Subcommittee Hearing Focuses on Fostering Transportation ‘Innovations’
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe House of Representatives’ Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit elicited insight concerning a wide array of emerging technologies during a Sept. 5 hearing that “have the potential to improve the safety and productivity” of the U.S. surface transportation system, according to Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., the subcommittee’s chairman (seen above). “The population […]
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Kirk Steudle, Michigan’s transportation director for 12 years and a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Department of Transportation, announced he will be retiring effective Oct. 31, though he will continue as interim CEO and president for the American Center for Mobility – a position he took on in mid-August – until that group’s board of […]
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As the Council on Environmental Quality sorts through 12,514 comments submitted for its advanced notice of proposed rulemaking issued June 20 aimed at updating the “procedural provisions” of National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA reviews for transportation projects, the main focal points from state departments of transportation and related organizations is on how to “streamline” […]
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FHWA Taking Applications for $225M Competitive Bridge Funding Opportunity
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Highway Administration said in a notice of funding opportunity issued Sept. 5 that it will be accepting grant applications for $225 million worth of funding via its Competitive Highway Bridge program through Dec. 4. FHWA added in its NOFO that “eligible applicants” for competitive bridge grants are state departments of transportation representing states […]
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Report Says Autonomous Trucks Could Create New Infrastructure, Eliminate Jobs
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSA new 73-page report authored by Steve Viscelli, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, and issued by Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and Working Partnerships USA on Sept. 5, projects that autonomous trucks could replace as many as 294,000 long-distance truck driving jobs over the next decade, […]
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Data Needed to See if Ride-Sharing, Autonomous Vehicles Can fill Urban Transport ‘Gap’
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSResearchers with the Brookings Institution outlined in a blog post on Sept. 4 that ride-sharing programs, which include those using cars, bicycles, and electric scooters, along with self-driving vehicles can fill in “gaps” that exist in urban transportation networks – specifically public transit systems – though more detailed data is required to do so effectively. […]
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DDOT Continues Efforts to Broaden Multi-Modal Opportunities
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe District Department of Transportation is continuing a series of efforts to spur more “multi-modal” transport options by launching an electric bicycle or e-bike pilot program on Sept. 5, along with extending its “dockless vehicle program” for bicycles and scooters through December of this year. “Mayor Muriel Bowser consistently challenges us to think creatively about […]
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FTA Provides $75M Grant to Albuquerque Transit Department
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Transit Administration finalized a $75 million grant agreement with the City of Albuquerque Transit Department – known as ABQ Ride – for a new bus rapid transit or BRT line on Aug. 31. “We support Albuquerque’s investment in BRT, which will enhance transit service for thousands of residents and visitors traveling downtown and […]
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Different ‘Profiles’ Developing Among Electric Vehicle Consumers
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSThere are “highly distinctive profiles” developing regarding consumers who purchase electric vehicles or EVs, with those “profiles” driving potentially different sets of national, state and local policy goals, according to a new study recently published in the journal Transportation Research Part D: Transport and the Environment. The lead author of the study, Bradley Lane – […]
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Global Climate Report Calls for Expansion of ‘Non-Motorized’ Transport and Public Transit
editor@aashto.org September 7, 2018 0 COMMENTSA new 208-page climate report released by the advocacy group Global Commission on the Economy and Climate on Sept. 6 projects that world is expected to invest about $90 trillion on infrastructure up through 2030, with much of this investment expected to be “programmed” over the next two to three years, creating what its principal […]
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