New "On the Go" tackles cycling, fuel economy standards, and high-speed rail

Since launching in March, we've gotten a fantastic response to our "On the Go" series, where I answer questions submitted by you on Facebook, Twitter, and here on my blog.  I appreciate all of you who take the time to let me know your thoughts on what we're doing here at the Department of Transportation.

This month, we received a number of great comments on a wide variety of topics.  Check out the latest episode to find out what we're doing to improve fuel economy standards, how we're investing in safe bike infrastructure, and even my own favorite means of transportation:

Do you have a question you'd like me to answer?  You can:

• Post on my Facebook Discussion board;
• Tweet me using the #q4ray hashtag; or
• Leave a comment here on my blog.

Until next time, thanks for watching!

Comments

[jeff clark]

It sure would be great if you could provide trailheads with truck parking for 10 hour breaks. Especially since part of my fuel taxes are going to pay for them.

[Vanessa Amado, PhD, PE]

Secretary Lahood as a transportation engineer myself I have been lobbying for bicycle infrastructure and education here in Puerto Rico, I have gone to the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority, the FHWA, the House of Representatives, even wrote to our Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi in DC, but I keep hearing that Puerto Rico does not get federal funding for bicycle or pedestrian facilities because no such data is collected, we are not a state, etc. My question is: how can we get some federal funding for bike sharing, bike/ped infrastructure, and education?
Vanessa Amado, PhD, PE
San Juan, Puerto Rico

[Aidian]

Dear U.S. Secretary Ray LaHood,

Do you recall about 10 years ago how the Segway was suppose to revolutionize personal transportation? At the time, a few luminaries were quoted as saying that it would be as important as the personal computer, that it would be as revolutionary as the World Wide Web, and that cities would be built around it. As we all know now, those predictions didn't quite pan out, and ever since the Segway was unveiled, there has not been one single project to date that has come close to revolutionizing personal transportation. Well I just wanted to let you know, I have been working on a project "in my garage" that I am confident will, in fact, revolutionize personal transportation.

The reason I am so confident is because of my deep understanding of 5 key aspects associated with my project. Those key aspects include: the politics, the business, the technology, the engineering, and the design. Since I am simultaneously thinking about or working on these 5 key aspects, I have this immense foresight that gives me a good idea of how my project will play out in the real world. And I must say, it's beautiful.

If my project does revolutionize personal transportation, then not only will it be a significant contribution to transportation in the 21st century, it will also resolve significant issues that plague our country today. Figuratively speaking, it will be like the little engine that could.

Since starting my project, I have been working on it every day, and one concern I have that is always on my mind is how will I be able to fund it. If I were to take the investor route, I would easily get all the funding I need. The merits of my project alone would be enough to convince investors, and when you add to the fact that investors are giving $10 million dollars these days to start a grilled cheese sandwich business, getting funding is pretty much guaranteed. Even though the barrier to get funding from investors is low, I do not wish to take that route for reasons I will reveal later when I unveil my project.

So, my one question to you is this, if when I unveil my project, which will be within a year from now, and it shows potential to be able to revolutionize personal transportation, will I be able to get financial backing from my government on behalf of the people of the United States of America? The amount of funding required will be a minuscule fraction of the bailout money that was given to the automobile companies.

I look forward to hearing your reply.

With regards,

Aidian

[Aidian]

Dear U.S. Secretary Ray LaHood,

Do you recall about 10 years ago how the Segway was suppose to revolutionize personal transportation? At the time, a few luminaries were quoted as saying that it would be as important as the personal computer, that it would be as revolutionary as the World Wide Web, and that cities would be built around it. As we all know now, those predictions didn't quite pan out, and ever since the Segway was unveiled, there has not been one single project to date that has come close to revolutionizing personal transportation. Well I just wanted to let you know, I have been working on a project "in my garage" that I am confident will, in fact, revolutionize personal transportation.

The reason I am so confident is because of my deep understanding of 5 key aspects associated with my project. Those key aspects include: the politics, the business, the technology, the engineering, and the design. Since I am simultaneously thinking about or working on these 5 key aspects, I have this immense foresight that gives me a good idea of how my project will play out in the real world. And I must say, it's beautiful.

If my project does revolutionize personal transportation, then not only will it be a significant contribution to transportation in the 21st century, it will also resolve significant issues that plague our country today. Figuratively speaking, it will be like the little engine that could.

Since starting my project, I have been working on it every day, and one concern I have that is always on my mind is how will I be able to fund it. If I were to take the investor route, I would easily get all the funding I need. The merits of my project alone would be enough to convince investors, and when you add to the fact that investors are giving $10 million dollars these days to start a grilled cheese sandwich business, getting funding is pretty much guaranteed. Even though the barrier to get funding from investors is low, I do not wish to take that route for reasons I will reveal later when I unveil my project.

So, my one question to you is this, if when I unveil my project, which will be within a year from now, and it shows potential to be able to revolutionize personal transportation, will I be able to get financial backing from my government on behalf of the people of the United States of America? The amount of funding required will be a minuscule fraction of the bailout money that was given to the automobile companies.

I look forward to hearing your reply.

With regards,

Aidian

[Aidian]

I would like to clarify my question in my last post:

If my project that I have been working on "in my garage" shows that it has the potential to revolutionize personal transportation, will I be able to get financial backing from my government, with the funds being provided by the people of the United States of America? The amount of funding required will be a minuscule fraction of the bailout money that was given to the automobile companies.

-- Aidian

[Nathaniel Hayes]

Secretary LaHood,

Thank you for offering this forum. My question is regarding liquid fuels taxes for marine, aviation and conventional motor vehicles.

I am an avid Streetsblog reader, a professional engineer and work on local, state and federal infrastructure rehabilitation projects in Pittsburgh, PA. I appreciate Congress working towards a new, long term surface transportation bill, though none of the proposals directly generate revenue at sustainable rates. Many of the programs for capital investments borrow at the federal level to leverage borrowing at the state and local level, or leveraging private investments - which is typically borrowing.

Why is Congress and the Administration not including immediate increases in any of the federal liquid fuels taxes, specifically, what is so wrong with limiting borrowing and leveraging cheap municipal bonds or private investment with real money?

Thank you for your time.

[Alon Levy]

Dear Secretary LaHood,

What are you going to do about FRA regulations on passenger rail? Those regulations are hobbling passenger trains in many ways, and have contributed to the failure of the Acela to be as successful as expected.

For one particularly egregious example, the FRA requires passenger trains to meet far higher buff strength regulations than in Europe and Japan, leading to higher weight (the Acela power cars weigh 90 metric tons, vs. 68 for the TGV power cars, and 47 for the Shinkansen multiple-units) and thus reduced performance. This is supposed to protect trains in crashes, but recent simulations done by Caltrain show that the extra protection is trivial. On the contrary, those regulations make trains less safe: in the Chatsworth crash, the locomotive was so heavy the lead car telescoped into it, increasing the death toll.

You should look into reforming US rail regulations along the lines of the EU or Japan, where trains are both easier to run and safer than in the US per passenger-mile.

Yours,
Alon Levy.

[Zachary Berman]

Secretary LaHood:

Don't give up hope for a gas tax increase. Mileage tax and fuel efficiency standards are more complicated solutions, and more difficult to implement than a gas tax increase, which would solve most of our transportation problems, if it were big enough.

President Obama can't risk supporting it. You, as a less political figure with a higher level of expertise in the subject, can loudly and vocally support it.

Forget the environmental rhetoric. It falls on deaf ears. The gas tax is necessary to reduce congestion, to get America out of our daily traffic jams, to get us moving again.

Thank you.

Zachary Berman

[Josef Szende]

Secretary LaHood,

You recently solicited questions from Streetsblog readers such as myself so I hope you will have a chance to answer my question.

I have been very impressed with the rise of electric and hybrid cars in recent years. However, cars still cause a wide range of problems for the country and its people including: congestion and time loss, traffic fatalities, and wasting too much land on parking. Does the USDOT consider its job on creating a sustainable transit system to be over once the majority of the country is using electric vehicles? If not, please explain the long-term policies the USDOT will implement to pursue modal shift in the age of the electric car.

Thank you very much.

[JBK]

Ray - my employer offers a commuter tax benefit - we can purchase parking or rail passes with pre-tax dollars.

However, I save my municipality, the country and my firm substantial dollars by frequently bike commuting to work during the warmer months. While the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 provided a $20 monthly possible benefit, this is both pathetic and insulting.

Unlike the transport benefits applicable to people mucking up traffic with their single-occupancy vehicles, I am required to substantiate my expenses on an itemized basis. Further, if I get a pre-tax transit pass for days when it rains, I am not eligible for the pitiful bike reimbursement.

As such, even though I bike to work, it remains more beneficial for me not to accept the pittance provided. When will bike commuters be placed on an even standing with other transit? Why shouldn't I be eligible to just get a pre-tax check of $2,760 like the parking/transit benefit provides the worst polluters around?

[Sam]

Dear Secretary LaHood,

Non-motorized users of our roads continue to be seen as illegitimate users. What concrete plans do you and the DOT have to remove that misconception? Increase the transportation dollars so everyone has a choice in choosing from many modes of transportation, rather than one (the automobile) will be one method - how do you propose to do so?

Thank you.

[skipwkk]

How will the transportation department get the various levels of transportation agencies (bike, auto, bus,train, air and water) to coordinate there routes and schedules to facilitate efficient travel and economy.

[Joe Ruva]

Dear Secretary LaHood,

As you well know our rail systems are very efficient mode of transportation. However I have an idea, what if we do a study to convert a few trains to a hybrid trolley system where in urban and mountainous areas a train would use high power lines like a trolley train with overhead wires and in remote areas lower the trolley wheels and use the diesel/electric as usual. On board batteries used like a Prius may enhance the effect but we won't know unless a study is done. Could the DOT perform the study or at least promote such a study?
Thank you for your time, Joe.

[Allen Schaeffer]

Secretary LaHood - there is a tremendous focus within DOT and the Administration on electric vehicles and plug in hybrids. Being from the Midwest, you can appreciate these technologies may or may not be suitable for many Americans driving habits and situations - perhaps for a very long time if ever.

Recently you attended the new VW Plant opening in Chattanooga and in your speech you made an encouraging statement about clean diesel cars. Diesel vehicles get about 30 percent better fuel economy than gasoline vehicles and it looks like manufacturers may make more of them in the future to meet your new anticipated higher fuel economy standards.

The federal fuel tax on diesel is 6 cents a gallon more than gasoline-- effectively penalizing a diesel car driver for using more efficient technology.

Are our fuel tax policies right on fuels? SHould diesel and gasoline be taxed equally? should there be a separate diesel car fuel tax structure different than for commercial trucks? On the other end of the spectrum, how will vehicles that don't use conventional liquid fuels at all pay a fair share for their use and upkeep of infrastructure?
Thank you

[Clarence Eckerson Jr]

Would you go for a bike ride with Streetfilms?

[Tracy Banks]

I will be taking the train if gas tax increases.

[Alcohol Rehab Utah]

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