I’ve never met anyone less impressive at the higher levels of government than LaHood. When I listened to him claim that commercial flying was a perilous mode of transportation, heard him say that bullet trains would soon replace cars and claim that building more bike lanes would solve the congestion problems in major cities … well, how can I put this: giving someone this silly a cabinet position should be an impeachable offense. Remember this is the guy who recklessly, and without evidence, suggested Americans “stop driving” Toyota for safety reasons right in the middle of the debate over the General Motors rescue. -David Harsanyi 
Amtrak is sending emails to inform customers that they will get a discount on their train tickets if they donate money to organizations that will then lobby for more Amtrak subsidies.
NJ Transit has launched an internal probe into its preparations for Sandy, including its disastrous decision to store trains in areas slammed by storm surges, a transportation official told The Post. Nearly a third of the New Jersey transportation agency’s fleet was damaged in the Oct. 29 storm — a potentially multimillion-dollar loss that some suspect could have been prevented... “They knew the storm was coming. Why did we lose any trains?” All of those badly damaged locomotives and passenger cars were stored in yards in low-lying Hoboken and Kearny.
Democrat, Liberal, Incompetence, Financial
This month, a panel charged with reviewing the California project warned that it lacks a viable business plan and urged a reassessment of cost, ridership estimates, anticipated funding and risks before committing the state to billions of dollars that it does not have. "Our plan is to move forward, but obviously we are keeping a very close watch on the situation in Washington," said Gil Duran, spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown. "It's not something we can do alone."
Democrat, Liberal, Government, Incompetence, Obama, Financial
Each Chevy Volt sold thus far may have as much as $250,000 in state and federal dollars in incentives behind it – a total of $3 billion altogether, according to an analysis by James Hohman, assistant director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Liberal, Government, Incompetence, Degeneracy, Waste
A Metro rider found an unpleasant surprise on his daily commute at the Franconia-Springfield station on Monday: human feces smeared on the pedestrian bridge into the station. And making matters worse, it was still there Tuesday and Wednesday. No one had cleaned it up. Austin Lasseter said he spoke to the Metro station manager on Monday, then each day thereafter. But she told Lasseter it wasn't Metro's problem. The stairs belong to Virginia Railway Express even though it was on the Metro side of the bridge.
Government, Incompetence
European and Japanese contractors jostled for a piece of the business while foreign journalists gushed over China’s latest high-tech marvel. Today, Liu Zhijun is ruined, and his high-speed rail project is in trouble. On Feb. 25, he was fired for “severe violations of discipline” — code for embezzling tens of millions of dollars. Seems his ministry has run up $271 billion in debt — roughly five times the level that bankrupted General Motors. But ticket sales can’t cover debt service that will total $27.7 billion in 2011 alone. Safety concerns also are cropping up.
Government, Incompetence
But although the region now has a gleaming system of subways and light-rail trains, some transportation experts say the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $8-billion effort — less operating costs — has done little to reduce traffic congestion or increase the use of mass transit much beyond the level in 1985, when planning for the Metro Blue Line began.
Government, Incompetence
WASHINGTON — The subway train that plowed into another, causing a crash that killed seven and injured scores of others , was part of an aging fleet that federal regulators had recommended three years ago be phased out or retrofitted, a safety investigator said.
Government, Incompetence
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP/WBTV) - North Carolina transportation officials say they've reached an agreement that will allow them to obtain $461 million in federal grants to improve train service.
However, the ride will only be 13 minutes faster. The project is expected to create nearly 5,000 jobs.