Kate Hinds

Ray LaHood, speaking to reporters via conference call

(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood said on a conference call this afternoon that the Obama Administration hopes to make an announcement about new fuel efficiency standards as early as this fall.

LaHood said he knows gas prices are a hot topic right now and that "high gasoline prices are killing family budgets." He added that President Obama has "told everybody in this administration (it's) 'all hands on deck' when it comes to getting gasoline prices down and getting people into more fuel-efficient cars."

Goals for the government-dictated fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks (also known as corporate average fuel economy, or the CAFE standard) increase fuel efficiency by 5% a year from 2012 through 2016. Automakers are financially penalized if they don't meet these standards.

LaHood said arriving at the post-2016 CAFE standard is a work in progress, and he resisted attempts to be pinned down to what that number might be. "If I knew what the standard was, I'd be announcing it today," he said. "Based on the work that people are doing, we'll have an announcement in the fall."  When pressed, he said "I don't even know what the number is! The number is being developed."

TN also asked the secretary when an announcement would be made about awarding the $2.4 billion in high-speed rail money that Florida rejected earlier this year. LaHood would only say "next week."  Illinois politicians said this week that that state had won $186 million to make improvements on its Chicago-to-St. Louis rail corridor.

The call was held to preview President Obama's trip to Indianapolis tomorrow to visit Allison Transmission, a company that builds hybrid propulsion systems. Heather Zichal, the deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate policy, was also on the call.

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Illinois got $186 million of Florida's rejected high-speed rail funding. (Chicago Tribune)

The Obama administration has floated a transportation authorization bill that would tax automobile drivers based on how many miles they drive.  (The Hill)

New York's City Council grilled DOT officials over the agency's pedestrian plaza program. (NY1)

Oil prices drop below $110 a barrel; but Marketplace's London correspondent says in his city, gas is "right around $9.00 dollars a gallon. Luckily I take the London Underground everywhere I need to go."

Boston's transit agency had its biggest jump in ridership in two years. (WBUR)

WNYC looks at how livery cabs set fares.

The golden age of airlines' frequent flyer programs is over. (Gannett via Asbury Park Press)

General Motors's quarterly profit tripled; the company also posted its fifth consecutive profitable quarter. (NY Times)

Speaking of GM: the company said (playfully, perhaps?) that it will bring back the El Camino if 100,000 people say they want it; Jalopnik calls their bluff.

1968 Chevrolet El Camino (photo by Useute via Wikimedia Commons)

Can a high-tech bike get kids interested in engineering? (Good)

Blimps rise again! (The Daily Climate)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

--Ray LaHood will announce bus safety measures (link)

--NYC Transit is employing a 'station domination' ad strategy (link)

--Gridlock alert: the president is visiting Ground Zero today (link)

--the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride visited the White House (link)

--airfares rise; NJ has both most and least expensive (link)

 Ray LaHood and President Obama (official White House photo by Pete Souza)

Politico profiles transpo secretary Ray LaHood, one of the president's most popular officials.

Small cars boosted April auto sales. (NYTimes)

Roundabouts are becoming more common in America -- to the dismay of some drivers. (Marketplace)

Also on Marketplace, rising gas price increases have an out-sized psychological effect.

The first freedom rides happened 50 years ago today. (The Takeaway) (NOTE: Want to learn more about about transportation and civil rights? Listen to the TN doc "Back of the Bus" here.)

(photo courtesy of @NissanNews)

(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) If the open laptop featured in this photo Nissan tweeted earlier today, the answer could be yes. (Of course, the person using this laptop would have to be seated under the dashboard, facing the back of the van, but that's neither here nor there.) We do know, from the press release, that the taxi will have charging stations for mobile devices.

More pictures of the Nissan taxi can be found here.  You can see a video of it here.

WNYC's Kathleen Horan is reporting the Taxi of Tomorrow will be Nissan -- and already there are calls for an investigation of a conflict of interest in the contract-letting. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and Assembly member Micah Kellner are calling for an investigation -- their letter to NYC Comptroller John Liu is after the jump.  Karsan -- one of the losing entrants (the other was Ford) had promised, if selected, to build its taxis in Brooklyn.  It had one of the most intriguing designs (moon roof, sleek lines), but city officials had expressed concerns about the Turkish company's ability to fulfill the contract.

Christie said he won't repay ARC money: the NJ gov said the $271 million in federal funds that had been designated for the ARC tunnel “is not money that should be paid back to the federal government.” His decision may cost the state $52,000 a week in interest. No word yet on his next move. (Bloomberg)

The winning automaker in New York's "Taxi of Tomorrow" contest will be unveiled soon. (WNYC)

Queens residents and politicians are fed up with New York's #7 subway line, which has had 106 service disruptions since January. (Queens Courier)

Rep. John Mica is worried that Osama bin Laden supporters might target America's transit systems. (The Hill)

The Netherlands has sent three experts on “cycling as transportation’’ to Miami to help figure out how to make that city more bike-friendly. (McClatchy; hat tip to Good)

DC-area bicyclists not only battle cars, but the design of the roads. (WAMU)

Why yes, I would like to build a bicycle that also doubles as a pencil. (Instructables)

Pencil Bike (photo courtesy of instructables.com)

Toyota has sparked a controversy in Brazil for attempting to legally bar a media outlet that published spy shots of a new Corolla from ever mentioning the Toyota brand name again. (Jalopnik)

What happens to the neighborhood when a Borders disappears? Chicago wants to encourage smaller businesses, but parking remains a perpetual concern. (WBEZ)

Honda is recalling hundreds of thousands of vehicles over airbag concerns. (Detroit News)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

--DC's bikeshare gets a boost from a rally held in the wake of bin Laden's death (link)

--as gas prices rise, so does bus ridership (link)

Oil prices fall on news of Osama bin Laden's death. (Marketplace)

Washington's Metro transit system is stepping up security as a precaution. (AP)

More coverage of the NYC DOT's "Sustainable Streets Index" report in the Wall Street Journal.

A Boston Globe editorial lauds the city's biking efforts, but says "the city must also work to cultivate the good habits, among bicyclists as well as motorists, that will allow both types of vehicles to coexist." The Globe also looks at DC's Capital Bikeshare program -- and wonders if its success can be replicated in Boston.

Chrysler posts its first profit since going through bankruptcy two years ago. (New York Times)

Ray LaHood kicks off Bike Safety Month and urges people to be "Roll Models."

New York City's Five Boro Bike Tour took place yesterday. (WNYC)

Five Boro Bike Tour (photo by Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

--NYC DOT says biking is up, streets are safer (link)

--The increase in gas prices drove bus ridership up as well (link)

--you can now take the train to the track in NY again (link)

--the federal government told NJ it absolutely positively had to repay ARC tunnel money (link)

Higher oil prices have been very very good to Exxon -- its first quarter earnings surged 69% (Wall Street Journal). Meanwhile, Democrats say they are determined to end oil companies' tax breaks (The Hill).

The chair of Houston's METRO talks to KUHF about the agency's latest projects-- as well as its efforts to repair its relationship with the Federal Transit Administration.

Bus rapid transit has changed the Chinese city of Guangzhou. (Good)

MARTA is considering a 50-cent fare increase. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

New York's City Council voted to give each community board the chance to opt out of alternate side parking one day a week. (WNYC)

An Alexandria (VA) yacht club won't move its parking lot, so plans for a public park must be scaled back. (WAMU)

The Michigan Department of Transportation takes to YouTube to promote transit. Sample music video lyric: "Some days I actually want to drive my car/so I can sing like a long-haired 80's pop star/but it's nice to have the bus when I want to chat/hanging out, making friends -- what's wrong with that?" (Warning: the music has the ability to lodge itself semi-permanently into one's frontal lobes.)

JFK airport has ended its foray into falconry. (WSJ)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

--NYCDOT reveals a diminished East Side bike plan (link)

--BART is considering a last-night train pilot project (link)

--The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge rode to their wedding in style (link)

(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) Yes, you'll be in Times Square by 5am Friday to watch the wedding proceedings live via Jumbotron. You've read that the 1,900 guests might be downing something called "blancmange shooters." You know that Kate Middleton and Ellen DeGeneres are 15th cousins. You fret whether the millions of people livestreaming the wedding could break the internet.

But followers of transportation news have been wondering: just how will the royal couple get to Westminster Abbey?

Kate Middleton's ride: a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI (by Lars-Göran Lindgren via Wikimedia Commons)

Wait no more. From the latest Royal Wedding briefing document:

"Miss Middleton and Prince William will travel separately to the wedding service using State Cars from the Royal Mews.  Miss Middleton will travel in a Rolls Royce Phantom VI, accompanied by her father. The Rolls Royce was presented to The Queen in 1978 for her Silver Jubilee by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders."

Prince William will ride in state Bentley (by S. Foskett via Wikimedia Commons)

"Prince William will travel in a Bentley, accompanied by Prince Harry. The State Bentleys have been uniquely designed enabling greater use to be made of the vehicle’s interior space. The Bentleys are 6.22 metres long and, at 3.84 meters, their wheelbase is 1.3 metres longer than that of an average family sized saloon.

State cars are painted in Royal claret livery. The Rolls-Royces and Bentleys do not have registration number plates, since they are State vehicles. On processional occasions, the State cars travel at around nine miles per hour, and sometimes as slow as three miles per hour."

More information about all things Royal Wedding -- including the breeds of horses used in the procession, as well as mention of the Glass Coach -- can be found at the official wedding website.

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(photo by Stephen Nessen/WNYC)

New York's City Council members hold a hearing on taxi refusals -- and share some stories of their own. (WNYC)

Speaking of the City Council: it may pass legislation today that reduces alternate side parking rules. (Wall Street Journal)

Denver won't be seeing a FasTracks sales tax increase on the ballot this November because its transit agency has concluded it likely wouldn't pass. The transit expansion project -- which includes six new train lines -- is at least $2 billion short of what is needed to complete the project by the end of this decade.  (Denver Post)

Boston is moving forward on its bike share program; a contract has been signed and "Hubway" will launch in July. (Alt Transport)

Chrysler says it will take out bank loans and sell debt later this quarter to repay $6.6 billion in bailout loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments. (Detroit Free Press)

China is offering incentives for companies to produce electric vehicles in that country -- you just have to hand over your tech secrets first. (Marketplace)

You know about the royal wedding; now the Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee is throwing an "R-Oil Wedding" which "celebrat(es) the sacred and lasting union between the Republican Party and Big Oil." The invitation also takes the opportunity to photoshop John Boehner's head onto what looks like a Medieval gown. (Politico)

What should Oakland do with the spaces under elevated freeways? A city council member is seeking ideas. (Oakland Local)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

– a new report found that almost half of NYC's parking placards are used improperly or are outright fakes (link)

– the Twin Cities' Central Corridor got a formal promise for federal funding (link)

– NYC cabbies say they don't want to go to outer boroughs because it costs them more (link)

-- New York's MTA voted to end its contract to provide Long Island Bus (link)

(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) After running Long Island Bus for nearly 40 years, the MTA voted Wednesday to end its contract with Nassau County to provide the service.

The agency said it made the move because it has had to cover an increasingly large share of the costs, and it will cease responsibility for the bus service by the end of the calendar year.

The MTA and Nassau County had been negotiating for months about how much the county should contribute to the MTA. On Wednesday, the MTA board said it wanted to give Nassau County as much lead time as possible — in this case, eight months — to prepare to assume responsibility for Long Island Bus.

"To take care of the riders of Nassau County, the MTA has provided $140 million, which has not been provided to the riders of Suffolk County, Westchester County, Dutchess County, Rockland County, Orange County, Putnam County and the City of New York for the bus systems that we took over," said board member and Suffolk County resident Mitchell Pally.

"I think it's clear to say that the only people who have been protecting the riders for the last 10 years in Nassau County is this board, not Nassau County."

But Nassau County executive Edward Mangano took issue with the MTA's decision — as well as with who owes whom.

"It's a sad day in America when a government agency such as the MTA chooses to maintain its bloated bureaucracy over the services it is charged to provide its residents," he said in a statement released Wednesday. "Because the MTA has failed taxpayers time and time again, Nassau County will move forward with a public-private partnership that maintains bus service without demanding an additional $26 million from taxpayers. ... The MTA's monopoly over transportation in Nassau County ends now."

A spokesperson from Mangano's office said that plans for privatization of Long Island Bus are underway. A committee is reviewing bids from three private companies and is expected to provide a recommendation to the county executive by May 15.

Any recommendation would then have to be approved by the state legislature. The spokesman said that a new operator will be in place by January first.

Long Island Bus carries about 95,720 383,000 riders each weekday and serves 48 routes.

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After running Long Island Bus for nearly 40 years, the MTA voted Wednesday to end its contract with Nassau County to provide the service.

(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) Construction for the Minneapolis-St. Paul light rail project known as the Central Corridor has been underway for some time now (and AP reports the line is now 12% complete). But it wasn't until yesterday that the federal government officially signed a funding commitment to pay for half the line's almost $1 billion cost. As Ray LaHood wrote in his blog: "What I really admire about the Twin Cities community is that they didn't wait for this agreement before getting started."

FTA Administrator Rogoff with Gov. Mark Dayton, US Senator Al Franken, and Twin Cities mayors Rybak and Coleman (photo courtesy of Fastlane.dot.gov)

The Federal Transit Administration is contributing $478 million. The rest of the money is coming from state and local sources.

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The light rail project has generated some controversy. Three lawsuits have been filed over it--including one from Minnesota Public Radio, which is concerned about rail noise affecting its broadcasting capabilities. And there have been civil rights implications as well. As Transportation Nation reported in its documentary "Back of the Bus: Race, Mass Transit and Inequality," initially the light rail line was going to go through--not stop--in the historically black Rondo neighborhood.

Service on the 11-mile light rail line is expected to begin in 2014.

More on the political implications of volatile gas prices--as well as oil company subsidies--from the Wall Street Journal.  The Takeaway talks about what -- if anything -- Congress can do to lower them.

Cabbies say the reason they often refuse to take passengers to New York's outer boroughs is because of their bottom line. (WNYC)

USA Today looks at suburbanization, and says most of the growth is happening on opposite ends of the suburban expanse: in older communities closest to the city and in the newer ones that are the farthest out.

The first crash test evaluations of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf earned the cars high safety ratings from the IIHS; AP video below.

Speaking of EVs: an unmodified Nissan Leaf is entering a steep hill climb race. (Inhabitat)

An audit found that Los Angeles is losing up to $15 million in revenue because the city barely captures half of the parking fines owed to it. (Los Angeles Times)

North Dakota became the 31st state to ban texting while driving. (Grand Forks Herald)

Utah lawmakers have scheduled a vote on whether to overturn the governor's veto of a bill that dedicates a portion of the state sales tax to transportation. (Daily Herald)

NYC DOT puts a digital speed detector at an intersection in Staten Island because "two out of every three cars were exceeding the speed limit," according to commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. (Staten Island Advance)

Transparency watch: NY's MTA has a board meeting this morning at 9:30am; you can watch it here.

Despite moving forward on creating their own electric vehicles, the head of BMW says he doesn't think EVs are right for more than 10% of the population. (Fast Company)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

--The NYPD ticketed cyclists for not riding in a bike lane (link)

--BART wants rider input on new seat design (link)

--TN's Andrea Bernstein will be at the NYC Transit Museum tonight to talk about the past -- and future -- of Penn Station (link)

TN's Andrea Bernstein is moderating a panel Wednesday night (April 27th) at 6pm on Penn Station. The discussion will cover the station's stories past...

Penn Station, circa 1962 (Cervin Robinson; public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

...and its future:

A rendering of the future Moynihan Station

It will be at the NYC Transit Museum -- a treasure in its own right. Doors open at 5:30 pm. The program is free and open to the public; more info below.

From the Transit Museum's website:

Registration is recommended for these programs, call 718-694-1794.

Wednesday, April 27 6 p.m.
THE ONCE AND FUTURE PENNSYLVANIA STATION
Andrea Bernstein -- Director of Transportation Nation and award-winning WNYC journalist heading up coverage of transportation, urban planning, and sustainability -- will moderate a discussion with acclaimed authors Jill Jonnes (Conquering Gotham), Lorraine Diehl (The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station), and Senior Planner Juliette Michaelson of the Regional Plan Association. The panel will consider the themes of the Museum’s current exhibition, The Once and Future Pennsylvania Station, addressing its inception, evolution, and the future Moynihan Station.

Ford had its most profitable quarter in 13 years. (Detroit Free Press)

AAA says the rise in gas prices has led to a rise in people running out of fuel on the roads. (KHOU)

The Crow Reservation in Montana has launched a transit program. (Billings Gazette)

George Michael song or vehicle name? Sweden is testing the "Arctic Whisper," which is "the world’s first fast-charging serial hybrid bus." (Autopia)

China's high-speed rail system is under scrutiny amid concerns that builders ignored safety in order to build ever-faster trains. (Washington Post)

Marketplace launched an "Oil Through the Ages" map.

NYC's Taxi and Limousine commission has approved a Mercedes for use as a yellow cab. (NY Daily News)

If you see a scary video, share a scary video: NY's MTA launched a Department of Homeland Security-funded ad campaign (video below).

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

-- Illinois will now track "dooring" collisions. (Link)

-- Will transportation apps revolutionize transit? (Link)

-- The Taxi of Tomorrow might be built in Brooklyn. (Link)

Japanese automakers release March numbers -- the first hard numbers since the earthquake and tsunami.  (The Takeaway)

Denver is pairing transit and development. (Denver Post)

A NYT op-ed piece compares the president's current plan for high-speed rail to the building of the transcontinental railroads in the 1800s; the writer says that both sacrificed public good for private gain. (NYT)

Not all of NYC's bicyclists are happy with the new bike lanes. (Wall Street Journal)

The St. Louis airport is operating at 85% after tornado damage.

A contender for New York's "Taxi of Tomorrow" says that if it wins the contract, it will build its vehicles in Brooklyn. (NY1)

After years of planning, Birmingham (MI) pulls out of a transit plan with neighboring Troy. (Detroit Free Press)

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In case you missed it on Transportation Nation:

- Membership in DC's Capital Bikeshare nearly doubles after an online coupon deal (Link)

(Kate Hinds and Nancy Solomon, Transportation Nation) Since 2006, New York City has added 250 miles of bike lanes in an effort, Mayor Bloomberg says, to improve traffic, air quality, and ultimately, public health. But while polls show support for bike lanes, opposition has been loud -- and vehement -- around the city.  So WNYC's Transportation Nation team got to wondering: do Europeans just like biking more than New Yorkers?

Bicycle parking outside a Copenhagen train station (photo by Jim Colgan)

We spoke to Danes and New Yorkers to see if we could figure this out.

On a recent trip to Aarhus -- Denmark’s second largest city -- all of the guests at a dinner party have kids, cycle to work and do most errands by bike, even though each family owns a car. Lars Villemoes said he prefers to bike even when it's raining.

“It’s a really good feeling, I love it in the morning, I go faster every morning and I love it when I see the line of cars and I just go past them, that’s such a good feeling,” he said.

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“The safety has to be considered because in order to take your children you have to be absolutely safe about this,” said his friend Lone Maribo. She added: “And I think taking your children is the first step to changing the culture, isn't it?"

The culture she is referring to is not just a small subculture. Eighteen percent of Danish commuters bike to work. Busy thoroughfares have bike lanes separated by a curb and traffic lights just for bikes. The lanes get a steady flow of cyclists -- young, old, women, white collar workers in suits -- and the story is the same in Holland and Germany.

If you're wondering how all these contentious budget deals are affecting plans -- and money -- for high-speed rail, Transportation Nation's Andrea Bernstein combed through the reports to find out. (The Takeaway)

China is also putting the brakes on high-speed, but for another reason. China slows down its bullet train over safety concerns. (WSJ)

After a second air traffic controller fell asleep working the lonely night shift, the FAA has announced it will add a second controller overnights at 26 airports, including D.C.'s Reagan National. (WAMU) But are air traffic controllers just plain overworked? (The Takeaway)

ZipCar, the country's largest carsharing company, has gone public, raising more than 31 percent above the expected offering price. (Bloomberg) That's all without the company actually making a profit. Marketplace explains that's not because the model doesn't work, but because buying all those cars to expand to new cities keeps the company in the red.

If it still ruffles your feathers to pay to check a bag while flying, consider that you don't get a refund on that fee when the airlines loose your luggage. Well the DOT wants to change that. (AP) Security pat-downs are also under review. After a You Tube video showed a six-year-old enduring a security pat-down, the TSA is considering changes to the policy. (Denver Post)

IBM and U.C. Berkeley are teaming up, and using smart phones, to tackle traffic jams. (Wired)

If freight trucking is an economic indicator, this isn't the best news. Road freight shipments fell 1.5 percent in February. (TruckingInfo)

(Photo: Asian Development Bank)

The city of Mandaluyong in the Philippines just launched a plan to use electric tricycles as public transportation. It's part of a wider effort to reduce air pollution. (TheCityFix)

The Texas Rangers are suing a former team owner for planning to price gouge fans for parking at the ballpark this season. (Dallas Morning News)

Like many transit systems facing budget cutbacks, D.C. area Metro is considering cutting bus routes, increasing weekend wait times, and eliminating subsidies. It is not considering fare hikes... now. (WAMU)

Maryland has voted down a gas tax increase. They did, however, raised taxes on alcohol. But, the booze surcharge won't go to transportation projects. (WAMU)

And on NYC bike lane usage, Streetsblog takes the same data as the NY Post, but draws the opposite conclusions. People use the bike lanes a lot, they find. (Streetsblog)

(Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) At tonight's Community Board 6 meeting in Brooklyn, among the many items on the agenda is a vote on whether to support the New York City Department of Transportation's proposed revisions to the Prospect Park West bike lane. These include the installation of raised pedestrian median islands, the installation of rumble strips, and the configuration of the Ninth Street loading zone.

The community board will also be making some suggestions of its own, like asking the DOT to reconsider the signalization of the bike lane and adding louvers on the flashing yellow signals so only bicyclists, not motorists, would see them.

The board would also like the DOT to identify opportunities to restore some parking spaces.  "I think parking was probably one of the biggest issues on our residents' minds," said Craig Hammerman, the district manager for Community Board 6, who said that the board would like to DOT to "consider changing the configuration of some of the traffic islands. Instead of being these 70 - to 80- foot-long safety zones, that they instead be potentially cut in half to allow for parking spaces in between."

You can read the resolution here.

Before the meeting even starts, Jim Walden, the attorney for the group suing to remove the bike line, is sending a letter to be read at tonight's meeting. Walden says he'd like the board to defer voting on the lane's reconfiguration until "after a full and meaningful discussion about alternative configurations, which will include more pointed questions for DOT about the various decisions it made to 'sell' a dangerous bike lane to your community."

PPW Letter to C Hammerman and D Kummer