- San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Seamless’ Bay Area transit system proposed to attract new riders
- San Francisco Chronicle: How S.F.’s parklet movement has grown across globe
- San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. area 2nd worst in country for housing creation
- San Jose Mercury News: Palo Alto: Expanded shuttle service to begin April 1
- San Francisco Examiner: Muni contract sparks scrutiny, talk of ethics violations
- The Reporter: Metropolitan Transportation Commission report looks at land use, population in Bay Area
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 3/31/2015
By JENNIFER SCHOLTES and HEATHER CAYGLE, with help from Andrew Restuccia
DELANEY PLUGS REPATRIATION PLAN TODAY: Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) this morning in D.C. will speak to a crowd of state and local transportation stakeholders, kicking off the second day of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s policy conference: http://bit.ly/1IK0ZcE. A repatriation advocate, the congressman will undoubtedly talk about his proposal to use revenue from taxing overseas earnings to keep the Highway Trust Fund in the black for six years. Delaney is also a rare Democratic supporter of dynamic scoring and may mention his push to get lawmakers onboard with the tax accounting strategy to help come up with money to fill the transportation infrastructure fund.
Foxx takes Detroit: Secretary Anthony Foxx will be in Detroit today for a series of events including a chat about his 30-year transportation plan, “Beyond Traffic,” at the Detroit Economic Club at noon, followed by an afternoon roundtable with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.
And back in D.C., the NTSB will host a daylong session on deadly transportation distractions, with texting/talking while driving likely coming in at the top of the list. The free event gets underway at 9 a.m. and will also be livestreamed: http://bit.ly/18lRjr5.
DEAR CONGRESS, DON’T KILL THIS ONE: After laying out its latest transportation infrastructure plan Monday, Obama administration bigwigs are now working to ensure the $478 billion legislative blueprint doesn’t flounder like the one they put forth last year. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told POLITICO’s Mike Allen at our Playbook Lunch on Monday that the country’s network of roads and bridges is “in a huge ditch” and that “the American public have to demand action in Washington.” (More on Foxx’s chat below.) Sen. Tom Carper is hoping this new DOT plan won’t get such short shrift on Capitol Hill. “It is my sincere hope that this Congress will do more with this proposal than last year, when we simply kicked the can down the road for another short-term patch for the 12th time in five years,” Carper said in a written statement.
Just can’t get enough? Here’s the bill text: http://politico.pro/1BFiTYl and section-by-section breakdown: http://politico.pro/1BFj0mH
Grow 2.0 takes on NHTSA reforms: Following a year of deadly auto recalls that included exploding airbags, defective ignition switches and flying shrapnel, the administration is trying to beef up auto safety enforcement through its new multi-year transportation bill. The DOT blueprint builds on portions of last year’s version of the bill but would make it easier for federal safety officials to pull deadly cars off the road, goes further to boost the number of cars subject to recall that actually get fixed and tries to reach drivers in a new way — through their state DMVs. The bill also would enable NHTSA, for the first time, to levy criminal penalties against people who hack into cars “with the intent to endanger public safety.” Heather has the story: http://politico.pro/1BFtgLG
Tolling showdown continues: The Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates has, of course, heralded the latest iteration of Grow America with fighting words, balking at the administration’s continued calls for lifting the interstate tolling ban. “Tolling interstate lanes which drivers now freely access is an inefficient financing mechanism that is the worst possible approach to raising transportation revenue,” Julian Walker, a spokesman for the alliance, said in a written statement.
TUESDAY — WE’LL TAKE IT: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Props to @OmairTaher and @unsuckdcmetro for sharing a photo of particularly janky Metro accommodations: http://bit.ly/19CfjYa. Make us laugh: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes, and hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope.
“I met all my wives in traffic jams.” http://bit.ly/1EVDQQQ
LUNCH LEFTOVERS: FOXX MEETS PLAYBOOK — Weren’t able to tune in for Monday’s Playbook Lunch with Foxx? MT’s got you covered on all fronts. Aside from rolling out Grow 2.0, the DOT chief talked about a r?ange of issues including Uber, the realities of Amazon drone delivery and what it’s like to play basketball with President Barack Obama. Foxx didn’t mince words when it came to describing the current funding conundrum, saying the U.S. transportation network is in a “huge ditch” and warning another patch will “paralyze” the system. Story: http://politico.pro/1xtL6py and full video: http://politi.co/1EW9zRZ
Amazon drone delivery ‘absolutely’ a possibility: Having that Amazon package dropped at your door via drone is “absolutely” a real possibility in the future, if you ask Foxx. “I think it eventually will be. Absolutely. That’s coming,” he told Mike Allen when asked about the idea. Amazon has said it eventually hopes to deliver packages via drone within 30 minutes or less, but the FAA’s rules governing the unmanned vehicles have been a roadblock. The agency recently gave Amazon the go-ahead to test commercial drone use, but the company said the permit was already outdated because the federal approval process took too long.
Uber, driverless cars ‘disruptive’ to auto industry: Innovations such as Uber and driverless cars are going to disrupt the auto market in big ways but could eventually become a major U.S. export, Foxx said. “I don’t know what these tradeoffs mean in the future. What I do know is that the more we start to see these innovations happen in the marketplace, they will have disruptive impacts,” he said. “And I think all of the market players will adjust to them. But it’s just going to take some time for it to sort out.” The DOT leader said a recent conversation with a friend illustrated just how much things are changing. In that chat, his friend was debating buying his kid a car or setting up an Uber account as an alternative.
Dessert: Foxx talks about what it’s really like to shoot hoops with Obama: “I’m sure he’d love to play me now,” Foxx said, noting his recent knee surgery. Watch the exchange: http://politi.co/1aceNBx
FORMER ALPA V.P. HEADS TO AMAZON PRIME AIR: POLITICO Influence with the deets: “Sean Cassidy, a former vice president of the Air Line Pilots Association and an Alaska Airlines pilot, is moving to Amazon Prime Air, the Internet giant’s drone delivery project. Cassidy, who led ALPA’s safety efforts when he was the union’s No. 2, acknowledged his move was unorthodox in an email to friends and colleagues. ‘I know this announcement will catch many of you by surprise, but I simply could not pass up this amazing opportunity to join such an incredible company and team who I believe will make aviation history,’ he wrote. ALPA has warned about the dangers of small drones like those Amazon is building. Cassidy wrote his job would be ‘helping make the safe and successful commercial deployment of the Amazon UAV/drone program a reality.’”
DISTRICT JUDGE SIDES WITH AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS: Delta and Hawaiian airlines have been shut down in their legal protest against the Export-Import Bank’s support of aircraft manufacturers selling to foreign buyers. In a 72-page court order, a U.S. District Court judge ran through a lengthy list of reasons he thinks the airlines are wrong in their argument against that financial backing, noting that federal law “provides little guidance (and thus significant discretion) to the bank regarding how it should ‘take into account any serious adverse effect’ of its loans and loan guarantees.” The order says the airlines appear “to assume that the existence of Ex-Im Bank financing, by itself, induces foreign airlines to purchase new aircraft and thus increase competition with U.S. airlines. Such a conclusion, however, is inconsistent with the fact that the pricing advantage offered by Bank financing, if any, most likely is immaterial in the larger context of the costs for purchasing, operating, and maintaining wide-body passenger aircraft.” The court doc: http://politico.pro/1G2ckGT
EPA’S McCARTHY: McCONNELL ‘CONFUSED’ ABOUT HIGHWAY FUNDING: EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Monday that her agency doesn’t have the authority to withhold highway funds if states refuse to comply with climate regulations for power plants.
McCarthy was responding to a question about a budget amendment authored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would block the EPA from withholding the funds to states that don’t comply. “We don’t have the legal authority under this section of the act to withhold highway funds,” McCarthy said during an interview with Mike Allen, adding that McConnell is “getting confused.”
GM IGNITION SWITCH DEATH TOLL RISES: General Motors’ victim compensation fund has approved three new death claims tied to the automakers’ faulty ignition switches, according to the latest report. The Detroit News has more: “General Motors Co.’s ignition switch compensation fund on Monday said it has approved three additional death claims linked to its delayed recall of 2.6 million cars, raising the latest total to 77 deaths. The fund also said it approved 15 new injury claims. Of the 141 injury claims approved so far, 11 are for the most serious injuries and 130 are for less severe injuries. All of the new approvals were for less serious injuries. … In total, 4,342 claims were submitted by the Jan. 31 deadline, including 475 death claims. A total of 1,263 claims are still under review, including 89 death claims.” Full story: http://bit.ly/1ORIjfA
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
-Airbus developed but decided not to deploy an automated system to prevent planes from intentionally being crashed. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1NBNiPP
-Darin LaHood outlines his Highway Trust Fund vision. Pekin Daily Times: http://bit.ly/1xufOPt
-CSX hit with $361,000 fine over Lynchburg derailment. The Richmond Times-Dispatch: http://bit.ly/19pNvX6
-Tesla expected to unveil a stationary battery storage system. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1BL7cQQ
-Wondering how many French guys you can cram into a car? Wonder no more. Wired: http://wrd.cm/1CDEN36
-Amazon tests drone delivery at secret Canada site. The Guardian: http://bit.ly/1GGuJbg
-Atlanta seeks to capitalize on airport busyness: The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1Dmz7wE
-Foxx: Heavy truck rule on its way to OMB. Pro: http://politico.pro/1NwdpWl
-Deadly exits kill hundreds of truckers in U.S. highway rollovers. Bloomberg News: http://bloom.bg/1F9yEvi
-Swedish ferry operator tests methanol as fuel for shipping industry. AP: http://trib.in/1Dh48QX
-Citi Bike Gets a Software Update Ahead of Planned Expansion. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1EXkiLX
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 61 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 183 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 589 days.
Tags: transportation