The US Department of Transportation released a document entitled USDOT Automated Vehicles 3.0. AV 3.0 expands the scope to all surface on-road transportation systems and was developed through the input from a diverse set of stakeholder engagements, throughout the Nation. AV 3.0 is structured around three key areas: Advancing multi-modal safety, Reducing policy uncertainty, and Outlining…
The Coalition for Smarter Transportation fully supports efforts in California to reject Prop 6. California recently increased their gas tax in an effort to raise funding for critical infrastructure and mass transit projects. An effort to eliminate that increase, known as Prop 6, will be on the ballot this November and its defeat is critical…
CoaST founding member Matt Caywood was joined by Alex Roy to develop a commentary calling for universal basic mobility. The concept is based upon the economic theory of ‘Universal Basic Income’ (UBI) which has long been talked about as a way to address income inequality. This article discusses how: Universal Basic Mobility would be a…
The Seattle City Council passed a transit benefit ordinance that requires employers to offer pre-tax transportation benefits. Seattle becomes the sixth city to pass such policy (San Francisco , New York City and, Washington DC), in addition to an ordinance that covers the nine county SF Bay Area. The ordinance exempts tax-exempt organizations and applies…
Governor Jerry Brown of California has signed legislation that would allow the City of San Francisco to tax transportation network companies. The issue must first be approved by 2/3rds of the voters in San Francisco and will not appear on the ballot this year. Under the legislation, if passed by the voters, the City can…
Recognizing the important connection between access to healthcare and mobility, the FTA announced it is making available $6.3 million for a competitive grant program to fund projects that coordinate with transit services to improve access to healthcare. The announcement in the Federal Register can be found here – https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/09/13/2018-19897/fiscal-year-2018-competitive-funding-opportunity-access-and-mobility-partnership-grants. According to the FTA, “the Access…
TRB makes Funding Available Through Their Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program The Transportation Research Board has announced its annual solicitation through its Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) program. IDEA projects are open to all entities including public agencies and the private sector. A research component is critical. The IDEA program provides start-up funding for promising, but…
In this “Transportation 101”, we are ‘POSITIVE’ you will learn something new. Positive Train Control (PTC) requirements are impacting transit agencies across the country. The oncoming Federally-mandated December 31 deadline and potential restrictions and penalties for missing the deadline may have a large impact on rail and transit services across the nation. CoaST will host a…
In this “Transportation 101”, we will review the numerous FTA grant programs and discuss which ones are discretionary and which ones are formula. In this Transportation 101 you will learn: The different FTA grant programs What each program can be used for What programs are formula vs. competitive Who has access to what funds Other requirements…
As we hit the peak in hurricane season today, you may have this upcoming CUTR Transportation webcast on Thursday, September 13, 2018, 12:00PM (ET) to be particularly relevant. The webcast is free and will be recorded. No pre-registration required. Connection information The Role of Public Transportation during a State of Emergency Declaration due to Natural…