Kate Hinds

Top stories on TN:
Airlines Can be Deadly for Pets: 35 Died in 2011 (Link)
Two New Bike Share Stations Open on National Mall (Link)
Maryland Governor Gets An Earful on Gas Tax (Link)
High Speed Rail Funds Aiding Local Transit in CA (Link)

A highway in England (photo by BjornFranTjorn via flickr)

Because the House probably won't move on transportation legislation before a March 31 deadline, transportation watchers are expecting a short-term funding extension. (The Hill)

British prime minister David Cameron wants to semi-privatize that country's roads. (BBC, Guardian)

A rival bike share firm is trying to put the brakes on Alta's contract to launch Chicago's bike share program by claiming the path was greased for the Oregon company where transportation commissioner Gabe Klein once worked.  (Chicago Sun-Times)

High levels of silica, a carcinogen, were found at the Second Avenue Subway construction site during a federal safety inspection last November. (New York Post)

As cars are kept longer, 200,000 is the new 100,000. (New York Times)

U.S. automakers are hungrily eyeing India as a growth opportunity. (Washington Post)

A transportation company responsible for installing defective parts on Chicago's subway cars is the leading candidate to build BART’s $3.4 billion fleet of new train cars. (The Bay Citizen)

Residents love a recently installed pedestrian plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens; local business owners, not so much. (New York Times)

The high cost of gas is challenging for rural transportation systems in Vermont. (VPR)

Atlanta's transit system (MARTA) "has long served as the unfortunate battleground on which unrelated conflicts — urban vs. suburban and rural, Democratic vs. Republican, black vs. white, rich vs. poor, traditional vs. modern — have been fought out." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog post)

 Top stories on TN:
An App For Finding NYC Subway Art (Link)
January 2012: Most On Time January in 18 Years (Link)
LaHood: Gateway Tunnel “Absolutely Critical” To NY/NJ Region (Link)
In Houston, Transportation Costs Can Outpace Housing Costs (Link)

San Francisco parking meter -- old school version (photo by Albert Huynh via flickr)

The House will not take up the Senate’s transportation bill and its own version won’t hit the floor until mid-April at the earliest. (Politico)

A New Jersey Assembly committee now has subpoena power to investigate the Port Authority's finances. (Star-Ledger)

San Francisco's parking experiment -- raising the price of meters on the city’s most crowded blocks and lowering them on its emptiest block -- are having the desired effect in some areas. (New York Times)

But the mayor of that city has a message for high school teens: don't get a car yet, "because there ain’t no parking.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

The cost of the new Tappan Zee Bridge and how much travelers might have to pay to cross it won’t be known until this summer at the earliest. (Journal News)

NJ Transit will seek federal funds to help improve its aging infrastructure and "crippling delays." (Wall Street Journal)

Revenue from speed cameras in Maryland's Prince Georges County has outpaced the county's expectations. (Washington Examiner)

In the 39 years since the first of the 1970s oil shocks, "it still looks like the 1970s out there. The transportation sector of the economy remains almost entirely beholden to petroleum, much of it imported from unfriendly countries." (Washington Post)

The New York State Senate's majority leader sent a letter to the head of the NY MTA telling him that the Senate's move to reduce the authority's budget is rooted in concern about the M.T.A.'s "staggering" debt-load. (Capital NY)

Researchers are trying to determine how to build a safer intersection. Issue #1: how to handle the "dilemma zone" -- the moment when the light turns yellow and drivers must decide whether to stop or not.  (Atlantic Cities)

Robert Wilson's "My Coney Island Baby" at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station (photo by Rob Wilson, courtesy of NY MTA)

To get from Coney Island to Times Square, you can take the N train from Stillwell Avenue to 42nd Street. Or to put it another way: get on the subway at the Robert Wilson glass brick installation and exit at the Roy Lichtenstein mural.

A Roy Lichtenstein artwork in the Times Square subway station (photo by Kate Hinds)

"When you have a museum as large as ours -- we believe it's geographically the largest museum in the world -- a couple of labels isn't going to do it," said Sandra Bloodworth, the head of the MTA's Arts for Transit program. She was in Grand Central Station on Thursday with Howard Permut, the president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, and Jeff Hardison, a VP for software company Meridian, for the official launch of the Arts for Transit app.

Jeff Hardison, Sandra Bloodworth, and Howard Permut at the MTA's app launch in Grand Central (photo by Kate Hinds)

The free app, which went live Thursday at noon, has information on each one of the 236 (and counting!) permanent artworks in the New York City transit system. It was built for the MTA by Meridian, and it includes background information and photos about each art installation. It's searchable by line and artist, and the app also offers turn-by-turn directions about precisely where to see art in selected stations. Some artworks have videos, as well as audio podcasts, detailing the work.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Sandra Bloodworth said many subway riders just see the same few pieces of art on their daily commute and the app will help expand their horizons. "Now it's clear that each artwork is part of a larger collection -- and it's a collection that fits in your pocket."

Jeff Hardison echoed that sentiment. "You might pass an artwork and not know much about it," he said. "Now you can look it up."

Jeff Hardison and Sandra Bloodworth test-driving the app in the Times Square subway station (photo by Kate Hinds)

Bloodworth said the Arts for Transit program "think(s) about how the artwork will change the station." The app lifts the veil on that creative process and helps locate the artworks--figuratively and literally -- in the neighborhood in which they are installed. The entry detailing Romare Bearden's stained glass windows at the Westchester Avenue/East Tremont Avenue station says they "weave(s) together the spirit found in his beloved music, social concerns and interest in trains."

Romare Bearden's City of Glass, located at the  Westchester Avenue/East Tremont Avenue #6 station (photo by Rob Wilson, courtesy of NY MTA)

When asked to name her favorite piece of art in the collection, Bloodworth protested. (One reporter sympathetically compared her reaction to being forced to choose a favorite child.)  "Each artwork is created for the particular place that it exists...it's for that place!" she said. "So you only compare it to itself. And if you must measure it, measure it 'does it speak to you? Does it move you in some way? Does it create and add to your experience?' We believe the artworks do that. "

But when pressed, she admitted to a special fondness for a couple of pieces. "There's so many artists I would love to share them all..but if I had just five minutes today, I sure would not want you to miss the Sol LeWitt at Columbus Circle, or the Elizabeth Murray underneath Bloomingdales." Bloodworth said the LeWitt  "captures, in an abstract way, the movement, the energy of this place."

Whirls and Twirls by Sol LeWitt, located at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station (photo by Rob Wilson, courtesy of NY MTA)

It's hard not to love the Arts for Transit program. But let's play devil's advocate for a moment: when subway crime is up -- fueled in large part by thefts of smartphones -- is it a good idea to encourage people to whip out their iPhones underground?

Howard Permut, the president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, was pragmatic.  "The fact is there has been some increase (in crime), it's not been a huge increase, and I think that quite frankly that's just a trade off in life and in our society...when people have devices that make their life easier there are others looking to take them, that's always going to be a tradeoff that we have."

"We really feel we've had a mission to create art," said Bloodworth. "And now we're working with Meridian to really let our customers know about that art. It's their collection, they own it. They customer, the public owns this collection. Now they have the guide."

The app is available for Apple and Android phones. A slideshow of more art on the subway can be found at WNYC.

A Jacob Lawrence mosaic mural in the Times Square subway station (photo by Kate Hinds)

DOT head Ray LaHood threw in a plug for a trans-Hudson rail crossing known as the Gateway Tunnel.

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) -- a longtime booster of a new trans-Hudson rail crossing between New Jersey and New York City -- was questioning the secretary at Thursday's Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Department of Transportation's budget. Lautenberg asked LaHood:  "You've looked at this proposal many times. What impact might the Gateway Tunnel project have on mobility and the economy of the Northeast Corridor?"

LaHood's response:  “We are working with both New Jersey and New York. We know this tunnel is absolutely critical and we will continue our work. Look, if this is the priority for the region, then it becomes a priority for us.”

The Gateway Tunnel, which would boost capacity for both Amtrak and NJ Transit, was proposed last year as an alternative to the ARC tunnel -- which NJ Governor Christie cancelled in October 2010.  In November 2011, the Senate approved $15 million for Amtrak to begin design and engineering work on the Gateway project.

You can watch the video of Thursday''s exchange below.

Top stories on TN:
Senate Passes Transportation Bill, 74-22 (Link)
Mica Takes Aim at “Bloated” TSA (Link)
From the NYS Archives: 1955 Promotional Film of Tappan Zee Bridge (Link)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, one of 530 million boardings the CTA clocked last year (photo -- taken on Halloween -- is courtesy of Chicago Mayor's Office Facebook page)

Transpo bill:
TN's Todd Zwillich talks transportation bill politics on this morning's The Takeaway. (Read Todd's coverage of the bill here.)

The Senate's transportation bill prevents the slashing of $1 billion in New York City metro-transit money, and would even result in a 13 percent increase. (NY Post)

New York Times op-ed: "Getting the House to move in a similar direction will be harder....(but) accepting the Senate bill would be exactly the right thing to do."

Safety provisions in the just-passed Senate transportation bill include stricter federal oversight of the long-distance and tour bus industries. (AP)

In other news...
Boston T riders want the MBTA to raise fares before cutting service. (WBUR)

A protest by frustrated commuters in Bogota turned into a free-for-all that nearly paralyzed Colombia's capital. (AP)

2011 ridership on Chicago's transit (CTA) reached its highest level in 20 years. (WBEZ)

Meanwhile, the CTA has decided to end a 15-year ban on alcohol advertising. (Chicago Tribune)

NJ Transit just had the best three-month stretch of train on-time performance in the history of the agency -- but NJT officials know that for riders, "we're only as good as their last commute." (Star-Ledger)

The TSA will start letting passengers who are at least 75 years old keep their shoes on at security checkpoints at four airports. (USA Today)

Tom Madison, the head of the NYS Thruway Authority, writes in a NY Post op-ed: "We’re on schedule to start building a new Tappan Zee Bridge this year — despite unaffordable and impractical demands from mass-transit advocates."

London's Underground will get free wi-fi in time for the summer Olympics. (Guardian)

A group of Missouri bicyclists known as "rot riders" are collecting compostable food waste on a weekly basis. (Good)

Fact check: does your car really need premium gas? Marketplace investigates.

All aboard the BQDEGA train -- a subway car/bodega combo. (Curbed)

The new Tappan Zee Bridge is moving forward -- both in the Hudson River and on the internet.

This week workers began driving the first of 28 piles that will hold river platforms in place. And New York State also unveiled its new project website (the older version can still be found here.)

The videos section of the site has a promotional film made by the New York State Thruway Authority to commemorate the 1955 opening of the bridge. It has everything you could hope for in a 50's-era film: the authoritative-yet-soothing male narrator, cheery background music, an American flag waving on the bridge's foundation. There are also some fascinating facts about the construction process, including a component list of what went into making the bridge ("it has over 27 acres of pavement" -- not to mention 74,000 tons of steel). Also of note:  the caissons were constructed in a dry basin ten miles away -- and then the basin was flooded so the structures could be towed into the Hudson.

One other thing: the bridge cost $60 million to build. The new bridge is slated to cost almost a hundred times that.

Top stories on TN:
Reversing a Radical Rewrite: Can Boehner Go Bipartisan? (Link)
Airlines Collected Almost $900 Million in Baggage Fees and $600 Million in Reservation Change Fees in Third Quarter 2011 (Link)
Possible Increased Coal Train Traffic Raises Community Concern (Link)

A bike lane being built in Chicago, June 2011 (photo courtesy of Chicago Bicycle Program)

The Senate will vote today on its transportation bill. (AP via Washington Post)

And the bill walked a controversial path to get to today's vote. "They always say that passing a law is like making sausage," said Senator Barbara Boxer. "It is much messier than that." (NPR)

Meanwhile, the New York City Council called on Congress to reject a Republican transportation proposal that it had already rejected. (Capital NY)

Senator Schumer (D-NY) wants intercity buses to prominently display safety grades. (Times Union)

Chicago picked Alta to run its bike share program. (Chicago Tribune)

A filmmaker conducts an experiment in bike theft ennui: he brazenly and repeatedly steals his own bike -- while no one intervenes. (New York Times)

Cabs, delivery trucks and residents' cars heading toward the World Trade Center site will soon have to run a gauntlet of new security checkpoints. (DNA Info)

The new head of California's high-speed rail project told a state Senate hearing in Silicon Valley he now believes it will cost less than the earlier estimate of nearly $100 billion. (Mercury News)

On today's Brian Lehrer Show: how Ford went from the edge of bankruptcy to profitability -- without government aid. (WNYC)

As Detroit automakers expand, their suppliers are racing to keep up -- adding tens of thousands of new jobs. (NPR)

A bus crash in Switzerland has killed 28 people -- most of them children. (Reuters)

The White House has launched an all-of-the-above press strategy designed to contain the damage from high gas prices. (Politico)

A tugboat towing a crane barge beneath the Brooklyn Bridge sliced a 50-foot gash in the metal scaffolding wrapping the belly of the span as it undergoes repainting. (NY Daily News)

New York's Lincoln Center saw a 14 percent surge in pedestrian accidents and injuries between 2011 and 2011. (DNA Info)

As part of a pedestrian safety awareness event, a Las Vegas policeman dressed as a leprechaun strode the streets. “He’s already been almost killed twice,” noted one observer. “This is a nasty intersection." (Las Vegas Sun; video below.)

Top stories on TN:
Senate Moves on Transit Tax Deduction (Link)
Boston, Denver Bike Shares Back This Week (Link)
Bloomberg Wants To Talk Transit With Cantor (Link)
Feds Hand Out $25 Million for Transit Planning (Link)
Texas Big Winner in Transit Ridership Sweepstakes (Link)

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The Senate will have a marathon voting session on the 20+ amendments to its transportation bill today. (Washington Post)

Meanwhile, U.S. DOT head Ray LaHood said his former colleagues in the House of Representatives were in "disarray" in their effort to pass a new federal transportation bill. (The Hill)

New Jersey and New York will have a joint hearing -- its first in 20 years -- on what lawmakers say is a history of excessive spending and lack of accountability at the Port Authority. (Star-Ledger)

Now that the BART extension to East San Jose is fully funded, officials are looking at how to pay for planned links to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. (Mercury News)

Rising gas prices may be to blame for President Obama's slipping approval numbers... (The Takeaway)

And as he said yesterday: "As long as gas prices are going up, people are going to feel like I'm not doing enough." (Detroit Free Press)

The third and final section of New York's elevated High Line park will be open to the public in 2014. (AP via WNYC)

California is worried its ports will lose business when the Panama Canal completes an expansion allowing huge cargo ships from Asia to reach the East Coast. (Marketplace)

How to keep buses from "bunching:" forget schedules, flow with traffic. (Atlantic Cities)

More bike lanes are coming to Dubai. (GulfNews.com)

Trend spotting: workers at a cargo warehouse at JFK Airport get a glimpse into what the world is about to wear, eat and sell. (New York Times)

Top stories on TN:
A Wider Panama Canal Could Lead to a NY Boom, But City May Not Be Ready (Link)
NY MTA Says There’s No Decision on G Train Extension (Link)
After Fukushima, Greenhouse Gases Rise in Japan (Link)
Watch Obama’s Speech at Rolls Royce Factory Live (Link)
Double the Fees on the Dulles Toll Road? (Link)

A street-to-park conversion in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood (photo by gelatobaby via flickr)

Mass transit use is soaring: Americans took 10.4 billion rides on public transportation in 2011 — a billion more than they took in 2000, and the second most since 1957, says a new report. (New York Times)

DC Metro’s new Silver Line is almost two years from opening, but residents are wrestling with the lasting impact the project may have on local roads. (Washington Post)

Equipment failures along the aging rail lines that carry NJ Transit trains are causing longer delays affecting a growing number of commuters. (Wall Street Journal)

A newly-built section of a high-speed rail line has collapsed in China's central Hubei province following heavy rain; the line was set to open in May. (BBC)

A proposal to reshape MARTA's board of directors has county leaders blasting the plan as racist and accusing Northside leaders of trying to bring back segregation. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Los Angeles just completed its first "street-to-plaza" conversion: officials -- who learned of the technique in NYC -- turned a swath of Griffith Park Boulevard into a pedestrian plaza. (Los Angeles Times)

A two-year highway bill would mean more uncertainty for long-term transportation projects. (Marketplace)

The number of U.S.teenagers getting drivers licenses is on the decline: in early 1980s, 80% of 18 year-olds had licenses; by 2008, that number dropped to 65%. (New York Times op-ed)

The White House is releasing a report that says U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports has dropped by more than two million barrels a day since President Obama took office. (NPR)

The London Underground will put a new vacuum train into use later this year, cutting tunnel cleaning time dramatically. (Railway Gazette)

Gothamist: enough with the subway dance parties.

Bus drivers in Phoenix and neighboring Tempe are on strike. (AZCentral.com)

Top stories on TN:
Boehner: We’ll Work with Senate if GOP Balks on Highway Bill (Link)
The Next New York Cabs? For the Outer Boroughs, City Eyes Green Cabs (Link)
Houston’s Electric Car Drivers Have a New Place to Power Up (Link)
South Florida Should be a Cyclists’ Haven — But It Isn’t (Link)
SURVEY: Californians Favor High Speed Rail, But With Wide Variations (Link)

The Bayonne Bridge, which the Port Authority will be raising (photo by Melisande via Flickr)

DC's Metro has known for six years that some of its rail cars have brake parts that fail sooner than expected, but didn't replace the parts because it didn't have the money. (Washington Post)

The federal GAO is looking into California's high-speed rail program. (Sacramento Bee)

The Senate blocked a Republican bid to speed approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. (NPR, New York Times)

More on the transpo bill from Politico.

For the first time since 1931, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is going to build two bridges at the same time. (Star-Ledger)

Britain is rolling out rail smart cards nationwide. (BBC)

Scenes from a subway shutdown: hundreds of NY subway workers are deployed when the MTA does overnight repairs. (Wall Street Journal)

Airlines are expanding overhead bins to fit on more carry-on bags. (AP)

And the FAA says planes will continue to get more crowded -- and tickets more expensive. (Marketplace)

Boston's transit system -- which needs to plug a $161 million deficit -- is cracking down on fare cheats. (Boston Herald)

The Dutch are building a prototype of a "superbus" that looks like a giant leech and is capable of going 155 mph. Atlantic Cities has the story and a video.

Friday rewind: Gothamist takes a look back at Buckminster Fuller's idea to put a giant geodesic dome over midtown Manhattan. (Link)

Top stories on TN:
Here We Go: Senate Set to Start Highway Bill Votes Thursday (Link)
Tappan Zee Bridge Public Comment Period Extended (Link)
Suburban Roads Top List of NYC Region’s Most Dangerous (Link)
President Obama: Fuel Efficient Trucks Save $15K a Year (Link)
Report: Boehner Making Last-Ditch Effort to Rally Republicans on Transpo Bill (Link)
New York’s Ambitious Taxi Plans Calls for More $$ (Link)

Chicago officials unveiling new rail cars last year (photo by CTA Web via Flickr)

Bowing to opposition within their own party, House Republicans are dropping efforts to kill dedicating funding for transit. (Bloomberg)

Chicago's new rail cars -- which were pulled from service in December -- have defective parts that could have caused derailments. (Chicago Tribune)

Traffic deaths caused by speeding are on the rise, according to a new report. (WTOP)

Denver taxi drivers are acting as another set of eyes for police in that city's "Taxis on Patrol" program. (NPR)

A Cincinnati engineer was hit with a lawsuit after sending exaggerated tweets about the effects of that city's streetcar project. (The Takeaway)

Pennsylvania begins enforcing its 'no texting while driving' ban today. (Patriot-News)

The British government is looking for ways to cut £3.5 billion from the rail industry by 2019. (Guardian)

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave initial approval to an ordinance requiring commercial building owners in the city to accommodate bicyclists in their buildings. (Bay Citizen)

What the frack is in that water? ProPublica has a list of the known ingredients of the chemicals used in the drilling and hydrofracking process. (Link)

Newt Gingrich's $2.50-a-gallon gas proposal would require $187 billion in subsidies to become a reality. (Atlantic)

Tip for parking permit forgers: learn from the mistakes of one Hoboken man and make sure you spell the word "parking" correctly. (Jersey Journal)

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement, or DEIS (photo by Kate Hinds)

The public comment period for the Tappan Zee Bridge project has been extended by two weeks.

The U.S. Department of Transportation confirmed Wednesday that the new deadline is March 30. Previously, the deadline for the public to weigh in had been March 15th.

New York State has been moving forward on a $5.2 billion plan to replace the aging bridge, which stretches across the Hudson and connects Rockland and Westchester Counties. In late January it released a massive draft environmental impact statement about the project. Last week, hundreds of people showed up to speak at a pair of hearings about the project -- and several members of the public asked that the comment period be extended.

A spokesman for the federal government said the change has been made to accommodate everyone who wanted to comment on the project. The additional 15 days is not expected to change the overall project delivery schedule.

To learn more about the Tappan Zee Bridge public comment process, visit the project website here.

Top stories on TN:
Car Wash Workers Protest Conditions, Pay (Link)
Proposed NY MTA Hikes Won’t Pay for Service Upgrades (Link)
Florida Ponders School Bus Ads (Link)

São Paolo (photo by cjggbella via flickr)

The transportation bill failed to clear a procedural hurdle in the Senate yesterday, but both parties said they expect a deal advancing the legislation by the end of the week. (AP via Philly.com, Wall Street Journal)

Meanwhile, House Republican leaders are set to dump the mess of a highway bill in the lap of conservatives. (The Hill, Politico)

São Paulo’s 2,000 gas stations are rapidly running out of fuel as a strike by truck drivers who haul gas in South America’s largest city completed a second day. (AP via Washington Post)

California will have to allot more than $700 million each year to repay the billions of dollars in planned borrowing for the first phase of a proposed bullet train. (Los Angeles Times)

DC's Deanwood Metro station was the dangerous stop on the transit system in 2011, according to crime statistics. (Washington Examiner)

NJ Transit is eyeing a bus rapid transit system for a Philadelphia-South Jersey corridor. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The New York MTA's FasTrack -- its overnight subway repair program -- is heading to northern Manhattan next year and the outer boroughs in 2015. (New York Daily News)

The Chevy Volt: picking up awards -- but not enough buyers. (Marketplace)

Why does gas cost what it does? NPR's infographic explains.

Sam LaHood --son of U.S. Transportation head Ray LaHood -- is glad to be back from Egypt and his  four-week "de facto detention." (CNN video)

Car wash workers are coming forward to protest their working conditions. Workers say they are underpaid and exposed to harsh conditions.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Standing in front of the Metro Car Wash in Rego Park, Queens, Tuesday  a few dozen car wash workers, union activists, and a couple of city council members kicked off a campaign to organize workers and improve conditions at the almost 200 car washes across New York City.

David de la Cruz Perez says this effort is necessary. He emigrated from Guatemala five years ago, and he makes $5.50 an hour working at a car wash on Sutphin Boulevard in Queens. But, he says, managers raid the tip jar to fix customer vehicles. Speaking through a translator from Make the Road New York, Perez says:  "From the tips they take out anything – if a mirror breaks, if an antenna breaks, they take it out from our tips."

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Perez says he also injured his hand on the job -- and missed six months of work without pay.

Cristino Rojas, who works at LMC Car Wash in East Harlem, says there are other problems. Like the other workers, he speaks through a translator. “We work with really dangerous chemicals but they never give us protective gear. So we breathe these things, we touch these things, so we buy our own gloves and we buy our own masks because they don’t give any of that to us."

Car wash workers speaking at a rally (photo by Kate Hinds)

Stuart Appelbaum is the president of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, says the problems "are industry-wide. It’s not just a couple of bad actors or isolated incidents." His union helped produce a report about city car wash workers (pdf) that found 66% of workers reported being paid less than minimum wage at times. Also: "not a single interviewed car wash employee received paid sick days, and only one was offered any kind of health care plan."

Councilman James Sanders Jr., who represents part of Queens, was at the rally. "We can have shiny cars and justice! We will not allow them to pin us and say ‘hey, if you want a clean car you have to accept dirty practices.’"

And those practices seem to be endemic. A New York State Department of Labor investigation that concluded in 2010 found that close to 80% of New York City's car wash operators were guilty of wage and hour violations. A spokesperson for the NYS DOL says: "The Department continues to monitor labor law compliance in the car wash and all industries and conducts investigations as needed. We encourage employers and workers to contact the Department about wage and hour compliance and enforcement issues."

(photo by Kate Hinds)

But for some, convenience is key. Jose Maldonado is a 43-year old limo driver who was swinging by Metro Car Wash on the way to pick up a client at JFK Airport. “I mean I need to get my car washed...I don’t know what behavior I could change, I've got to go get my car washed.”

Metro Car Wash in Rego Park, Queens (photo by Kate Hinds)

Attempts to speak to the manager of the Metro Car Wash in Rego Park were unsuccessful. But Paulino Cabrero, the manager of the LMC Car Wash in East Harlem, says he doesn't require workers to purchase their own protective gear--and that tips are for the workers. “I got four guys specifically to count the tips," he says. "And they touch the tips. I don’t touch the tips. And they count for everybody.”

Councilman James Sanders says he's planning a hearing on the issue.

updated 3/7/12 with LMC response

Top stories on TN:
Congestion Pricing Is Back…And the NY Times’ Former Editor Really Likes It (Link)
Riding Along on the DUI Run With Billings Police (Link)
NY MTA's Spokesman Leaving (Link)
Drivers School Licensees Must Be Retested (Link)
Romney in the Driver’s Seat? (Link)
Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing Is National as of Today (Link)

The Ambrose Lightship returning to South Street Seaport from Staten Island (photo by Stephen Nesse/WNYC)

New York's MTA wants to install its "On The Go" touchscreens throughout the city's entire subway system. (New York Daily News)

Toronto's city council prevailed in its battle with that city's mayor over the transit board--removing five of his allies and putting his transportation plans in jeopardy. (The Globe and Mail)

Denver's ambitious light rail plan (FasTracks) is now light rail part of the way, bus rapid transit the rest. (Denver Post)

The 1908 Ambrose lightship has returned to New York's South Street Seaport Museum. (WNYC)

Meanwhile, a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry is sinking upstate in the Hudson River. (Staten Island Advance)

A road that links Outer Banks communities in coastal North Carolina is under siege by climate change. (New York Times)

The federal government's new rule about trucker fatigue is under attack from both sides: A safety group has gone to court against the agency, calling the rule too lax, while the trucking industry has filed a suit calling it too strict. (Politico)

Ford is revamping its touch-screen control system after losing ground in quality ratings. (New York Times)

How high will tolls go on the Tappan Zee Bridge? Depends on how much the new bridge costs. (Times Herald-Record)

A broken cable led to hours of delays and cancellations on the Eurostar Channel tunnel train. (Guardian)

Digital ad billboards will be coming to the Boston T. (Boston Globe)

One in four pilots and rail workers report that sleepiness affects their job performance at least once a week, a new study found. (Bloomberg)

East Harlem bike lanes are back up for a vote at a community board meeting tonight. (Streetsblog)

Cars heading toward the Holland Tunnel (photo by Kate Hinds)

New York Times columnist Bill Keller (and former editor-in-chief) put congestion pricing squarely back in the public eye today, with his column backing a plan by noted transportation expert Sam Schwartz.

Schwartz -- known to the masses as "Gridlock Sam"-- is a former New York City traffic commissioner who has long advocated congestion pricing.

Schwartz's plan  -- which he's been showing around the city to private groups -- would reduce the costs of some tolls and raise others.  That would make driving outside of Manhattan easier and driving into Manhattan south of 60th Street much more costly.

The East River Bridges -- Brooklyn, Ed Koch/Queensboro, Manhattan, and Williamsburg, would have a $7 cash toll, and an $5 EZPass toll.  Other bridges -- like the Verrazano, the RFK, and the Bronx Whitestone Bridge would be cheaper.

These tolls and other fees (like ending a parking tax rebate for Manhattanites and adding a taxi surcharge on cab rides south of 86th Street) could raise as much as $1.2 billion annually, Schwartz argues  -- money that would then be spent on improving transit and roads.

Schwartz would then target that money to reduce transit fares and to launch new transit lines -- particularly bus rapid transit -- in the outer boroughs where transit service is poor.

Schwartz would also like to see three new pedestrian/bicycle bridges built. One would go from downtown Brooklyn, go through Governors Island and lead to the financial district; another would connect Greenpoint/Long Island City to Manhattan's East Side, and a third would go from Hoboken/Jersey City to Manhattan's West Side.

A rendering of a pedestrian bridge, stretching from Brooklyn to Manhattan (image courtesy of Sam Schwartz Engineering)

It's not clear how much political support a plan like this could garner. City Council member Peter Vallone Jr., who represents Astoria, is blunt: "I don't support tolling the East River Bridges," he says. "There are ways to influence congestion without increasing costs to motorists." He'd like to see tolls increase during peak times, but decrease off-hours.

But Kathryn Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City says congestion pricing is "something that New York City is going to have to turn to." She adds: "I think that Sam has put forward a very practical approach to mobilizing political support" for it. She says part of the stumbling block in the past has been "you didn’t have any obvious concurrent benefits...that you could point to."  This version of the plan -- with its attendant toll reductions and outer borough transit improvements --  "give people a reason to be for it, not simply to be against it."

It's a parity issue, adds  Transportation Alternatives head Paul Steely White, who's endorsing the plan. "What you have is a situation where some drivers are paying as much as $11 to take a round trip in their own neighborhoods," he says, "whereas other drivers aren't paying a cent."

The fallout from that is evident in places like downtown Brooklyn, which is inundated with drivers seeking to avoid the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and its $6.50 toll (or $4.80 for EZPass users) in favor of the free Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. Tolling those bridges, White says, would make  the system "more rational so drivers aren't toll shopping and driving out of their way for a free bridge or tunnel."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed for congestion pricing in 2007. Although it passed City Council, it died in Albany.

City Hall may like this plan, too.  New York City deputy press secretary Marc LaVorgna says of the Schwartz proposal: “The Mayor put forward a comprehensive and bold transportation vision that would have provided billions to create the mass transit system our city needs. But Albany said no, and the MTA continues to struggle.”

But the biggest kick for the plan comes from today's Times Op-Ed page, one of the loudest megaphones you can have.

"You do not have to be an engineer to appreciate the logic," Keller wrote. "The scheme puts the heaviest onus on the solo driver who has ready access to a train, and lowers the cost for drivers who have no alternative. Unlike earlier plans that amounted to a punishing tax on commuters from outlying communities, the Schwartz plan has more affluent neighborhoods (like the plusher parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens) pay a fair share."

Top stories on TN:
Buy Your Own Authentic Wooden NYC Subway Benches (Link)
Electric Bikes Get Rolling in D.C. (Link)
GM Halts Production of Chevy Volt for Five Weeks Due to Poor Sales (Link)
Will Developer Genting Pay for Transit to a New Queens Convention Center? (Link)
Metro Won’t Remove ‘Go To Hell Barack’ Subway Ad, Despite Congressman’s Objections (Link)
Nassau’s Private Bus Company to Cut Service (Link)

Lego bike share station (photo by Planetgordon.com via flickr)

BP has settled with Gulf Coast residents for $7.8 billion, and the news has sent the company's stock price rising. (AP)

Meanwhile, BP and other companies are expanding deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. (New York Times)

Toronto's mayor and city council are battling for control of that city's transit agency. (Globe and Mail)

IBM takes "Smarter Cities" -- its urban infrastructure management system -- to Rio. (New York Times)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled a vote for noon Tuesday on a cloture motion to shut off debate on the pending highway bill. (The Hill)

And what happens if Congress fails to authorize transportation beyond 3/31? "Stalled construction projects, unfilled potholes, idled buses and — in theory — lower gas prices." (Politico)

San Francisco is mulling ways to better connect neighborhoods in the city's southeast to transit, and they run about $300 - $400 million. (San Francisco Examiner)

The number of British 17-year-olds taking the driving test is continuing to fall; meanwhile, sales of rail and bus cards are soaring. (The Guardian)

Automobile sales in China, the world’s biggest car market, may be having their worst start in seven years as a slowing economy and record gasoline prices keep consumers away from dealerships. (Bloomberg)

Bicycle food delivery men in New York City: dodging traffic, risking injury, getting ticketed, and making less than minimum wage. (New York Times)

Gas prices in the Northeast could rise faster than in other parts of the country because of the closure of up to four refineries. (Boston Globe)

Want to see what a bike share station looks like, rendered in Lego? Pedal over to Brooklyn Spoke.

Top stories on TN:
NYC To Get Rid of Some Taxi TV’s (Link)
People DO Litter Less Without Subway Trash Cans. But They’re Not Happy About It (Link)
In the Bay Area, Transit Signs are Surprisingly Poor (Link)

A toll booth on the Verrazano being taken down (image courtesy of NY MTA)

Despite rising gas prices, February auto sales hit a four-year high. (Detroit Free Press)

Ray LaHood says he expects new rear-visibility regulations will be issued by the end of the year. (NPR)

Companies are adding natural gas vehicles to their trucking fleets. (NPR)

Senate Democrats and House Republicans are set to battle over transportation legislation that could have the same political dynamics as the payroll tax holiday. (The Hill)

One SEPTA bus rider in Philadelphia is fed up with listening to other passengers' cell phone conversations -- and he's firing up his internet-purchased cell phone jammer. (NBC 10; h/t Transit Wire)

United and Continental will merge their reservations systems tonight. (Marketplace)

Does the new Lorax movie speak for the trees -- or for SUVs? (The Takeaway; TN's cover is here)

AAA -- which sued the Port Authority over toll increases last year -- is backing a bill that would give the US DOT the ability to nix the agency's future toll hikes. (Staten Island Advance)

Meanwhile, the Port Authority is filing civil lawsuits against 20 alleged toll scofflaws from New Jersey on the agency’s "Wall of Shame." (Star-Ledger; list here in pdf.)

Westchester County residents got their chance to weigh in at a public hearing about the Tappan Zee Bridge project. (LoHud.com)

New York's MTA dismantled three unused toll booths on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge last month -- and you can watch the process via time-lapse photography, below.

The president of New York City Transit said Thursday that removing trash cans at two subway stations to reduce the amount of garbage has been a success – but straphangers are trashing the idea.