New Starts

In new rules published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the Department of Transportation is amending Bush era policies on awarding grants for Light Rail, Subway, and Bus Rapid Transit projects.

The DOT awarded a billion and a half in grants to transit projects on the Fourth of July. Eric Jaffe has the lowdown on projects from Connecticut to Colorado.

Transport Politic takes a detailed look at the transportation projects suggested by the Federal Transit Administration's recently released Annual Report on Funding Recommendations.

The National Journal Online talks to three transportation experts about the recent statements by DOT Secretary LaHood that the agency would begin using livability-based funding guidelines for major transit projects. Will it work?

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said yesterday that he would rescind a 2005 rule from the Bush administration that cost-effectiveness trump all other factors when approving transit projects.

...or not. Only 3 senators bothered to show up for his confirmation hearing. The discussion centered around the failure of the FTA to get funding to ailing transit systems across the country.