Blog Archives
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Bringing High-Speed Rail to America - Part I
By Leah Harnack - Tuesday May 29, 2012
The US High Speed Rail Association held the first day of its High Speed Rail Conference: " Brining High Speed Rail to America" in San Francisco Wednesday, May 23. The day before the conference, there were transportation tours available. Tours included the Siemens manufacturing plant, the Transbay Center construction site and BART’s Command and Control Center. Experienced high-speed rail experts met with business and political leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities of bringing high-speed rail to the United States. The conference was held at Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. On the Siemens tour, attendees learned about its current operation and future potential. Siemens employs 336,000... -
Bus Roadeo Coverage and Some Friday Fun
By Leah Harnack - Friday May 18, 2012
We now have video coverage from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Bus Roadeo available on our website in the Media Center. The new videos include: Our latest Mass Transit TV episode , sponsored by SinglePoint Communications , includes coverage of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s new music and videos from Transit Boyz, a new and entertaining way to promote public transit. And there’s also highlights from the Roadeo and Customer Service Challenge, including an interview with APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy and International Bus Roadeo Chair Mike Hennessy. Houston Metro’s Transit Boyz’s “ Ballad of the Boyz .” Their recently released video to promote transit use, created by... -
A Quick Transportation Funding Update
By Leah Harnack - Thursday April 26, 2012
The House and Senate have their teams named to meet about where the transportation funding bill will go. The conferees will begin meeting as early as this week, but more likely when both chambers return from recess in a week and a half. The House's 33 conferees are: Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), Larry Buschon (R-Ind.), Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.), Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), John Duncan (R-Tenn.), Ralph Hall (R-Texas), Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.), Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Bernice Johnson (D-Texas... -
The Authorization Update
By Leah Harnack - Tuesday April 17, 2012
Congress is back and talks of another 90-day extension are in the works. The Rules Committee takes the up the plan from Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), to allow a floor vote Wednesday for another 90-day extension which would go through September 30. And, this extension would add a provision to speed the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project. The Keystone XL pipeline project would carry synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Some House members are also concerned that this plan doesn’t have more policy changes to trim federal control over states’ flexibility in spending the Highway Trust Fund money. The buzz this morning is about the conservative group Heritage... -
Transportation Funding Update: Three Days and Counting
By Leah Harnack - Thursday March 29, 2012
It's hard to keep up with everything going on and even by the time you read this things could have changed ... but here's the latest rundown of what's going on, on the Hill. While the Senate and House Democrats urged the House to vote on the Senate's two-year highway bill (S.1813) yesterday, the House said no and is going to vote today on a 90-day extension or 60-day extension. (Yes, that would be extension No. 9.) A vote for both is on the calendar for today. The House Republicans could vote it through on a simple majority, not needing any Democrats votes. Unless, however, enough House Republicans break away from their party. Chances are the House will vote to extend transportation funding at current levels for three more months... -
Six Days and Counting ... Transportation Funding
By Leah Harnack - Monday March 26, 2012
It has been 908 days since SAFETEA-LU expired and Sunday is the expiration of the latest extension. So what happens today? The House votes on a 90-day extension for transportation funding offered by Transportation Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.). Two-thirds must approve it and many House Dems oppose it, but it opens them to criticism if they vote for a shutdown. Senate leaders have avoided presenting an extension and they have been putting pressure on the House to go with the Senate's bill. The Senate could make a move for a 45- or 60-day extension but getting a unanimous pass will be difficult. In his weekly address on Saturday, President Obama said, "In a matter of days, funding will stop for all sorts of transportation projects... -
Getting the Message Out: APTA Marketing & Communications Workshop
By Leah Harnack - Friday March 2, 2012
This week the American Public Transportation Association ( APTA ) held its Marketing & Communications Workshop in Miami, Fla. The workshop brings together the marketing folks and the public information officers from transit agencies and the business members in our industry. Preparing for the Unexpected New to the workshop this year was a transit security communications drill. What would transit agencies do if there were a terrorist attack on public transportation? Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) were on-hand to run through scenarios with transit communicators. APTA Senior Program Manager – Media Relations... -
House Bill Struggles for Support, Senate's is Mired with Amendments
By Leah Harnack - Thursday February 16, 2012
The Latest from the House: (The House Bill: American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012 ( H.R.7 )) In the House, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) is struggling to garner support for the House Transportation Bill. He said, "Look, I know some of you still have concerns about this plan. That's why I want you to have a chance to offer amendments, to have a full debate on the floor. There is talk that the House may vote on the energy portion of the bill this week. As you recall, in an effort to overcome rising Republican discontent with the bill, Boehner broke the bill up into three parts : Energy and drilling, pension realignment and the transportation component. The drilling portion includes expansion of... -
The Funding Debates Continue and The White House Recognizes a Transit Industry Leader
- Wednesday February 15, 2012
The South West Transit Association (SWTA) Annual Meeting began this morning with a legislative roundup from each of the association's member states. After a state-by-state look, APTA President Michael Melaniphy gave us the latest up-to-the-minute update. As Melaniphy said, "If there is ever a seminal moment in this industry; this is it. We have never been under greater assault than at this moment." The first thing he mentioned was that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) delayed the highway bill vote until after the presidential holiday. "You have more time to go to the local district offices to meet with your legislators," Melaniphy urged. The bill was also broken up into three parts : Energy and drilling, pension realignment, and the... -
Urgent Update on Transit Funding
By Leah Harnack - Tuesday February 14, 2012
Monday at the South West Transit Association's (SWTA) Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, Colo, there were training sessions and technical tours throughout the day and the Opening General Session, sponsored by RNL Design, in the evening. The Opening General Session began with an overview of all that's happening in transit and transportation in Colorado and the Denver region. With more than 400 attendees present, SWTA Executive Director Kirsten Joyner said, "This is just a banner year for us." Also this year, the folks from FTA region 8 are also here and they will be having a regional meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. "So there are five additional states here," Joyner stated. There was also something else that kept coming up in the...
