Posted on Tuesday June 2nd by Jebediah Reed | 248
- GPS-based air-traffic control systems are expensive–rollout in the US alone will cost an estimated $20 billion–but would have kept the Air France plane in sight while it was over the Atlantic. (WaPo)
- A big issue with the next transportation bill is how we’re going to pay for it. $450 billion (and up) estimates are being thrown around, but the gas tax hasn’t gone up since 1993 and the Highway Trust Fund–which should be covering the costs–isn’t looking very healthy. (The Hill)
- In the old transportation bill, 81 percent of funding went for highways and 19 percent for transit. That balance might shift, but not without a fight from trucking and highway interests. (CQ Politics)
- New York state is looking to collect billions of dollars from pension and private equity funds for public-private partnerships in infrastructure. First up: Offshore wind farms. (Reuters)
- Former Sec of Transportation Norman Mineta says of the stimulus: “I don’t see it generating the 3.6 million jobs the administration is striving toward” — and pretty much endorses a tax on vehicle miles traveled. (DC Velocity)
- With GM, the goal should be to save the industrial infrastructure and put it to good use — making trains and transit equipment. (Michael Moore)
- When it comes to passenger rail, it’s time to “stop worrying about achieving top-end speeds like they have in Europe and Asia,” says the government’s top rail official. (Chicago Breaking News)
- There are legimate privacy concerns with the smart grid–could it be used to monitor when you’re home and when you’re not?–that could delay its rollout. (Reuters)
- Goateed NYC public radio host Brian Lehrer got his bike jacked. Now he’s wondering kind of lock he should use. (StreetsBlog)
