Transportation

Members of Ohio’s Congressional Delegation Write to DOT Urging Economic Recovery Funds for Ohio’s High Speed Rail Application

October 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) led a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT) in support of Ohio’s application for economic recovery funds for high speed rail. In addition to Brown, the letter urging support for passenger rail connecting Ohio’s largest cities was signed by U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Steve LaTourette, Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan, Michael Turner, Zack Space, Betty Sutton, Charlie Wilson, Marcia Fudge, John Boccieri, Steve Driehaus, and Mary Jo Kilroy.    » read more »

October 02, 2009 -- MADISON - Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle announced today the state submitted an application to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for federal funds to develop a $651.8 million high-speed passenger rail line between Milwaukee and Madison.

“I have been working hard work with federal partners to move Wisconsin into a new era of passenger rail service and this application is a big step towards that goal,” Governor Doyle said. “I have long believed that passenger rail is the missing link in our national transportation policy, and bringing passenger rail service to this area will create high-skilled jobs, spur economic growth, and make travel safe and comfortable.”    » read more »

$1.8 billion in ARRA funds would raise passenger rail speed to 90 MPH along busy I-95 corridor

October 02, 2009 -- RICHMOND – Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Virginia has submitted its second application for funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) to develop the I-95 Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. The application for approximately $1.8 billion would fund 19 projects along the Petersburg to Washington, D.C. section of the Corridor and raise passenger rail speed to up to 90 MPH by 2017.    » read more »

Projects total over $5 billion

10/2/2009 -- Raleigh -- North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue announced today that North Carolina submitted the second round of high speed rail applications for competitive funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). North Carolina is applying for funds totaling more than $5 billion for four projects to help further develop the federally designated Southeast High Speed Rail (SEHSR) Corridor.

“These projects are critical for communities throughout our state,” Perdue said. “North Carolina’s commitment to rail puts us in strong contention for these funds.”    » read more »

Pledging State Matching Funds, Proposal to Provide $10 Billion Economic Boost to California and Create Nearly 130,000

10/02/2009 -- Joined by federal, state and local officials in united support, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced his submission of the state’s application for nearly $4.7 billion in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding for engineering, design and construction on California’s high-speed train system.

Pledging a dollar-for-dollar match from state and local funds, including the high-speed rail bond passed by California voters in November 2008, the state’s application would generate a nearly $10 billion investment. This funding would collectively create nearly 130,000 jobs throughout California.    » read more »

TORRANCE, Calif. (October 1, 2009) – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today reported September sales of 126,015 vehicles, a decrease of 16.1 percent from last September, on a daily selling rate basis. TMS posted sales of 525,975 units in the third quarter, a 28 percent increase over the second quarter.

“Improving economic conditions and the CARS program led to a significant increase for the industry in the third quarter over the first-half year,” said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations for TMS. “Moving into the fourth quarter, we expect continued momentum will close the year on a bright note.”    » read more »

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury U.S. third quarter sales increased 5 percent versus a year ago and U.S. market share increased 2 points

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct., 1, 2009 – Ford, Lincoln and Mercury third quarter sales were 5 percent higher than a year ago in the U.S., making Ford the only full-line manufacturer to report a sales increase in the period.

In September, Ford sales were 6 percent lower than a year ago. This followed a 2 percent increase in July and a 17 percent increase in August, marking the first time in four years that Ford is reporting a quarterly sales increase.

Ford estimates it gained over 2 points of market share versus last year in September and the third quarter. September marked the 11th time in the last 12 months Ford has gained retail market share.    » read more »

Third-quarter results mark a 26% increase in sales: best quarterly sales increase since 2003

OAKVILLE, Ontario, October 1, 2009 – Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited saw sales increase 24.3 per cent compared to last September marking the company's fourth consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

Strong car sales led by the all-new Ford Taurus, Fusion, Focus and Mustang resulted in more than half of all vehicle sales for Ford of Canada. September also marked the eleventh month of market share growth for the company and rounded out the highest quarterly sales increase since 2003 with a 26 per cent increase.    » read more »

Cash for Clunkers conclusion, weak consumer confidence and extremely low inventory levels adversely affected the industry and GM sales results

2009-10-01 -- DETROIT – General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 156,673vehicles in September. When compared with strong sales a year ago, September’s sales were down 45 percent. GM retail sales were down 46 percent while fleet sales declined 43 percent. When comparing GM’s September total sales with a strong August, and the conclusion of the Cash for Clunkers program, volume was down 36 percent month-over-month.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 09/28/2009 - More than half of federal transportation spending in fiscal year (FY) 2008 was directed to programs that contain subsidies, according to Subsidyscope, an initiative of Pew’s Economic Policy Group. The analysis comes from a new comprehensive online database on all spending on subsidy programs in the transportation sector.

The project collected and aggregated data from USAspending.gov and other sources and built a searchable database of federal transportation spending; users can query by grant recipient, state, government program and many other parameters. The database includes information from 2000-2008.    » read more »

Winter Fuels: How Inventories are Stacking Up

September 30, 2009 -- One of the critical factors energy analysts focus on each fall, ahead of the rise in demand for heating fuels, is the pre-winter build-up of fuel inventories. This year, inventories are unusually high for all winter fuels, including distillates (which includes heating oil), natural gas, propane, and coal used for electricity generation.

Current high inventories stem primarily from the recession. As the economic downturn deepened throughout 2008 and 2009, energy demand fell, but supply was relatively slow to respond. As a result, stocks of many fuels were pushed well above typical historical levels.    » read more »

Schumer, Gillibrand: It is Critical That We Invest in Environmentally Friendly Transportation to Reduce Both Pollution and our Reliance on Foreign Fossil Fuel

September 30, 2009 -- U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that a $10,315,033 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grant has been allocated to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. The grant will be used to purchase hybrid buses in Buffalo to improve the city's public transit and reduce its environmental impact.    » read more »

Green Taxis Act Would Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by More Than 296,000 Tons in NYC – the Equivalent of Taking 35,000 Cars off the Road

September 30, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – After losing the battle in federal court in late 2008, New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and other major cities across the country would be able to create an all hybrid taxi cab fleet under legislation that will be introduced Thursday by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in the Senate and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in the House of Representatives.    » read more »

Navistar truck will be built in Elkhart County; project will produce hundreds of new Hoosier jobs; reduce our dependency on oil

September 30, 2009 -- Washington -- Senator Evan Bayh, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, today joined executives from Navistar, Inc., to unveil the company’s new all-electric, light-duty truck to be built exclusively in Elkhart County, Indiana.

Navistar officials demonstrated their vehicle to Bayh, who discussed Indiana’s role as a national leader in making the energy-efficient, high-tech vehicles and components of the future.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. – The Pew Center on Global Climate Change today launched a new Corporate Energy Efficiency Web Portal that features a myriad of resources designed to help businesses develop new and stronger energy efficiency strategies. The Web portal is part of a larger Pew Center project to document and communicate best practices in corporate energy efficiency strategies in internal operations, supply chains, products and services, and cross-cutting issues.

The broader project is being funded by a three-year, $1.4 million grant from Toyota. The Web portal will continue to be built out over time, and currently features preliminary research findings and other resources, including:    » read more »