DOT News Updates

Government

State DOTs Might Soon Receive Old Earmark Funds

A little-noticed provision in the five-year transportation funding bill that became law on Dec. 18 might offer an unexpected funding bonus for state departments of transportation.

December 28, 2015
Government

'Let the Wookiee Win': Iowa DOT Invokes Star Wars for Highway Safety

Put down your phone while driving, you will, or to the Dark Side it will lead.

December 16, 2015
Government

Freight Transportation Barely Misses Record Level, DOT Says

The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index rose 0.5% in October from the same month last year, just 0.2% below the all-time record, DOT said Dec. 9.

December 9, 2015
BusinessGovernment

AAR Appeals DOT Tank Car Safety Rules

The Association of American Railroads has challenged the Department of Transportation’s tank car safety rules at the U.S. Court of Appeals after the agency rejected the trade group’s bid to have the agency revise its standards.

November 25, 2015
Government

US Highway Deaths Up 8.1% This Year, DOT Says

The death toll on U.S. highways rose 8.1% in the first half of 2015 as low fuel prices contributed to a jump in miles driven by Americans, according to new figures from the Transportation Department.

November 24, 2015
Government

Great Scott! ‘Back to the Future’ Innovations Are Possible by Passing Highway Bills, DOT Says

The country would be one step closer to enjoying safe flying cars on “flyways,” hover-boards and hover-conversion kits — innovations featured in “Back to the Future II” — if Congress was more consistent in passing multiyear transportation bills.

October 21, 2015
Government

DOT Releases Draft National Freight Strategic Plan

The Department of Transportation on Oct. 19 released a draft copy of its detailed National Freight Strategic Plan that calls for funding dedicated to freight projects, identifies major corridors and gateways, offers ways to improve data collection and analysis to measure freight movement and suggests programs to train future freight transportation workers skills for fast-changing technologies.

October 19, 2015
Government

DOT Unveils Transportation Investment Unit

The U.S. Department of Transportation has unveiled a centralized unit tasked with working with states, cities and investors looking for help with navigating the federal transportation apparatus.

September 30, 2015
Government

DOT Freight Transportation Index Rises 2.3%

The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index rose 2.3% in June from the same month in 2014, DOT said Aug 12.

August 12, 2015
Government

Federal Government Sets Listening Session for New VIUS

The Department of Transportation and other parts of the federal government are considering bringing back the Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey, or VIUS, that was a major source of transportation data through 2002.

July 23, 2015