Opinion
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Chicago Taxes Jump $530 Million to Pay for Mass Transit
Opinion -A year after Illinois lawmakers began discussing a plan to bail out the Chicago region's mass transit system, the final piece of the plan fell into place. -
Political Feuding Blocks Transit Funding in Illinois
Opinion -The Illinois General Assembly in 2007 was supposed to finish its business in May, but seven months later lawmakers remained in session to wrestle with mass transit funding in Chicago and the surrounding counties. -
Public Transit Creates Value but Fails to Collect
Opinion -Like many transit agencies around the nation, Illinois' Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and its service boards (Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter rail, Pace suburban bus) have been in financial difficulty for a long time. -
Chicago-Area Transit Band-Aids Won’t Stop the Bleeding
Opinion -Hemorrhaging red ink, the Chicago-area mass transit system has avoided yet another threatened "doomsday" of fare increases and service cuts ... by borrowing against future revenues and digging itself a deeper hole. As Illinois Gov. -
Debate Over Public-Private Highway Partnerships Takes a New Turn
Opinion -The latest chapter in the continuing debate about the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) has featured uncharacteristically blunt congressional criticism and equally pointed rejoinders from the states. -
Committee Chairs Soften Stance Against Public-Private Transportation Deals
Opinion -Two leading Congressional opponents of public-private partnership (PPP) agreements for transportation have backed off earlier criticisms in a June position paper. The new paper, from U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. -
Illinois Transportation Authority Wants $10 Billion Subsidy Raise
Opinion -The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), which oversees public transportation in Chicago and its metropolitan region, wants the state of Illinois to cough up another $10 billion over the next five years to further subsidize commuter rail, suburban -
Utah Lawmakers Consider Congestion Pricing Instead of Taxes for Roads
Opinion -Despite recent sales tax hikes in Salt Lake and Utah Counties, some Utah state and local officials are talking about more tax increases for transportation. -
Private Money, Tolls Roads Recommended to Reduce Atlanta Traffic Jams
Opinion -Atlanta needs a major rethinking and rewriting of its long-range transportation plan, including four major toll road projects that would significantly reduce the region's current and projected traffic congestion, according to a new Reason -
Minneapolis Taxi Reform Knocks Down Three Hurdles
Opinion -Until the reform law's passage, three nearly insurmountable government-imposed hurdles stood in the way of operating any taxi business in the City of Minneapolis: 1) the "taxi vehicle" license cap, by which the city arbitrarily limited to 343 the -
Elevated Express Lanes Relief for Urban Congestion
Opinion -Many people agree there is a need to expand urban highway capacity to restore the kind of mobility we had 20 years ago, but most throw up their hands and say, "There's no room to add any lanes to our freeways. -
Illinois, Missouri Argue Over New Bridge Funding
Opinion -Transportation officials in Illinois and Missouri agree there is a dire need for more highway lanes over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, but they disagree over how to pay for them. Missouri wants to build a toll bridge. -
Cities, States Welcome Private Firms into Public Transportation Projects
Opinion -With highway transportation networks in dire need of investment, either to keep from crumbling or address congestion, promising developments that offer fresh thinking to address the challenges recently have appeared. -
Analysis: Highway Tolling, Private Roadway Financing Gain Support in States
Opinion -According to author Malcom Gladwell, an idea can lie dormant for a long time and then suddenly catch on when the right stimulus comes along. -
Private Consortium to Help Ease Atlanta’s Traffic Woes
Opinion -Commuters in Georgia's metro Atlanta region are moving closer to congestion relief with the historic approval by the State Transportation Board of a letter of intent (LOI) to negotiate a public-private initiative (PPI) for transportation improvements in -
California Law Provides Lessons for Private Transportation
Opinion -Private toll roads are in much wider use in some parts of Europe and Asia than in the United States, but private funding to help solve traffic congestion may soon become more common here, according to University of California, Irvine professors Marlon G. -
Federal Highway Bill Still in Limbo
Opinion -Throughout the summer, 75 U.S. House and Senate conferees--the largest conference committee in federal government history--have been working feverishly to hammer out a new, six-year federal transportation spending plan. -
Federal Transportation Screeners Raise Conflict of Interest Issue
Opinion -July articles in the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Daily News identified passenger complaints about "stolen or damaged items from checked baggage as the number one air traveler complaint" about security and noted that Transportation Security -
HOT Lanes Advance in Seven States
Opinion -High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes made major gains in 2003 as federal, state, and local officials endorsed either the concept or specific project proposals. A December 29 article on the Washington Post’s Web site, washingtonpost. -
Where Rail Transit Works, and Why
Opinion -From Seattle to Atlanta to Sioux City, federal largesse has generated an intense debate about whether urban rail “works.” For those who believe the standard should be traffic reduction, the answer is a clear “no. -
Blackout Lesson: Keep the Gas Tank Full
Opinion -There was a transport dimension to Blackout 2003. -
Madison Commuter Rail: Let Taxpayers Beware!
Opinion -How would you feel if you bought a fancy new DVD player for Christmas, only to find the next day the same store was selling another DVD player just as good--but at one-fourth the cost? -
Texas offers up big, bold transportation vision
Opinion -Vision looms large in American history. John F. Kennedy’s took us to the moon. Ronald Reagan’s led to the end of the Soviet Union. Dwight D. -
Scientist testifies against 55 mph speed limit
Opinion -Dr. Kenneth Green, chief scientist for the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, testified on June 5 before the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Committee regarding the state’s mandatory 55-mile-per-hour speed limit.