Uber and Lyft are now offering their tech-savvy transportation services in Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio and the Dallas area. But statements from officials in those cities say the company’s drivers are technically violating local laws.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Transportation
Texas Road Funding Troubles Nab Spotlight
Funding for transportation could draw an unusual amount of attention in coming months as federal highway dollars threaten to dry up and Texans prepare to vote in November on a measure to increase road funds.
Posted in
Transportation
Texas Gets Poor Marks on Pedestrian Safety
Houston is the seventh most dangerous city in the nation for people on foot, according to a new report. Texas ranked as the 10th most dangerous state for walking commuters, with nearly 4,200 pedestrian deaths between 2003 and 2012.
Posted in
State Government
In Lawsuit, County Raises Caution Sign Over New Road Funding Program
LaSalle County, which is in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale, has sued the Texas Department of Transportation over a $225 million grant program aimed at repairing roads damaged by oilfield traffic.
Posted in
Energy
Despite Help From State, Counties Still Struggling to Fix Roads
In 2013, state lawmakers approved millions of dollars in funding to help repair roads damaged by trucks transporting fracking materials. A year later, many of the affected counties say that money will cover only a fraction of what they need.
Posted in
Transportation
Study: Most Texans Drive and Talk; Many Text
A new study from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that three out of four Texans at least occasionally speak on a cellphone while driving and nearly half sometimes read or text while driving.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Despite Changes, Driver Surcharge Program Faces Continued Opposition
UPDATED: Lawmakers are unlikely to abolish the Driver Responsibility Program next year, but at a hearing Monday, they encouraged critics of it to submit recommendations for reform.
Posted in
Energy
Railroads Filling Void as Oil Pipeline Falls Short
As drillers produce millions of barrels of crude oil in shale plays in Texas and the Midwest, railroad companies are finding booming business in transporting the oil to Gulf Coast refineries.
Posted in
Transportation
TxDOT Suspends TxTag Payment Page Due to Security Concern
A blogger noticed that a page on the Texas Department of Transportation’s TxTag site left customers’ credit card information exposed. TxDOT says it has no evidence of any security breaches.
Posted in
Economy
Tax Relief or Targeted Spending Hikes? Surplus Projections Fuel Debate
With expectations that state lawmakers will have a budget surplus of several billion dollars, lawmakers, activists and business groups are already discussing what to do with the money.