In This Issue

	Alaska Gov. Vetoes Gas Tax Bill
	TxDOT Chief warns again, ‘No Money for New Construction by 2012’
	AZ Legislators Agree to Photo Enforcement Changes
	Airlines profited $7.8B from Fees in 2009
	NC Approves $136M Bridge Replacements
	Ohio Bill would Privatize Lottery, Turnpike
	NHDOT Expands Twitter Traffic Alerts To I-89 And I-95
	Bay Area Transit ‘Unsustainable’; Operational Costs outstrip Revenues

Alaska Gov. Vetoes Gas Tax Bill

Alaska – A bill to “decouple” Alaska’s oil and gas taxes from each other has been vetoed by Gov. Sean Parnell, who called it an “overall tax increase” on the industry. Some lawmakers called Senate Bill 305 an assault on the state’s Alaska Gasoline Inducement Act, which was designed to develop a pipeline through Canada to bring the state’s expansive natural gas reserves to market.

“At a time when my administration proposed tax credits to incentivize more Alaska jobs in the oil patch, a tax increase would send us in the wrong direction,” Gov. Parnell, adding that a change in gas taxes now, and another one following the open seasons, would not give gas and oil companies the type of stability they are hoping for.

Gov. Parnell’s Republican primary challenger Bill Walker when called, said that in vetoing the bill, the governor “opened the door for upwards of $20 billion in oil tax concessions to Exxon, BP and ConocoPhillips.”

TxDOT Chief warns again, ‘No Money for New Construction by 2012’

This week in Houston, the Texas transportation chief said once again that there will be no money to spend on new construction projects by 2012. TxDOT Executive Director Amadeo Sanchez said that will be the agency’s future unless lawmakers either send more funding for roads or agree to cover debt payments so the department can borrow more.

The pressure is expected to be increasingly intense this January as the Legislature faces massive budget constraints. Some local governments are taking action, asking residents to pay additional local taxes for transportation improvements. El Paso has created special taxing zones to collect local taxes to re-route the revenue back to infrastructure.

Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said the local efforts are the result of the state’s failure to cover its responsibilities. “It’s important that people know if the state isn’t going to meet its obligation, then that share is coming straight to the county,” he said. “That’s a tax shift, that’s money that taxpayers at Texas level ought to be paying, instead it’s being paid at the local level … Not enough people know that we’re dead broke in 2012.”

Local officials in North Texas are also vying for authority from the state to ask voters to approve more in local taxes and fees to cover what they call inadequate state transportation spending. These issues will each be brought before the Legislature in 2011.

AZ Legislators Agree to Photo Enforcement Changes

Two bills to change Arizona’s use of red-light cameras were sent to Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk by legislators before adjourning for the year. Photo enforcement has been a controversial topic since its introduction to the state in 2008 by Gov. Janet Napolitano, who publicized it with projections of generating $90 million on one stretch of Scottsdale freeway.

One of the bills approved by lawmakers is expected to eliminate “gotcha” tickets using red light cameras at intersections, by requiring yellow light durations of at least three seconds. The measure is intended to prevent communities from deliberately shortening yellow light duration times to boost local revenue. The final version of the bill removed a separate provision that sought to limit violations to vehicles that entered the intersection at least one second after the light turned a steady red.

Another bill awaiting the governor’s signature would prohibit speed cameras within 600 feet of a posted speed change, and require speed limit and warning signs to be posted near cameras.

The governor has said she is willing to allow the state’s contract to use the cameras to expire this July, and let voters decide the fate of the photo enforcement’s future.

Airlines profited $7.8B from Fees in 2009

NEW YORK – U.S. airlines made big profits from fees last year, with a 42 percent increase on fees from 2008, the year the baggage fees were introduced. The U.S. Department of Transportation said airlines collected $7.8 billion from the so-called ancillary fees in 2009, which include reservation changes, pets, seat assignments, food and drink sales, pillows, blankets and mileage sales. The largest chunk of revenue came from the baggage fees, which began when oil prices skyrocketed to $147 per barrel.

As the world’s largest airline, Delta generated the highest revenue from fees at $1.65 billion. Continental and United, which just announced plans to merge, ranked sixth and seventh in fees collected, with $619.5 million and $539.7 million, respectively. American was second, U.S. Airways came in third, and Southwest was fourth in fee rankings, despite being the only major airline that doesn’t charge for the first two checked bags. Southwest, which carries the most passengers among all U.S. airlines, charges $50 for a third checked bag, and also charges for pets in the cabin and unaccompanied minors.

Spirit Airlines, a discount carrier that did not make the top 10, generated 21 percent of its operating revenue total through extra fees- more than any other airline. Spirit charges bag fees, as well as for seat assignments, pets, drinks, snacks and kids traveling alone. Beginning Aug. 1, it will charge up to $45 for a carry-on bag.

In some ways our society understands and deals with fees for premium or special service. For example, we are willing to pay extra to deliver a letter or package in a shorter time than for standard delivery. This was a “new” service that UPS, FedEx, the postal service and others put into place 25 years ago and we have become accustomed to paying the premium price. On the other hand, paying for a bag which was previously free is another matter. It’s an added service but one we were used to receiving for free. A toll is a premium payment for faster routing and travel as are HOT lane assessments. I predict more fees in our future. How will your firm position on this issue? TW

NC Approves $136M Bridge Replacements

Transportation officials have approved plans for a $136 million project to replace a 55-year-old bridge on a highly-congested area of I-85 over the Yadkin River. The North Carolina Department of Transportation awarded the contract to a joint venture of Flatiron Constructors and Lane Construction (Fluor-Lane) for the project to replace the existing four-lane crossing near Salisbury with an eight-lane bridge.

The I-85 bridge currently carries about 80,000 vehicles daily between Davidson and Rowan counties. Fluor-Lane will also replace a nearby bridge that carries U.S. 29/70 over the river. Construction will begin in October and is estimated to be complete by 2013, about 8 months before NCDOT had expected.

Ohio Bill would Privatize Lottery, Turnpike

Senators in Ohio are considering a bill that would lease the state’s lottery and turnpike to private investors for up to 50 years. The measure would allow revenue from the deal to be used to set up scholarships for top high school graduates, after all debt associated with the turnpike had been paid off.

The Ohio Turnpike Authority would be replaced by the Turnpike Oversight Committee which would oversee the operation of the tollway once the private entity had taken over. The panel would be responsible for reviewing and approving plans for operation of the northern Ohio toll road, which stretches from the Indiana border to the Pennsylvania state line. The panel would also inspect road work.

Currently in the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee, the bill may require public vote to be approved.

NHDOT Expands Twitter Traffic Alerts To I-89 And I-95

Traffic updates are now available on Twitter for motorists on I-89 and I-95 in New Hampshire, and will soon extend to the Everett and Spaulding Turnpikes. As of May 15, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation is adding the F.E. Everett Turnpike to the list of roads that will be the subject of traffic alerts on Twitter, the online instant-messaging service, where messages cannot exceed 140 characters.

Many states use Twitter as part of their transportation management programs for notifying the public of critical traffic alerts. Twitter gives NHDOT's Transportation Management Center the ability to notify travelers of real-time traffic and road conditions before they encounter a congested area by sending a text message directly to phones or e-mails and providing an immediate one-way notification to "followers" when an event occurs. Twitter alerts have been available for I-93 since February.

Bay Area Transit ‘Unsustainable’; Operational Costs outstrip Revenues

More than two dozen transit systems in the Bay Area need $1 bllion a year for the next 25 years to sustain public routes, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s annual report. The Bay Area’s major transportation planning agency said public transit in the region is going downhill fast, with local buses, trains and ferries estimated to reach deficits totaling $25 billion in 2033.

“By all measures, the long-term prognosis points to decline, not stability,” Steve Heminger, the commission’s executive director, said in the report. “The current transit system is unsustainable.” Costs for Bay Area transit agencies have increased by 52 percent since 1997, after factoring out inflation. Heminger said fewer people working means fewer people take transit to, and reduced spending results in less revenue from sales tax. This forces agencies to cut service and raise fares, which decreases fare revenues even further. He called this cycle “a road to ruin.”

The commission has formed a task force to come up with possible solutions to the crisis, the Transit Sustainability Project. “Transit operators struggle to satisfy the public’s expectation of comprehensive, fixed-route service to even far-flung locations – whether or not ridership levels make such service truly feasible,” the report said.