, or fully operating their equipment using positive train control or PTC systems; technology that must be installed by Dec. 31 this year and fully […]

Photo: Utah DOT A new report issued Aug. 15 by Consumer Energy Alliance expressed concern that recent “geopolitical turmoil” and “global oil price instability” could negatively affect both U.S. consumers and the nation’s transportation sector going forward. Despite a report from the Energy Information Administration in July that projected a decline in gasoline prices for […]

Photo: EVgoNetwork.com In a new report issued by global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, wider adoption of electric vehicles or EVs is not projected to put significant additional demand on the word’s current energy grid structure, but it will re-shape the industry’s “energy load curve” over time. “Using information from Germany as an example, EV […]

Photo: Detroit People Mover The Federal Transit Administration noted on Aug. 16 that the Michigan Department of Transportation officially received federal certification of its rail transit State Safety Oversight or SSO program for the Detroit People Mover automated guideway and the Q Line streetcar systems. With this certification, 22 of 30 states and the 31 […]

Photo: Tesla New research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on “semi-autonomous” advanced driver assistance systems now available on a variety of light vehicle models – research conducted both in controlled test-track environs and on public roads – determined that the technologies “aren’t robust substitutes” for human drivers as of yet. Jessica Jermakian, […]

Photo: Waymo Self-driving system developer Waymo announced on July 31 a partnership with Valley Metro, the regional public transportation authority for the area surrounding Phoenix to see if its driverless vehicles could provide better “travel connections” with the city’s existing bus and light rail services. “Public transportation is an integral part of our cities, providing […]

The Maritime Administration awarded more than $4.8 million in grants Aug. 8 to help fund six “marine highway” projects serving ports in Louisiana, Virginia, New York, and Connecticut, while also supporting the development of new container-on-barge services in Kentucky and Rhode Island. The agency noted that the marine highway program “supports the expanded use of […]

The Federal Railroad Administration issued $1.26 million in what it called Special Transportation Circumstances or STC grants on Aug. 6 to fund rural area rail capital projects in Alaska and Wyoming. Those funds, made available by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, will aid in the deployment of the Terminal Wireless Communications Positive Train Control […]

The Federal Highway Administration is now soliciting submissions for its 2019 Environmental Excellence Awards, which are due by Sept. 14 this year. The agency noted that this biennial award is an “opportunity to recognize states, projects or individuals” who are making a critical difference in ensuring that highways and bridges help yet not hurt the […]

According to an analysis by the Auto Insurance Center of the most recent fatality data available from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the United States averaged roughly one deadly crash related to road rage per day in 2016, with Indiana home to the most fatalities related to road rage and aggressive driving incidents, followed […]