On May 14, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Surface Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., introduced a policy-setting bill to "establish a comprehensive and unifying mission for the nation's surface transportation system." The legislation lays out eight major goals, and the first one is: "reduce national per capita vehicle miles traveled on an annual basis." Is that an appropriate goal for federal transportation policy? Is it a practical goal? How might that be accomplished and what might be the consequences?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
29 responses: Michael A. Replogle, Deron Lovaas, Steve Van Beek, Patrick J. Natale, P.E., Robert L. Darbelnet, Phineas Baxandall, Gabriel Roth, Lisa Caruso, Richard Mudge, Steve Van Beek, John M. Krieger, Bill Graves, Gabriel Roth, Gabriel Roth, Jon Martz, Steve Heminger, Deron Lovaas, James Corless, Bob Poole, Greg Cohen, Ken Orski, Robert L. Crandall, Keith Laughlin, Mortimer L. Downey, John M. Krieger, Jack Kinstlinger, Ron Kuhlmann, Janet F. Kavinoky, Gabriel Roth
Last week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed that Congress pass an immediate 18-month reauthorization bill to replenish the Highway Trust Fund without raising fuel taxes. That would shore up the fund before it runs out of money -- expected in August -- and let Congress take "the time it needs to fully deliberate the direction of America's transportation priorities," he said, before considering legislation to reform the surface transportation program. Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., whose committee is not expected to write its own bill this year, applauded the suggestion. But House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders instead released their own blueprint for legislation to overhaul and reorient the program (not including financing), which they are pushing to get enacted before the current authorization expires Sept. 30.
Reauthorization bills have in the past required multiple extensions -- the last bill took two years to complete. So how much difference would it make if Congress took another 18 months to rewrite the nation's surface transportation law? And what might happen in the next 18 months to change the reauthorization landscape?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
22 responses: Jeff Rosen, Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., Rich Sarles, Paul Yarossi, Deron Lovaas, Richard Mudge, Patrick J. Natale, P.E., Robert L. Darbelnet, Michael P. Huerta, D.J. Gribbin, Patrick D. Jones, Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., David A. Raymond, Petra Todorovich, Phineas Baxandall, Gabriel Roth, Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Bob Poole, Ken Orski, Steve Van Beek, Janet F. Kavinoky, Terry O’Sullivan
There is a growing consensus among experts that our transportation system must put far greater emphasis on performance and results (and far less on funding equity and earmarks) to regain the public's trust and willingness to pay for it. What role can technology play in measuring and improving the system's performance, and how can the federal government best encourage the adoption of effective technological solutions to the country's transportation problems? What role should the private sector play?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
13 responses: Jeffrey Shane, Lisa Caruso, James Corless, Stephen Lockwood, Lisa Caruso, Patrick D. Jones, Mortimer L. Downey, Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., Ken Orski, Paul Yarossi, Jack Kinstlinger, Randell H. Iwasaki, Rob Atkinson
NOTE: This week's discussion is taking place in conjunction with NationalJournal.com's Energy & Environment expert blog. Responses should be made there.
How can Washington regulate and reduce the transportation sector's oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions? What are the appropriate roles and responsibilities for the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency? How should those roles be incorporated into the climate change legislation and surface transportation reauthorization that Congress is expected to tackle?
-- Lisa Caruso and Margaret Kriz, NationalJournal.com
Americans are using public transportation in record numbers -- taking 10.7 billion trips last year, an increase of 4 percent over 2007 -- yet because of declining state and local budgets, many mass transit systems are facing the prospect of raising fares, cutting service and laying off staff. Given the contribution that mass transit makes to relieving urban congestion and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is it time to overturn rules that only allow federal funding to be spent on capital projects and not on transit systems' day-to-day operating expenses?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
12 responses: Lisa Caruso, Jeff Rosen, Lisa Caruso, Rich Sarles, Colin F. Peppard, Bob Poole, Beverly A. Scott, Lisa Caruso, Ed Wytkind, Phineas Baxandall, Anthony E. Shorris, William Millar
The American population will undergo dramatic demographic changes in the next few decades. The number of senior citizens is projected to swell by 36 percent from 2010 to 2020 as Baby Boomers hit age 65, and minorities are projected to constitute the majority of the total population by 2042, according to a recent report by the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. What do we need to do differently to meet the changing needs of the traveling public as the U.S. population becomes older and more ethnically and racially diverse? What can we do in the next surface transportation bill to begin that process?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
8 responses: William Millar, Robin Chase, Jack Kinstlinger, Greg Cohen, Keith Laughlin, Joung Lee, Robert Puentes, Nancy LeaMond
Noting that economic forecasts show the freight volumes handled by America's ports, roads, rails and waterways will be 70 percent greater in 2020 than they were in 1998, the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission's report concluded, "Without improvements to the surface transportation network (especially key freight transportation corridors), freight transportation will become less efficient and reliable, hampering the ability of American businesses to compete in the global marketplace." How can the next surface transportation bill best meet -- and pay for meeting -- the country's growing freight movement needs?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
15 responses: Patrick J. Natale, P.E., Lisa Caruso, Ed Hamberger, Leslie Blakey, Paul Yarossi, Bill Graves, Richard F. Timmons, Steve Heminger, Leslie Blakey, Steve Van Beek, Mortimer L. Downey, Jack Kinstlinger, Paul Weinstein Jr., Janet F. Kavinoky, Kurt J. Nagle
Last month, the $2.5 billion deal to lease Chicago's Midway Airport to a private operator fell through because investors -- Vancouver Airport Services, Citigroup, and John Hancock Insurance Company -- could not secure the necessary financing. Had the deal gone through, Midway would have been the first major U.S. airport to be privately run under a Federal Aviation Administration pilot program that Congress created in 1997. What does the collapse of this potentially ground-breaking deal mean for future privatization efforts? Was the failure to raise private capital simply a casualty of the current credit crunch, or does it represent a larger setback for public-private partnerships to operate roads, bridges and other transportation assets, as well?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
21 responses: D.J. Gribbin, Andy Steinberg, Emil H. Frankel, Jeffrey Shane, Phineas Baxandall, Jeffrey Shane, James C. May, Gabriel Roth, Steve Van Beek, Mortimer L. Downey, Geoffrey S. Yarema, Bill Graves, Patrick D. Jones, Robert L. Darbelnet, Patrick J. Natale, P.E., Michael P. Jackson, Greg Principato, Ron Kuhlmann, Richard Mudge, Bob Poole, Ken Orski
Transportation sources contribute 30 percent of U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, and road congestion is a large and growing problem in many urban areas. Yet the Highway Trust Fund is facing a severe cash crunch, and state transportation departments are worried that there won't be enough money for highways and mass transit. Should the next surface transportation bill allow states and municipalities to use a greater share of scarce Trust Fund dollars on non-highway projects such as bike lanes and pedestrian walkways?
Special Editor's Note: To enliven the debate and add some new perspectives, this week we invited bloggers from the land use and urban planning Web site, Planetizen.com, to join in the conversation.
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
27 responses: Jack Kinstlinger, Jeff Rosen, Lisa Caruso, Robert L. Darbelnet, Rich Sarles, Lisa Caruso, Richard Mudge, Michael Lewyn, Gabriel Roth, Terry O’Sullivan, Bill Graves, Nancy LeaMond, Robert Goodspeed, Diana DeRubertis, Todd Litman, Jess Zimbabwe, Ian Sacs, Steven Polzin, Mike Lydon, Sam Staley, Michael Dudley, James S. Russell, Rick Abelson, Eric Damian Kelly, Jeffrey Barg, Charles Buki, Greg Cohen
With a pro-union president and Congress, what labor policy changes are we likely to see that will affect the transportation industries? Will those new policies be good for the sector and/or for transportation users?
-- Lisa Caruso, NationalJournal.com
7 responses: Patrick Forrey, Geoffrey S. Yarema, Steve Van Beek, Gabriel Roth, James P. Hoffa, Jeff Rosen, Terry O’Sullivan
