Public Transit

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Your morning transportation speed-read:

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairwoman Deborah Hersman has been called a “good pick” for Transportation Secretary by a Washington, D.C., newspaper.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways has said that the grounding of Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner” airplane has affected 100,000 passengers.

The proposed merger between American and U.S. Airlines is said to once again be close to being announced.

New York City is planning three new underground rail projects. 

Unions are urging Obama to appoint a staunch defender of federal transit funding to replace LaHood.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Cold weather is causing cracked rails on Washington, D.C.'s MetroRail subway system.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the filming of an airplane stunt at a Texas airport this week.

A pair of airplanes at Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport clipped each other's wings.

Atlantic City International Airport has been named the most expensive airport to fly out of in the U.S.

Public transportation users will be able to withhold more of their paychecks from being taxed for their trips to work in 2013, according to the IRS.

The IRS has said that the amount of money that commuters can apply to set aside will increase to $245 this year. The tax benefit had been restored by the recently passed bill to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" after being allowed to expire in 2011.

Under the new legislation, the set-aside amount for transit passengers will be retroactively set to $240 for 2012. The revenue agency said the amount will be adjusted for inflation to $245 in the current year.

More than 779,000 people rode Washington, D.C.’s MetroRail subway system on the day of President Obama’s second inauguration, officials with the transit agency said.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said 779,787 people entered its rail system between 4 a.m. Monday morning and 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. The agency ran trains more often and later than its usual midnight weekday closing time to accommodate inauguration traffic.

Washington, D.C., officials estimated about 1 million people attended Obama’s inauguration, down from the record 1.5 million who watched him take the oath of office for his first term in 2009. The figure, though, still topped estimates, which had predicted between half a million and 700,000 attendees.

WMATA set a single-day ridership record of 1.1 million passengers during Obama’s first inaugural, which still stands today.

Former New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman Joe Lhota is officially running to replace New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I).

Lhota, a Republican, resigned from the MTA last month after winning praise for his handling of the restoration of New York City’s subway service after it sustained widespread damage during Hurricane Sandy.

He filed paperwork Thursday to enter the campaign to replace Bloomberg, who is leaving office after three-terms in New York City’s high-profile mayor’s office.

“It's official. @joelhota is a candidate to be the 109th Mayor of NYC following filings w BD of Elections and NYCCFB,” Lhota said in a tweet from a newly created Twitter account, @JoeLhotaForMayor. 

The extension of Washington, D.C.'s Metrorail subway system that will eventually reach Dulles International Airport is 87 percent complete, the agency that is responsible for the railway’s construction said Thursday.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) said it has moved from “heavy construction” to testing and electrical work on the first half of the new rail line, which will run 11.5 miles in the direction of the Dulles Airport when it is completed.

The MWAA is constructing the Silver Line for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which is scheduled to begin testing of its own on the railway in August 2013. The WMATA has forecast a December opening for the Silver Line.

The Washington, D.C. Metrorail system is preparing attendees for President Obama's inauguration for using public transportation to get around the capital region.

Attendance at Obama's second swearing-in ceremony is expected to be smaller than his first inauguration, when Metro set a record for single-day ridership of 1.1 million passengers. Metro normally averages 787,000 riders on its trains on weekdays.

Despite the expected drop off between Obama's second inauguration and his first, however, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) released a video Tuesday to prepare first-time riders for what to expect on the day the president takes the oath of office for a second term.

"Inauguration Day is typically one of the busiest days for Metro, so you should be prepared for busy stations, crowded trains and lengthy walks to the ceremony and parade," the video says.