- San Francisco Chronicle: How to navigate BART’s transbay closure Labor Day weekend
- San Francisco Chronicle: Trump could brand – or not – towering S.F. transit center
- San Francisco Chronicle: California needs a seismic warning system
- San Jose Mercury News: Report: California’s drivers are the nation’s most stressed
- Sacramento Bee: Report confirms California’s traffic gridlock
- Sacramento Bee: Senate leader plans changes to climate bill to ease passage
- San Mateo Daily Journal: Ferry service boosted to meet growing demand
POLITICO Morning Transportation for 8/26/2015
By JENNIFER SCHOLTES, with help from Victoria Guida
TRUMKA PUSHES BACK ON AUTO TRADE TALKS: Pro’s Matthew Korade reports for Morning Trade that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is reminding U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman about the labor group’s desire for strong auto rules of origin in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The rules specify how much content must be made in TPP countries to qualify for tariff cuts under the trade deal — and if that percentage isn’t relatively high, it will lead to outsourcing to non-TPP nations and lost jobs, Trumka says in a letter to Froman: http://politico.pro/1MLfS24.
Done deal?: The labor group is seeking a rule for cars, light trucks and auto parts that’s at least as high as the standard under the North American Free Trade Agreement — 62.5 percent — which it would want to increase to 75 percent over several years. But Trumka cites press accounts that say Canadian and Mexican negotiators are holding out for a rule of origin of no less than 50 percent, and Washington has struck a deal with Tokyo for a level of 45 percent for autos and 30 percent for parts — a proposal that will only serve to allow Japanese automakers to continue to source a significant portion of their parts from non-TPP countries, he says.
‘Deep disappointment’: “If this report is inaccurate, I would appreciate receiving updated and detailed information on the correct figures,” Trumka writes. “If this report is accurate, I want to convey to you my deep disappointment and anger that the U.S. government has so little regard for American jobs and the health of our manufacturing sector.”
IT’S WEDNESDAY: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.
Reach out: jscholtes@politico.com or @jascholtes.
“Yeah, heard the diesel drumming … Oh, heard the wires a humming all down the line.” http://bit.ly/1IivKXr
GULF AIRLINE CHALLENGERS REVEAL SLICE OF LEGAL FILING: The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies is making public today a sizable chunk of its legal filing on why the Obama administration should renegotiate Open Skies agreements with Gulf carriers. In a more than 100-page supplemental included in the group’s submission to DOT this week, economists from Compass Lexecon detail their argument that Etihad, Emirates and Qatar are diverting business from U.S. airlines. In the filing, they lay out data to back their argument that “the presence of Gulf carriers suppresses both the average fares and the number of passengers for U.S. carriers across a broad range of U.S.-international city-pairs.” Jill Zuckman, chief spokeswoman for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, said in a statement this morning that “the numbers tell a compelling story: The Gulf carriers are causing serious harm to U.S. airlines, their workers and service to communities across the country because they don’t stimulate new demand among passengers.” The supplemental: http://bit.ly/1UckUVU.
Want to know what folks on both sides of the Open Skies debate are saying? Check out the Q&A we ran this week with JetBlue’s CEO: http://politico.pro/1EV5i1X, and one with the head of Delta: http://politico.pro/1fF1Sd9.
AVIATION SAFETY ADVOCATES CHIDE FAA FOR PILOT DATABASE DELAYS: Families of those who died in the 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 are piling on with their disapproval of the FAA’s slowness to get a pilot records database up and running. The group pointed to the IG’s report (http://1.usa.gov/1WOWx4O) out this week that says the database Congress ordered in 2010 isn’t expected to be fully operational until 2020 and details years of delays that call into question whether some older pilot records are even attainable. “FAA’s 2023 target date is absolutely unacceptable,” Karen Eckert, whose sister died in the Colgan Air crash, said in a written statement. “Just as disappointing, however, is FAA’s failure to take the appropriate interim steps to ensure that airlines are maintaining the proper records in the meantime and requesting all available pilot records in the hiring process.” Eckert said the group is counting on FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and the agency’s staff to “take immediate and decisive corrective actions” on the IG report’s recommendations.
Further scolding: The group also blasted airlines for not taking steps on their own to maintain more extensive pilot records. At the time of the Colgan Air crash, the advocates note, “the airlines pledged to request a pilot’s complete record in the hiring process, as opposed to the more cursory requirements of the Pilot Records Information Act (PRIA), which led to Colgan Air hiring the captain of Flight 3407 without knowledge of all his prior training deficiencies.” Scott Maurer, whose daughter died in the crash, said this week that “once again, we have convincing proof that voluntary compliance is nothing more than lip service; if FAA doesn’t require something by rule, then you can bet your bottom dollar that some of the bottom feeders in the airline industry will allow critical safety responsibilities to slip through the cracks.”
COMING THROUGH THE RADIO WAVES: While trying to enjoy the last days of August recess, 16 House lawmakers won’t be able to escape the thought of the tall task of transportation funding that awaits them back in D.C. — or at least that’s what the Transportation Construction Coalition hopes as it saturates the radio waves in districts held by key members on T&I and House Ways and Means. The group launched the ad campaign on Tuesday and plans to run 30-second radio spots this week and next in the lawmakers’ hometowns, urging them to pass a multi-year transportation funding bill. Check out the list of members being targeted: http://bit.ly/1i0CS1A.
STATES WANT NHTSA ASSIST FOR INSPECTIONS: State officials say they want NHTSA to give them more information about new vehicle safety technologies so they can better run inspection programs. The Government Accountability Office reported this week that there is no designated channel for NHTSA to communicate with state officials who run the inspection programs and that several say they want more information on new technologies like LED brake lights. “State officials also said that it is not clear whether or how to inspect new safety technologies, such as tire pressure monitoring systems, required by NHTSA for new vehicles,” the report says. “Without information, states have implemented different inspection pass-fail criteria or chosen not to include new technologies in their inspections, potentially reducing the safety benefit of their programs.” Check it out: http://1.usa.gov/1LzCQKX.
SENATORS GOAD TSA TO MOVE ON RAIL SECURITY: It’s time for the TSA to wrap up rail security improvements Congress asked the agency to finish years ago, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker said this week, citing Friday’s attempted shooting spree on a train to Paris. “This close call requires that we consider the vulnerabilities this incident — and several other high-profile attacks on rail and transit elsewhere globally — expose for our rail and transit passengers,” the senators wrote to TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger. The two pointed to legislation enacted in 2007 that codified recommendations the 9/11 Commission issued, specifically noting directives that TSA approve security plans for all railroads that are considered vulnerable to terrorist attacks, create rules for training public transportation employees to respond to potential terrorist threats and establish a system for doing name-based security background checks and immigration status confirmations for those workers. Pros knew first: http://politico.pro/1MM413Q. The letter: http://politico.pro/1NTnheu.
PRITZKER CHRISTENS NEW INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE: Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker told POLITICO this week that the new international bridge connecting Brownsville, Texas, to Mexico opens up “an opportunity to reroute rail traffic out of the most populated areas and expand regional transportation capacity.” The old international bridge connecting the Texas town to its southern neighbor was just not cutting it, the secretary said, since it was built in 1910 in the middle of town and now “causes enormous congestion.” The new West Rail Bypass International Bridge is one of eight rail crossings and 144 land ports of entry, according to DHS.
THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):
— You can blame the beeping economy for worst U.S. traffic ever. AP: http://abcn.ws/1NHGTUS
— Report warns MTA revenue could erode if Uber growth continues. For POLITICO New York Pros: http://politi.co/1NAow53
— In just three years, all Dutch trains will run on wind power. Popular Science: http://bit.ly/1IdQXhj
— Safeguards against drones flying into other aircraft might make them more hackable. Defense One: http://bit.ly/1MSgCE8
— Fiat Chrysler outlines vehicle strategy to dealers. The Wall Street Journal:
http://on.wsj.com/1hFpobO
— Urban areas where commuters endure the most extra hours. AP: http://yhoo.it/1Jxy5iK
— Uber will partner with University of Arizona for self-driving car research. The Verge: http://bit.ly/1EUougp
— Columbia Pike Residents to Discuss Monorail-Like Transit System. ARLnow.com: http://bit.ly/1EVdWNU
THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 65 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 37 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 443 days.
Tags: transportation