TTD in the news

Reported by Barry Parker for Seatrade Maritime News As the Biden administration settles into place, infrastructure will be high on the list of priorities. When he was Vice President, under Barack Obama, Biden had addressed the 2014 American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) annual convention; in his keynote speech, he stressed the importance of infrastructure […]

As Reported by Jessica Wehrman for CQ-Roll Call and Aviation Pros One of the first tasks President-elect Joe Biden will face when he assumes office will be to bring back an economy crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the hardest-hit industries: travel. The U.S. travel economy has lost about $500 billion since the pandemic began […]

As Reported by Keith Laing for Bloomberg The elevation of New York Senator Chuck Schumer to majority leader of the U.S. Senate has backers of the proposed Gateway rail tunnel to link New York and New Jersey hoping it’s back on track. Schumer has long been a supporter of the $11 billion project, which has […]

As Reported by Mark Gruenberg for People’s World Transportation unions and LGBTQ groups are lauding President-Elect Joe Biden’s nomination of former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg to be Secretary of Transportation once Biden takes over the Oval Office on Jan. 20. If confirmed, Buttigieg would be the first-ever openly gay U.S. Cabinet member. Meanwhile, […]

As Reported by Keith Laing for Bloomberg
The tunnel, with an estimated cost of more than $11 billion, would carry Amtrak and New Jersey Transit commuter trains under the Hudson River as part of the Gateway Program. Supporters say the project has languished amid feuding between President Donald Trump and Democratic governors in New York and New Jersey — though the administration says it is working to complete an environmental review.

As Reported by Lena H. Sun, Michael Laris and Lori Aratani for The Washington Post
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday strongly recommended in newly issued guidelines that all passengers and workers on planes, trains, buses and other public transportation wear masks to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. The guidance was issued following pressure from the airline industry and amid surging cases of the coronavirus and strong evidence on the effectiveness of masks in curbing transmission, according to CDC officials. The recommendations fall short of what transportation industry leaders and unions had sought, and come long after evidence in favor of mask-wearing was well established.

As reported by Sheila Kaplan  for the New York Times: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States, but it was blocked by the White House, according to two federal health officials.

As Reported by Ted Reed for Forbes
That reluctance is unsurprising, said John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union, which represents 150,000 transport workers including about 65,000 employed in the airline industry. On Oct. 9, the U.S. Department of Transportation rejected a petition from the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO to require masks for passengers on commercial passenger transportation. The federal agencies “won’t step up,” Samuelsen said Wednesday. “They won’t create an across the board mandate on anything related to Covid-19 related safety measures or worker protection.”

As Reported By Lori Aratani and Michael Laris For the Washington Post
Advocates of federal aid to keep 33,000 airline employees on the job lobbied for months, sending thousands of letters and donning protective masks to walk the halls of Congress. And it appeared to be working, garnering bipartisan backing and support from President Trump, who just last month said: “We’ll be helping the airlines.”

As Reported By Kea Wilson For Streetsblog USA
The Trump administration rejected a plea to require masks on public transit nationwide on Friday — and then immediately kicked the mostly urban-based industry when it was down by halting negotiations on a relief deal that would have provided agencies with the windfall they need to survive.