Free Republic

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was unable to answer a question Wednesday about how long gas would be at three dollars a gallon but stressed he understood American’s feelings on the matter. EPA Administrator Michael Regan and the transportation secretary spoke about the crisis at the daily press briefing at the White House. When asked directly by a reporter about his message to Americans who were facing the high cost of gasoline, Buttigieg replied, “My message is that we understand these concerns that we’ve seen in a lot of the impacted geographies, that this is a real issue.” The average cost...

The cost of owning and operating a vehicle in Illinois would increase dramatically under a proposal in the state Senate aimed at paying for repairs to crumbling roads and bridges. The legislation, introduced this week by Democratic Sen. Martin Sandoval of Chicago, would more than double the state’s gas tax to 44 cents a gallon, double the driver’s license fee to $60 and raise the vehicle registration fee to $148. The driver’s license fee is now $30; the vehicle registration fee is $98. It also would significantly hike the registration fee for electric vehicles, from $17.50 to $1,000. Greater fuel...

Part of a fee that motorists pay to a road and bridge fund is being used for transit projects across Colorado, and Senate Republicans don't believe that's right. As a result, the Colorado Senate gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would change that. ... "The intent of this bill is to ensure that the money paid by citizens for the improvement of roads and bridges when they pay their vehicle registration fees is actually used for roads and bridges," Neville said. "The definition of a fee is that it should be utilized for those who are paying the...

Last week, Governor John Hickenlooper announced a $100 million plan to make Colorado “the best state for biking.” ... Of the total $100 million, about 70 percent will come from CDOT

With little income generated by the canals themselves — recreational revenue is about $165,000 a year, commercial only $40,000 — the cost of operating them is now covered largely with highway tolls collected by the Thruway Authority. And the roughly $55 million operating budget for the canals accounted for a large chunk of the $78.5 million in losses the authority reported during the 2014 fiscal year. On top of that are annual capital investments in the tens of millions of dollars to maintain and improve the system. The burden falls largely on highway toll-payers because of a decision in 1992...

HARRISBURG — After idling six months in the state Legislature, Gov. Tom Corbett's coveted bill to address pressing transportation needs seems headed toward becoming law at 70 mph, fueled by higher gasoline taxes. Final passage is expected Thursday on legislation that would rev up transportation spending by $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion and give Corbett a badly needed policy victory. Success would come just days after what appeared to be a legislative pileup. The House balked at passage late Monday, only to suddenly shift gears Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, the Senate passed the package 43-7, and that vote put the...

Professor Peter Furth has ridden his bicycle to work at Northeastern University each day for the past six years. The two-mile trip through the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, is usually without incident. Furth's journey is worlds apart from his former Boston commute, which for 13 years was a battle with drivers who wanted him on the sidewalk. "I've had motorists that drive a couple of inches from my elbow, trying to scare me," he said. Furth would catch up with drivers at stoplights and ask them whether they knew how close they'd come to hitting him. Invariably, they would...

If you don't like gasoline taxes, here's an alternative: a tax on the number of miles you drive in a year. The Texas Transportation Commission has directed a fresh study of the idea, and it is not alone. There are pilot projects in other states and nationally to gauge how such a tax would work. Texas transportation officials say the study is meant to help give lawmakers information on options ahead of their next regular session in 2011, when they confront a funding squeeze that is expected to drain the highway fund of money for new construction contracts by 2012....

A proposed gasoline tax hike to fix the state's crumbling roads and bridges is pitting road builders against gasoline station owners, who say it would give Michigan the highest tax in the nation. With the proposed hike being considered by the lame duck state Legislature, Michigan would jump ahead of California, the nation's current No. 1... "It's the last thing this ailing economy needs right now," ... "Cheap fuel prices are fueling the (economic) activity we have now. Taxing gasoline to fix roads is an old way of doing it." A recent poll of truckers ranked Michigan interstates as the...

A special state commission looking for ways to keep the state's roads and rail systems from falling into disrepair will recommend that the state raise the gasoline tax by 11.5 cents a gallon next year and impose a "user fee" of 5 cents a mile to drive on major state highways... The Transportation Finance Commission, appointed by the Legislature in 2004, is expected to make its recommendations public tomorrow... To close the gap, the commission is proposing a package of tolls and taxes that would generate more than $20 billion. According to a summary of the recommendations, the commission will...

<p>PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Attorney General Ben Chandler has promised that if elected governor, he'll "fast track" the upgrading of the two-lane section of the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway, making its conversion to four lanes his top road priority.</p> <p>Chandler's Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Ernie Fletcher, responded in an interview yesterday that he will "do everything we can to get that done as quickly as we can" but said Chandler is "reaching awful far on a lot of campaign promises."</p>

Musgrave alleges intimidationAlaska lawmaker berated her, she saysBy Mike Soraghan, Denver Post Washington BureauWASHINGTON - Freshman Rep. Marilyn Musgrave is leading the charge against a gasoline tax increase being pushed by fellow Republicans. But she's finding that the limelight can be an uncomfortable place. Musgrave, of Fort Morgan, said this week that the chief sponsor of raising the tax, House Transportation Committee chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, tried to intimidate her with an in-your-face tirade on the House floor. She said he also threatened highway projects in her district. "I have never had a man talk to me the way Mr....