May - 2018

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House Appropriations Committee approves FY 2019 U.S. DOT funding bill

The House Appropriations Committee recently released the FY 2019 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development funding bill. The legislation includes funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other related agencies. In total, the bill reflects an allocation of $71.8 billion in discretionary spending - $1.5 billion above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level and $23.8 billion above the request. The allocat

ATA chief Spear makes the case for infrastructure bill and trade agreements in NASSTRAC keynote

In a wide-ranging opening keynote at last week’s National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC) annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., American Trucking Associations (ATA) President and CEO Chris Spear laid out a compelling case for what is working in trucking, what needs to be worked on, and what needs to happen in order to overcome a heightened state of acrimony in Washington, D.C. In a wide-ranging opening keynote at last week’s National Shippers Strategic Transpo

Used truck market strong but more supply likely on the way as new truck orders soar

Thanks to a white-hot freight market, trucking companies this year have ordered new trucks at a record pace. North American Class 8 orders for March reached 46,300 units – the third highest month on record according to FTR. The 133,900 heavy-duty trucks ordered in the first three months of the year nearly doubled the amount from the same period last year and is largest order total of any quarter in history. “The current capacity crisis may be the worst ever,” says Don Ake, FT

Panama Canal adds new milestone with the passage of a luxury megacourse

The cruise Norwegian Bliss, with a capacity for 5,000 passengers, crossed the expansion of the Panama Canal on Monday and marked a new milestone for the interoceanic route, since it is the largest ship of this type that has traveled through its waters in its history. The Norwegian Bliss is "the largest passenger ship that has traveled the interoceanic way. It has a total length of 325.9 (1,069.2 feet) meters width, sleeve 41.4 (135.8 feet) meters and an 8.3 meter (27.2 feet)

Top 10 reasons to bring high-speed rail to America

According to the US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR), congestion relief, safety, economic development and an alternative to flying are just some of the top 10 reasons to bring high-speed rail to America… The US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) states that America is in big trouble on multiple fronts, yet the majority of its ‘leaders’ are asleep at the wheel with no real solutions being worked on, evaluated, or proposed. In response, the USHSR has compiled a list of the

Map: FAA Selects 10 Cities for Drone Innovation Projects

The Unmanned Aerial System Integration Pilot Program will give the administration insights into how it might relax drone restrictions in the future. The Federal Aviation Administration has a lot of restrictions on drone use that prevent, or make it very difficult, to use them in ways that would be helpful to government. Operators can't fly drones over groups of people, they can't fly at night and they can't let the machines go beyond their line of sight. But the agency is tak

Electrification: The final mile frontier

While a handful of players seek out the role of electric trucks in the long-haul segment, final-mile has proven a fertile ground for zero-emission transportation. Bryan Hansel, CEO of Chanje – a company who last year introduced a Class 5 electric van – says his company is focused on the final-mile segment, where maximum payload isn’t as critical and with routes generally under 70 miles, range is more manageable. Still, there are weight limitations. Chanje’s Class 5 electric v

Dramatic Dip in Accidents for Texas Transit Agency

The operations staff at Citibus in Lubbock, Texas, was challenged by their general manager, Maurice Pearl, to reduce the number of accidents experienced by their fleet. They've far exceeded expectations in just a year's time. The initial goal at the start of 2017 was to reduce preventable accidents by 10 percent. As of mid-April 2018, the scorecard looks like this: Preventable Accidents — down 31 percent Non-Preventable Accidents — down 46 percent Fixed Objects — down 39 perc

Driverless car service set to begin in North Texas this summer

A suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is reportedly set to get the nation's first self-driving car service. The service, reported Monday by The Dallas Morning News, will first be accessible in July for roughly 10,000 employees working in a bevy of corporate offices located less than a mile away from The Star, a retail and dining area that also serves as headquarters for the Dallas Cowboys. The service will also be free for the first six months. The California-based Driv

Are 'Trackless Trains' in San Antonio's future?

SAN ANTONIO — Could 'Trackless Trains' or 'Trackless Rail' be part of San Antonio's future? Maybe. I talked with San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldana about that recently. He said the new high-tech concept out of China is being looked at as a possibility for the future of some major traffic corridors - which are still being identified around San Antonio right now. The idea is something that basically looks like a train, but is on rubber wheels. And instead of a track or rai

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