Welcome to the FastLane: The Official Blog of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Today’s generation of heroes are risking their lives to make the U.S. safer and more respected around the world. President Obama has asked that we serve our veterans as well as they’ve served us, and at DOT, we are proud to answer the President’s call.

This morning, DOT held a Veterans Transportation Career Opportunities Forum with the Department of Labor, which focused on careers in the trucking, transit, and motorcoach sectors. Participants discussed the importance of working with truck and bus companies to recruit qualified and safety-conscious service men and women for the critical jobs that need to be filled.

This forum represents a monumental initiative and partnership to link our veterans with careers in the transportation industry.

At DOT we think that removing barriers that stand in the way of our veterans’ success and connecting them with job opportunities that they deserve is the least we can do to thank them for their service. So this meeting gave motor carriers and other stakeholders a chance to tell us how DOT can assist them in making the transition for veterans easier.

And, believe me, we were listening.

Transportation statistics and the people who collect and organize them don’t often make the front page. But the fact is, solid, relevant data is a critical part of building a 21st century transportation system.

After all, you can't make data-driven decisions if you don't have data.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is the data arm of DOT, responsible for collecting a wide variety of information about airlines, border crossings, freight movement, maritime trade, household travel, and much more. BTS was founded to help us understand the health of our nation’s transportation systems and infrastructure and how they impact our economy and way of life.

And yesterday we celebrated its 20th anniversary.

From founding Deputy Director Bob Knisely and his original co-worker Rolf Schmitt --yes, when BTS started, the two of them comprised the entire Bureau-- to the current Director Patricia Hu, Deputy Research and Innovative Transportation Administrator Greg Winfree, and a roomful of BTS employees, there was plenty to celebrate.

Since 1992, BTS has truly been an asset to DOT, to the transportation community at large, to our nation’s leaders, to businesses, and most importantly, to the American people. It addressed a huge gap in our nation’s transportation data--giving us the knowledge we needed to back-up our policy decisions.

It's one thing to collect important statistics, but it's quite another to transform that data into useful information. BTS excels at making statistics accessible for policymakers, elected officials, business decisionmakers, travelers choosing carriers, and students working on school projects. And I encourage everyone to visit the BTS website and see the treasure trove of information these folks make available.

Sharing a laugh with original BTS-er Bob Knisely

Supporting the future of aviation requires us to invest in young Americans—the next generation of pilots, engineers, mechanics, and air traffic controllers. And we need those young Americans to invest their energy in a STEM education—that’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—which is critical to their ability to fill many of these jobs.

To encourage students to pursue STEM education, DOT recently hosted a national competition called the Secretary's RAISE Award, Recognizing Aviation and Aerospace Innovation in Science and Engineering. The award was recommended by the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee to develop and expand education programs geared to support the industry’s future needs. And it recognizes extraordinary students who develop innovative solutions to address real world aerospace and aviation issues.

Today, I am very excited to announce the winners of our first Secretary's RAISE Award: Miraj Rahematpura, Christopher Muckle, and Mario Chris of Xavier High School in Middletown, Connecticut. I congratulate these students for their winning idea.

Under the mentorship of Michael Humphreys, a teacher at Xavier, Chris, Miraj, and Mario spent many days during their summer vacation meticulously preparing their project using the resources of a nearby university. They designed a light-weight winglet with variable angles, built a model of it, measured the reduction in drag on the wing, and then calculated the resulting fuel savings.

During the last decade, Charlotte, North Carolina, has grown faster than any other urban area with a population of one million or more. Through those years, the city has worked hard to expand transportation options for the increasing number of people traveling area roads and transit routes to the jobs, schools, and services that attracted them to Charlotte in the first place.

Light rail ridership has mirrored the city's growth, far exceeding expectations with more than 19 million riders since the line opened in 2007 and more than 15,000 riders on an average weekday. So in 2011, DOT awarded a TIGER grant of $18 million to expand capacity on the existing LYNX Blue Line through additional power substations and extended platforms at three stations.

Now the Queen City is ready to build on its success with its next big step forward in public transit, and DOT is once again there to help.

Yesterday, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff was in Charlotte to announce a $580 million grant to extend the popular LYNX Blue Line from downtown Charlotte to the city’s University of North Carolina campus.

The new extension will effectively double the length of the system and allow more residents in the rapidly growing region convenient access to light rail. This is great news for thousands of students, who will have the option of going through school without owning a car or paying for the insurance and gas that comes with it.

And because the Charlotte Area Transit System expects the extension to create 6,000 new jobs, it's also great news for working families in North Carolina.