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• There are some people who think all of our transportation problems will be answered by “pods”–that is, little cars that travel around a city on tracks. Personalize public transport, if you will. Other people think it’s a totally moronic idea. The Globe explores the issue. (Boston Globe)
• Maybe we’ll get a big new transportation bill after all this year? That’s the implication of Bloomberg report today. You’ll recall the House leadership has been pushing that way, while the Senate and the White House have been angling for an 18 month extension. To be continued. (Streetsblog DC)
• Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood had tough words for Florida: “Get your act together,” he said, warning that the legislature needs to approve the SunRail commuter rail system if the state is going to get its high speed rail plan funded by the federal government. (Sayfie Review)

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• At this site, we’ve long held the view that oil prices will determine our transportation future. Merrill Lynch (they still exist?) thinks the black stuff is going to $100 next year. And another piece of the puzzle: Exxon’s CEO says we’ve passed peak gasoline demand in the US. (Business Insider)
• Norfolk Sourthern now has an emissions free locomotive. Which sounds pretty good and maybe is, but the thing uses 1,100 batteries and is just a switching locomotive–i.e. one that just mucks around a rail yard. Small steps, small steps. (UPI)
• Building America’s Future–that group founded by the three musketeers of infrastructure, Bloomberg, Rendell, and Schwarzenegger–has a new president, former Clinton official Marcia Hale. We’re big fans of BAF and offer our congrats on the choice. (Infrastructure Investor)
• An abandoned old railroad bridge over the mighty Hudson River has been converted into a pedestrian bridge. The structure is “a muscular lattice of trusses and struts on giant footings, a survivor from a long-gone era before bridge mediocrities like the Tappan Zee.” Um… wow? (NYT)
• A hippie artist type has is arting up sidewalk cracks in NYC, to enliven and humanize the harsh urban environment (or something like that). Honestly, we don’t understand what the hell he’s talking about in this interview, but we rather like what he’s done. (Good)

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