- San Francisco Chronicle: Wrong-way bus lane: right fix for Bay Bridge jams?
- San Francisco Chronicle: Transit center takes shape, showing how a city transforms
- San Jose Mercury News; Not enough money for highway repairs, Brown’s budget acknowledges
- San Jose Mercury News: As Google deploys new robot cars on city streets, DMV scrambles to finish self-driving rulebook
- Contra Costa Times: BART’s broken track: Tests show ‘anomaly’ that could be metal defect
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 5/15/2015
By JENNIFER SCHOLTES,w ith help from Heather Caygle and Kathryn A. Wolfe
PTC BATTLES TAKE ON NEW URGENCY: PTC is an acronym that’ll be echoing through the halls of Congress for months to come now that lawmakers have been briefed on the fact that Amtrak is still working on fully implementing the Positive Train Control technology federal investigators say could have prevented Tuesday’s deadly crash. Although Amtrak has vowed to have the technology fully operational throughout the rail system by the year-end deadline Congress has mandated, the rest of the rail industry — including freight and commuter rail — is still lagging years behind that deadline. And as legislators consider whether to give those noncompliant operators some leniency, the fight continues over who is to blame for the slow-going. More from Pro: http://politico.pro/1e4EJRh.
More money: Republican leaders are reiterating their argument that this week’s crash has nothing to do with the need for extra federal funding, since investigators have said the train toppled because it was clipping along grossly above the speed limit. “Well, obviously it’s not about funding,” House Speaker John A. Boehner told reporters on Thursday. “The train was going twice the speed limit.” But Democrats maintain that the crash could have been prevented if Amtrak had been able to move more quickly in getting PTC technology working in that area. Rep. Peter DeFazio noted that cuts to capital grants make less money available for implementing rail safety measures like PTC. Cutting funding “that could prevent a future tragedy like this is abysmally stupid,” he told MT. “This is probably costing that much per day in terms of the interruption in service in the Northeast.”
A refresher on the funding cuts the House Appropriations Committee handed down this week: http://politico.pro/1JIrpvz.
SENATE TEES UP SUMMER POLICY PATCH: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell went through the procedural motions Thursday night to make it easier for the Senate to take up a two-month transportation policy extension next week. Leaders don’t seem to have given up yet on their goal of passing a patch of both policy and funding through year’s end, instead of that two-month option. But McConnell is smart to be prepping a backup plan, in case lawmakers don’t come up with funding offsets next week to make that December authorization happen.
The vehicle: Sens. Barbara Boxer and Tom Carper just introduced the bill on Thursday that McConnell teed up. The two favor this clean, two-month extension of transportation policy because it prevents lawmakers from putting the issue on the backburner for too long again. The concern with the alternative plan — to patch until year’s end — is that lawmakers will be too busy in December to consider a long-term extension and will resort to yet another temporary fix. More from Heather on the Boxer-Carper measure: http://politico.pro/1L4UEdb.
BIPARTISAN BIKE BUDDIES: Your favorite bike-pin-wearing congressman, Earl Blumenauer, will be pedaling from the Capitol down to Freedom Plaza this morning, alongside his cycling pal Vern Buchanan. The two lawmakers will speak at the downtown plaza around 8 a.m. at a Bike to Work Day event.
WMATA goodies: Metro is hosting pit stops for bikers at Fort Totten, College Park and East Falls Church stations, giving away free stuff like t-shirts and maps. At King Street and Braddock Road stops, Metro Transit Police will be giving free U-locks to cyclists who register their bikes. Check it all out: http://bit.ly/1A3Ja8U.
HAPPY FRIDAY!: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Sorry, Democratic legislators — we’ve voted, and Cher’s zeal in battling over Amtrak money wins this week: http://bit.ly/1K9u05g.
Reach out: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.
“Well I’m walking and walking ’til I done got tired … no way to travel, just can’t make it by train.” (h/t Adam Snider) http://bit.ly/1QNUr0X
** A Message from Americans for Fair Skies: Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have subsidized their airlines with over $42 billion, an egregious violation of the Open Skies Agreements with the United States. These subsidies are hurting American jobs and affecting international trade policy. Want to know more? Visit http://politi.co/1bB6cbi **
MT SCOOP: TSA NOMINEE HEADED TO THE HILL — Peter Neffenger, the administration’s pick to lead the TSA, will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday for his nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee. Currently the Coast Guard’s vice commandant, Neffenger met with Commerce Chairman John Thune on Thursday (see picture: http://politico.pro/1E7ZLTU). If confirmed, the lifelong Coastie will replace TSA acting Administrator Melvin Carraway, who has been at the helm since John Pistole retired at the end of last year. So far, Neffenger has received a pretty positive reception from Congress but could face a grilling from some lawmakers who, as some of the nation’s most frequent fliers, have their own personal gripes with the security agency. For more on the tricky confirmation process for TSA nominees in the past (and some additional background on Neffenger), here’s a throwback to when he was nominated: http://politico.pro/1FvICsN.
RANKING DISTRICTS BY CRUMBLING BRIDGES: If you’re trying to get lawmakers to fund infrastructure projects, try ranking them by how many of their districts’ bridges are faltering. That’s what Transit Labs has done. The D.C.-based data analytics company has put together an interactive map showing that 98 percent of congressional districts have structurally deficient bridges, and the firm has broken that information down by legislator turf. Reps. Steve King, Frank Lucas and Adrian Smith top that list for most-hurting infrastructure: http://bit.ly/1QO8x2x.
UNION: ‘INEXPERIENCED’ AMTRAK LEADERSHIP LED TO DERAILMENT: A Pennsylvania branch of the Teamsters union is blaming “new inexperienced Amtrak senior management” for Tuesday’s train derailment. The group said in a statement this week that “Amtrak senior management has declared war on safety with its unions.” http://bit.ly/1d0UUyM
FAA BIGWIG LEAVES FOR PRIVATE SECTOR: The FAA’s chief of staff, Sasha Johnson, is heading to the other side, taking on the role of managing director in D.C. for regulatory issues and policy at United Airlines. Our Kathryn A. Wolfe explains that Johnson worked as press secretary for former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, as well as at the press office at the FAA, before she moved over to chief of staff. http://politico.pro/1QNRAVO
GREEN GROUPS WAGE LEGAL CHALLENGE AGAINST DOT’S CRUDE-BY-RAIL RULES: A slew of environmental groups filed a legal petition Thursday asking a federal appeals court to put more bite in DOT’s new rules for transporting crude oil by rail. Pro’s Elana Schor reports that “the legal challenge takes aim at the ‘unduly long phase-out period’ for removing the oldest-model tank cars from oil-by-rail service, as well as the DOT decision to establish separate safety standards for retrofits and new construction. The green groups’ petition also takes aim at notification requirements for first responders that emerged as less stringent than initial proposals and the creation of a 40 mph speed limit exclusively for ‘high threat urban areas.’” The petition: http://bit.ly/1QNTgP7.
WHITE HOUSE GETS SECOND DRONE VISIT: Another guy tried to fly a drone near the White House this week, just a day after the FAA announced it is starting a public awareness campaign to drive home the fact that drones are not allowed in and around D.C. under any circumstance. http://politico.pro/1QNSEJq
‘No Drone Zone’ criticism: Brendan Schulman, a commercial drone attorney, said Thursday that the drone that was being flown near the White House was “essentially a radio-controlled toy helicopter weighing less than a pound” and that the “No Drone Zone” the FAA outlined this week “seems like overkill for backyard toys in D.C. suburbs.”
FEDS PLAN TO POST NEW TAKATA DEFECT INFO: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to post reports this morning on the expanded recall of Takata airbags. Be on the lookout: http://1.usa.gov/1l0kYqt. More from AP on the how more than 33 million of the airbags have now been recalled: http://yhoo.it/1Fo8fNG.
RAHM THROWS IN FOR U.S. AIRLINES IN OPEN SKIES FIGHT: Rahm Emanuel is now overtly taking sides in the Open Skies dispute over whether the State Department should inflict some diplomatic punishment upon Gulf country airlines many U.S. carriers have accused of accepting unfair subsidies. The Chicago mayor wrote a letter this week to the secretaries of Transportation, Commerce and State, saying that Qatar and Emirates “do not offer supply in the face of demand, and as a result, they are able to draw passengers and revenue away from U.S. carriers.” The letter: http://politico.pro/1EJY7s7
Questioning the probe: House Judiciary Committee members sent a similar letter on Thursday to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Secretary of State John Kerry, asking whether the departments are aware of any foreign subsidies going to those airlines. “If not, have you determined the absence of any foreign subsidies, and how did you determine that?” the letter reads. “If so, what will be the response to these subsidies…?” That letter: http://1.usa.gov/1IAvODQ
International airlines bat back: The International Airlines Group — the parent company of British Airways, Iberia and Vueling — drove home a contrary stance this week in comments submitted to the three departments. The company says claims that the Gulf carriers are receiving subsides “do not withstand scrutiny.” http://politico.pro/1FofftX
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
Some call for a boycott of United Airlines after pilot diverted flight to remove a family with an autistic daughter. The New York Times: http://bit.ly/1FhIKvJ
Engineer in deadly 2013 Bronx train crash won’t face charges. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1B0r4j3
Roundtrip flight from New York to DC this weekend now $700, or more. CNN Money: http://cnnmon.ie/1FbQqhN
Philadelphia train crash engineer lays low as scrutiny heats up. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1QOjKjr
Cairo subway thrives beneath the chaos. AP: http://yhoo.it/1A5j452
Washington’s King County tries out talking buses to warn pedestrians and cyclists. The Seattle Times: http://bit.ly/1E8rYtG
Bombardier to cut production of most lucrative jets. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1QOjctW
Auto Club says most car headlights fail safety test on dark roads. LA Times: http://lat.ms/1H6l9uU
GM plans $1 Billion makeover for venerated Warren Tech Center. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1A53KFr
US OKs coal-fired ferry for another season on Lake Michigan. AP: http://abcn.ws/1QOlfOB
Britain’s cars guzzle record diesel as gasoline loses traction. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1B0sjP5
Canada’s railroads look to peel away more U.S. imports. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1EIUlzm
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 17 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 139 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 545 days.
Tags: policy, transportation