Transportation - NATSO

09-11-2018 by NATSO Indiana Toll Road Rates Rising for Truck Drivers to Fund Governor’s $1 Billion Infrastructure Plan

Truck drivers who use the Indiana Toll Road could see toll rates rise by a whopping 35 percent if the Indiana Finance Authority approves a contract renegotiation with the toll road’s private operator at its Sept. 20 meeting. The rate increase was announced last week by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb as part of his Next Level Connections infrastructure plan to raise $1 billion for trails, broadband, roads and flights.

09-11-2018

09-01-2018 by NATSO Seven States Eye Tolls

We all know that America’s infrastructure needs improvement. As time passes, it becomes more and more urgent for our elected officials to decide how best to finance the repairs and maintenance of the nation’s roads and bridges. Unfortunately, far too many continue to consider placing tolls on existing interstates. Tolling is a failed policy. New tolls waste revenue, double tax drivers, create traffic diversion and severely hurt local economies. Our nation simply cannot afford for tolling to become synonymous with transportation financing.

09-01-2018

08-29-2018 by NATSO Rhode Island DOT Files Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging Truck-Only Tolls

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the American Trucking Associations, Cumberland Farms Inc., M&M Transport Services and New England Motor Freight challenging the states truck-only tolls, arguing that they are asking the court to do something that it lacks jurisdiction to do. In a motion filed Aug. 24 in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island, RIDOT cited the Tax Injunction Act, which restricts the power of the federal district courts to prevent the collection or enforcement of state taxes, as well as the 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

08-29-2018

08-21-2018 by NATSO FMCSA Considers Tweaks to Hours-of-Service Regs

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on Aug. 21 announced that it is seeking public comment on revising four specific areas of the federal rules that govern truck driver’s sleep and rest, also known as Hours of Service.

08-21-2018

08-07-2018 by NATSO Anti-Tolling Coalition: Toll Studies Overpromise Riches

The Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates (ATFI) urged Connecticut residents to be wary of the state’s plan to study tolling of state highways citing a long history of tolling studies that have misled policymakers into thinking tolls are practical infrastructure funding solution, when in fact, they are not.

08-07-2018

07-25-2018 by Troy Shoen Trends Watch: What Declining Gas Consumption Means for Your Truckstop

Where do you see your fuel operations heading in 10 years, 20 years — how about 32 years? That may seem like a long way out, but with the ever-changing transportation sector, forward-thinking truck stops and travel plazas are looking that far ahead now.

And what they’re finding is the future of gasoline is uncertain. That may be putting it nicely. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that motor gasoline consumption will decrease 31 percent between 2017 and 2050. Why? The main culprit is increasing fuel economy standards.

So how should you react? Think of it this way: What would a 31 percent drop in gasoline sales mean for your business? Also, what would it mean for your in-store sales if traffic at your pumps dropped significantly?

07-25-2018

07-25-2018 by NATSO NATSO Analysis: Chairman Shuster Infrastructure Proposal

This week retiring House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) released draft legislation outlining his vision for enhanced infrastructure investment. The draft legislation is designed to facilitate a process whereby the United States can recalibrate how it pays for infrastructure as it moves into the middle part of the 21st Century, while at the same time providing a mechanism to adequately fund such investment in the near-term as the process plays out. Although many stakeholders — including NATSO — object to certain provisions in the draft legislation, it nonetheless represents a important continuation of — and positive shift in — the discussion President Trump started when he released his own infrastructure proposal earlier this year.

07-25-2018

07-24-2018 by NATSO Congressman Shuster Unveils Infrastructure Vision

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) on July 23 unveiled his framework for the future of infrastructure policy, which included encouraging states to lease their infrastructure assets to the private sector as well as temporarily boosting the motor fuels tax until it can be replaced with per-mile fees.

07-24-2018

07-19-2018 by NATSO House Transportation Committee Chairman to Issue Infrastructure Discussion Draft

Congressman Bill Shuster, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told reporters July 19 that he plans to put out a “discussion draft” on infrastructure before the House breaks for August recess.

07-19-2018

07-10-2018 by NATSO ATA, Motor Carriers Sue Rhode Island Over Truck Toll Program

The American Trucking Associations, along with Cumberland Farms Inc., M&M Transport Services Inc. and New England Motor Freight, asked a federal court to rule Rhode Island’s RhodeWorks truck-only toll scheme unconstitutional, arguing it discriminates against interstate trucking companies and impedes the flow of interstate commerce.

07-10-2018

06-18-2018 by NATSO Anti-Tolling Coalition Submits Testimony Opposing Va. I-81 Tolls

The Alliance for Toll-Free Interstates, of which NATSO is a founding member, on June 15 urged Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to exclude recommendations for tolls from its upcoming I-81 Corridor Improvement Plan, which is due to the Virginia General Assembly later this year.

06-18-2018