Kate Hinds

Proponents of cargo bikes were out in force this week, trying to sell transportation ministers from from dozens of countries on the idea that cargo bikes are not only capable of moving goods around cities, in many cases they're preferable to trucks.

Randy Rzewnicki is working with the European Cyclist Federation on their CycleLogistics project. Funded by the European Union,  the nine-country, multi-year project is promoting moving goods by cycle. "There's a whole lot of things that can be moved by bikes, " he said. "Our estimates, from the research that we've done, is that 50% of all light goods in cities could be moved by bicycle."

CycleLogistics researches and tests cargo bikes, connects with transport companies, runs a "shop by bike" program,  gives cities cargo bikes to critique and test themselves, and aims to be a "best practices" warehouse for people and companies looking to make the switch from four wheels to two (or, in some cases, three).

"CycleLogistics has been a niche market,"  Rznewnicki said, "but it's starting to mature now. And some of the signs that we're seeing are companies like TNT, UPS, DHL, FedEx, which have active cycle delivery projects." He said TNT is working to create a mobile depot in Brussels that is serviced by cargo cycles.

Outspoken, a UK company, is also using the mobile hub idea -- only theirs is a giant cargo delivery bike. "They're using some of their big bikes, (ones) that can carry 250 kilos, as a kind of a mobile depot," said Rzewnicki. "Because that bike isn't going to go door-to-door." But the smaller bikes can.

And they go to places that motorized vehicles can't.  Outspoken Delivery is based in Cambridge -- a place where, according to Gary Armstrong, the company's business development manager, "lorries and vans aren't allowed in the city center between 10am and 5pm. "Few motorized delivery services can wrap up business before 10am.

"So we do the last mile for them," he said. Outspoken recently delivered 17,000 magazines to 430 locations in two days by bike. Last year, he says, Outspoken couriers cycled 54,000 miles around Cambridge.

Scottish bike designer Nick Lobnitz got the idea for his Paper Bicycle company when he took a long look at the trailers the Royal Mail was using. "I thought 'that's rubbish! I can do better than that!" He started by making what he says is a low-maintenance bike with a lower center of gravity. Then he added a trailer. "It's a car boot for a bike," he said, adding that he had taken his with him on the plane from the UK to Leipzig then biked from the Leipzig airport to the conference center.

The bike trailer that Nick Lobnitz checked as luggage (photo by Kate Hinds)

The bike looks somewhat imposing -- but a test drive dispelled any worries about maneuverability. How does it feel so light? "It's clever heavy," he said. "It feels exactly the same as riding a normal bicycle except you'll be slower uphill and faster downhill."  His bikes and trailers are in use in public bike share systems, food delivery services. He said even the gardens and groundskeepers in London's Hampstead Heath park use his bikes to transport supplies around.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Lobnitz says he's not getting rich quickly; last year, for example, he turned about a thousand dollar profit. "The easy way to make a small fortune in the bike industry is to start with a large fortune," he said. "But I'm happy. It's nice to make things people appreciate."

Nick Lobnitz, Randy Rzewnicki, and Gary Armstrong want you to know you can deliver almost anything by bicycle. (Photo by Kate Hinds)

When traveling I like to use public transit as much as possible, and Leipzig's tram system does not disappoint.

A tram arrives in Leipzig (photo by Kate Hinds)

I couldn't help but think of the semi-profane Saturday Night Live digital short "I'm on a Boat" with a group of overenthusiastic guys parading around in costumes rapping about how hot it is that they're on a yacht. I avoided both the rapping and the regatta wear, but I found myself almost unreasonably happy to be riding the tram. It's quick, it's clean, and it's predictable: monitors on the platform tell you exactly when the next tram will arrive.

First, to ride: you buy your ticket either on the platform -- or, prepare to be shocked, New Yorkers -- on the actual tram itself. (How many times have you wished for a MetroCard machine inside the turnstile?)

A ticket machine on a tram (photo by Kate Hinds)

Once on the tram, you validate your ticket. There are no turnstiles or barriers to entry -- it basically works on the honor system. So why pay at all? Because Germany has roaming undercover ticket police who will board a tram and call out "Fahrkarten, Fahrausweise, bitte," at which point everyone is obligated to hold up their validated tickets. If you fail to show one, the fine is somewhere in the €30 to €50 range. According to a Berliner I spoke to, the Fahrkartenkontrolleur are not amused by your excuses.

Note too in the following picture --on the top center -- you'll see a pair of television monitors. These are on every tram car I rode on. The one on the right runs ads. The one on the left provides a rolling, visual station stop list.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The only unnerving thing about trams, at least if you're used to city subway systems, is that since their tracks are laid into the street, you must often cross them. OF COURSE THE TRACKS ARE NOT ELECTRIFIED. But a healthy respect for the third rail is part of my DNA and I couldn't bring myself to actually step ON a rail, choosing instead to advertise my out-of-townness by casually hopping over them.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

And because they run on the street, they have their own traffic lights.

Tram traffic light (photo by Kate Hinds)

I'm sure the average German commuter is jaded. But as a transit tourist, the tram was a trip.

The 16 Tram in Leipzig (photo by Kate Hinds)

Cork Airport in 2011 (photo by tomylees via flickr)

Ireland's Transport Minister spoke candidly Thursday about how the recent financial crisis had hobbled his country -- and forced it to be a lot more wary of big investment in transportation projects.

Leo Varadkar said Ireland will be doing very little in the way of new road and rail projects, choosing instead to maintain what they have, expand relatively low-cost bicycle networks, and make public transportation customers happier through wi-fi and transit apps.

"We've lost roughly 20% of our GDP. Unemployment has gone from maybe 3 percent to 14 percent, and while we ran very big budget surpluses in the past we've now have a big deficit," he said. "And that really has made transport investment very difficult."

Ireland's good financial times ground to a halt in 2008. One former government minister has described the country's boom times like this: “You could say the government was drunk on the revenue that was coming from all the construction taxes.”

Varadkar said that although the economic situation was stabilizing, the country's huge debts have forced the country to redefine how it thinks about transportation projects.

"What we had during our boom period, between 2001 to 2008, was huge investment in transport," he said. "There was a whole new motorway network, which has transformed the country. New airport terminals, we reopened some closed railways. And most of that investment was worth doing. But a lot of it actually wasn't. At the time, we were subscribers as a country to this view -- I'm not sure if you've seen the Kevin Costner film."

He said Ireland had been a proponent of 'if you build it, they will come.' "And we found with a lot of our transport network well, they didn't come. And we now have railways that run at a massive loss and half-empty airport terminals."

So that was then -- and this is now. "I think what we're going to be from now on is a lot smarter, a lot more considered about our investment. The first thing absolutely is to maintain what we have. Secondly, is ... a sort of seamless and smart investment in transport. So while we're only building a few new roads and linking up a few railways, what we're doing a lot of is very low cost, very smart and very efficient investment.

"So we've brought in an Oyster card in Dublin, our Leap card, putting wi-fi in on all the buses and trains, that improves people's experience of public transport. We have intelligent information systems now on our on motorways, so there's a lot of signs telling people what's happening with traffic and what's ahead." And he said the bus systems provide real time bus information, both via signage, apps and texting.

"We're putting a lot into cycle networks as well, which can be very efficient and then a lot in the last mile. So say, for example, we're investing in the train stations. At a relatively low cost we're putting into the train stations hubs so that the bus can actually come into the train station and drop people off. We're putting in cycle ways and cycle parking so that more people can cycle to the train station.

"And what we're trying to do, particularly in rural areas, is to create transport hubs. We we bring together the bus station, the train station, things that seem logical but often aren't the case. And finally we're doing some regulatory reforms: we're opening up our railways to competition for people who may wish to provide service on our railways. And we're exploring the idea of going down the route that other cities have gone down, particularly in our major cities, of franchising out the bus services."

"So really what we're trying to do is maintain what we have first of all, secondly, improve what we have and do those low-cost improvements that bring about seamlessness and improve the passenger's experience of transport, public transport in particular. And then and only then are we doing major new projects, and that of course is very limited by the financial situation."

I'll be reporting this week from the International Transport Forum's annual summit in Leipzig, Germany. Expect much more in the days ahead, where I'll be hearing about Italy's new privately-funded high-speed rail line, the latest traffic safety data, and how researchers are creatively visualizing transport data. But for now, a transportation photo essay.

I flew out of JFK (spotting the space shuttle along the way) to Berlin and took the train to Leipzig. Deutsche Bahn, the German rail provider, allows bicycles on trains in specially designated compartments:

A DB train (photo by Kate Hinds)

Fields of yellow flowers are blooming alongside the tracks of the DB train from Berlin to Leipzig. I was told by an Australian journalist these are canola flowers. (And also told by a Canadian that the word "canola" comes from Canada.)

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The Leipzig hauptbahnhof -- train station -- is the largest terminus (dead end) rail station in Europe. But the city is constructing a tunnel right now that will end the need for trains to reverse and circumvent the city in order to keep going.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Worker washing the window of a DB train that's stopping in Leipzig en route from Berlin to Munich:

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Sign advising drivers not to leave valuables in their parked cars -- because otherwise a giant hand will come out of the sky and remove the entire vehicle. (Caveat: translation might not be precise.)

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Many streets in the center of Leipzig are closed to car traffic during business hours.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Nextbike, a German bike share company, operates Leipzig's bike share system.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Interestingly, the system doesn't rely on stations. Instead, when members see a bike they want to ride, they call a hotline, give the company the number on the back of the bicycle, and then get the lock code.  When finished, members park and lock the bike and then call the hotline to give the company the location.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

A sign translating the pedestrian crossing signals.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Two things prized in Leipzig: bicycles and ice cream. (I counted five ice cream parlors in a four-block radius.)

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Bicycles are welcomed almost everywhere in Leipzig -- but please do not lean them again this wall!

(photo by Kate Hinds) 

A mural commemorating the democracy movement. Leipzig -- which was in Eastern Germany -- was a key city in the protest movement.

Road fatalities per 100 000 population in 2010 (graph from ITF's Road Safety Annual Report 2011)

While high-income countries are experiencing a decade of record reductions in road fatalities, the opposite is true in poorer nations.

That's according to the just-released International Transport Forum's road safety annual group report, which monitors safety in about 30 countries (primarily Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development -- OECD -- member nations) worldwide. Caveat: the report only covers ITF member countries -- places that maintain reliable, comprehensive data -- and so omits large swaths of the world.

According to the ITF, 1.3 million people were killed in road crashes worldwide in 2010 and 50 million were injured. Nine out of ten victims were in low and middle-income countries.

Several countries recorded pronounced reductions in deaths, including the U.S., Hungary, Ireland and Denmark. But Stephen Perkins, the head of research for ITF, said "while performance is improving in most of our members countries...Malaysia stands out with its very high number of deaths. And Cambodia -- our newest member country -- instead of reporting a positive trend in the last decade reported a 300 percent increase in the number of deaths."

And those are just two countries for which good statistics exist. India would likely top the list of most dangerous countries -- if it recorded fatalities reliably, said panelists presenting at the ITF summit in Leipzig. If it did, it would top the list.

This is typical of countries in a stage of very rapid development of motorization, Perkins said, adding that "the biggest challenge for road safety today is halting the growth in road deaths in the developing world." These are countries with sub-par infrastructure. The vehicles that are driven tend to be in bad shape and given to sudden breakdowns. Moreover, these countries are more likely to lack safety laws and the ability to enforce the ones they do have.

(Side note: as Marketplace has reported, India and China represent the future of the global car market.)

(photo by Kate Hinds)

But on several graphs -- like the one at the very top of this story -- the U.S. ranked among the worst-performing countries. Can this be true?

"You are absolutely right,"  said Veronique Feypel, a road safety expert for the ITF. "This is a fact. Nevertheless, while most OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries started to see a decreasing trend (in fatalities) about 15 or 20 years ago, it seems that in the U.S. this trend started about two or three years ago."

She said the ITF was encouraged by the U.S.'s progress. "Just two years ago, the rates in the U.S. were about 15 killed per 100,000, now it's around 11. Very big progress." She added that road safety "is very high on the political agenda" -- no doubt a nod to U.S. Department of Transportation head Ray LaHood.

In December, the U.S. reported its lowest traffic fatality numbers in 60 years.

Stephen Perkins acknowledged that breaking down the numbers by population -- instead of by miles driven -- was just one measuring tool. Another is the sheer amount of driving a country does.  When you look at "how many billions of kilometers are driven per year," he said "the U.S. comes out in a relatively better position, because it's such a highly motorized country."

While the ITF reported that fatalities declined almost across the board for most kinds of car crashes, fatalities rose among pedestrians -- 4,280 walkers died in 2010, versus 4,109 in 2009.

You can read the report here (pdf).

Top stories on TN:
Help Us Map All the Abandoned Bikes in NYC (link)
Here’s the New NYC Livery Cab Color — Apple Green (link)
PHOTO: NYPD’s Chevy Volt (link)
NY MTA Chief Lhota: ‘Yes’ To Extending 7 Train Extension, ‘No’ To Free Ferry Transfers (link)
Plans for Merritt Parkway Bike Trail Generate Debate (link)
PHOTOS: Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives in New York (link)

A passenger photographic himself on the opening day of LA's new Expo Line (photo by Craig Dietrich via flickr)

Los Angeles's new Expo light rail opened this weekend. (Los Angeles Times, KPCC)

Tallinn (Estonia) will become the first European capital to make public transportation free for commuters -- but no fare revenue could mean less investments in the system.  (BBC)

After more than 10 years of planning to add 23 miles of Metro rail line in Northern Virginia, the second part of the Silver Line project could be dead before a spade of dirt is turned. (Washington Post)

A horrific crash on the Bronx River Parkway killed seven people. (AP via WNYC)

If a San Francisco MUNI bus driver calls in sick, the driver isn't replaced -- the bus is cancelled. (Bay Citizen)

The security deposit on the Twin Cities' bike share program was erased this year due to lack of theft. "We purchased 1,200 bikes, and we still have 1,200 bikes," said the head of the Nice Ride bike share program. (Star Tribune)

Colorado Rockies pitcher (and bicycle commuter) Jeremy Guthrie is on the 15-day disabled list after being injured in a bike accident. (USA Today)

The extraordinarily low projected operating costs for California's proposed bullet train are “the elephant in the room,” say financial experts. (California Watch)

How the obesity epidemic affects transportation: the federal government wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking, and cars are burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline more a year than if passengers weighed what they did in 1960. (Reuters)

Opportunities for prayer abound in Grand Central Terminal. (New York Daily News)

Feel that you've been unfairly profiled by the Transportation Security Administration? There's an app for that. (NPR)

Top stories on TN:
Yellow Cabs Get Poetic (link)
Walkscore Ranks Top Ten U.S. Cities for Transit (link)
DC's Metro Approves Fare Hike (link)
Decoding the Mysteries of Bay Area Traffic (link)
Arlington Backing out of Transit Funding Deal (link)
Sam Schwartz: Don’t Call it Congestion Pricing (link)
No Federal Loan for Tappan Zee Bridge — At Least Right Now (link)

The Space Shuttle Discovery, seen here in 2009 (photo courtesy of NASA)

New Yorkers, start your camera engines: the Space Shuttle Enterprise will be flying over the city today, albeit on the back of a specially modified 747. Send your pictures to WNYC!

Los Angeles's Westside subway extension is a step closer to construction -- but Beverly Hills officials aren't happy with the route. (Los Angeles Times)

A group of New Jersey lawmakers have asked the Port Authority to delay December’s scheduled toll increase until the agency shows it has followed the recommendations of a recent financial audit. (Star-Ledger)

Ford blamed lower profits on slumping sales in Europe -- and higher taxes in the U.S. (New York Times)

A group of Philadelphia transit workers won the $172.7 million Powerball lottery. (Headline in the Philadelphia Inquirer: SEPTA-CULAR!)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reiterated calls for a federal law to ban talking on a cell phone or texting while driving any type of vehicle on any road in the country. (Chicago Tribune)

Electric bicycles start looking pretty good when you're at the bottom of a San Francisco hill. (Atlantic Cities)

Mayor Bloomberg says car theft's dropping in NYC. "When's the last time ...you saw one of those red bars across the steering wheel?" (h/t @AziPaybarah)

The Onion put out a Transit Issue.  Repeat: The Onion put out a transit issue.

New York State had been hoping that a third of the cost of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement would be funded through a low-interest loan. But the federal government has taken a pass — at least for this round.

UPDATED WITH LETTER FROM FEDERAL GOVERNMENT New York State had been hoping that a third of the cost of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement would be funded through a low-interest loan. But the federal government has taken a pass -- at least for this round.

State officials are maintaining that today's announcement is "very good news."  Speaking at an Albany press conference, director of operations Howard Glaser said the bridge would still be considered in later rounds of funding.

"They advised us the Tappan Zee bridge would be one of the six large scale projects that will be considered in the second round," Glaser said. But Glaser acknowledged financing couldn't come until after congress passes a surface transportation re authorization bill, which many experts predict won't happen until after the November elections.  And a letter supplied to Transportation Nation (at the end of the post) didn't mention a short list of six projects.

In February, the state sent the U.S. Department of Transportation a letter of interest, requesting a $2 billion TIFIA (for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) loan for the massive bridge construction project.

The state had said that the total cost of the project would be about $5.2 billion, although a budget hasn't been finalized.

The TIFIA website says that the agency received "26 Letters of Interest (LOIs) seeking more than $13 billion in credit assistance to finance approximately $36 billion in infrastructure investment across the country." It continues: "While limited TIFIA resources mean that not all of the LOIs can be selected, five projects are being invited to apply for credit assistance."

But state officials -- who have yet to release a financing plan for the project -- say the Tappan Zee bridge isn't out of it. "In this first round they only did $100 million total for the whole country," Glaser said. " Remember our application for the Tappan Zee alone is in excess of $2 billion.  So those large sclae  high profile projets will be a further round based  on federally available funding. They can't fund these large programs right now."

Glaser said the Tappan Zee bridge funding would have to wait until Congress reauthorizes the transportation bill.

TIFIA loans are used for large-scale infrastructure projects that cost $50 million or more. Loans can't exceed 33% of project costs.

The letter to the state from the federal government didn't make any mention of a short list of six projects. Here's the letter:

John M. Bryan
Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Interim Chief Information Officer

Thank you for submitting a Letter of Interest (LOI) in response to the FY 2012 TIFIA Notice of Funding Availability.  In response to the December 30, 2011 deadline, the Department received 26 LOIs seeking over $13 billion in credit assistance to finance an estimated $36 billion in infrastructure investment.  The requested level of TIFIA financing is more than 10 times the level than can be supported given current program resources.

Each LOI has been evaluated against the TIFIA statutory criteria, and the Tappan Zee Bridge project performed well in our review.  Unfortunately, the Department does not have sufficient budgetary resources to invite an application for your project at this time.  In light of those constraints, the Department prioritized projects that could be accommodated within resource levels and required financing in the nearest time frame.  However, if TIFIA budgetary resources are significantly increased as proposed in the President's Budget and the House and Senate reauthorization proposals, we will create an expedited review process for those funds.  We encourage you to continue the planning and financial work necessary to move your project if and when that review process takes place.  Please note that even with an augmented program, the level of TIFIA credit assistance may still be constrained, which could impact the amount available for the Tappan Zee Bridge project.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Duane

Duane Callender
Director
TIFIA Credit Program  (HITJ)
US Department of Transportation

Top stories on TN:
NY/NJ Port Authority Chief Wants Megabus Out (link)
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Claim: L.A. Bus Cuts Are A Civil Rights Violation (link)
Transport Workers Union Objects To NY MTA Real Estate Deal (link)
VIDEO: NJ State Troopers Escort Luxury Sports Cars on High Speed Highway Romp, Get Suspended (link)
San Francisco Poised to Pick Alta to Run Bike Share (link)
100 Died in Texas Work Zone Fatalities in 2010 (link)

East River Ferry (photo by James Maskell via flickr)

The House appointed 33 conferees to the transportation bill, one day after the Senate named its own negotiators.  (The Hill)

Looks like New York State -- which had wanted to borrow $2 billion from the federal government to help finance the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge -- won't be getting a TIFIA* loan. (U.S. Department of Transportation)

Sam Schwartz, aka Gridlock Sam and former NYC traffic commissioner, wraps up his month-long tenure on the Brian Lehrer Show to explain how his congestion pricing plan would affect NYC's mass transit. (WNYC)

Toronto's transportation authority unanimously approved a light rail plan... (Toronto Star)
...that looks a lot like the transit plan Mayor Rob Ford cancelled on his first day in office. (Globe and Mail)

The first leg of a $152 million bus rapid transit project in Oakland and San Leandro will open in late 2014; the project would be fully operational in early 2016. (Contra Costa Times)

New Jersey's transportation commissioner illustrated Governor Christie's decision to kill the ARC tunnel by comparing the project to an untopped pizza. "They took the sauce and the mozzarella off this deal when we were starting to build it," said Jim Simpson. "It made no sense." (Star-Ledger)

The Los Angeles MTA votes today on the station locations for its long-awaited “Subway to the Sea" -- including one station that would involve tunneling under Beverly Hills High School. (AirTalk/KPCC)

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to integrate the East River Ferry into the city's broader transportation system, and the service may start using MetroCards. (Wall Street Journal, DNA Info)

Top stories on TN:
Space Shuttle Enterprise to New York On Friday (link)
Port Authority Chief Wants Megabus Out (link)
NJ Troopers Being Investigated For Escorting Sports Cars at High Speed on State Highways (link)
Senate Conferees Named for Transportation Bill (link)
Cuomo Confidante Gets Top NY MTA Post (link)
NY Governor Cuomo: There’s No Political Support for Congestion Pricing (link)

Europe's first privately-owned high-speed rail line will open this week in Italy (photo courtesy of NTV SPA via flickr)

A new study out of Montreal found that people living in poor neighborhoods are more than six times as likely to be injured in a road accident as their wealthy counterparts. (Metro News Canada)

Harry Reid said Senate Democrats will reject House Republican demands to include approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in transportation funding legislation. (The Hill).

The chairman of Ferrari launched a high-speed train line in Italy -- making it Europe's first privately-owned bullet train. (Reuters)

The Long Island Rail Road set a record for on-time performance, with over 96% of trains arriving within six minutes of their scheduled times in the first quarter of this year. (Newsday op-ed)

A DC Metro bus driver has contracted viral meningitis, prompting officials to disinfect all 164 buses in one division. (WAMU)

Appointing former New York governor David Paterson to the MTA board is "business as usual," says a New York Post columnist.

The Beijing auto show runs this week in what is now the world's largest car market, leading one American-born automaker to note that "Shanghai is the new Detroit." (NPR)

A bill that would halt state debt funding for California’s high-speed rail project has failed to get out of committee. (Central Valley Business Times)

More than 300,000 New Jersey residents would have to pay a revived commuter tax to New York City, if a proposal by the Manhattan Borough president is enacted. (NJ Spotlight)

Chicago transportation officials are preparing for next month's NATO summit. (Chicago Tribune)

Taras Grescoe, the author of "Straphanger: Saving Our Cities from Ourselves and From the Automobile," talks about the virtues of public transit -- and the history of the NYC subway system -- on The Takeaway. ("Given how badly it was neglected in the twentieth century, it's a miracle that New York's subway survived into the twenty-first at all...The nadir came in the early '80s, as motors fell from brackets and trains burst into flames with depressing regularity." )

Some helpful subway etiquette tips from Gothamist and Streeter Seidell (the latter being NSFW, depending on your coworkers feelings about expletives.)

A  longtime political insider is going to be NY MTA chief Joe Lhota's right-hand man.

Stephen Morello has been named counselor and chairman to the CEO, at a salary of $148,100.  Most recently, Morello worked as deputy director of communications for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.  Previously, he was press secretary to Andrew Cuomo's father, former Governor Mario Cuomo.

It's a new position for the MTA. You can read the MTA's full press release below.

Stephen J. Morello Joins MTA as Counselor to the Chairman and CEO

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Joseph J. Lhota today announced that Stephen J. Morello will join the MTA as Counselor to the Chairman and CEO.  In that role, Mr. Morello will direct the communications, government relations, and community affairs divisions of the MTA and its agencies.

“Steve Morello will be an invaluable asset to the MTA,” Lhota said. “He has served three governors and one mayor, and I look forward to gaining his insights and guidance as we work to make the MTA more transparent and improve our image in the eyes of all our customers and elected officials.”

A veteran of state and city government, Mr. Morello has served for the past year as deputy director of communications in the office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.  His previous government assignments include serving as press secretary to Governor Mario M. Cuomo and as deputy and then press secretary to Governor Hugh L. Carey, and as director of communications for the NYC Department of Education.  Mr. Morello also served as Deputy Commissioner for the NYC Department of Correction.

Mr. Morello's private sector marketing and communications management experience includes serving as Vice President for Global Communications for the Readers Digest Company and as President and CEO of the New York City Convention and Visitors Bureau-now known as NYC & Company.

(photo by Brigid Bergin/WNYC)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hasn't changed his mind about congestion pricing.  Cuomo said there's isn't "political support" to pass it.

Also Tuesday Cuomo was asked the last time he'd ridden the subway. Cuomo said it was before he became Governor. By contrast, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg rides the subway most days. Cuomo grew up in a suburban neighborhood in Queens and now lives in Westchester.

At an event Tuesday in lower Manhattan to highlight the state's efforts to curb distracted driving, WNYC asked the governor if he supported an iteration of a congestion pricing plan.

Former New York City traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz is touting a plan that would toll the East River Bridges while lowering tolls on other, non-Manhattan bound spans in an effort to both reduce congestion and give the city's transit system a funding boost. It's gotten support from some corners -- but New York's politicians are wary.

Here's the exchange:

Q: Have you seen Sam Schwartz’s revised congestion pricing plan? Do you support it?

A: I have not seen it. We’ve talked about congestion pricing for many years. We’ve tried to pass it in the past. It hasn’t passed. I don’t know that anything has happened to change that dynamic. I just don’t know if you have the political support to pass it.

That position is virtually unchanged from his position as a candidate for governor, detailed here.

On the subway, the Governor said:

"Our subway service our bus service is a tremendous asset for the city and the state. It works extraordinary well. It’s a great investment. It’s one we want to continue and grow. We can always make it safer. We can always make it faster. We can always make it cleaner. But it’s a great service."

(with reporting from WNYC's Brigid Bergin)

Top stories on TN:
Fewer Houstonians Striving To Own ‘That House In The Suburbs’ (link)
Northern Virginia Commuter Rail Hikes Fares (link)
Party’s Over on the Long Island Railroad (link)
Massachusetts Has First Smart Phone Rail Ticketing in U.S. (link)
Former NY Governor David Paterson Joins MTA Board (link)

Los Angeles Rapid Bus (photo by AllyUnion/Wikimedia Commons)

The federal government says Los Angeles Metro cut service before properly studying rider impact -- and sent the city a scathing letter about "disturbing findings" of a civil rights investigation into policies and practices at city's transportation authority. (Los Angeles Times)

Chicago police crash reports are full of errors — causing dangerous areas to be ignored and safety funds to be misapplied. One example: in 2006, "the city counted 63 traffic deaths in Chicago while a state database...considered far more accurate put the number at 176 deaths." (Chicago Tribune)

New Jersey is one of the country's biggest transportation borrowers, second in total debt only to Texas -- and for the first time, money from gas, sales and other taxes earmarked for transportation spending didn’t cover this year's debt payments...(AP via Courier Post)

...leading Democratic lawmakers in that state to question whether Gov. Chris Christie is doing enough to wean New Jersey off its reliance on borrowing to pay for transportation projects. (AP via NJ.com)  And, oh yeah, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Exec is reeling in a cooling half mil a year in salary. (Newark Star-Ledger)

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans for a second tech campus, this one in downtown Brooklyn. Says the center's first director: "First it's about education, educating people in urban science...then it's about all the operations of the city that touch everybody's lives: transit, health, safety, energy efficiency and so on.” (WNYC)

America's richest and America's poorest congressional districts lie just five stops apart along a New York City subway line. (Marketplace)

Detroit may pare another $12 million from its general-fund bus subsidy, causing fear among riders and prompting one union official to comment: "Why don't they turn the lights off and just call it a day?" (Detroit Free Press)

New York's MTA is giving free MetroCards to users of its paratransit service. (New York Post)

San Francisco's BART wants Canadian company Bombardier to win a $2.5 billion contract for its fleet of new cars -- despite recent problems with the company's work in Chicago. (Bay Citizen)

Patent trolls are targeting U.S. transit agencies. (Atlantic Cities)

Police officials in Aspen, Colorado, have withdrawn a request to bring initial fines for biking on sidewalks and pedestrian malls down to $5. "Thus, the ineffectual $100 fine will remain in place." (Aspen Times)

What kind of cars are popular in China -- and why does it matter? Because: "what the Chinese want from their cars is increasingly dictating what Americans get in their cars." (The Takeaway)

Top stories on TN:
New York City Finalizing Maps of Bike Share Stations (link)
Traffic Is Down But Revenues Soar In Six Months After Toll Hike At NY-NJ Port Authority Crossings (link)
Federal Agency Ratchets Up Transit Push: Calculate Your Carbon Savings (link)
Europe Loves Carpooling, Why Don’t We? (link)
Almost Half Of Staten Island Ferry Fleet Crippled By Chronic Engine Trouble (link)
New Fuel-Efficiency Standards Could Mean Big Savings For Texans (link)
Bay Area Musical Bike Tour (link)

An MBTA commuter rail train (photo by matthrono via flickr)

Commuter rail riders in Massachusetts will be able to purchase and display tickets on their smartphones later this year -- making the T the first rail system in the U.S. to offer passengers an alternative to paper. (Boston Globe; h/t Transit Wire)

Former NY Governor David Paterson will join the New York MTA board. (New York Daily News)

Romney on Keystone XL: "I will build that pipeline if I have to myself." (The Hill)

Atlanta transportation officials learn cautionary tales about sales-tax-for-transit proposals. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

A Formula 1 car race presses on in Bahrain, despite protests. (Marketplace, NPR)

Following negotiations over security concerns, Google Street View comes to Israel. (USA Today)

New Jersey governor Christie signed a 'road rage' bill into law. (Star-Ledger)

Bus rapid transit is coming to Karachi. (Pakistan Daily Times)

Lots of photos of "Pat," the tunnel boring machine that will dig an underwater tunnel between Staten Island and Brooklyn. (Jalopnik)

A university in Britain is developing the "Granny-Nav" -- navigation tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations -- aimed to help keep older drivers on the road. (BBC)

Top stories on TN:
Report: Drivers to Save Almost $70 Billion by 2025 from Fuel-Efficient Cars (link)
BREAKING: NYC Taxi Commission Approves Plan for Outer Borough Street Hails (link)
Trans-Hudson Tunnel Awarded Another $20 Million — If Congress Okays It (link)
Virginia Budget Passes Without Silver Line Funding (link)

From a Star-Ledger editorial on Wednesday's Senate committee hearing, in which a Port Authority executive went after Senator Frank Lautenberg for using a free EZPass: "If taking offered benefits is a crime, then (Port Authority executive Bill) Baroni is a felon and the governor is his high-flying accomplice."

Just how rare was Wednesday's hearing brawl? “It’s highly unusual...like an unassisted triple play, you never go to the ballpark expecting to see one.” (North Jersey.com) Note: you can listen to some fiery audio from the hearing here.

US DOT head Ray LaHood is going to have a sit-down with everyone involved in building the (possibly delayed) second phase of the DC-area Silver Line. (Washington Post)

So far, the candidates for New York City's next mayoral race aren't embracing congestion pricing. (Capital New York) Read TN's story about candidate Scott Stringer's approach to transit funding here.

So why are young Americans driving less? The Takeaway talks to one -- as well as the co-author of a new study on youth driving habits.

Janette Sadik-Khan talks about the urban density -- and the Keystone XL pipeline -- on MSNBC. Two JSK quotes: "If you really want to save the planet, you should move to New York City." And: "It's an economic development strategy to be investing in mass transit."

New York City will soon be putting tire boots on any car whose owner has accumulated $350 or more of unpaid tickets. (New York Daily News)

Web commenters helped identify a part from a hit-and-run -- and now Virginia police have a suspect. (Jalopnik)

Grand Rapids wants to re-brand a former auto factory, "but they know there’s limited cache to trying to peddle a former GM plant." (Changing Gears)

Are GPS systems in Irish taxis inadvertently changing traffic signals? (Irish Times)

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa briefly walked out of a transportation committee meeting after another elected official used the term “gang rape” in a reference to a transit sales tax championed by the mayor. (Los Angeles Times)

Art bike! See photos of spirograph-like Sharpie artwork created by a stationary bike. (PSFK)

(photo courtesy of Senator Lautenberg)

A new trans-Hudson tunnel got a $20 million vote of confidence Thursday -- but it remains to be seen whether it will win approval in political environment riven by dissent over transportation funding.

The Gateway tunnel project-- deemed "absolutely critical" by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a hearing last month -- was proposed last year as an alternative to the ARC tunnel, a similar project cancelled by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2010.

According to Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who 's trying to bring a new rail tunnel to fruition, Gateway is expected to increase Amtrak and NJ Transit's capacity into New York by 65 percent.

Both New Jersey senators have thrown their support behind the project. “The Gateway Tunnel is critical to addressing our state's transportation crisis,” said Lautenberg in an emailed statement. Senator Robert Menendez, also quoted in the email, added: “We are at capacity on all Hudson River crossings, so the Gateway Project is simply essential to New Jersey’s economic growth and for our commuters."

Lautenberg is smarting over the ARC tunnel. At a Senate hearing yesterday, he testily asked a Port Authority executive: "Why did the administration that we have in office now cancel $6 billion worth of money that we raised through this place to build a tunnel and get 22,000 cars off the road?"

If the $20 million wins full Senate approval, Amtrak will have a total of $35 million to begin design and engineering work on Gateway. In November 2011, the Senate approved $15 million for the project. Amtrak had initially requested $50 million for a design and engineering study.

Top stories on TN:
Lautenberg, Christie Appointee Feud Over Toll Hike, ARC Tunnel (link)
NYC Prize for Subway App That Works While Underground (link)
Report: LaHood Says There’s No Hope of Transpo Bill Before November (link)
As NY Taxi Commission Prepares for Historic Vote, Dissent Looms (link)
APTA: As Gas Prices Mount, Transit Savings Approach Historic Highs (link)

Silver Line construction near Tysons Corner, VA (photo by cizauskas via flickr)

The House passed another transportation funding extension, but the "shell bill" will hopefully lead to a conference committee. (Washington Post)

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hopes his legacy will be a dramatic expansion of rail service in LA. (Los Angeles Times)

The head of New York's MTA doesn't want subway and bus workers to carry stun guns. (Wall Street Journal)

The $1 billion plan to raise the Bayonne Bridge has bipartisan support on both sides of the Hudson -- unlike one recent major NJ infrastructure project. (AP via NorthJersey.com)

A rare joint legislative hearing on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has been postponed. (Star-Ledger)

California's high-speed rail plan relies on "highly speculative" funding, says a new report by the state's Legislative Analyst's Office. (Sacramento Bee)

TransCanada has secured almost all the land it needs to build the Keystone XL pipeline -- but not all landowners are on board. (Marketplace)

Ford is building a new assembly plant in China that will double the number of passenger cars it builds there. (Detroit Free Press)

A 14-minute film based on Brooklyn's B61 bus is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. “If you don’t know the B61, you don’t know the pain of waiting," says one regular rider. (New York Daily News)

St. Paul City Council is a step closer to licensing pedicabs. (Pioneer Press)

The process to start building the second phase of Metro’s new Silver Line is on hold while officials in one Virginia county decide whether to support the project. (Washington Post)

Meanwhile, the Virginia budget passed without funding for the project. (WAMU)

New York Times editorial: President Obama is right to call for more scrutiny of the oil markets.

Sam Schwartz -- aka "Gridlock Sam" -- returns to the Brian Lehrer Show to talk about how commercial traffic would be handled under his traffic plan. (WNYC)

A Senate committee hearing on the fairness of toll hikes devolved into a slugfest between Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)  and Bill Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Port Authority's Bill Baroni, testifying at a Senate hearing

Listen to a conversation about the hearings -- and hear some audio from them - below.

UPDATED A Senate hearing ostensibly on the fairness of toll hikes devolved into a slugfest between Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)  and Bill Baroni, Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Lautenberg has been seething since New Jersey Governor Chris Christie killed the ARC commuter tunnel under the Hudson River in late 2010.  Last summer's  Hudson River toll hikes -- raised by as much as 50% -- only added fuel to the fire.

Lautenberg had a line of questions prepared, including when the Governors of New Jersey and New York knew about the 2010 toll hikes and whether Baroni thought they were fair.

But Baroni, a Christie appointee, was prepared. "It is impossible to argue fairness in tolls if you don’t pay them," he said, pointing out that the senator -- a Port Authority commissioner from 1978-1982 -- had used an agency-funded EZ Pass at Port Authority toll crossings 284 times (a perk -- since discontinued -- formerly available to Port Authority commissioners for life).

Lautenberg seemed caught off guard by the statement, and although he quickly brought the line of questioning back to the toll hike, it looked like he had brought a butter knife to a switchblade fight.

The senator was also unable to pin Baroni down on one of his key issues: what did Governor Christie know about the Port Authority's plans for last summer's toll hikes, and when did he know it? Baroni wouldn't get specific. "I'm not going to talk about conversations that I have with different administration officials," he said -- spurring Lautenberg to retort: "Are you running a protection agency there?" "Excuse me?" responded Baroni, all wounded indignation.

But with all things Lautenberg and Christie-related, all roads lead back to the ARC tunnel. Senator Lautenberg is furious with the governor for canceling the trans-Hudson tunnel -- a project which the senator had long championed. "Why did the administration that we have in office now cancel $6 billion worth of money that we raised through this place to build a tunnel and get 22,000 cars off the road?" he spat at Baroni. A brief mic outage muted the Port Authority executive's response.

Lautenberg went on to grill Baroni about accusations of political patronage at the Port Authority, and told Baroni he had two weeks to supply the Senate committee with the names of people Governor Chris Christie had recommended for employment at the Port Authority.

"Sure!" said Baroni. "Should we go through them now?"

"Your impertinence is barely tolerable," Lautenberg told Baroni.

Later in the hearing, which stretched to almost 70 minutes, Baroni described the agency's plans to expand platforms at Harrison's PATH station. "Under the plan, we're going to be able to go to ten cars, and that's going to help us bring more rail —"

The senator abruptly hit the gavel twice. "Thank you very much. This hearing is over."

After the hearing, Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee chided Baroni: “I am troubled and disappointed by accounts of inappropriate discourse and decorum by a witness at the Senate Commerce Subcommittee this morning. A basic level of civility is expected from every witness who testifies in a formal Senate hearing and reports suggest that standard was not met today.”

Later this afternoon, Governor Chris Christie's press secretary, Michael Drewniak, sent the following statement dripping with enmity: (full statement at end of post) "Let’s accept the obvious:  the hearing was a partisan charade. Senator Lautenberg is deluding himself if he actually believes the practices he oversaw, participated in and encouraged during his time as a commissioner with the Port Authority are not relevant in explaining the Port Authority inherited by Governors Cuomo and Christie."

For his part, Lautenberg sent out a statement saying "Mr. Baroni engaged in distraction, deception and diversion.  I am very disappointed that the Port Authority continues to operate behind a veil of secrecy."

Lautenberg has requested that the GAO examine interstate tolling authorities. Meanwhile, late this afternoon, word was released that a joint New York-New Jersey hearing on the Port Authority -- scheduled for this Friday on Staten Island -- is being postponed.

Read below for a partial transcript of a piece of this morning's exchange. You can watch a archived video of Wednesday's hearing here.

Here's a transcript of part of this morning's exchange:

Lautenberg: The question is: did the size of the increase strike those of you who make decisions at the Port Authority as being fair? I mean, that’s a substantial -- 50% increase to cross the bridge. That’s a lot of money.

Baroni: Senator, thank you for the question, and I know that the conversation we heard, some of my colleagues talking about much it is. But as I described before, Senator, that if you are a cash-paying, non-EZPass using, rush hour driving truck, you are causing the most challenges physically to our crossings.  For every fully-loaded tractor-trailer that goes across our bridges, it (causes) 10,000 times the damage to our bridges as one car. But one of the reason we built all of the discounts in, Senator, is to be able to -- those folks who are commuting, who have an EZ Pass, or drive in off-peak, and, Senator, respectfully I understand the concerns that people have about paying tolls across the Hudson. It is something that commuters as you mentioned, Senator, each and every day – but respectfully, Senator, you only started paying tolls recently. For years, Senator, as former commissioner of my agency, you received free EZ Pass. Year after year – in fact, I have a copy of your free EZ Pass. I’ve got letters from ‘01 --

Lautenberg: how often was it used? Do you know?

Baroni: yeah, actually. ’01, ’02, ’03

Lautenberg: what? how many times?

Baroni: I can tell you. In...

Lautenberg: I’m not going to permit you to continue with this silliness.

Baroni: Well, Senator, you took 284 trips for free in the last two years you had the pass.

Lautenberg: I want you to answer this question. (Baroni. Sure!) Is this fair? Is this toll increase fair to the public at large?

Baroni: I think, Senator, for those--

Lautenberg: talk about the individual cars (crosstalk) I want to keep you on track. So. Let's go.

Baroni: Senator, it's impossible..certainly, Senator. It is impossible to argue fairness in tolls if you don’t pay them.

After that testy exchange, Baroni talked about the Port Authority's discount toll programs and how many vehicles use EZPass (81%) -- but  Senator Lautenberg was doing the slow burn.

Lautenberg: To pull out that little thing that I got after serving after in the Port Authority for four years -- I don't even think about using it, Mr. Baroni.

Baroni: of course not, because we took it away.

Lautenberg: Well, what happened, what happens, it was there, that's what they did, that's what I took and I'm not going to defend it. That's a silly thing to bring into this. I want to discuss your direction of this grand agency and where the money is gone, and why the increases were so large. What - what - is that fair play in your view? Why did the administration that we have in office now cancel $6 billion dollars worth of money that we raised through this place to build a tunnel and get 22,000 cars a day off the road? Do you want to talk about those things?

Christie's office sent out the following statement:

"As we learned today, Senator Lautenberg himself perpetuated some of the very dysfunction that only now, under Governors Christie and Cuomo, is being reversed through reforms and intensive audits.  A few counterpoints raised by Deputy Executive Director Baroni:

→ Senator Lautenberg, a wealthy businessman who was a commissioner of the Port Authority from March 1978 to December 1982, received free annual passage at Hudson River crossings and parking privileges at all NY/NJ airports for 24 years.  Mr. Baroni pointed out that in the final two years of his free EZ Pass, the Senator made no less than 284 free toll crossings.

→ At the height of his hypocritical moments today, Senator Lautenberg became enraged when Mr. Baroni pointed out that one of Sen. Lautenberg’s 2002 campaign staffers in charge of “U.S. Senate Candidate Visibility” was hired at the Port Authority after the campaign as a “principal energy specialist.”

While Mr. Baroni told the Senator he was available to talk all day and present evidence about PA tolls and operations, the hearing ended abruptly with Senator Lautenberg visibly angry over the turn of events.  Repeatedly, Senator Lautenberg tried to stop Mr. Baroni from providing answers that didn’t fit the hearing game plan or that held inconvenient truths.

→ “I’m not going to permit you to continue with this silliness,” Senator Lautenberg said as he cut off Mr. Baroni’s discussion of EZ Pass discounts available to motorists and the Senator’s free privileges.  “Certainly Senator,” Mr. Baroni replied, “it is impossible to argue fairness in tolls when you don’t pay them.”

→ Let’s accept the obvious:  the hearing was a partisan charade. Senator Lautenberg is deluding himself if he actually believes the practices he oversaw, participated in and encouraged during his time as a commissioner with the Port Authority are not relevant in explaining the Port Authority inherited by Governors Cuomo and Christie.

→ The toll hikes at the NY/NJ crossings were the last thing the Governors wanted to see happen.  But by 2010, the agency was mired in a fiscal crisis years in the making that required the reduced toll hikes the two Governors finally had to approve.  And the undisputed fact of history is that only since Governor Christie took office have reforms been enacted, payroll numbers and costs beenreduced and independent audits – warts and all – been ordered.  Sure, hold a hearing, ask all the relevant and necessary questions you like, but Senator Lautenberg should have spared us the hypocrisy and fake outrage.

 

And

Here's Senator Lautenberg's statement:

PORT AUTHORITY’S BARONI CALLS $12 TOLLS “FAIR”

LAUTENBERG PRESSES PORT AUTHORITY ON ALLEGATIONS OF PATRONAGE AND MISLEADING THE PUBLIC

BARONI ENGAGES IN “DISTRACTION, DECEPTION AND DIVERSION” AT HEARING

WASHINGTON – At a U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Surface Transportation subcommittee hearing today, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg pressed Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni on the Port Authority’s recent toll hikes and allegations of patronage and mismanagement.

During his testimony, Mr. Baroni stated that $12 tolls on drivers are “fair” and repeatedly refused to answer questions about when Governor Christie became aware of proposed toll increases.

In contrast to Mr. Baroni, witnesses from AAA and the American Trucking Associations were very clear about their strong opposition to the toll hikes, the burden they put on families and businesses, and the lack of opportunity for public input about the toll increases.

“We called this hearing to help New Jersey drivers understand the reasons behind these massive toll increases and what steps the Port Authority is going to take to fix their serious problems,” said Sen. Lautenberg. “Instead, Mr. Baroni engaged in distraction, deception and diversion. I am very disappointed that the Port Authority continues to operate behind a veil of secrecy. Despite this stonewalling, I will continue to stand up for New Jersey commuters and businesses.”