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MARAD Administrator Sean Connaughton: Celebrating Progress

On a sunny day in August, the Bush Administration reached an important landmark in mitigating a potential threat to the environment of the historic James River in Virginia, as a decommissioned ship was towed away to be recycled.  I watched with Representative Rob Wittman and members of the media as the former oiler Truckee was towed out—the 75th ship to leave the fleet for recycling since January of 2001.

The Department of Transportation keeps ships in three National Defense Reserve Fleet sites—in Virginia, California, and Texas—to support Armed Forces movements and to respond to national emergencies.  When the ships become obsolete, the Maritime Administration arranges for their disposition in an environmentally-sensitive manner. 

In January 2001, there were 107 ships in the National Defense Reserve Fleet site at Fort Eustis, Virginia, near the historic Jamestown site.  At that time the James River fleet contained 37 of the worst 40 ships—that is, the ones most likely to deteriorate and leak oil or otherwise contaminate the environment. We had few resources to dispose of obsolete ships, but we got great help from the Virginia delegation and new incentives as prices for scrap steel rose.  Now, all 37 of those ships are gone.  Out of the 107 ships in our three fleets in 2001, now only 34 ships remain.  By year’s end, we hope to be down to 15. 

What’s more, we have taken measures to make sure that our old ships never again pose a threat to the environment.  The Department of Transportation instituted an Environmental Excellence Initiative, whereby ships have to be cleaned and emptied of oil before they come into the National Defense Reserve Fleet, so it is safer to keep them there. 

To learn more about our ship disposal program, check out our web site at www.marad.dot.gov.

-Administrator Connaughton

Congestion Pricing Gets Support from Academics

Congestion pricing and tolling have the power to reduce commute times, and make our metropolitan transportation networks far more efficient and environmentally friendly.  But some have argued that tolls disproportionately burden lower and middle class drivers—a premise I and other transportation experts do not agree with.  And this morning, it looks like we have more proof.  The Los Angeles Times is reporting on a study conducted by UCLA and USC on the effects of tolling:

“The study comes from Lisa Schweitzer, an assistant professor of policy, planning and development at USC, and Brian Taylor, a professor of urban planning who heads UCLA's Transportation Studies center. Taylor, in particular, has long been a vocal advocate of congestion pricing. The study has been published online in Transportation, an academic journal.

“Their study is based on the toll lanes on the 91 Freeway in Orange County. The two authors found that medium- and high-income earners tend to use the lanes the most -- and therefore are the ones paying for the debt service on the lanes.”

Read the complete column here.

-Secretary Peters

Reform Tour Rolls On

One of the benefits of our proposal to reform the nation's surface transportation program is that it will make funding and building new transit systems significantly easier than it is today.  That is because our current transportation system requires lengthy federal reviews for projects and arbitrarily caps the amount of federal funds that can be invested in new subway, light rail or bus rapid transit projects.

Under our proposal, we make it easier to fund good transit projects by giving urban leaders greater flexibility and more resources to invest in transportation projects that make sense.  That way, mayors and county executives will be able to fund the projects that will benefit their communities, instead of the projects that curry the greatest favor with Washington lobbyists.  If new transit lines make the most sense, our plan makes it easier to get them built.  Or if a wider highway is a better use of funds, then leaders should be able to proceed.

We saw that first hand yesterday with visits to Houston and St. Louis County as we continued our reform outreach tour.  In Houston, Mayor Bill White and the head of the local transit agency, Frank Wilson, showed me their ambitious plans to build a new light rail line into the northern end of this great city.  They want to partner with the private sector to raise capital to build the line, and construct a new transportation hub to link light rail with the city's planned commuter rail line and existing freeway network.  When finished, the new line and hub should cut traffic, clean the air and strengthen the city's economy.  And this project can be built with a large share of private sector dollars.

Hitting the Road for Reform

We've said it before, change is never easy.  But I believe that outside the Beltway, Americans are counting on us to improve our transportation system.  So this week I am traveling to five different cities in five different states across the country with Acting Undersecretary Tyler Duvall, Federal Transit Administrator Jim Simpson and Deputy Highway Administrator James Ray to share our ideas.  We're hitting the road to meet with local and state officials, members of the business and banking communities, academics and policy makers to discuss our plan to refocus, reform and renew the nation's approach to surface transportation.

Monday we started in Salt Lake City.  This is a city that isn't afraid to try new things when it comes to transportation.  They've been innovative when it comes to setting up new light rail lines and have one of the fastest growing commuter rail systems in the country.  And two years ago, they put in place an ambitious new high occupancy toll lane network along Interstate 15.  The network allows commuters who purchase a special decal to access the Interstate’s high occupancy vehicle lanes - giving them more reliable commutes and freeing up capacity on the other lanes.  While still relatively low tech, the system has already led to a doubling in the amount of cars using the dedicated lanes. 

Now state officials want to upgrade the system by installing electronic tolling sensors that would allow motorists with small, easy to install transponders to access the lanes.  The beauty of the system is that it allows transportation officials to easily vary the charge for access to the lanes based on overall highway demand.  That way, they can use pricing to keep traffic constantly flowing on the express lanes.  The one problem is, to make this conversion, state officials need to seek special permission from the federal government, thanks to the process-focused system we have in place today.  This adds time and cost to a project the state could otherwise move forward on tomorrow.

So I met with the head of the state's transportation department, John Njord, and together we spoke with the media about how under our reform proposal, the state would have greater flexibility and more resources to move forward with projects just like this.  That is because our proposal's Metropolitan Mobility Program would give communities greater ability to use federal dollars on the projects that make the most difference on congestion, instead of having to slice and dice every dollar into different federally-mandated buckets.  And we put an end to needless process requirements that require states like Utah to wait for Washington's permission to move forward with common sense, locally-funded initiatives.

Later, I had the chance to share these observations with Utah's Governor Jon Huntsman during a meeting at the state capitol.  I told him how states like Utah would benefit under our reform proposal and I told him the input of Governors will be critical when Congress reauthorizes the federal surface transportation program.  After all, if we rely on the status quo and don’t take into account the needs of the traveling public, we'll just get more wasteful spending, more out of touch earmarks and more process requirements that add cost, time and nuisance to the system.  The Governor, who comes from a business background, understood exactly what we were talking about and was eager to engage. 

The initial response we received to our new ideas and message of change was extremely positive and encouraging.  I’ll report on our successful visits to Houston and St. Louis tomorrow.

Deputy Secretary Barrett: Road Tour Gives America a Glimpse of Hydrogen-Powered Future

It seems that just about everyone is talking about energy these days, even celebrities.  Some make more sense than others.  I happen to believe that Paris Hilton got it pretty close to right when she said we are going to need both petroleum and new alternative fuel resources.    

Americans are getting a first-hand glimpse of one of those promising alternatives – hydrogen – as the Hydrogen Road Tour 2008 makes its way across the country.  Five years ago, President Bush issued a challenge to develop new hydrogen technologies as part of a balanced energy plan to help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign sources of oil.  Now these new hydrogen technologies have exited the lab.

Today, nine different automakers are showcasing hydrogen-powered vehicles in a two-week tour that began Monday in Portland, Maine, and will make 31 stops before finishing in Los Angeles.

I caught up with the tour in New York this morning, where nine vehicles were on display in Central Park.  From there, we crossed the river into New Jersey.  At Liberty Science Center, members of the public had the opportunity to take a ride in these cutting-edge vehicles, see a refueling demonstration with a mobile station, and even take a ride on a fuel-cell bus.

I was impressed with each of the vehicles, and struck by how far America’s innovators have come toward unlocking hydrogen’s potential as an alternative for powering the cars we drive.

Support for Reform

Last week, I introduced a plan to refocus, reform and renew transportation policy in America…and we at the Department aren’t the only ones who think the time for change has come.  As you can see from the following quotes, a variety of think tanks, business groups, government entities, and transportation experts are sounding the drumbeat for reform. 

The Congressional Budget Office—Congress’ budget arm for nearly 100 years said “there is a strong rationale for charging users for the costs of transportation infrastructure because they reap substantial benefits that the system provides. Designing and implementing a financing system that charges users of transportation infrastructure for the costs that they impose on the system can encourage efficient use of existing roads, rails, and other transportation infrastructure. It can also help in identifying needs and paying for the construction of new infrastructure in the right places at the right time. The charges users pay for the costs that they impose on the system provide a measure of the value of investment in increased capacity.” (Public Spending on Surface Transportation Infrastructure,” Testimony of Robert A. Sunshine, CBO Deputy Director, Before the House Committee on the Budget, October 25, 2007.

In the SAFETEA-LU bill, Congress created two independent Commissions to develop recommendations on the future of surface transportation.  Both bodies were supportive of significant programmatic reform.

The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission has said that “the absence of national investment priorities under our current surface transportation programs has been frequently raised, illustrated by long lists of highway and transit programs authorized in SAFETEA-LU, many of which are heavily earmarked…Many such categorical programs address narrow issue areas, arguably with meritorious intent, but with little or no overarching national interest. The Commission believes that surface transportation programs should be reconstructed from a ‘clean slate’ to allow for radical program reforms.” (Report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, December 2007)

And the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission argued that “reliance on fuel taxes may have been an effective funding approach in the second half of the 20th century, but it may not be sufficient to address the pressing needs of the first half of the 21st century and beyond.” (The Path Forward: Funding and Financing our Surface Transportation System, February 2008)

FRA Administrator Boardman: Intercity Rail Service Proposals to Compete for Federal Funding

Intercity passenger rail is an integral part of our nation’s transportation network, and with that in mind, the department established a new $30 million grant program aimed at improving such services around the nation.  Twenty-five forward-thinking proposals from twenty two-states will compete for funding under the new program.

The proposals are designed to improve the reliability of intercity passenger rail, relieve highway congestion, and increase capacity.  Some examples of proposed projects include installing advanced signaling systems to increase track speeds, reconfiguring track junctions to enhance operational efficiency, and constructing additional main line track to keep trains moving.  Most of the grant applications seek to improve existing passenger rail routes while a few involve planning activities for the creation of an entirely new service. 

The Department will review the proposals and determine final grant awards in September.  The plans will be evaluated based on several criteria, including inclusion of intercity passenger rail in state plans to address congestion and a project’s ability to reduce travel times, increase service frequency, or enhance service quality. 

The Time is Ripe for Change

Last week, I released a surface reform proposal to refocus, reform and renew our transportation policies for the future.

The plan starts by refocusing the nation’s transportation programs, with a significant emphasis on our greatest transportation needs--safety, the condition and performance of the Interstate highway system and urban congestion. 

The proposal expands state and local decision making and seeks to streamline the 102 separate transportation programs down to eight core programs, and reduce the dozen years it takes to design and build new highway and transit projects.  We also begin the long overdue process of weaning ourselves from the gas tax through the greater use of direct road pricing and private sector investment. 

While not necessarily speaking about the Department’s specific reform proposal, many national leaders have recognized that the time is ripe for change.

Delivering the keynote address at the American Public Transit Association, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said:

“Private investment is playing an increasingly larger role in public infrastructure. Innovative public-private partnerships are appearing around the country, bringing much-needed capital to the table. It is important to ensure that the public interest is well-served in public-private partnerships, since they are here to stay and likely grow in importance.”

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association reported last week that Sen. Christopher Dodd said, “There is no way we’ll appropriate the money necessary to fund our infrastructure,” and Sen. John Kerry added “We need to find a way to look beyond the gas tax.”

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell last week also proposed a four-part solution to support our nation’s transportation infrastructure that would include letting states and local governments assess tolls on roads where tolls previously had not been collected and using public-private partnerships more often.

Other leaders have signaled strong and direct support for our reform proposal:

USA Today Supports FAA’s Airspace Redesign Plan

In case you missed it, USA Today editorialized in favor of the Federal Aviation Administration’s redesign plan for the airspace surrounding New York and Philadelphia, citing the national benefits of alleviating congestion at airports that cause 75 percent of the country’s total flight delays.  The FAA’s plan, which has been in the works for a decade, provides a safe solution to one of our most pressing transportation problems…but the plan is under attack from local interest groups and politicians who seem willing to distort facts in order to score political points.

Indeed, USA Today ran an opposing view by Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who claim the plan does little to reduce delays and is unsafe.  But as USA Today’s own editorial board wrote: “pilots—who would be the first to object if safety were compromised—disagree. Capt. Larry Newman of the Air Line Pilots Association says procedures spurred by the redesign ‘have been safely used throughout the national airspace system for years.’”  And USA Today agrees with the FAA that the reduction in delays is significant.

I agree with USA Today’s editorial board that there surely is a way to compromise so that we can make a real difference for the nation’s air travelers without placing an undue burden on the citizens of New York and New Jersey.  The FAA has been willing to bend.  What about the politicians?

Unfortunately, this is yet another example of political and special interests impeding progress on transportation solutions that benefit the nation as a whole.

-Secretary Peters

GAO Issues Report on Need to Restructure Surface Transportation Policy

Earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report supporting a “fundamental reexamination and refocusing of the nation’s surface transportation policies”—just as the Department released our own proposal to reform, refocus and renew the government’s approach to transportation.

Citing increased demand that “for the past several decades…has outpaced the capacity of the surface transportation system,” the report recommends that Congress consider restructuring federal programs to meet the strain on our infrastructure that will be caused by “population growth, technological change, and the increased globalization of the economy.”

I believe the GAO report confirms what we have been saying all along: it’s time for fresh ideas, and a new approach to funding, building, and managing our nation’s transportation infrastructure.

The plan we released earlier this week does just that by streamlining funding mechanisms, making it easier for state and local governments to access private capital for infrastructure improvements, and reducing the fiscal damage caused by the broken earmark system.

I hope you will read the report and comment on the Fast Lane…it’s always good to get your thoughts!

-Secretary Peters