Posts tagged Safety Regulation
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Should the FTA regulate urban transit agencies?
Imagine if Metro had to pay a fine for every safety standard violation. What if Metro officials and operators lost licenses to work in transit if they repeatedly violated safety standards? These ideas could become reality if the FTA gains the ability to regulate public transit agencies. And while many Washingtonians regard this as a no-brainer, there are… Keep reading…
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Breakfast Links: Before and after
Bye-bye GEORGE; Free State out of free space for roads; If you build it…; …Get private industry to pay for it; Maybe if Oklahoma had a rail system…; …Coburn would still block safety. Keep reading…
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7000 series designs sacrifice capacity for vague safety
The team working on the 7000 series, the next generation of Metrorail railcars, has chosen to keep the current “transverse” seating instead of switching to a “longitudinal” arrangement based on unquantifiable safety benefits. In doing so, they’ve given up the opportunity to substantially increase Metro’s capacity as overcrowding gets… Keep reading…
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Rogoff: Federal oversight mustn’t push riders onto highways
FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff told Congress that while he believes strongly in greater federal oversight of transit safety, it’s important for that oversight not to diminish the usefulness of transit. Keep reading…
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Congressional hearing on WMATA now
The House of Representatives hearing on WMATA is starting. Keep reading…
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I’m testifying before Congress about WMATA
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about WMATA. The hearing will focus on three questions: WMATA’s efforts to improve safety and service, particularly in the wake of a spate of accidents that have occurred within the Metro system over the past year, including the June 22, 2009, crash… Keep reading…
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Marcel Acosta answers the rest of your questions
After our chat with Marcel Acosta, I sent him the questions that we didn’t have time to post, like we did with Chris Zimmerman. Here are Mr. Acosta’s answers. Eric F: Is there a risk that Federal oversight of WMATA will simply mean a raft of unfunded mandates? We see that the Federal government loves to place jersey barriers all over town to the detriment of city livability. Keep reading…
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Senators threaten WMATA takeover; NTSB holding hearing on June crash
Yesterday, the top Senators with oversight over transportation sent a frustrated letter to WMATA Board Chair Peter Benjamin about a “troubling pattern” of safety incidents and threatening “all possible options … including direct federal intervention” if safety does not improve “immediately and comprehensively.” In the months… Keep reading…
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Late breakfast links: Movers and shakers
Streetcars make landfall; Know where you are on H; Bubble in a donut; Bye bye billboards; Tax break narrowly approved; Hit-and-run? Oh well; Over in federal-land; And of course. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Take it away
PG policy: No ped safety unless there are more peds; Leasebacks still squeezing cities; That would be enough bike infrastructure; Coming soon to DC neighborhoods; Chat with Gabe Klein; On two coasts; Rule 1, don’t hit other trains. Keep reading…