About Transportation and Infrastructure

This page contains an archive of the last 100 entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest in the Transportation and Infrastructure category. They are listed from newest to oldest. You can find older entries using the search box below.

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Transportation and Infrastructure Archives

February 29, 2008

Minnesota Transportation Chief Is Out - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/us/29bridge.html?ref=us...
Minnesota’s transportation commissioner was removed from her post on Thursday by the State Senate after several years of concern about the department’s performance, the low point of which was last summer’s deadly collapse of a highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and its aftermath. The commissioner, Carol Molnau was nominated to head the state Department of Transportation five years ago in a cost-saving measure by Tim Pawlenty, a Republican who was then the governor-elect. Mr. Pawlenty said the appointment of Ms. Molnau, who was the lieutenant governor-elect, would save the state $108,000 a year.
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February 26, 2008

Plug-in cars could actually increase air pollution - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/environment/2008-02-25-plug-in-hybrids-pollu...
The expected introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could cut U.S. gasoline use but could increase deadly air pollution in some areas, two reports say. That's because a plug-in's lower tailpipe emissions may be offset by smokestack emissions from the utility generating plants supplying electricity to recharge the big batteries that allow plug-ins to run up to 40 miles without kicking on their gasoline engines. Plug-ins, called PHEVs, are partly powered, in effect, by the fuel used to generate the electricity. About 49% of U.S. electricity is generated using coal, so in some regions a plug-in running on its batteries is nearly the equivalent of a coal-burning vehicle. The trade-off is one that even plug-in backers acknowledge. It could undercut the appeal of vehicles that appear capable of using no gasoline in town and hitting 50 to 100 mpg overall fuel economy. If large numbers of plug-in hybrids were being recharged with power from the least-sophisticated coal plants, "There is a possibility for significant increases of soot and mercury," says a report by environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council. Soot particles can make it hard to breathe, especially for asthmatics. Mercury is toxic.
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February 20, 2008

Pilot Issues Called Critical to Delta-Northwest Talks - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021902513....
The Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines boards could meet as soon as today to approve a merger that would create the world's largest carrier, if pilots for the two airlines agree, according to people familiar with the talks. However, key issues were unresolved last night, including how the pilots would be merged into one fleet. With rising fuel costs and increased competition from smaller, more efficient regional airlines, big carriers such as Northwest and Delta are turning to mergers to improve their balance sheets and stock prices. A Northwest-Delta merger would create the world's largest airline by number of passengers, surpassing American Airlines. By revenue, Air France-KLM is the largest. The French-Dutch airline said last week that it would consider investing in a merged Northwest-Delta.
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Airbus expects half as many orders, cites global economy - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2008-02-20-airbus_N.htm...
Airbus said Wednesday it expects half as many orders for new planes in 2008 as it got last year after receiving record orders in recent years and amid slower global growth. John Leahy, Airbus' chief salesman, said at the Singapore Airshow that the European planemaker is likely to sell about 700 planes this year, down from more than 1,400 orders last year. "The market, in terms of new orders, will be going down," Leahy told a press briefing. "We have a record backlog so I would expect to see fewer and fewer orders as the market does cool off a bit." "By definition, the whole world is cooling down a little bit," Leahy said.
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February 19, 2008

Airfares from USA to Europe rise with fuel costs - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-02-18-europe-fares_N.htm...
mericans flying to Europe in spring will be paying more — in some cases, a lot more — largely because of skyrocketing fuel costs. An analysis for USA TODAY of ticket sales through Sabre, the world's largest distribution system, shows that the average price paid through Jan. 31 for U.S.-Europe air travel in April or May was 6.9% higher than during the comparable periods in 2007. The analysis looked at round-trip sales regardless of fare categories. Travelers are paying those higher prices despite a 10.3% expansion of trans-Atlantic flying capacity by the airlines. Typically, when the supply of a product rises, prices rise little, if at all. Delta Air Lines, (DAL) which has more service across the Atlantic than any other U.S. carrier, increased trans-Atlantic capacity 15.5% over the past year. The airline, for example, added several routes linking its Atlanta base to Vienna, Prague and other European cities.
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Amtrak Stepping Up Security Checks - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021802243....
Amtrak passengers will have to submit to random screening of carry-on bags in a major new security push that will include officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains, the railroad planned to announce today. The initiative is a significant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles. Amtrak officials insist the new procedures won't hold up the flow of passengers. "On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully mindful of that. This is not about train delays," said Bill Rooney, the railroad's vice president for security strategy and special operations.
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February 18, 2008

Airlines, Pilots Say Safety Plan in Jeopardy - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021503192....
Airlines and pilot groups say they may be forced to curtail a critical federal safety program after a federal judge's order requiring a regional carrier to disclose pilot incident reports to families suing the airline over a fatal 2006 crash. Pilots and other workers, including flight attendants and mechanics, voluntarily file incident reports as part of a federal program to encourage disclosure in exchange for confidentiality. The workers are almost never punished for revealing their errors if they quickly report them and if their statements are the only source of information about the incident. Workers have filed tens of thousands of such reports in the past decade, which regulators and the airlines analyze to find potential hazards. Safety experts worry that the judge's decision may lead some airlines to leave the program or deter employees from participating. "It is a dangerous precedent," said Kenneth P. Quinn, general counsel for the Flight Safety Foundation. "There will be a chilling effect on employees desiring to voluntarily cooperate in the programs."
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February 12, 2008

GM reports largest annual loss for U.S. automaker - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-02-12-gm-earnings_N.htm...
General Motors Corp. is reporting the largest annual loss ever for a U.S. automotive company. GM said Tuesday it lost $38.7 billion in 2007. The loss largely was due to a third-quarter charge related to unused tax credits. The loss topped the previous record GM set in 1992, when it lost $23.4 billion. That's according to Standard & Poor's Compustat. Separately, GM is offering a new round of buyouts to 74,000 U.S. hourly workers.
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February 8, 2008

Inspections on Bridges Are Falsified - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/us/08bridge.html?ref=us...
A veteran bridge inspection team for the Georgia Department of Transportation falsified checks of dozens of bridges in the metropolitan area, including 11 previously rated as needing repair or replacement, department officials said Thursday. Of those 11, at least one had already been replaced and the falsified inspection did not reflect the new bridge, said David Spear, a spokesman for the Transportation Department. Not all of those 11 were structurally unsound, Mr. Spear said. Bridges can be slated for repair or replacement if they lack upgrades like sidewalks. The officials believe the deception was an attempt to meet a federal reporting deadline and began about three months after a fatal bridge collapse in Minneapolis in August, which increased the pressure. In December, a quality-control team noticed discrepancies, including the fact that the replaced bridge had not shown up in the reports, and saw that photographs of many of the bridges were taken on the same day, according to time/date stamps, Mr. Spear said. Normally, inspectors are expected to complete 12 bridge inspections a week. This team was working at a rate of 18 a day. The team’s supervisor, David Simmons, acknowledged falsifying 54 reports, but the officials suspect that as many as 68 more might have been faked.
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Airlines Win Delay In Plan for Congestion - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/07/AR2008020703759....
The government has delayed by at least a month a plan to reduce congestion at the nation's airports after stiff resistance from airlines. A federal policy that would allow airports to charge higher landing fees during peak periods, and for other reasons, aims to reduce delays by encouraging airlines to spread their flights more evenly throughout the day. The policy, which also would encourage congested airports to include the cost of expansion projects in the landing fees, had been scheduled to go into effect in March, after a 45-day comment period. But airline trade groups, which oppose the plan, requested and were granted a 30-day extension of the comment period, a Transportation Department spokesman said yesterday. The Air Transport Association, which represents the nation's largest airlines, welcomed the government's decision for giving it "more time to thoroughly review the proposal and provide meaningful input," said spokesman David Castelveter. Airline delays last year were the second-worst since data began being collected in 1995, the department said this week.
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February 7, 2008

Concerns arise over regional airlines - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-06-regionalsafety_N.htm...
Capt. James Langford had slept for less than one hour the night before reporting to work as a Delta Connection pilot last Feb. 18. On Langford's third flight of the day, his regional jet carrying 71 passengers skidded off a snowy runway in Cleveland, severely damaging the aircraft and injuring three people. He was not at the "best of his game" because of lack of sleep, he told investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Rapidly growing regional airlines such as Shuttle America, which operated the flight Langford piloted under a contract for Delta Air Lines, have suffered a growing share of crashes in recent years. That's prompted several top aviation experts and federal officials to call for upgraded safety programs. Regional carriers had four fatal crashes that killed 85 people over the past five years, according to federal data. Over the same period, one person died in a major airline crash.
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February 4, 2008

Deadly storms strand air, road travelers - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/winter/2008-02-02-severe-weather_N.htm...
Winter storms at both ends of the country dumped snow and snarled air and land travel Friday, killing at least 10 people, blocking major highways and even stranding 400 train passengers in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Nearly 7 1/2 inches of snow was reported at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport before the front moved out of the area Friday. About 500 flights were canceled at O'Hare, which canceled 600 flights Thursday and housed hundreds of stranded travelers who spent the night awaiting planes from other cities also affected by the storm. At least 12 inches of snow was reported in Springfield by Friday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi. Other parts of Illinois saw similar amounts.
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FAA Exodus Sparks Concerns Over Fatigue - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/02/AR2008020201901....
The number of certified air traffic controllers is the lowest in more than a decade, raising concerns from members of Congress and outside analysts about the possibility of fatigue. The potential problem stems from a long-anticipated exodus of experienced controllers -- the result of a bulge of workers hired after President Ronald Reagan fired striking controllers in 1981. FAA officials, who say there is no staffing shortage, expect more than 13,000 controllers to leave the workforce by 2016. "This is going to get worse before it gets better," said Marty Lauth, a former FAA air traffic control supervisor who is now an assistant professor of air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. "You are going to have less controllers to work airplanes, and less-experienced controllers are going to be put into the situation of handling a lot more airplanes than they have had to in the past."
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Ford recalls 225,000 vehicles again to fix wiring - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-02-02-fordrecall_N.htm...
ord Motor Co. said Saturday it is recalling about 225,000 vehicles that were already repaired as part of an earlier recall to address concerns about a cruise control deactivation switch. Dearborn-based Ford says the affected vehicles represent a small portion of the about 10 million vehicles that have been recalled since 1999 related to the cruise control switch problem. Ford spokesman Wesley Sherwood said the automaker plans to notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration next week about the latest recall, which was reported Saturday by The Detroit News.
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February 1, 2008

Healthy alternative: Take mass transit - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-31-masstransit_N.htm...
Want to lose weight and look better? Improve your heart rate, circulation and overall health? Then get out of your car and hop on the bus or train. That's the message from some transit agencies that are appealing to drivers' health concerns. "All the new research over the last five years indicates pretty clearly the health benefits of public transportation," says Jason Jordan, director of the Center for Transportation Excellence, a non-profit research and policy clearinghouse. "A lot of people are walking more if they have access to transit." They're walking from home to the bus stop or train station, inside the station and from the bus stop or train station to their jobs. Among the efforts to spread the word:
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January 30, 2008

Controversy Dogs Inquiry on Bridge Collapse - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/us/30bridge.html?ref=us...
The National Transportation Safety Board’s working theory about last summer’s bridge collapse in Minneapolis — that it was caused by a design error four decades ago — has run into a peculiar problem: it contradicts much public belief. The conventional wisdom is that the Interstate 35W bridge, aged and due for major maintenance, collapsed because of neglect. Surely inspectors had missed something, or their higher-ups had delayed needed repairs until the 40-year-old span plunged into the Mississippi, the popular belief goes. State officials and engineering executives all over the country have joined in the chorus, arguing that the collapse, in which 13 people died and more than 100 were injured, demonstrates a need for expanded maintenance budgets. On Tuesday, the treasurer of Massachusetts said his state should spend $600 million on bridges to “avoid a future Minnesota incident.” But the safety board, in issuing interim recommendations related to the collapse, said on Jan. 15 that the problem had not been age or money. The design of the bridge that failed was no good from the day the span opened, the board said: an engineer in the mid-1960s had specified gusset plates, the big sheets of steel that tie girders together, of half-inch thickness when they should have been an inch thick.
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January 28, 2008

Drivers to see major toll hikes - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-27-tolls_N.htm...
From the Golden Gate Bridge to the New Jersey Turnpike, the nation's toll booths are getting dramatically more expensive to drive through. The sharp increases come as states endure financially lean times triggered by the housing and credit crunch and struggle to find money to maintain or replace vital infrastructure. Big toll hikes are planned for most of the nation's signature toll roads, bridges and tunnels. The increases would add dollars, not cents, to the cost of passing through many toll booths. For example, in March, the toll for cars driving on the George Washington Bridge linking New York and New Jersey — the nation's busiest toll bridge — jumps to $8 from $5 during peak hours. Truckers will pay $35, up from $25. "People view highways as free, but they're not," says Patrick Jones, chief executive of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, which represents toll authorities. He says Congress' decision to keep the federal gas tax at 18.4 cents per gallon, unchanged since 1993, has led to a greater reliance on tolls.
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DELAYED: The Soaring Toll - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/26/AR2008012602330....
For more than four hours, Doug Pinkham sat wedged in seat 19C of a Delta Air Lines jet as the plane inched its way through tarmac congestion caused by a winter storm that struck Atlanta's international airport on a recent night. His cellphone and laptop batteries died, preventing him from doing any work. He finished a book, then a crossword puzzle. Mostly, though, Pinkham just stared at the seat in front of him or chatted with his wife. The plane finally left for Washington at 2:55 a.m. -- 7 1/2 hours late. Pinkham walked exhausted through his front door in Oakton at 5:30 a.m. Feeling fatigued, he skipped work that day, missing out on important meetings and phone calls. He estimated that his unexpected day off cost his nonprofit organization several thousand dollars. "It's not just the delay that kills you," said Pinkham, president of the nonprofit Public Affairs Council in Washington. "It's the lost productivity at work. It's the missed meetings. It's the fact I have to deal with losing sleep and going through that ordeal and the fact it took me a couple days to recover." While declining on-time performance rates have drawn the most public attention, an analysis of government data reveals another staggering toll of late flights: lost time and money.
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January 24, 2008

Trucking industry faces rough road - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-23-truckershortage_N.htm...
A shortage of long-haul drivers is spurring trucking companies across the USA to try to recast trucking's nomadic image and recruit more women, minorities, retired military veterans and those who want a second career. High driver turnover traditionally has been a problem throughout the trucking industry, according to Ray Kuntz, chairman of the American Trucking Associations (ATA). But the road ahead, he said, looks especially grim. Because rail capacity is limited and air freight is so expensive, he said, the federal government projects a 31% increase in product hauling over U.S. highways from 2005 to 2117. Kuntz, who also is chairman and chief executive of Watkins and Shepard Trucking in Montana, said increased shipping demand already has made the shortage of long-haul drivers acute. A shortage of drivers, he said, means delayed deliveries and higher shipping costs are passed on to consumers.
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GM Still No. 1, but Not by Much - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012301709....
General Motors sold 3,000 more vehicles in 2007 than Toyota did, continuing its reign as the world's biggest automaker for a 77th year -- if barely. GM said yesterday that it sold 9,369,524 cars and trucks in 2007. Toyota originally put its 2007 global sales at 9.37 million but a spokesman in Tokyo later confirmed to the Associated Press that it sold 9.366 million vehicles. Toyota officials would not provide a more precise count, saying that level of reporting runs counter to company practices. Much of the ground GM has lost has been on its own turf. Toyota has steadily expanded U.S. production and pounced on demand for small cars and hybrids, with such models as the Yaris and the Prius. Toyota has also challenged domestic automakers' lock on the pickup truck market with the Tundra, which is built in Texas. Last year, Toyota pushed aside Ford for second place in the U.S. market, a position Ford had held since the Great Depression.
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Crash of popular Boeing 777 scrutinized - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-22-heathrow_N.htm...
British investigators are sifting through mounds of flight data to find out why a jet's engines suddenly refused to increase power, causing a Boeing 777 to crash just short of a runway at London's Heathrow Airport. Flight 038 from Beijing to London had 152 people aboard, 19 of whom suffered injuries. The jet slammed to the ground just past an airport fence on Thursday, ripping off the plane's landing gear and severely damaging the two engines and wings. The accident is drawing worldwide attention because the 777 is a popular jet. There are 687 of them in service around the world, 224 of which are operated by U.S. carriers, Boeing said. Before Thursday's crash, there had never been an accident that destroyed a 777, a long-range twin-engine jet introduced in 1995. The jets have logged 3.5 million hours, according to Boeing.
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Immediate Big Dig fixes expected to cost $100m - The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2008/01/24/big_dig_settlement...
About $100 million of the landmark $458 million Big Dig settlement will be quickly drained to fix a long list of defects, many previously undisclosed, from cracked sidewalks and crosswalks to failing fireproofing, faulty wiring, and deteriorated joints between sections of roadways. Although state and federal law enforcement officials announced yesterday that the money would primarily be used for "future nonroutine" repairs and maintenance, the state's secretary of transportation, speaking shortly afterward, said a quarter of it would be needed immediately to fix an array of flaws that already mar the system. "I would say there is $100 million worth of repair work and monitoring and inspection work that needs to be done over the next year," said Bernard Cohen. "The agreement resolves a big uncertainty that has hovered over us for the last year and a half or more, that is, how are we going to repair the defects in the Central Artery/Tunnel project?" he said.
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January 23, 2008

$450m Big Dig accord expected - The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2008/01/23/450m_big_dig_accor...
State and federal authorities are prepared to announce, perhaps as soon as today, a settlement of about $450 million with the firms that designed and managed the Big Dig, according to two sources who have been briefed on the negotiations, bringing closure to many of the legal battles over a project that has been marred by chronic leaks and a fatal ceiling collapse.
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January 22, 2008

Will Mergers Fly? - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/21/AR2008012102056....
Even before any of the nation's major airlines make formal overtures that could lead to mergers, lawmakers from both parties are voicing concerns about the potential pitfalls of consolidation. Merger talk, which is always simmering in the airline industry, gained renewed attention in recent weeks after media reports described Delta Air Lines' efforts to negotiate a merger with one of two other major carriers. Airline executives at several major carriers believe they should attempt a merger in coming months, according to some consultants and analysts. Mergers could boost stock prices and allow carriers to cut some costs to offset higher fuel prices while expanding route networks. On Capitol Hill, however, pro-labor Democrats are in charge of both houses of Congress and have heard repeated complaints from airline unions about pay and benefits cuts in recent years. At the same time, executives have been given bonuses and stock options. Democrats said they worry that mergers would only enrich the executives while hurting union employees.
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Answers Sought at Plane Collision Site - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/21/AR2008012100626....
Authorities were trying Monday to learn why two small planes collided over a row of businesses, dropping a macabre shower of debris and body parts and killing someone inside an auto dealership when one of the aircraft punctured the roof. All four people aboard the two aircraft also were killed in Sunday's crash, on a clear crisp afternoon that seemed ideal for flying. One victim was a student pilot, his family members said, but it was unclear whether he was flying one of the planes. No one else was hurt, though wreckage fell on three car dealerships, all of which remained closed to customers as investigators combed through the debris in Corona, about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
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January 17, 2008

Lawmaker won't back Northwest-Delta merger - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-01-16-airline-mergers_N.htm...
U.S. House Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar said Wednesday that he opposes ongoing merger talks between Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, saying any merger of major domestic carriers would hurt consumers. Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat and a key player in aviation policy, said any airline consolidation would result in a rapid collapse of the industry into two or three megacarriers. "I don't think mergers are in the best public interest, and that includes this one," he said. Oberstar's comments came during a conference call with reporters in which he confirmed ongoing discussions between executives of Atlanta-based Delta (DAL), the USA's No. 3 airline, and No. 6 Northwest (NWA). Neither Delta nor Northwest have publicly acknowledged the merger talks, and both declined to comment Wednesday. Oberstar told reporters he invited Northwest executives to his office on Tuesday to discuss the status of merger talks to avoid operating "on the basis of rumor."
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January 16, 2008

4th-quarter loss expected from airlines - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-01-15-airline-woes-fares_N....
Oil prices above $90 a barrel and a softening U.S. economy are putting a new squeeze on major airlines fighting to remain profitable. The impact should become clearer starting today when the USA's big carriers begin reporting fourth-quarter and full-year results. AMR, American's (AMR) parent, will lead off the reporting season today. Continental (CAL) reports Thursday, with most others reporting over the next two weeks. Consensus Wall Street estimates compiled by Reuters and Thomson Financial (TOC) show that the group is expected to post a fourth-quarter loss, ending a string of six-consecutive profitable quarters. Analysts generally expect two carriers, Southwest (LUV) and Continental, to be modestly profitable for the October-December period.
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Minneapolis bridge part designed too thin - Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bridge16jan16,1,571698.stor...
Federal investigators announced Tuesday that a "serious design error" was a key factor behind last summer's deadly collapse of a Minnesota bridge, but also said that the mistake would not likely have been discovered during routine state inspections. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said the Interstate 35W bridge had been built with gusset plates -- the steel parts that connect the girders, which support the bridge -- that were too thin to hold up the bridge with increased traffic and additional weight of infrastructure improvements.
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January 15, 2008

Panel urges gas tax increase to fix roads - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-01-15-transportation-panel_N.htm...
A special commission is urging the government to raise federal gasoline taxes by as much as 40 cents per gallon over five years as part of a sweeping overhaul designed to ease traffic congestion and repair the nation's decaying bridges and roads. The two-year study being released Tuesday by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, the first to recommend broad changes after the devastating bridge collapse in Minneapolis last August, warns that urgent action is needed to avoid future disasters. Under the recommendation, the current tax of 18.4 cents per gallon for unleaded gasoline would be increased annually for five years — by anywhere from 5 cents to 8 cents each year — and then indexed to inflation afterward to help fix the infrastructure, expand public transit and highways as well as broaden railway and rural access, according to persons with direct knowledge of the report, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the report is not yet public. The report also calls for rebuilding and expanding the national rail network to meet a growing demand for alternatives to congested highways.
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Fast, Phat And Efficient, Too - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011401891....
A year ago, auto industry executives arrived here at the North American International Auto Show under intense scrutiny from lawmakers, environmental groups and consumers demanding solutions to climate change and the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Now that Congress has agreed to an energy bill requiring car companies to raise their corporate average fuel economy to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, the uncertainty has passed and the industry's dynamics have shifted. This year almost all major manufacturers are engaged in a technological arms race to appear fuel-efficient while still conveying speed and excitement. Automakers have been steadily changing their product lineups, adding technological features and shrinking vehicles and engine displacement. Ford is equipping thousands of vehicles with turbochargers and fuel-injection technology that provide extra power but burn fuel more efficiently. General Motors and Toyota are in a race to build mass-produced cars that run on high-tech lithium ion batteries.
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Design Flaw Said to Have Caused Minn. Bridge to Collapse - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/14/AR2008011402782....
A design flaw caused a Minnesota bridge to collapse last summer, killing 13 people and injuring 100 in an accident that focused renewed attention on the safety of the nation's highways and bridges, according to federal sources familiar with the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to announce today that investigators have traced the failure to steel structures known as gusset plates that held together beams on the Minneapolis bridge, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the board's findings. Some gusset plates on the bridge, which carried eight-lane Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River, snapped during evening rush hour on Aug. 1, leading the bridge to crumple, according to the sources.
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Toyota pursues alternative fuel-saving technology - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/environment/2008-01-14-toyota-alternative-fu...
Toyota Motor, known for gasoline-electric hybrids such as its Prius, says it's branching into other alternative power plants to stay ahead of rivals. It will offer low-pollution diesel engines on the Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV, while doing more research on ethanol, President Katsuaki Watanabe said. At the same time, it will introduce Toyota (TM) and Lexus hybrids next year as part of its plan to push U.S. hybrid sales to 1 million annually in the next decade. By 2010, Toyota plans to build about 400 demonstration plug-in hybrids, which also can charge the batteries from wall sockets, to further cut gasoline use.
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January 14, 2008

Toyota Will Offer a Plug-In Hybrid by 2010 - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/business/14plug.html?ref=business...
The move puts Toyota in direct competition with General Motors, which has announced plans to sell its own plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, sometime around 2010. Katsuaki Watanabe, the president of Toyota, announced the company’s plans at the Detroit auto show as part of a series of environmental steps. Mr. Watanabe said Toyota, best known for its Prius hybrid car, would develop a fleet of plug-in hybrids that run on lithium-ion batteries, instead of the nickel-metal hydride batteries that power the Prius and other Toyota models. Plug-in hybrids differ from the current hybrid vehicles in that they can be recharged externally, from an ordinary power outlet. In a conventional hybrid the battery is recharged from power generated by its wheels.
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Avoiding Plane Crashes By Crunching Numbers - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/12/AR2008011202407....
For decades, aviation authorities played the role of homicide detectives. When an airliner went down, they scoured the crash site and flight recorders for clues that often showed how to avert future accidents. But with so few crashes in recent years, air carriers and regulators have been trying to find other ways to identify potentially dangerous trends. Instead of digging through debris, they now spend far more time combing through computer records, including data downloaded from thousands of daily flights and scores of pilot incident reports. The information is stored on banks of computers, such as the server housed in a windowless office of a US Airways hangar here. Like its counterparts at other carriers, a small team of pilots and analysts sift through thousands of records daily looking for the seeds of the next big air crash.
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January 11, 2008

Delta seeks approval for talks with United, Northwest - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2008-01-10-delta-talks-united-no...
Executives at Delta Air Lines (DAL) Friday will seek board approval to launch detailed merger talks with United Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Sources with knowledge of the proposal to the board confirmed that CEO Richard Anderson is seeking authority to start talks with the airlines because their route networks complement Delta's. The sources asked not to be identified because they're not authorized to speak publicly. Chicago-based United (UAUA) and Minneapolis-based Northwest (NWA) are strong in the Midwest and West and across the Pacific. Atlanta-based Delta's is concentrated in the East and across the Atlantic. If successful, a merger of No. 3 Delta, with No. 2 United or No. 5 Northwest, would produce the biggest airline in the USA, eclipsing Fort Worth-based American. It could also set off a chain reaction of consolidation among the USA's biggest air carriers.
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TSA: Fliers get more savvy on what to carry - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-01-10-contraband_N.htm...
Airline passengers may get more frustrated by increasing delays, but they're also getting smarter, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Passengers bring fewer guns, knives, machetes, chain saws and other dangerous items to airport security checkpoints, the TSA says. "People are understanding it better," TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said. TSA screeners spend less time pulling pocket knives out of passengers' carry-on bags, Howe said. They're more focused on looking for explosives, detonators and other bomb parts that are considered the biggest threat to airplanes. "It allows us to focus on things of real concern," said A.J. Castilla, a screener at Boston's Logan International Airport.
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January 10, 2008

Air Travelers’ Woes Likely to Worsen This Year - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/business/10air.html?ref=business...
The miserably full flights of 2007 might seem like a good reason for airlines to roll out a few more planes and ease the crowding. But passengers should expect just the opposite: some big airlines are planning to reduce domestic capacity in 2008 with the hope of driving fares higher to offset rising fuel costs. Barring a recession that reduces demand for air travel, travelers can expect flying to be more crowded and more expensive than it was in 2007. Because full flights cause airlines all sorts of operational problems, travelers should also brace for continuing problems with delays and misplaced bags. That means the chance of being bumped from an oversold flight could be greater, and finding a seat on a later flight will take longer.
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January 8, 2008

Four Wheels for the Masses: The $2,500 Car - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/business/worldbusiness/08indiacar.html?ref=bus...
What does it take to build the world’s cheapest car? For Tata Motors of India, which will introduce its ultra-cheap car on Thursday, the better question was, what could it take out? The company has kept its new vehicle under wraps, but interviews with suppliers and others involved in its construction reveal some of its cost-cutting engineering secrets — including a hollowed out steering-wheel shaft, a trunk with space for a briefcase and a rear-mounted engine not much more powerful than a high-end riding mower. The upside is a car expected to retail for as little as the equivalent of $2,500, or about the price of the optional DVD player on the Lexus LX 470 sport utility vehicle. The downside is a car that would most likely fail emission and safety standards on any Western road, and, perhaps, in India in a few years, when the country imposes tougher environmental standards.
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January 7, 2008

Enrollment lags for air pre-screening - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-01-06-registeredtraveler_N.htm...
A program designed to speed pre-screened airline passengers through security lines has proven less popular than anticipated in its first year, Transportation Security Administration figures show. The 13 airports with a Registered Traveler program have 65,000 participants combined, says the TSA, which oversees the program. That's about half the 126,000 projected for the first year by Verified Identity Pass, a New York City firm hired by 11 of the airports to manage the program. "We were hoping to have more," Indianapolis International Airport security director Reggie Baumgardner said. The airport was the second to open exclusive lines this past January but has enrolled only 5,600 people, Baumgardner said.
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January 4, 2008

Another Record Year for Orders at Boeing - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/business/04boeing.html?ref=business...
Boeing said late Thursday that it had received orders for 1,413 commercial jets last year, setting a third consecutive annual record driven by demand from Asian and Middle Eastern airlines. Orders for Boeing’s 737 narrow-body model finished 2007 with 846 orders followed by its new, fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner with 369 orders, making it Boeing’s most successful sales campaign. Order tallies were posted to the company’s Web site.
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Toyota Becomes No. 2 in U.S. Sales - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/03/AR2007120300874....
Ford was knocked from the No. 2 position in the U.S. auto market, outmaneuvered by Toyota's surging sales of small cars and gas-electric hybrids, according to year-end figures released yesterday. U.S. new car sales last year slid to 16.1 million in 2007, the lowest level in a decade. The figure fell short of the total for the previous year by about 400,000. Industry officials said they expected even slower sales in the coming months because of the high price of oil and anxiety over falling home prices and increases in mortgage foreclosures.
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January 3, 2008

$30 Million Fine for Mileage Violations - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/business/03fuel.html?ref=washington...
DaimlerChrysler paid a $30 million fine in 2007, the most ever by an automaker, for failing to meet federal fuel-efficiency standards, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The penalty was assessed for DaimlerChrysler’s imported fleet of cars from the 2006 model year, which failed to meet the corporate average fuel economy standard of 27.5 miles per gallon, an agency spokesman, Eric Bolton, said Wednesday. DaimlerChrysler, now known as Daimler, topped the record of $28 million set by BMW in 2002. The United States has collected $735 million in fines since 1985 from automakers whose fleets failed to meet car and light-truck mileage standards, now at 27.5 m.p.g. and 22.2 m.p.g..
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Truckers push for national idling laws - USATODAY.com

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-02-idlingtrucks_N.htm...
Interstate truck drivers are clamoring for national rules on how long they can idle their engines to keep warm or stay cool during federally-mandated driving breaks. Truckers say the patchwork of state and local laws is difficult to follow. The issue challenges state and local regulators, who must protect the air quality of their communities and the safety of truckers delivering vital goods. "It is the most frustrating scenario you could imagine," says Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents 159,000 truckers and small trucking firms. "The federal regulations say a driver must stop to sleep after X number of hours. How many people could sleep in their car when it's 96 degrees or 14 below without the engine running?"