July - 2019

Recent Posts

Archive

TxDOT's $6.8B 'Clear Lanes' Eases Metro Traffic

TxDOT's $6.8B 'Clear Lanes' Eases Metro Traffic

In an effort to relieve congestion in five major metropolitan areas, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is overseeing the $6.8 billion Texas Clear Lanes program. The project focuses on Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, where more than 65 percent of the Texas population is located. "Reducing congestion in these corridors is an ambitious task," said Texas Transportation Chairman J. Bruce Bugg Jr. "We are committed to working with local communities

LA tests wavy bike barrier to protect cyclists from passing cars

Research suggests a solid white line isn’t enough to shield riders Bicyclists traveling along a three-block stretch of Venice Boulevard Sunday enjoyed a little extra protection from passing cars. Just in time for a Mid-City CicLAvia open streets event, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation installed an undulating thermoplastic barrier dubbed “The Wave” in order to separate the street’s painted bike lane from vehicle traffic. According to the department, it’s a temporar

Uber will now show you where to rent bikes and scooters

Uber will now show you where to rent bikes and scooters

Uber wants to be the transportation company for everyone, no matter how passengers get where they're going. That's why the app will now give e-bikes and e-scooters the same prominence as car trips in two cities. Uber (UBER) will show rentable e-bikes and e-scooters on the app's home screen map in Atlanta and San Diego Monday. If the test goes well in the months ahead, Uber said it hopes to expand it broadly in cities with e-bikes and e-scooters. Highlighting e-scooters — incl

HOV lanes on US 75 in North Texas to open to all drivers this year—with occasional rush-hour tolls

Highway lanes once reserved for high-occupancy vehicles on US 75 will open up to all drivers this year after local officials reached a deal with the federal government. The HOV lanes on US 75 from Sam Rayburn Tollway in Allen to I-635 in Dallas will begin converting to general-use lanes—with some rush-hour tolls—sometime in 2019, the North Central Texas Council of Governments announced in a news release. Local officials negotiated the change with the Federal Highway Administr

Port of Houston could lose box traffic unless its ship channel is widened

Port of Houston could lose box traffic unless its ship channel is widened

Forwarders, shippers and the management at Houston are hoping for a speedy decision on dredging to improve access to the port. Container growth is hamstrung after the governor of Texas signed legislation that limits operations of large container vessels in the Houston Ship Channel, a 52-mile federal waterway that provides access to the port’s terminals. The bill that Greg Abbott signed last month seeks to minimise potential disruption in the ship channel by limiting the lengt

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao Co-hosts Latin American and Caribbean Ministers of T

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao Co-hosts Latin American and Caribbean Ministers of T

Above: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao is joined by representatives from 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries including Minister Dietrich of Argentina, Minister Gomes de Freitas of Brazil, Minister Hutt of Chile, Minister Montague of Jamaica, Minister Jara Risco of Peru, Minister Duguid of Barbados, Minister Méndez Mata of Costa Rica, Minister Sabonge of Panamá, and Minister Rodríguez Herrera of El Salvador at the first-ever Americas Transportation Summit

US legislators want to close TSA security gaps, improve covert testing

US legislators want to close TSA security gaps, improve covert testing

The chairmen of two US House committees overseeing aviation security have introduced legislation that would require TSA to implement an improved covert testing program to identify security gaps in its screening process. The Covert Testing and Risk Mitigation Improvement Act would codify procedures recommended by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), establish standards for the tests and require the agency to track and report progress in resolving vulnerabilities to Cong

LA City Council Vetoes Automated Trucks At Port Of LA

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – At a packed meeting, the Los Angeles City Council Friday vetoed a controversial permit which would have allowed for the use of automated driverless trucks at one of the Port of L.A.’s largest terminals. The council unanimously vetoed an action by the L.A. Board of Harbor Commissioners, which last week authorized the Danish firm Maersk — the world’s biggest container shipping company and one of the major cargo operators at the port — to bring in several a

TRANSIT AGENCIES TURN TO UBER FOR THE LAST MILE

TRANSIT AGENCIES TURN TO UBER FOR THE LAST MILE

TRANSIT OFFICIALS WORLDWIDE worry that ride-hail apps like Uber and Lyft are creating traffic and pulling passengers away from public transit. Amid that concern, Florida’s Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority in 2016 tried something unusual: It began to subsidize rides on Uber, taxis, or wheelchair-accessible cars that ended at a public transit stop. In a sense, the experiment made Uber into public transit. In many ways, the project feels like the future, an innovative embrace

Why U.S. Cities Aren’t Using More Electric Buses

Why U.S. Cities Aren’t Using More Electric Buses

Two reports from the World Resource Institute look at the biggest barriers to electrifying the global bus fleet—and how cities can overcome them. There were about 425,000 electric buses in service in the world’s cities last year. Almost all—99 percent of them—were in China. The booming industrial city of Shenzhen, in particular, is one of only a few cities to have fully electrified its fleet. The rest of the globe, meanwhile, is racing to catch up, and falling further behind.

4

5