Kate Hinds

The MTA using portable water pumps to pump out tracks at 145th St. and Lenox Ave. (Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Leonard Wiggins)

This just in from Governor Andrew Cuomo's office:

RESTORATION OF SUBWAY SERVICE WILL BEGIN MONDAY MORNING

Buses Already Running in NYC; SI Railway Returns at Midnight Tonight

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Jay Walder tonight announced that the MTA will begin restoration of service on the subway system at 6:00 a.m. on Monday. The subway restoration is part of an MTA service plan that will restore some service to the subways, buses, and SI Railway by the morning rush. Damage assessment is continuing on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad, which was hit hard by widespread flooding and mudslides.

Governor Cuomo said, "Today government worked. Days of preparation and coordination prevented much injury and loss. The MTA will begin resumption of subway service Monday morning. I applaud the good work of the thousands of MTA professionals, National Guard and first responders for their advanced planning. Suspending service allowed the MTA to secure equipment, thus expediting the return to service. None of us should underestimate the damage caused by Hurricane Irene. One thing we can all be proud of is how New Yorkers came together as one. In the darkest hours New Yorkers shine the brightest. They did once again."

MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder said, “We still have a lot of work to do in parts of our 5,000-mile territory that were hit extremely hard by the storm, but we can now see very visible progress. Customers should stay tuned to mta.info for the latest updates."

Service Plan for Monday Morning Subways: With limited exceptions, service will resume across the subway system at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. Service will be less frequent than normal, and customers should expect longer waits and more crowded trains. Frequency of service will improve over the course of the day.

· Exceptions:

o 3 trains will operate between 137th Street/City College and New Lots Avenue; Substitute bus service will be provided between Harlem 148th Street and 135th Street connecting with the 2 train.
o C trains suspended; A trains will make all local stops from 207th St. to Lefferts Blvd.

§ No service in the Rockaways. (Rockaway Blvd. to Far Rockaway and Rockaway Park)

o 6 trains runs local in the Bronx
o 7 trains run local
o S Franklin Avenue Shuttle (FAS) Suspended
o N trains terminate at Kings Highway. Shuttle bus service between Kings Highway and Stillwell Terminal.

· The Staten Island Railway will resume normal service at midnight tonight.

Buses: Limited bus service was restored in all five boroughs of New York City earlier this evening. Service levels will continue to increase but may not reach normal levels tomorrow.

Bridges and Tunnels: All MTA Bridges and Tunnels are open as of 7:00 p.m.

Access-a-Ride and Able Ride are expected to be operating normal service beginning at noon tomorrow. In the morning, these services will help return evacuees to their homes.

Additional details on Metro-North and LIRR service will be provided as soon as they become available.

The MTA’s regular fare and toll policy will resume tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m.

As New York City undertook its first-ever weather-related transit system shut down, New Yorkers were greeted with a sight that many haven't seen since the 2005 transit strike: gated, taped off subway stations.

A subway station prepares for Hurricane Irene  (photo by Kate Hinds)

If that's not eerie enough for you, this picture of an (almost) empty Grand Central looks like it could be preparing for the sequel to "I Am Legend." (Full disclosure: I adapted that thought from Dan Diamond's twitter feed.)

Hurricane Irene: MTA Metro-North Railroad closed Grand Central Terminal as the hurricane approached. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Marjorie Anders.

At 11am this morning, a white board in the token booth warned customers that time was dwindling to get the heck out of Dodge (or in this case, the West 81st Street subway station):

Sign inside the West 81st Street B/C station (photo by Kate Hinds)

Want to check the subway service status? It's pretty straightforward:

Meanwhile, MTA employees installed barriers to try to prevent water from entering train tunnels...

Top stories on TN:

San Francisco's BART is debating when to shut down cell phone service on its subway system. (Link)

Houston's red light cameras are off for good -- for now. (Link)

Car thieves like American-model SUVs and pickup trucks. (Link)

Hurricane Irene from space (photo by NASA Astronaut Ron Garan via Fragile Oasis/Flickr)

Area transportation agencies scramble to prepare for Hurricane Irene  -- and NY MTA says it could begin shutting down the system on Saturday. (WNYC, WNYC)

Amtrak began canceling trains, and airlines are scotching flights and moving planes out of Irene's way. (The Hill, USA Today)

Chicago's senior citizens are mailed reduced-fare transit cards without instructions; confusion reigns. (Chicago Tribune)

NJ Governor Christie vetoes fracking ban, but orders a moratorium on the practice. (WNYC)

The agreement over when to hold Georgia's transportation sales tax vote has fallen apart. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

General Motors and LG are teaming up to develop new battery-powered electric vehicles. (Wall Street Journal)

A Cadillac Escalade (photo by Roger Barker via Flickr)

The Cadillac Escalade is more than six times as likely as the average vehicle to be stolen, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute, which just released information parsing the last two years of insurance claims for newer model cars.

Also in the top ten list of most costly insurance claims: several pickup trucks, the Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 models, the Chevy Silverado, and the GMC Yukon SUV.

"Car thieves aren’t going green," said Russ Rader, VP for communications at HLDI. "They’re after chrome and horsepower."

But they're also patriotic -- all top ten vehicles are manufactured by the Big Three.

The Escalade has headed the highest theft claim rate list since 2002. "Part of it is the pop culture appeal of the Escalade – it’s the car of the stars," Rader said. It also doesn't hurt (or help, depending on your point of view) that some people like to bling up their ride, installing accessories like aftermarket wheels that can cost thousands of dollars.

But sometimes thieves aren't necessarily in it for just for the vehicle -- they might also covet what's inside. A pickup truck stolen with tools in the back, or a SUV boosted with a Tiffany & Co. bag in the trunk can result in a big insurance claim for theft.

And you can put the image of seedy chop shops out of your head--these cars are more valuable in one piece. Rader said a lot of these vehicles are stolen by professional thieves who have figured out how to defeat ignition immobilizers, and "a lot of these end up on ships and they’re sent abroad." He said this is the reason why car thefts tend to be higher in port cities like Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Newark, or on border cities like Detroit.

Surprisingly, there is some automotive eye candy on the cars with the lowest claim rates. Newer models of BMW, Audi, and Lexus are in the top ten of vehicles less likely to be stolen.

Top stories on TN:

The car-crushing mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania -- beloved by bike lane advocates worldwide -- says tanks will roll again. (Link)

DC's post-earthquake gridlock raises questions about emergency evacuations. (Link)

Rating NYC's subway lines from best to worst: Straphangers releases their annual report. (Link)

Vancouver bus (photo by Matt Schroeter via Flickr)

Why aren't more Canadians using public transit? A new study tries to drill down on the reasons. Here's a big one: transit takes twice as long as driving. (Globe and Mail)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's first 100 days in office: he checked off two miles of bike lanes. Only 100 more to go by the end of his term! (WBEZ)

Amtrak is hiring an accounting firm to plan the financing for its high-speed rail proposals. (The Hill)

Governor Christie will announce his decision today on whether New Jersey will become the first state to ban fracking. (AP via NJ.com)

On today's Brian Lehrer Show: what does the future of Libya mean for the global oil markets -- and how will the oil-rich country recover economically?

Even though gas prices are lower, people are still driving less. (New York Times)

Auto manufacturers see Ohio as fertile ground for future investments. (Changing Gears)

Top stories on TN:

Selling rubble from the Second Avenue Subway project can be big business -- but it's financially risky. (Link)

Lots of arrests in the latest BART protest. (Link)

New rules protecting airline passengers kicked in. (Link)

Earthquake damage at 10-N NW in Washington, DC (photo by Andrew Bossi via Flickr)

The DC area's morning commute should be relatively normal, post-earthquake. The only exception: Maryland's MARC commuter rail, which may leave late so the crew gets enough rest time. (Washington Post)

On September 30th, the government's authority to collect federal gas tax and spend that revenue on transit and highway projects is due to expire -- making state transportation officials very nervous that they'll have to shut projects down if a deal isn't reached on reauthorization. (Washington Post)

Chicago and the city's Regional Transportation Authority are suing several Illinois municipalities and businesses to halt a "tax avoidance kickback scheme'' that is allegedly diverting hundreds of millions of dollars in sales taxes away from the Chicago area. (Chicago Tribune)

Connecticut residents vent about possible double-digit fare increases on Metro North and buses -- a move the state says is necessary to balance the budget. (Hartford Courant)

The Phoenix area is bracing for a possible bus strike. (The Arizona Republic)

The NYC Department of Transportation is converting unused parking meters into bike racks. (West Side Rag)

Well-known Upper West Side fossil shop to close; owner blames local bike lane for impeding business. (DNA Info)

Kentucky State Fair to bicyclists: leave your wheels outside the gate. (Courier-Journal)

A couple retrofitted the last Ellis Island Ferry and turned it into a floating home on the Hudson River -- complete with a chicken coop. Lots of very cool pictures can be found at Curbed NY.

President Barack Obama and his daughter Malia biking in Manuel F. Correllus State Forest in West Tisbury, Massachusetts (photo by JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Top stories on TN:

After months of political wrangling, Amtrak finally gets its $450 million to upgrade power on the Northeast Corridor. (Link)

New York Mayor Bloomberg wants red light cameras at every intersection -- and speeding cameras, too. (Link)

The wickedly hot summer is causing more tire debris to litter Texas highways. (Link)

Inside a BART station on Monday (photo by Ryan Anderson via Flickr)

Authorities repeatedly closed two San Francisco BART stations yesterday as protests against the transit agency continue. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Ford and Toyota will collaborate on a hybrid system for pickup trucks and SUVs, so the companies can share costs and bring the technology to the market sooner. (Detroit Free Press)

The feds say New York is behind schedule and over budget on two big projects (East Side Access and the 2nd Avenue Subway); the MTA disagrees. (AM New York)

Boston named an interim manager for its transit system. (WBUR)

BoltBus is relocating its West 33rd Street stop nine blocks south -- news which surprised many Chelsea residents. (DNA Info)

Inside Metro's 'bus rehab' program, where DC buses with 250,000 miles on them get a midlife facelift. (Washington Post)

The Star Ledger and PolitiFact fact check a statement about exactly how much NJ Transit has raised fares.

The parking garage where “Deep Throat” met Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward and helped uncover the Watergate scandal has now received its own Civil War-style historical marker. (Washington Post)

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is standing by her promise to lower gas prices below $2 a gallon if elected president -- a pledge that one Republican rival said isn't "real world." (The Hill)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a press conference Monday he thought red light cameras were "very effective" and that using that technology instead of cops on corners made sense a lot of sense.

(Photo: (cc) Flickr user JPMueller99)

Months of political wrangling came to an end today, when US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the release of nearly $450 million to upgrade rail electrical systems and tracks between Trenton, New Jersey and New York City.

(Update, 5:12 pm: Amtrak is the recipient of the $450 million. An additional $295 million is going to the New York State DOT to improve the Harold Interlocking rail junction in Queens, where a new flyover will separate Amtrak trains traveling between New York and Boston from Long Island Railroad and Metro-North commuter trains, and NJ Transit trains accessing Sunnyside Maintenance Yard.)

“These grants are a win for our economy and a win for commuters all along the Northeast Corridor,” said Secretary LaHood in a statement. “We are creating new construction jobs, ordering American-made supplies and improving transportation opportunities across a region where 50 million Americans live and work.”

The Northeast Corridor is the busiest passenger rail line in the country. Pre-construction work on the upgrade is expected to begin later this year.

The money -- which had been initially rejected by Florida Governor Rick Scott -- was obligated to the Northeast Corridor in May. But in June Republican congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, who represents New Jersey, proposed diverting the money away from the Northeast toward flood-ravaged states in the Midwest. This spurred New Jersey's senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, to write Ray LaHood a letter, urging him to release the money so work on the high-speed rail project could move forward.

Senator Lautenberg expressed relief in a press release. “It is great news for New Jersey that this funding has been saved from Republicans’ chopping block and awarded to Amtrak. Rail service is the lifeblood of our state’s economy and it is our responsibility to protect and strengthen it for our commuters,” he said. “This federal funding will significantly upgrade the rail lines for New Jersey Transit and Amtrak commuters, reduce delays that plague the Northeast Corridor and make our state home to the fastest stretch of high speed rail in the country.”

And rail delays seem particularly prevalent this summer. A derailment disrupted service on NJ Transit earlier this month (and renewed sniping over the canceled ARC tunnel), and in June, power problems hobbled service on both NJ Transit and Amtrak for three consecutive days.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg in Brooklyn's Steiner Studios, fielding a question about red light cameras (photo: Edward Reed/Office of the Mayor)

Today, while kicking off this year’s television season (23 series are being filmed in New York City, including the upcoming Pan Am), Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked about red light cameras in New York City.

Some background: in 1988, New York enacted legislation that permits red light cameras in cities of over 1,000,000 people. There are currently 150 cameras across New York City, and the New York Daily News reports that they brought in $52 million in fines last year.

Even though studies show that red light cameras save lives, many people oppose them, saying that they represent a Big-Brotherish invasion of privacy and that the motivation behind them is driven by revenue, not safety concerns.  Houston, Texas, is poised to become the second large city in America to turn off its red light cameras.

You can listen to the mayor's comments here, or read the transcript below.

_______________________________________

Question from reporter: There are reports that the city might want to install 40 more red light cameras.

Mayor Bloomberg: I think we should have them on every corner if we could. Using technology instead of having cops makes a lot of sense, and something, because of the economics, that we really have to do, and it does show that they are very effective.

Question: I had read that after a while people know where the red light cameras are...

Mayor Bloomberg: Well, if that were the case, the fines from the red light cameras would be diminishing, and it's not. So, just the evidence that you have, says whoever wrote that doesn't know what they're talking about. I'm sure there's somebody -- but if you know that there's a red light camera there, and you stop, rather than running through the light -- isn't that what we like? So I hope they're right, although the evidence says so far  they're wrong. But if they watch you on television, I know they're going to say 'I'm never going to go through a red light again.' And incidentally, if people didn't go through red lights, you'd save a lot of lives, of elderly and kids and that sort of thing.

The mayor went on to say that it's a particular safety issue for seniors. "I can tell you as I get older, you don't hear as well, see as well, you don't react as quickly, and a disproportionate percentage of people who get hit from people running red lights are ... the seniors."

Another reporter: what about speed cameras?

Mayor Bloomberg: A lot of places are using these...we can fight this all we want. But the world as you saw in the studio is going towards using technology. We cannot afford to put a cop on every corner, a firehouse in every place -- we have to find ways to do more with less...we just can't afford to pay to have people do a lot of things that society needs done.

Question:  back to city speed cameras...

Mayor Bloomberg: I have no idea. But we'd certainly need Albany legislation, because ... we can't impose a fine without Albany acquiescing. We can put up cameras, and in fact you do see places where there's a sign that says 'you're going 30 miles an hour, the speed limit's 20.'  But we can't fine you unless Albany agrees. That's the thing. We can put red light cameras on every single intersection -- you just can't use them. Maybe what we should do is do it and start publishing in the paper who does it and then the list of the senators and assemblymen who keep us from having cameras, and every time there's somebody hit, say 'okay, assemblyman and senator so-and- so didn't think that person's life...this our lives of our people we're talking about, this is not something cute, and we've got to do something about it.

(Photo by Doug Kerr via Flickr)

This morning's Brian Lehrer Show took a look at the recent Brookings Institution study about Americans who live without cars or access to transit. One-third of the no-car owners live in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania region, and Brian spoke to Adie Tomer of Brookings about people in the tri-state region who don't own a car by choice -- or could really use one, but their finances don't permit it.

Brian also took calls from listeners -- like John from Long Island, who called in to talk about his neighbor -- a house cleaner who gets to work either by bus or by bike. "The other day she rode from Massapequa to Islip to clean someone's house."  (Google Maps says that's 16 miles, one way.) And Lisa in Croton, who moved out of transit-rich Brooklyn to save money on rent. But, she says: "The money I'm saving I'm spending more on transportation."

You can listen to the conversation below.

Top stories on TN:

The Port Authority's toll and fare hike vote: a case study in how to rush something through -- or hot to get two tax-averse governors to raise revenue to pay for big infrastructure projects? (Link)

When red light cameras get switched off, violations skyrocket. (Link)

Over 30,000 homes in Houston have no cars -- and no access to buses, trains, or park and rides. (Link)

A poster advocating for bus lanes in LA (photo by Waltarrrr via Flickr)

Transit advocates in Los Angeles say cuts to that city's bus service violate civil rights, and call for a federal investigation of the city's transit agency. (Los Angeles Times)

The Democrats are trying to breathe life into the stalled highway bill. (Wall Street Journal)

An end to the conflict in Libya could mean lower gas prices. (Marketplace)

A new light rail system opened this weekend in Virginia's Hampton Roads. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Houston's Metro received $900 million in federal grants for its light rail lines -- but that money will be doled out over a five year period of time, if cuts are avoided. And that's a big IF. (Houston Chronicle)

Buying an apartment in NYC? Make sure it's near one or more subway lines. (New York Times)

It's contract negotiation time between NYC and the transit workers union. (New York Daily News)

The New York Times profiles a law firm that specializes in defending bicyclists.

Bicycling generates £3 billion a year for the British economy, according to a new study. (The Guardian)

ProPublica separates fact from fiction in its guide to prevalent economic myths.

More protests may disrupt San Francisco's BART today. Meanwhile, BART's board will meet on Wednesday to consider adopting a policy that would govern when -- and if -- the transit agency may switch off its cell phone network service. (San Francisco Chronicle)

TN Top Stories:

A derailment is sparking fierce debate over the future of rail between NY and NJ -- and a re-hashing of the old ARC tunnel bile. (link)

Who are those yellow-vested guardians of the crosswalk in lower Manhattan, battling Holland Tunnel traffic? Pedestrian traffic managers. (link)

Want a carbon emissions calculator with your transit directions? HopStop's got one. But will it change behavior? (link)

BART station in San Francisco (photo by Dennis McGuire via Flickr)

Today's Headlines:

Transit ridership is surging in the Bay Area. (San Jose Mercury News)

Employment in the auto industry in Michigan is expected to grow, with the Detroit Three hiring workers at a faster rate than anywhere else in the country. (Detroit Free Press)

President Obama urged voters to pressure Congress to pass a "road construction"  bill. (The Hill)

Mayors and county commissioners from across metro Atlanta missed the deadline to approve the region’s most important infrastructure plan in decades. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

There's been a sinkhole under Boston's Big Dig I-90 connector tunnel for four years, but state transportation officials are just notifying the public now. (Boston Herald)

In a first for the Chicago area, express buses that can drive on expressway shoulders to maneuver around rush-hour congestion are scheduled to roll in November. (Chicago Tribune)

NJ Governor Christie shore tour: he told voters he's against drilling offshore the Jersey shore, and reiterated his wait-and-see approach on Port Authority toll hikes. (The Star-Ledger)

Florida governor Rick Scott, who rejected a high-speed rail line, was asked about his decision by the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (The Hill)

If you're not a car owner and you rent cars, insurance can be ... complicated. (Greater Greater Washington)

In the neighborhood around the Holland Tunnel, just west of SoHo, a recent study found pedestrian cross-walks blocked one hundred percent of the time, and horns honking at a rate of 500 times an hour.  (Keep reading for more on this study.)

The Hudson Square neighborhood, which stretches roughly from Houston down to Canal Street, from Sixth Avenue to the Hudson River, was once, like neighboring SoHo, largely industrial. It was the center of the city's printing district, and most people knew it only as they drove through it on their way to the Holland Tunnel.

The neighborhood was rezoned in 2003 , and real estate developers aggressively courted media companies (including New York Magazine and  WNYC, which relocated here in 2008). Trump built a condo/hotel in the neighborhood, and gourmet food trucks now ply Varick Street.

Crossing the six lanes of Varick Street has become a daily challenge for the 30,000 people who now work in the neighborhood.

Now the local business improvement district has added a function that might, in flusher days, have been taken on by the NYPD -- private "Pedestrian Traffic Managers."

A pedestrian traffic manager on Varick Street (photo by Kate Hinds)

Hudson Square Connection, the local BID, has hired the yellow-vested guardians of the crosswalks at a cost of $90,000 for a the six-month trial project.  (Disclosure: WNYC's president, Laura Walker, chairs the BID Board.)

"Although we recognize the need to balance the needs of the regional transportation facility," said Ellen Baer, president of the Hudson Square Connection, "and of the Jersey-bound motorists with the needs of the local community...our concern is really for the people in this neighborhood, so it is the pedestrians [we're] trying to accommodate."

The BID hired Sam Schwartz Engineering to manage the program. Prior to the start of the pilot, which began this week and runs through January, Schwartz's firm measured three variables on Varick Street: the number of times cars blocked the pedestrian crosswalks; the number of times cars blocked the intersection, preventing east/west traffic; and the number of times drivers honked their horns. They found that during the worst of the evening rush hour, intersections were blocked nearly 100% of the time, and horns honked at the rate of 500 times an hour.

Sam Schwartz said his firm has been providing Pedestrian Traffic Management in high-volume areas for about two years, in locations like Queens Center Mall, the World Trade Center, and Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards. "We've crossed an estimated 70 million people already," he said. Schwartz said all the PTMs he hires are retired law enforcement personnel, and they receive two days of training. Because they're not police, however, they have no enforcement ability, and can't hand out tickets. "Traffic management is a police department function," said Schwartz. He says the job of the PTM is to be the first one in the crosswalk and the last one out -- sort of a cross between a traffic cop and a school crossing guard.

After six months, the Hudson Square BID will evaluate the program. Right now, the Pedestrian Traffic Managers are out on Varick Street from Wednesday through Friday, 3pm to 7pm. You can read more about the program here.

Top Transportation Nation Stories:

Anatomy of a Toll Hike Proposal (link)

Drivers are Ruder Than Cyclists, but Taxi Drivers Are Rudest of Them All (link)

Wanted: Someone Brave (Foolhardy?) Enough To Lead the MTA (link)

Both Parties Grapple With Furloughed FAA Workers' Back Pay (link)

Today's Headlines:

Chicago's El (photo by Phigits via Flickr)

Chicago's transit authority won't raise fares this year, but will make no promises for 2012 --  especially because the state owes the authority over $102 million. (Chicago Tribune)

The Dutch may charge drivers a tax for each mile they drive, and the government is piloting a meter that tells car owners the cost to society in the form of pollution, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and wear and tear on roads. (New York Times)

Former PA Gov. Rendell op-ed: to save our economy, we must invest in transportation. (Wall Street Journal)

NJ Governor Christie says he won't rule out toll hikes on Port Authority bridges; he'll wait to hear from the public and talk to Governor Cuomo. (The Star-Ledger)

Author Margaret Atwood gets involved in Toronto's bike lane removal controversy. "Are people like me welcome in this city?" (The Guardian)

A NYC council member says that East Harlem will get protected bike lanes in a year or so; the DOT is more vague. (DNA Info)

The FBI is investigating Portland's parking manager after allegations that he took kickbacks related to a parking meter contract. Said manager is now "on leave." (Portland Business Journal)

A plan for bike share in ten Indian cities gets a thumbs-up in an op-ed in The Hindu -- but a reminder that cities need to plan to be bicycle-inclusive.

A sociologists discusses urban bike messengers on today's Brian Lehrer Show.

Thinking about a career change? The intelligent transportation system industry -- the information and communication technologies that reduce traffic congestion and improve safety -- could expand U.S. employment by as many as 6,400 jobs annually through 2015. (Bloomberg)

Holland Tunnel (photo by Howard Walfish via Flickr)

TN's Andrea Bernstein talks Port Authority fare and toll hikes on today's Brian Lehrer Show. (You can read Andrea's article, "Anatomy of a Toll Hike Proposal," here.)

A New York Times editorial calls Cuomo and Christie's 'surprise' at the Port Authority's proposal "gubernatorial theatrics."

Just days away from a state-mandated deadline to finish a list of transportation projects for voters next year, Atlanta officials have put off key decisions on road projects while counties lobbied to keep their favorite projects alive. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Oil prices are down almost 20 percent this month -- which means gas prices will be going down as well. (Marketplace)

A computer glitch shut down BART trains for two hours Monday night -- but no one understands why it happened, and it could point to deeper, system-wide flaws. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Good magazine wants to know your best bike story -- and the winner can direct some money to their favorite biking charity.

The aftermath of a derailment is still rippling through the NJ Transit system. Bottom line: delays, delays, delays. (AP via NJ.com)  LIRR has normal service right now.

And what hath Tuesday's rain wrought upon the NYC subway system? Video below.

Two weeks of back pay for some  4,000 Federal Aviation Administration employees remains in limbo, though everyone seems to agree the FAA employees, sidelined because of a funding dispute, should be paid.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) unveiled legislation (pdf) Tuesday that would pay the missing salaries and benefits of the furloughed employees. “For the past two weeks it was important to get these workers back on the job.  Now my focus is to get them back pay and to ensure this avoidable situation never happens again," said Congressman LoBiondo in a statement. ("Never" could be as early as September, when Congress must vote again to authorize the agency.)

For their part, Senate Democrats had introduced a bill two weeks ago to ensure the employees would receive back pay, when Senator Jay Rockefeller had included it as part of his plan to reauthorize the FAA's funding.

Both parties' versions would use money from the Airport and Airways Trust Fund to provide the employees' back pay. The trust fund is the mechanism which collects airline taxes -- $30 million a day worth of them -- and provides the FAA with the lion's share of its budget. Jason Galanes, a spokesman for Congressman LoBiondo, said the fund has "plenty of money in it" and can afford a payout. Galanes also said that the FAA and DOT are still determining whether the agency has the authority to provide back pay. "This (legislation) is in case they don’t. If they do, then this legislation is moot and it will be at the secretary’s discretion," said Galanes.

In a blog post last week, US Department of Transportation head Ray LaHood wrote "we will...do everything we can to get Congress to provide our furloughed employees with the back pay they deserve." A DOT spokesperson said today that they were waiting to see what action Congress was going to take.

The House and Senate are in what's called a pro forma session -- meaning members can gavel in and gavel out and pass legislation by unanimous consent. Spokespeople for both parties said that providing furloughed employees with back pay has bipartisan support, but there's no firm schedule on when that will happen.

Meanwhile, the AP reports that all major U.S. airlines have rolled back fares to about the same prices they were charging before federal ticket taxes expired two weeks ago. Airlines had raised fares to match the amount of the expired taxes; now they're collecting taxes again, they've dropped their fares.

For TN's complete coverage of the FAA shutdown, go here.

(photo by Brian Rosen via Flickr)

Trucks of every stripe -- semis, garbage trucks, delivery vehicles, even fire trucks -- will have to meet pollution standards and trim fuel consumption for the first time, under standards announced today that will begin to be phased in by 2014.  You can read the White House's announcement below.

White House Announces First Ever Oil Savings Standards for Heavy Duty Trucks, Buses

Saving $50 billion in fuel costs and over 500 million barrels of oil

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama will meet with industry officials to discuss the first of their kind fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas pollution standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy duty vehicles and to thank them for their leadership in finalizing a successful national program for these vehicles.  This meeting marks the Administration’s announcement of the standards, which will save American businesses who operate and own these commercial vehicles approximately $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of the program.  The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the standards in close coordination with the companies that met with the President today as well as other stakeholders, following requests from companies to develop this program.  The cost savings for American businesses are on top of the $1.7 trillion that American families will save at the pump from the historic fuel-efficiency standards announced by the Obama Administrations for cars and light duty trucks, including the model year 2017-2025 agreement announced by the President last month.

“While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened,” said President Obama.  “We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium and heavy-duty trucks.  They were from the people who build, buy, and drive these trucks.  And today, I’m proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium-and heavy-duty trucks.”

“Thanks to the Obama Administration, for the first time in our history we have a common goal for increasing the fuel efficiency of the trucks that deliver our products, the vehicles we use at work, and the buses our children ride to school,” said Secretary LaHood.   “These new standards will reduce fuel costs for businesses, encourage innovation in the manufacturing sector, and promote energy independence for America.”

“This Administration is committed to protecting the air we breathe and cutting carbon pollution – and programs like these ensure that we can serve those priorities while also reducing our dependence on imported oil and saving money for drivers,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “More efficient trucks on our highways and less pollution from the buses in our neighborhoods will allow us to breathe cleaner air and use less oil, providing a wide range of benefits to our health, our environment and our economy.”

Under the comprehensive new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons. Like the Administration’s historic car standards, this program – which relies heavily on off-the-shelf technologies – was developed in coordination with truck and engine manufacturers, fleet owners, the State of California, environmental groups and other stakeholders.

The joint DOT/EPA program will include a range of targets which are specific to the diverse vehicle types and purposes.  Vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, and vocational vehicles (like transit buses and refuse trucks).  Within each of those categories, even more specific targets are laid out based on the design and purpose of the vehicle. This flexible structure allows serious but achievable fuel efficiency improvement goals charted for each year and for each vehicle category and type.

The standards are expected to yield an estimated $50 billion in net benefits over the life of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles, and to result in significant long-terms savings for vehicle owners and operators.  A semi-truck operator could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year and realize net savings of $73,000 through reduced fuel costs over the truck’s useful life.  These cost saving standards will also reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants like particulate matter, which can lead to asthma, heart attacks and premature death.

By the 2018 model year, the program is expected to achieve significant savings relative to current levels, across vehicle types.  Certain combination tractors – commonly known as big-rigs or semi-trucks – will be required to achieve up to approximately 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018, saving up to 4 gallons of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, separate standards are required for gasoline-powered and diesel trucks. These vehicles will be required to achieve up to approximately 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by model year 2018. Under the finalized standards a typical gasoline or diesel powered heavy-duty pickup truck or van could save one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

Vocational vehicles – including delivery trucks, buses, and garbage trucks – will be required to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions  by approximately 10 percent by model year 2018.  These trucks could save an average of one gallon of fuel for every 100 miles traveled.

Beyond the direct benefits to businesses that own and operate these vehicles, the program will also benefit consumers and businesses by reducing costs for transporting goods, and spur growth in the clean energy sector by fostering innovative technologies and providing regulatory certainty for manufacturers.

White House Announces First Ever Oil Savings Standards for Heavy Duty Trucks, Buses

More information is available on EPA’s web site at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm and on NHTSA’s web site at: http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy.

The first-ever fuel efficiency standards for trucks will be announced today (Marketplace).  You can read about the new CAFE standards for cars here.

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