Over the next several months, hundreds of electric and plug-in hybrid cars will arrive in Texas cities. They will emit little pollution and be cheaper to operate than conventional vehicles. For the state government, however, the advent of alternative-fuel vehicles creates a long-term concern: They will generate little or no gas tax revenue — a key funding source for keeping the state’s roads and bridges in good repair.
Transportation
Reporting on roads, transit, infrastructure, and policy shaping travel and mobility across the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Transportation
TribBlog: Life in the Fast Lane
More than a third of Texas drivers think roadways are less safe than they were five years ago even though data shows that deaths have steadily decreased, according to a survey by the Center for Transportation Safety at the Texas Transportation Institute.
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Inside Intelligence
Inside Intelligence: The Budget Will Be Balanced By…
For this week’s installment of our non-scientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we focused on the budget. Specifically, we asked how big the shortfall is going to be, how the Legislature will close the gap and which areas of the budget are most likely to be cut.
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Transportation
TribBlog: Berman Files Bill to End DPS Driver Surcharges
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, wants to end something besides illegal immigration and federal intrusion into health care in Texas.
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Transportation
The Cost of Disrepair
Think repairing the state’s roads and highways is costly? Try not repairing them. That’s the message from transportation advocacy groups, which say poor road conditions are costing Texas drivers $22.6 billion per year in car damage, fuel costs and traffic accidents. But as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, before any of those problems can be addressed, we should all prepare for a bumpy ride.
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Demographics
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on the frailties of electronic voting machines, Hu on the big bump in early voter turnout, Chang talks to the national coordinator of Health Information Technology, Hamilton on why the nondiscrimination policies of state university systems don’t include sexual orientation, Aguilar on the prospect of high school football referees on strike, Stiles updates our government employee salary app to include 20 more public agencies, Philpott on where the candidates in HD-52 stand on fast growth, Galbraith on damage to Texas roads caused by heavy truck traffic, Grissom interviews the first Hispanic sheriff of Harris County and my one-hour sit-downs with Rick Perry and Bill White: The best of our best from October 18 to 22, 2010.
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State Government
TribBlog: DPS Commission Approves Surcharge Changes
The Texas Public Safety Commission today approved a slate of rules meant to allow thousands of drivers to get their licenses back.
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Energy
The Trouble With Trucking
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.
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Energy
TribBlog: Texas Drops in Efficiency Rankings
An annual state-by-state ranking of energy efficiency policies, compiled by a Washington-based advocacy group, shows Texas slipping the fastest.
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State Government
Where They Stand: HD-47
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.