- San Francisco Chronicle: Juries to decide if state Uber, Lyft drivers are employees
- Contra Costa Times: Bay Area bridge operators eye replacing toll takers with electronic collections
- Contra Costa Times: Barnidge: Bay Area population growth + housing shortage = problem for ABAG
- Contra Costa Times: Forecast: Job growth to remain sturdy in California and Bay Area through 2017
- Sacramento Bee: California will see slow population growth, big Latino gains
- CBS San Francisco: Small Fish May Derail Plans To Implode Old Bay Bridge
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 3/12/2015
NTSB NOMINEES UP FOR VOTE TODAY: The Senate may be bickering over human trafficking legislation this week, but lawmakers have found something else they’re willing to vote on: NTSB nominations. The Senate is scheduled to vote this afternoon on the nomination of acting Chairman Christopher Hart. Afterward, the upper chamber is expected to approve (via voice vote) Bella Dinh-Zarr’s nomination to serve on the safety board.
RECONCILIATION FOR HIGHWAY FUNDS? NOT SO FAST: At least one prominent Republican has proposed using the complicated budget maneuver known as reconciliation for tax reform and dedicating some of that revenue to the Highway Trust Fund. But don’t get your hopes up. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said there is “zero” percent chance that Republicans will propose using the maneuver to overhaul the tax code as part of their annual budget. “I don’t think we’re ready for it right now, and I don’t think the administration is ready for it, and I’m not sure that it would not end up being a fiasco,” he said in a brief interview Wednesday.
Need White House help: Lawmakers cannot tackle an overhaul of the code without leadership from the White House, Hatch said. “They’re not pushing it, and you can’t put a major tax reform bill through without presidential leadership — you just can’t,” he said. “I don’t care how good you are.” Republicans say they plan to tap reconciliation as part of their budget set to be unveiled next week, though they haven’t yet decided how to use it.
CANADA INTRODUCES TOUGHER TANK CAR RULES: “The Canadian government has proposed tougher standards for tank cars used to transport crude oil by rail, including a thicker hull and thermal protection jackets, following a series of derailments across North America. Canada’s announcement comes on the heels of an earlier decision to quickly phase out older DOT-111 cars, which are in the process of being replaced by newer CPC-1232 cars. But the most recent series of fiery derailments and punctured cars involved CPC-1232s; Canada’s new standards would require even those to be phased out by 2025,” reports Kathryn A. Wolfe. Read more: http://politico.pro/1GH4SRs
THE COUNTDOWN IS ON: We’re 80 days away from D(eadline)-day — the May 31 end date for the current reauthorization of federal highway and transit programs. At the same time, the Highway Trust Fund is loudly knocking on the door of another funding shortfall, jeopardizing the busy summer construction season. And yet lawmakers are seemingly no closer to a funding deal than they were when the short-term patch was signed into law in August. Frustrated by the lack of action on the Hill, this morning ARTBA is rolling out its own proposal to help end the “political gridlock” and bring both sides to the table on a transportation funding plan. ARTBA President Pete Ruane will unveil the plan, titled “Getting Beyond Gridlock,” during a conference call with reporters at 11 a.m.
RISE AND SHINE WITH THE SAFETY SUMMIT: DOT officially kicks off its Mayors’ Challenge this morning at 8 a.m. The event is part of a broader initiative by the department to make streets safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. More than 160 cities have signed up to participate. Today’s event will be hosted by Deputy Transportation Secretary Victor Mendez and acting FTA Administrator Therese McMillan. (Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has been keeping a low profile this week as he recovers from knee surgery.)
Speaking of bike safety: Mendez, Rybak talk cycling growth — At the National Bike Summit onWednesday, former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Mendez celebrated the growth of bike culture in the United States. Bikeshare programs have sprouted up across the country and bike commuting has grown by 60 percent since 2000. (It remains a minuscule portion of commuting overall, however.) “For the first time in all of our lives, biking is no longer counter-culture,” Rybak said, adding later: “Freedom to our parents meant having a car. Freedom to our kids means not being dependent on a car.”
— But Mendez was more cautious and pointed to the growth in biking injuries and deaths. “I personally still don’t feel safe riding a bike on the street,” he said to applause from the audience after revealing he started biking extensively since moving to D.C. “As a professional, there’s a lot more we can do [on bike safety]. But it struck me on a personal level.”
THANKS FOR TUNING IN. Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports. Your MT host is looking forward to celebrating the sunny spring day with a margarita or two and maybe another round of Zumba after.
Let’s chat! Send scoops, tips, complaints and transpo trivia my way via hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope. And don’t forget to follow @Morning_Transpo and @POLITICOPro.
“Well on a train I met a dame. She rather handsome, we kinda looked the same…”http://bit.ly/1DDH9yC
TRUCK DRIVER IN AMTRAK CRASH HAS LONG RAP SHEET: The truck driver whose tractor trailer collided with an Amtrak train in North Carolina on Monday, injuring 55 people, is a convicted felon with a list of traffic violations, the AP reports. More: “John Devin Black of Claremont, N.C., has been cited for at least a dozen traffic violations, including speeding and driving with a revoked license, according to records reviewed and confirmed by The Associated Press. One of his most recent arrests was in 2012 in Illinois, where records show he was cited while hauling an overweight load, then failed to appear in court. Black also served prison time in 1997 after being convicted of felony child abuse.”
GRADE CROSSING DEATHS UP IN 2014: Deaths related to grade crossing accidents were up in 2014 compared to the previous year, according to an analysis from Operation Lifesaver. More than 260 people were killed in highway-rail grade crossing accidents last year, an increase of about 16 percent compared to 2013. Collisions overall were also up — there were nearly 2,300 vehicle-train accidents in 2014, nearly a 9 percent increase over the previous year. Grade crossings have been in the spotlight recently with a series of high-profile accidents, including Monday’s derailment and last month’s Metro-North accident that left six people dead. Late last month, the FRA announced a new grade crossing safety campaign that will attempt to raise public awareness and ask police to step up enforcement.
Railroad trespassing deaths also jumped in 2014, surging 22 percent compared to the year before. The NTSB announced Wednesday it will hold a forum later this month on the dangers of railroad trespassing.
GUARDRAIL TASK FORCE FINDINGS RELEASED: A joint task force of federal and state highway officials is seeking to alleviate concerns and criticisms over recent guardrail safety tests. Late last year, federal officials announced a series of tests on the guardrail in question — the Trinity ET-Plus — after a court ruled the company defrauded the government by failing to disclose a potentially deadly design change until years later. But the tests quickly came under criticism on Capitol Hill from several lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who last week called for a GAO investigation into the FHWA over the issue (http://politico.pro/1wYkmgR).
The task force findings released Wednesday seeks to address some of those criticisms. The report found that there is no evidence to support claims that there are multiple versions of the faulty guardrail part on the U.S. highway system. The task force also said the guardrails tested are “representative of the devices installed across the country.” But Blumenthal was critical of the report, saying in a statement that the FHWA “neglected key measurements, rejected critical manufacturer information and completely ignored devices used in New England and the Northeast.” Report here: http://1.usa.gov1AkQOVy
HAWAII, ALASKA SENATORS MOVE TO BLOCK FEE HIKE: Sens. Mazie Hirono, Lisa Murkowski and Brian Schatz have introduced legislation to exempt travelers from Hawaii and Alaska from higher TSA fees implemented under the Ryan-Murray budget agreement, which raised the fee to $5.60. The legislation would keep the old $2.50 enplanement fee for intrastate flights in Alaska and island-to-island flights in Hawaii. “Hawaii residents and visitors have no real alternative to commercial inter-island flights to meet their everyday transportation needs, from flying to receive health care, visit family, or on business,” Hirono said in a statement, arguing flights act as Hawaii’s interstate and intrastate highway systems.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
-Metro looks to borrow $220 million to cover loan due in October. The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1HGP2nu
-Korean “nut rage” incident is headed to civil court. The Container: http://bit.ly/1EYdUr3
-Lyft raises $530 million in latest funding round. The Wall Street Journal:http://on.wsj.com/18C9lGq
-Behind the scenes: Big taxi vs. Uber. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1D5h1yl
-Opinion: D.C. mayor should shut down streetcar, admit it was a bad idea. The Washington Post:http://wapo.st/18Bf1jI
-French highway robbers get away with $9.5 million in jewels. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/1xdyDAU
-Norwegian Air pilots end strike. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1FNcApI
-How to “find the best flights and avoid the worst airports.” FiveThirtyEight: http://53eig.ht/1EYaggT
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 80 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 202 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 607 days.
Tags: transportation