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The latest transportation news from The Texas Tribune.

  • The Trouble With Trucking

    by Kate Galbraith

    Heavy truck traffic, some of it related to the wind industry, has increased sharply across the state in recent years, and it's taken a heavy toll on rural roadways. To its chagrin, the Texas Department of Transportation has little prospect of recouping repair costs. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Where They Stand: HD-47

    by Ben Philpott, KUT News

    In House District 47 — which sits entirely within Travis County — incumbent Democrat Valinda Bolton is locked in a tight race with Republican Paul Workman. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at where the candidates stand on the issue of transportation. Full Story 

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  • American Idle

    by Elizabeth Titus and Kate Galbraith

    Each year in the United States, idling trucks and cars burn several billion gallons of fuel, emitting various pollutants without driving a single mile. The Texas Legislature passed legislation in 2005 limiting big trucks to five minutes of idling time, but local governments aren't obligated to enforce the law, and the debate over exemptions continues to roil. Full Story 

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    Credit: Andrew Atzert

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    I hit the campaign trail with Rick Perry, E. Smith starts off the fall TribLive series by interviewing Attorney General Greg Abbott, Stiles on the most congested roads in Texas, Ramshaw's interview with former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Grissom on the perils of talking too much if you're the head of the state's jail standards board, M. Smith on Congressman Chet Edwards' fight for political survival in a Republican year, Philpott on counties worried the state's budget woes will trickle down, Hamilton on whether Texas should be in the movie-vetting business, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist seeking asylum from his country's drug violence, Galbraith on green energy and Texas college football, and excerpts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby's new book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics: The best of our best from August 30 to September 3, 2010. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: The Bus Fuss

    by Brian Thevenot

    After a 2006 bus accident in Beaumont that killed two students and injured several more, parents and legislators successfully demanded the state finance seat belts in school buses. Today, four years later, the Legislative Budget Board finally gave approval for a grant program — but the rules the board set likely will exclude the Beaumont area from getting the money, even though the grassroots movement started there. Full Story 

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  • The 100 Most Congested Roads

    by Matt Stiles

    A new Texas Department of Transportation study names Texas' 100 most congested roadways, which are heavily concentrated in Houston and the Dallas Metroplex; Bexar is the only one of the big five counties without a top-10 trouble spot. Policymakers hope the study will focus the public and lawmakers on the state's problem areas. Full Story 

    Traffic congestion on Interstate 35 in Austin. The freeway through central Austin is among the state's most congested road s…
    Credit: Illustration by Charles Stricklin/Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Driver Debt Debate

    by Elizabeth Titus

    On Tuesday, a House committee heard arguments over the future of the controversial Driver Responsibility Program — which pits outrage over heavy traffic fines on the poor against the state's need to finance trauma care in hospitals, which benefit from the fines. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Evan Smith

    Stiles' and Torres' three-parter on the changing Texas political map, Ramsey on questions about Brian Birdwell's voting history and residency, Aguilar on the Obama administration's immigration crackdown, Reed on hospitals that won't induce early labor, Stiles on what Troy Fraser left off his financial disclosure form, the latest installment of Hu's Face-Off video debate series, Grissom on the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program, Galbraith on the controversy over fracking and M. Smith's interview with former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O'Neill: The best of our best from July 26 to 30, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • A Fine Mess

    by Brandi Grissom

    Efforts to salvage the problem-plagued Driver Responsibility Program ultimately may not shield it from the wrath of its many detractors, including at least one lawmaker who believes we "shouldn't hesitate in getting rid of it." Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Suspending Driver Suspensions

    by Brandi Grissom

    The Texas Public Safety Commission on Thursday approved changes to the Driver Responsibility Program that would include an amnesty program for drivers with outstanding surcharges, reduced fines for poor drivers and new incentives to encourage more people to pay up. Full Story 

    A Texas Department of Public Safety official seal.
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Evan Smith

    Ramsey's interview with Rick Perry's chief consultant, Stiles on the massive amount of cash that cities are collecting from red-light cameras, Grissom on the coming debate over the Democrats' two-step primary/caucus process, Thevenot on the State Board of Education's latest controversial plan, Aguilar on immigrants deported for minor infractions, Ramshaw on the social conscience (or lack thereof) of medical schools, M. Smith on a nascent voter registration effort in Harris County, Hamilton's interview with the newest state senator, Philpott on Bill White's feistier week, Galbraith on how tighter EPA rules will affect Texas and Hu on questions about the governor's transparency: The best of our best from June 21 to 25, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Jacob Villanueva

  • Red-Light Camera Cash

    by Matt Stiles

    Revenue from Texas red-light cameras soared in 2009, with cities collecting more than $62 million from motorists, newly released state records show. We've taken that revenue data to create an interactive visualization that shows how the traffic camera revenue, expenses and profits vary from city to city, along with the proportion of the money that goes to the state. Full Story 

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    Credit: Graphic by Matt Stiles

  • The Brief: June 8, 2010

    by David Muto

    Efforts to contain the oil still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico finally seem to be making headway, but the government is now warning that the remaining slick may have a mind of its own. Full Story 

    This photo from a NASA satellite shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico on April 25, 2010.
    Credit: N.A.S.A.

  • A Conversation with Deirdre Delisi

    by Evan Smith

    For the seventh event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the chair of the Texas Transportation Commission on the size of the road funding hole, the toll-versus-tax debate and whether the governor she once served as chief of staff is really not running for president. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    by Ross Ramsey

    E. Smith interviews Gov. Rick Perry for the Trib and Newsweek, Philpott dissects the state's budget mess in a weeklong series, Hamilton looks at whether Bill White is or was a trial lawyer, M. Smith finds experts all over the state anxiously watching a court case over who owns the water under our feet, Aguilar reports on the battle between Fort Stockton and Clayton Williams Jr. over water in West Texas, Ramshaw finds a population too disabled to get on by itself but not disabled enough to get state help and Miller spends a day with a young man and his mother coping with that situation, Ramsey peeks in on software that lets the government know whether its e-mail messages are getting read and who's reading what, a highway commissioner reveals just how big a hole Texas has in its road budget, Grissom does the math on the state's border cameras and learns they cost Texans about $153,800 per arrest, and E. Smith interviews Karen Hughes on the difference between corporate and political P.R. — and whether there's such a thing as "Obama Derangement Syndrome." The best of our best from April 19 to April 23, 2010. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacqueline Mermea