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DOT_Logo_150pxWASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is announcing the availability of $22.5 million through the latest round of the Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program (LoNo) that will help deploy the next generation of energy-efficient vehicles nationwide. The funds are intended to encourage adoption of green technologies in transit buses, such as hydrogen fuel cells and electric and hybrid engines.

“These grants will help ensure that the future of mass transit is energy-efficient and friendly to the environment,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This funding will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and support the growing sustainable energy industry in the United States.”

The FTA’s Low or No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program was established under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). It focuses on commercializing the cleanest and most energy-efficient U.S.-made transit buses to help reduce emissions like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The LoNo program builds on the success of FTA’s National Fuel Cell Bus Program, which invested in the research, development and testing of alternative fuels and related equipment for the transit industry.

A Notice of Funding Availability for the FTA LoNo Program can be found in the Federal Register. The previous round of LoNo funding, announced in February 2015, awarded $55 million in grants to ten organizations nationwide.

“The LoNo program has helped deploy environmentally-sound, technologically-advanced vehicles across the country, providing a better riding experience for passengers and improving public health,” said Acting FTA Administrator Therese McMillan. “By reducing fuel and maintenance costs, these modern vehicles are a great public investment – saving taxpayer money in the long run while powering innovative American enterprises.”

FTA will award the LoNo funds on a competitive basis to transit agencies and state transportation departments working either independently or jointly with bus manufacturers already making low- and zero-emission buses. Priority will be given to proposals that, among other criteria:

  • Use tested bus models with proven effectiveness, especially zero-emission models;
  • Exhibit strong transit agency and community commitment, including technical and project management skills; and
  • Demonstrate understanding of and accommodation for public safety.

In addition, all LoNo procurements will have to follow FTA Buy America regulations and undergo Bus Testing at FTA’s facility in Altoona, Pa.

Of the $22.5 million available in LoNo grant funds, a minimum of $3.0 million is available to support facilities and related equipment. Transit agencies may also use a portion of their annual FTA formula funds to purchase additional vehicles.

In addition to their environmental benefits, LoNo transit buses will, in the long run, help transit agencies save money on fuel and maintenance costs. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, zero-emission buses can achieve up to 87% greater fuel economy compared to buses running on diesel and other fuels.

The White House Office of Management and Budget, Council on Environmental Quality, Department of Transportation join federal agencies in commitment to expediting permitting and environmental review for federal infrastructure projects

whitehouselogoWashington – The White House Office of Management and Budget, Council on Environmental Quality, and U.S. Department of Transportation announced new actions by the Obama Administration to accelerate the Nation’s critical infrastructure projects, including an enhanced Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard, new guidance to Federal agencies establishing metrics for the permitting and environmental review of infrastructure projects, and the first update in nearly 30 years to the Synchronizing Environmental Reviews for Transportation and Other Infrastructure Projects handbook (known as the Red Book) – an interagency effort spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

President Obama has been committed to building a 21st century infrastructure that will strengthen our Nation’s economy, create jobs, and improve U.S. competitiveness in the global market, while also improving environmental and community outcomes. From taking executive action through the 2011 Presidential Memorandum and 2012 Executive Order to speed infrastructure development and improve and expand permitting reform government-wide, proposing a six-year surface transportation reauthorization, the GROW AMERICA Act, which increases investment and includes a series of legislative proposals to further expand on efforts to increase the efficiency of project delivery, to releasing the 2014 comprehensive plan to modernize infrastructure permitting, the President has worked to ensure America has a first-class infrastructure.

DOT_Logo_150pxAs part of these efforts,  Federal agencies previously expedited the review and permitting of over 50 major infrastructure projects, including bridges, transit, railways, waterways, roads, and renewable energy projects, employing common sense practices like running different reviews concurrently rather than sequentially, and using the Administration’s online Dashboard to promote accountability for a shared schedule. Over half of those projects have completed the permitting process, yielding notable successes like the permitting of the Tappan Zee Bridge in just a year and a half. The Administration’s 2014 comprehensive plan offered recommendations to expand on those initial projects, and today’s actions fulfill several key recommendations from that plan.

Traditionally, the federal permitting and environmental review process can take months and, sometimes years to complete, layered with complex requirements and costing millions of taxpayer dollars. Today’s announcement takes major steps to turn best practices into common practices, building on a series of successful efforts over the past several years to modernize the infrastructure permitting process, and increase investment in U.S. infrastructure.

“To deliver infrastructure projects that achieve real impacts for the American people, we need to act with urgency and recognize that every day counts,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Today’s actions help us get there. We are pushing ourselves to improve efficiency, coordination, and collaboration, so that federal permitting becomes a sprint rather than a relay race.”

“Our Nation’s economy thrives when the foundation of America’s communities – from roads and bridges to ports and waterways – are built to meet the needs and requirements of the 21st Century,” said White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan. “Today’s actions reflect this Administration’s continued commitment to meet those needs by further improving the efficiency of the Federal permitting process in an environmentally sound way and accelerating U.S. economic growth and competiveness.”

“This Administration has worked hard to improve the efficiency of the environmental review processes to ensure Federal permitting decisions and environmental reviews are timely and responsive,” said White House Council on Environmental Quality Managing Director Christy Goldfuss. “Today’s announcements reflect the Administration’s commitment to conducting the hard work necessary to harmonize economic growth, infrastructure development, and environmental protections.”

“The Army Corps of Engineers is proud of partnering with other federal agencies to update the ‘Synchronizing Environmental Reviews for Transportation and Other Infrastructure Projects’, also known as the Red Book,” said Assistant Secretary of the Army Jo-Ellen Darcy. “The Red Book supports more timely permit decisions, allowing a diverse set of infrastructure projects to advance through the permitting process in a more transparent and efficient manner. Infrastructure projects will be evaluated and permitted faster.” 

Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard

In 2011, the Administration launched the Federal Infrastructure Permitting Dashboard to highlight and track 52 high-priority projects, such as the Tappan Zee Bridge, as they progressed through the required federal permits and reviews. Most of those projects have now completed the review process, many well ahead of schedule. New guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget and Council on Environmental Quality will significantly expand use of the Dashboard by requiring its use for major projects meeting a defined set of criteria. The guidance will drive better coordination across agencies by designating specific permitting and review schedules and milestones for each project to report. The Dashboard website has also recently been redesigned to accommodate this expansion and the Administration will continue to add features and functionality over the coming months.

Beginning in October 2015, under the new guidance, the eleven Federal agencies that play a significant role in the permitting, review, funding and development of infrastructure projects will begin identifying new infrastructure projects for which standardized milestones and coordinated schedules will be posted within 90 days. The posted projects are those expected to experience complex and potentially lengthy Federal environmental permit and review processes. Such projects would include major transit projects, airport capital improvements, ports and dams, electricity transmission and broadband internet networks, renewable energy generation facilities, and others.

The Dashboard update and guidance to agencies will benefit both businesses and the environment, as the efforts will facilitate faster decisions, save money, and increase agency coordination to achieve improved environmental and community outcomes.

The Red Book

To further
strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of the environmental review process, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led a process with a number of Federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard, to update the “how-to” handbook (also known as the Red Book), Synchronizing Environmental Reviews for Transportation and Other Infrastructure Projects.

Last updated in 1988, the newly revised Red Book provides practical, real-world techniques, models, and assistance to agencies to coordinate and better synchronize environmental reviews, permits, and other Federal decisions needed to site and build infrastructure projects across the nation. The new interagency guidance specifically encourages agencies to utilize the practices described in this guide.

Together, today’s actions were identified as key deliverables in the Administration’s 2014 plan to reduce the total time it takes to conduct reviews and make permitting decisions, while producing better outcomes for the environment and communities.

Secretary urges continued cooperation to build project. Project would reduce trip time to just over 2 hours from current 3.5.

DOT_Logo_150pxWashington –  The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the State of North Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia announced today that they have signed off on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed Richmond to Raleigh (R2R) passenger rail line along the Southeast Corridor. The completion of the FEIS is one of the final steps necessary before construction of the project can move forward once funding is secured.

“Without a strong passenger rail system, the Southeast’s growth will be choked by congestion for a very long time,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “North Carolina, Virginia and the Department of Transportation have worked together to bring us closer to high-speed rail connecting Richmond and Raleigh, and I urge everyone involved to continue pushing this effort forward. High-speed rail in this region is not a luxury but a necessity.”

The 162-mile route between the two cities would utilize existing and former rail lines for approximately 60 percent of the route and is planned to be free from at-grade crossings of track and roads. This route is part of a larger multi-state planning effort to provide high-speed passenger service between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In July, Secretary Foxx announced that the Department of Transportation would invest approximately $1 million to develop a regional long-term vision for the corridor and engage states and stakeholders to help the region form a governance organization that can sustain planning efforts and implement the vision.

“Today brings us closer to breaking ground on this critical project for one of the fastest growing areas of the country.  The project will improve safety and reliability, reduce the travel time between Richmond and Raleigh, and increase opportunity for jobs and growth in the Southeast,” FRA Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg said.

A recent U.S. Department of Transportation report, Beyond Traffic, in turn found that our country will add 70 million more people by 2045, and that the Southeast will indeed absorb a significant portion of that growth. The FEIS includes responses to comments from citizens, elected officials, residents, businesses and other stakeholders that have been involved in the process.

Data indicates that transportation industry growth will add 417,000 skilled and semi-skilled job openings from 2012 to 2022.

DOT_Logo_150pxWASHINGTON – The U.S. Departments of Transportation, Education, and Labor today released a joint report entitled “Strengthening Skills Training and Career Pathways across the Transportation Industry.” The report details the future growth areas or employment “hot spots” in transportation by industry subsectors, occupations, career areas, and geographic areas. It also identifies good-paying, high-demand transportation jobs and analyzes the patterns in the education and work experience required for entry, including on-the-job training requirements for new entrants to gain full competency.

“Careers in the transportation industry can lift Americans into the middle class or help them stay there, and this report concludes that there will be more job opportunities in the near future,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. “We want to fill all these new positions, so industry and government must increase recruitment and help young people get the skills, training, and apprenticeships they need to gain entry into these careers.” 

The report indicates that employers will need to hire and train a total of 4.6 million new workers – 1.2 times the current transportation workforce – dueDOL_laborto expected growth, retirements, and turnover in the transportation industry from 2012 to 2022. Projections suggest that 417,000 of these positions will be created as a direct result to increased demand on our transportation systems. The highest percentage of these jobs will be in transit and ground passenger transportation and these new openings will be concentrated in the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, the upper Mid-Atlantic, several Mountain States, and the Midwest.

Much of the regional transportation job growth is driven by growth in the large metropolitan areas within those regions – the highest number of job openings in transportation will likely be generated in New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago. In addition, these jobs will pay relatively well. Thirteen out of the top 20 highest demand transportation jobs pay above the median wage, sometimes substantially.

“Ensuring that America continues to lead the way in the global economy means not only investing in the physical infrastructure that allows us to move goods and keep up with global demand, but also the skills infrastructure to support this growing workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “Through smart investments in apprenticeships and other work-based training programs, transportation jobs are helping millions of Americans punch their tickets to the middle class.”

DeptOfEducation-SealWhile demand for transportation workers will vary by region, subsector, and occupation, these workforce changes will result in increased job opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled workers across the transportation sector. For every future job opening in central services or construction in the transportation industry, there will be an estimated two jobs in maintenance and 21 in operations. The recruitment and training of new and current workers responsible for the operation, maintenance, and construction of America’s transportation infrastructure will be critical to maintaining a system that meets our economic and security needs in the 21st century global economy.

But the report also highlights a significant skills gap in the demand for and supply of high skilled workers; it indicates that projected annual job openings are 68 percent larger than the number of students who are completing related educational programs annually across selected transportation occupational groups. One solution is an increase in Career and Technical Education programs of study. Such programs begin in high school and continue into postsecondary education or apprenticeship and provide the foundational and early occupational skills training needed in skilled occupations. Pre-apprenticeship programs for disadvantaged youth and adults can prepare low-skilled and underrepresented populations for entry into these skilled positions. Furthermore, Career Pathways systems that are aligned with Registered Apprenticeship programs can expand the number of people who can access these high-demand jobs.

“In today’s society, it is important that all of our students are well-equipped with the knowledge and skills to compete in a global economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “There are incredible opportunities for Americans in the transportation industry and the Department is fully committed to working with leaders in the industry to promote partnerships between education and workforce institutions in order to support training programs that will help our country succeed.”

Read the full report here.

Wytkind
Wytkind

WASHINGTON — In a letter to the leadership of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), together with member unions and coalition partners, is urging lawmakers to follow established protocol for developing federal drug testing procedures and exclude provisions for hair specimen testing from any House surface transportation bill.

Historically, experts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have determined how and when new drug testing procedures should be administered. Those guidelines are then used by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create federal drug testing standards for bus and truck drivers, and other transportation employees.

HHS has not determined whether hair is a valid and reliable specimen for use in federal drug tests and has not issued technical guidelines permitting its use. Despite this, a provision in the Senate’s version of the surface transportation bill would circumvent HHS and allow bus and truck companies to use hair samples to comply with DOT drug testing.

“The Senate has undermined the expertise of scientists and potentially jeopardized the jobs of thousands of bus and truck drivers with this unproven testing method,” said TTD President Edward Wytkind. “We urge the House to reject the Senate’s hair testing provision and ensure that federal drug tests are backed by scientific and forensically sound evidence. Nothing less should be acceptable.”

Studies show that hair testing may have an inherent racial bias. Darker and more porous hair retains some drugs at greater rates than lighter hair. Hair specimen can also cause individuals to test positive for drugs they never ingested, as drugs from the environment can absorb into hair and cause positive results.

“The science behind hair testing is questionable and the drug test results it produces may be discriminatory and could produce false positives,” Wytkind warned.

The following organizations joined TTD on the letter:

American Civil Liberties Union
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
Air Line Pilots Association
American Medical Review Officers, LLC
American Train Dispatchers Association
Amalgamated Transit Union
Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice
National Air Traffic Controllers Association
National Workrights Institute
Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division
Sailors’ Union of the Pacific
Transport Workers Union of America
United Steelworkers

DOT_Logo_150pxLast month at NHTSA, we brought together many of our safety partners to discuss how we might better protect children when they ride school buses.

Today, thankfully, school buses are the safest way for children to get around. On average each year, four school-age children lost their lives in bus crashes from 2000 to 2012. Contrast that with the 490 school-age children killed in passenger vehicle crashes over that same time period and you begin to understand why parents can feel confident in their children’s safety when they get on the big yellow bus.

That said, NHTSA doesn’t accept that we have to lose any children in school bus tragedies—not a single one—and we brought experts together to ask tough questions about whether –and how– we can make school bus travel even safer.

As you might have guessed, one of the first questions many parents ask is, “Why aren’t there seat belts on school buses?”

And, although school bus design and school bus seats provide compartmentalized protection, we want to continue asking the questions that parents are asking about seat belts while also pursuing other promising avenues toward greater safety.

We began our day with presentations from NHTSA about school bus activities from Dr. Shashi Kuppa, followed by Dr. Kris Poland of the National Transportation Safety Board. We were also joined by representatives from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, the National School Transportation Association, and local school transportation directors.

At the end of the day, it was clear that loading zone safety, seat belt usage, and distraction all play a role in the overall safety of student transportation.

With the information gathered from this meeting, the NHTSA team will be able to identify operational and policy challenges and solutions, and explore innovative funding approaches that could serve as a catalyst for change in the coming months.

While current data do establish the relative safety of school buses, our children aren’t data points.  That’s why we’ve made the safety of the big yellow buses that bring them to and from school each day our priority today at NHTSA.

School buses are safe; we can make them safer.

TIGER 2015 applications totaled $9.8 billion, far exceeding the $500 million for the program

DOT_Logo_150pxWashington, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation for its seventh round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants totaled $9.8 billion, almost 20 times the $500 million set aside for the program, demonstrating the continued need for transportation investment nationwide. The demand for infrastructure investments from across the nation, and for all types of transportation projects, has been overwhelming.  Among the 625 applications received this year, 60 percent are road projects, 18 percent are transit projects, and 8 percent are rail projects; with port and bicycle-pedestrian applications each representing 6 percent of the total. The Department received 625 eligible construction applications from all 50 states and U.S. territories. There were 565 such applications in 2014.

“The consistent number of high quality projects we’re unable to fund through TIGER every year demonstrates the need for Congress to act to give more communities access to this vital lifeline,” Secretary Foxx said. “That is why we proposed doubling TIGER in the GROW AMERICA Act.”

Earlier this year, the Department reintroduced an improved surface transportation reauthorization bill, the GROW AMERICA Act.  The bill would provide $7.5 billion in funding over six years for the TIGER grant program. Under the GROW AMERICA Act, the TIGER grant program will be available for another six years, extending a proven track record of helping communities coordinate innovative, multi-modal transportation projects that serve the diverse travel needs of their residents and businesses in the 21st Century.

The highly competitive TIGER program, which began as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, offers federal funding possibilities for large, transformative multi-modal projects.  These federal funds leverage money from private sector partners, state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies.  The $584.1 million awarded under TIGER 2014 supported 72 capital and planning transportation projects in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

Congress provided the most recent funding as part of the bipartisan Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, signed by President Obama on December 16, 2014.

Since 2009, the TIGER grant program has provided a combined $4.1 billion to 342 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Demand has been overwhelming, and during the previous six rounds, the Department received more than 6,000 applications requesting more than $124 billion for transportation projects across the country.

More information about previous years’ TIGER grantees as well as this year’s application process can be found at http://www.transportation.gov/tiger.

FRA_logo_wordsWASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today issued a final rule to prevent unattended trains that carry crude, ethanol, poisonous by inhalation (PIH), toxic by inhalation (TIH), and other highly flammable contents from rolling away.  Railroad employees who are responsible for securing a train will now be permanently required to communicate with another qualified individual trained on the railroad’s securement requirements to verify that trains and equipment are properly secured.  

“Today’s rule is part of the Department of Transportation’s comprehensive effort to bolster the safety of trains transporting crude oil and other highly flammable contents,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.  “Verifying that a train has been properly secured is a common sense solution to prevent accidents.”

The final rule will go into effect 60 days from publication in the Federal Register. Exterior locks on locomotives will also be required by March 1, 2017, and must be utilized when a locomotive has been left unattended.

Today’s rule requirements include:

  • A qualified and trained railroad employee to properly secure the equipment and verification of the securement with a second trained and qualified employee;   
  • Additional communication, including job briefings among crew members responsible for the train securement;
  • Properly installed and utilized exterior locks on locomotives;
  • The setting of sufficient handbrakes;
  • Removal of the train reverser; and
  • The proper use of train air brakes.

The rule applies to the following trains left unattended on a mainline, siding, and rail yard:

  • Trains carrying any poisonous by inhalation (PIH) and toxic by inhalation (TIH) hazardous materials; and
  • Trains carrying 20 or more cars of other high-hazard flammable materials.  

“Where the Federal Railroad Administration can take smart steps to quickly raise the bar on safety, it will, and that is exactly what we are doing today.  Requiring that an additional, trained individual double check that the handbrakes have been set on a train will help stop preventable accidents,” said Acting Administrator Sarah Feinberg.  “While today’s rule came out of a lesson learned from the Lac-Mégantic derailment, FRA will not hesitate to take additional actions to keep the rail system in the United States safe.”

On July 6, 2013, an unattended 74-car freight train carrying Bakken crude oil rolled downhill and derailed in Lac-Mégantic, Canada.  Forty-seven people died and many more were injured.  While the Canadian government found that there were nearly 20 causes of the accident, a major cause was that the engineer of the train did not properly secure the train.

Since the Lac-Mégantic derailment, DOT has taken more than 30 actions, including regulations, emergency orders, and safety advisories, to prevent train accidents and improve the safety of high-hazard flammable trains.

To view a copy of the Final Rule, click here.

DOT_Logo_150pxWashington, D.C. – The Highway Trust Fund is set to expire on July 31. Without action from Congress, federal funding for transportation will come to a screeching halt. And with it, so will traffic in many places across the country.

Over the last six years, Congress has passed 33 short-term measures rather than funding transportation for the long term. And our transportation system –our roads and bridges, especially– is in a dire state of disrepair because of it. The table of state-by-state road and bridge conditions, shown below, demonstrates this.

Experts agree: The only way to prepare our transportation system for the next generation is to stop this cycle of short-term measures and pass a long-term transportation bill.

U.S. road and bridge data by state 

StateStructurally Deficient / Functionally Obsolete Bridges*Annual Total Extra Vehicle Repairs / Operating Costs Due to Driving on Roads in Need of Fixing**Percentage of Roads in Poor / Mediocre Condition**
ALABAMA3,608 of the 16,078 (22.4%)$530 million ($141 per motorist)25%
ALASKA290 of the 1,196 (24.2%)$181 million ($359 per motorist)49%
ARIZONA954 of the 7,862 (12.1%)$887 million ($205 per motorist)52%
ARKANSAS2,894 of the 12,748 (22.7%)$634 million ($308 per motorist)39%
CALIFORNIA6,953 of the 24,955 (27.9%)$13.892 billion ($586 per motorist)68%
COLORADO1,438 of the 8,612 (16.7%)$1.034 billion ($287 per motorist)70%
CONNECTICUT1,472 of the 4,218 (34.9%)$847 million ($294 per motorist)73%
DELAWARE177 of the 864 (20.5%)$168 million ($257 per motorist.36%
FLORIDA2,044 of the 12,070 (16.9%)$1.792 billion ($128 per motorist)26%
GEORGIA2,600 of the 14,769 (17.6%)$374 million ($60 per motorist)19%
HAWAII494 of the 1,125 (43.9%)$456 million ($515 per motorist)49%
IDAHO859 of the 4,232 (20.3%)$316 million ($305 per motorist)45%
ILLINOIS4,246 of the 26,621 (15.9%)$2.4 billion ($292 per motorist)73%
INDIANA4,168 of the 18,953 (22%)$1.249 billion ($225 per motorist)17%
IOWA6,271 of the 24,398 (25.7%)$756 million ($381 per motorist)46%
KANSAS4,465 of the 25,171 (17.7%)$646 million ($319 per motorist)62%
KENTUCKY4,436 of the 14,116 (31.4%)$543 million ($185 per motorist)34%
LOUISIANA3,790 of the 13,050 (29%)$1.2 billion ($408 per motorist)62%
MAINE791 of the 2,402 (32.9%)$246 million ($245 per motorist)53%
MARYLAND1,418 of the 5,291 (26.8%)$1.598 billion ($422 per motorist)55%
MASSACHUSETTS2,694 of the 5,136 (52.5%)$1.461 billion ($313 per motorist)42%
MICHIGAN3,018 of the 11,022 (27.4%)$2.534 billion ($357 per motorist)38%
MINNESOTA1,513 of the 13,137 (11.5%)$797 million ($250 per motorist)52%
MISSISSIPPI3,636 of the 17,044 (21.3%)$811 million ($419 per motorist)51%
MISSOURI6,633 of the 24,350 (27.2%)$1.6 billion ($380 per motorist)31%
MONTANA882 of the 5,126 (17.2%)$136 million ($184 per motorist)52%
NEBRASKA3,765 of the 15,370 (24.5%)$380 million ($282 per motorist)59%
NEVADA253 of the 1,853 (13.7%)$391 million ($233 per motorist)20%
NEW HAMPSHIRE790 of the 2,438 (32.4%)$267 million ($259 per motorist)54%
NEW JERSEY2,334 of the 6,566 (35.5%)$3.476 billion ($601 per motorist)66%
NEW MEXICO654 of the 3,935 (16.6%)$397 million ($291 per motorist)44%
NEW YORK6,775 of the 17,442 (38.8%)$4.551 billion ($403 per motorist)60%
NORTH CAROLINA5,534 of the 18,168 (30.5%)$1.555 billion ($241 per motorist)45%
NORTH DAKOTA966 of the 4,439 (21.8%)$112 million ($237 per motorist)44%
OHIO6,647 of the 27,015 (24.6%)$1.685 billion ($212 per motorist)42%
OKLAHOMA5,828 of the 22,912 (25.4%)$978 million ($425 per motorist)70%
OREGON1,754 of the 7,656 (22.9%)$495 million ($173 per motorist)65%
PENNSYLVANIA9,561 of the 22,660 (42.2%)$2.947 billion ($341 per motorist)57%
RHODE ISLAND433 of the 766 (56.5%)$350 million ($467 per motorist)70%
SOUTH CAROLINA1,920 of the 9,275 (20.7%)$811 million ($255 per motorist)40%
SOUTH D
AKOTA		1,459 of the 5,875 (24.8%)$194 million ($324 per motorist)61%
TENNESSEE3,802 of the 20,058 (19%)$809 million ($182 per motorist)38%
TEXAS9,998 of the 52,561 (19%)$5.27 billion ($343 per motorist)38%
UTAH437 of the 2,974 (14.7%)$332 million ($197 per motorist)25%
VERMONT903 of the 2,731 (33.1%)$230 million ($424 per motorist)45%
VIRGINIA3,588 of the 13,765 (26.1%)$1.344 billion ($254 per motorist)47%
WASHINGTON2,066 of the 7,902 (26.1%)$1.349 billion ($272 per motorist)67%
WEST VIRGINIA2,514 of the 7,125 (35.3%)$372 million ($273 per motorist)47%
WISCONSIN1,970 of the 14,088 (14%)$1.147 billion ($281 per motorist)71%
WYOMING723 of the 3,099 (23.3%)$96 million ($236 per motorist)47%

*According to 2013 data from the Federal Highway Administration.

**According to the American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

FTAlogoWASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (PDF) that would improve the process for testing the safety and reliability of new transit buses funded with federal dollars. The proposed rule would establish minimum performance standards, a new pass-fail grading system for bus testing, and a weighted scoring process that would better assist local transit agencies in purchasing an appropriate vehicle.

In addition, the proposed rule would clarify and improve verification of two Departmental regulations: the Buy America requirements that have stimulated American manufacturing of transit vehicles, components and related technology; and the rules that support businesses owned by women and minorities (Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) throughout the supply chain.

“Millions of riders depend on transit buses every day to get to work, school, healthcare, and home again,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “While buses are already a very safe mode of travel, transit customers deserve to know that the buses they ride on are as safe and reliable as possible.”

The proposed rule would require new buses meet minimum thresholds in structural integrity, safety, maintainability, reliability, fuel economy, emissions, noise, and performance. The rule would refine and streamline the existing standardized procedures used by the FTA Bus Testing Facility at Pennsylvania State University’s Larson Transportation Institute in Altoona, Pa.

“When the FTA helps local transit agencies purchase new buses, it is imperative that those vehicles are a high-quality investment,” said FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan. “This proposed rule would help ensure buses are long lasting and low maintenance, saving transit agencies valuable resources and reducing the frustrating delays that riders endure when buses have to be removed from service unexpectedly.”

The proposed bus testing rule was developed following extensive outreach to FTA’s partners across the transit industry, including transit vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, public transit agencies, and state departments of transportation. Public outreach efforts will continue throughout the comment period to solicit feedback from these and other stakeholders.

The proposed rule was directed by Congress in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). As FTA continues to implement its statutory safety authority under MAP-21, the proposed bus testing rule will be coordinated with FTA’s other safety initiatives.