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

In last night's State of the Union address, President Obama charted a clear course for the next 12 months. "It is our generation’s task," the President said, "to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth -- a rising, thriving middle class."

And one way to reignite that important engine is by investing in American transportation.

As the President said, "Ask any CEO where they’d rather locate and hire: a country with deteriorating roads and bridges, or one with high-speed rail..."

And he noted that, "The CEO of Siemens America – a company that brought hundreds of new jobs to North Carolina – has said that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they’ll bring even more jobs."

So, the President’s plan to build on the progress we've made during his first term and to make America a magnet for jobs and manufacturing includes a “Fix-It-First” program that puts men and women to work as soon as possible on our most urgent infrastructure repairs.

On this day in 1809, our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, was born near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Today, 204 years later, I was honored to help mark the anniversary of his birth at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial here in Washington, DC.

You don't have to be a student of American history or of Lincoln's biography to know that President Lincoln was a great leader and one of our greatest Presidents--if not our greatest.

As a former Member of Congress from the same part of Illinois that Abraham Lincoln represented when he served a term in the House of Representatives, it was a true privilege for me at today's ceremony to read aloud Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

And while I was reading it--in the shadow of Daniel Chester French's larger-than-life sculpture of this American hero, I couldn't help but think about the leadership Lincoln demonstrated.

During a time of great conflict, with the fate of the nation less certain than at any time since the American Revolution, he kept us united. Through his determination, and the sacrifices made by so many soldiers and their families, he succeeded.

He was equally determined to lead this nation through the difficult peace that was to follow. He understood that it would be no easy task, that Congress would be divided by factions, but still he charted a course--beginning with the 13th Amendment to our Constitution--that would carry us forward.

Although he was denied the opportunity to see that effort through, he understood that only together could our nation thrive. Only when we work together, setting aside our differences, can we solve our nation's problems.

As Lincoln said: "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us...that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

We have work to do. Let's get it done.

Four years ago, President Obama laid out a bold vision for transforming American passenger rail. Since then, DOT and its partners have been working hard to realize that vision, and this morning I had a chance to update members of the US High Speed Rail Association on our progress.

Through our High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail program, the Obama Administration has invested nearly $12 billion in higher performing passenger rail, funding 152 rail projects in 32 states. In 19 states and the District of Columbia, 52 passenger rail projects worth $3.6 billion are currently under construction, or will be soon.

We have 11 projects that are now complete. And those projects are already paying dividends for the American people.

Last year, for example, trains on the Chicago-St. Louis and Chicago-Detroit corridors began reaching 110 miles per hour – the fastest speeds outside the Northeast Corridor. In two years, trains will run at that speed throughout most of both routes – cutting trip times on each by close to an hour.

In the Pacific Northwest, we are moving forward with 21 projects that will increase the number of roundtrips and cut trip times.

In the Northeast, new service to Brunswick, Maine, has linked thousands of travelers to Portland and Boston and has attracted millions of dollars in private investment and economic development to Brunswick.

I often tell people that we have the best aviation system in the world. And our excellent safety record wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the flight attendants who--in addition to their many responsibilities--help keep air passengers safe.

So it was a pleasure to be able to thank them in person this morning at a meeting of the Association of Flight Attendants in Chicago.

One way the Obama Administration has thanked our flight attendants is by opening up the Family and Medical Leave Act to flight crews. For 20 years, flight attendants and pilots have been unable to take advantage of the benefits this historic law provides.

But last week, the Department of Labor announced a final rule to help flight crew employees tend to their obligations—both to their loved ones and to themselves—without worrying about losing their jobs or their benefits.

This is a long-overdue common-sense protection that is good for flight crew employees and their families. And that makes it good for the flying public whose safety our flight attendants help ensure every day.

One area where flight attendants have made a critical safety difference is with our most vulnerable passengers, infants and children. The safest place for children under the age of two when they ride on an airplane is in an approved child safety seat, and our Federal Aviation Administration has worked hard for the past few years to spread that important message to parents.

We have had terrific support in this safety campaign from America's flight attendants. 

Another critical area where flight attendants can make an impact is in the prevention of human trafficking. Flight crews are skilled observers and well-positioned in the cabin; they can be frontline allies in this fight.

Earlier today, the Association passed a resolution to actively educate flight attendants on ways to end human trafficking and to seek the addition of industry-wide training that "helps identify, report, and stop human trafficking in its tracks."

President Obama has made ending human trafficking a priority for his Administration, and this morning I thanked America's flight attendants for joining us in this effort.

If you arrive at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, by water--as I did for my first visit in May 2009--Mallory Pier is likely to be the first part of campus you see up close. At 825 feet long, and serving as the primary dock facility for a United States service academy, it should be an impressive sight.

And soon, it will be.

On Wednesday, a construction crew from Russell Marine took the first step toward repairing and modernizing the 50-year-old pier by driving the first pile into the seabed of the Long Island Sound. Like many in the USMMA community, I am very happy to see this important work get started.

When I first visited Kings Point nearly four years ago, it was clear to me that the pier was in no condition to support the Academy's mission to prepare shipboard officers and maritime leaders for a thriving merchant fleet and an effective national defense. I went to work immediately to secure funding to repair the pier and many of the Academy’s other structures, some of which had not been updated since they were built in 1942. 

As a result, last September, we were able to execute an $11.5 million contract to get this critical facility back into a state of good repair so we can once again boast that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy offers the finest maritime training facilities in the nation.

And last week, the first of the precast concrete piles that will provide improved support and long-term structural stability for Mallory Pier arrived in Hague Basin by barge. Seven more test piles will be driven in the seabed this week, and crews will measure their holding capacity. This will allow the remainder of the new piles to be sized properly for the actual conditions of the seabed. 

One of my favorite parts of being Transportation Secretary has been the chance to hear from people across the country about the difference transportation makes in their lives, and "On the Go" is just one way we've done that. 

As you might have heard, I recently announced my decision not to serve a second term in President Obama’s Cabinet. I plan to stay on until my successor is confirmed, and before I go, I'm hoping you'll help me take advantage of the time we have together by asking me your transportation questions for my last episode of "On the Go."

Whether you commute to work in your own car or by transit; whether you travel between cities by motorcoach, passenger train, or airplane; whether the route your food travels from the farm to your family's table requires roadways, rail, or marine highways--how we move people and goods from place to place in America makes a difference in your life.

We’ve accomplished a lot over the last four years – in fact, you can read about some of our biggest achievements on our website.  But we all know that now is not the time to let up – we still have a number of critical safety goals to accomplish. 

So I’m eager to hear from you – what's important to you in the world of transportation, what you want to see us tackle next and maybe even what you think we did a good job addressing during the first term.

If you've got questions for me--and I hope you do--this is the time to ask them.

Just use the hashtag #q4ray (the "q" is for "question") on Twitter or post your question on the wall of the DOT Facebook page. I'll select a few of them and respond by video.

Now if you don't have any questions of your own, then tell a friend or two that the DOT social media lines are open for this episode until February 15th.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Long before it ever seemed possible, space travel was a fixture in our dreams of the future. Yet from the 1940s and 50s--the early days of suborbital space flight--to the first manned flights in the 1960s, the dream became real. But we continued to dream and to press forward --first with a mission to the moon, then a reusable space vehicle and a space station orbiting Earth.

Today, the commercial space community dreams of space flight as a mainstream form of travel, as common as hopping a plane from New York to Los Angeles. And with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, we are well on the way toward realizing that dream.

One step on that path is a regular exchange of information, bringing experts together to share what they've learned and to shape the future direction of the industry. A terrific source for the latest information is the Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference, meeting this week here in Washington, DC.

The conference features key federal officials, leaders from Congress and industry, space entrepreneurs, international partners, astronauts, educators, and space enthusiasts. And they're all talking about one thing: how best to continue the tremendous progress we've made thus far.

For teens, summer is the deadliest season on our roadways. That's why National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) is asking teens to join with them and help make some NOYS for safer summer driving.

Right now, NOYS and its partners are gearing up to support the Global Youth Traffic Safety Month campaign, held each year in May to kick off the summer season for young drivers. And they could use your help on three different fronts.

Act Out Loud is a nationwide high school contest led by NOYS and The Allstate Foundation to engage and empower youth-led traffic safety peer education projects. We know that teens are more likely to listen to other teens, so messages about the dangers of distracted driving and other unsafe driving practices are more effective when they come from other young drivers. And that's where Act Out Loud comes in.

This year, Act Out Loud youth teams around the country are planning safe teen driving rallies for Global Youth Traffic Safety Month, and you can participate. If you're involved in a local high school--whether as a parent, faculty, staff, or student--it’s not too late to get in the game.

Each step you complete in advance of a May safe driving rally will earn your team points in the contest. Act Out Loud provides monetary awards with a $10,000 grand prize, in addition to providing each high school team an opportunity to earn up to $1,000 just by participating in projects leading up to the May rallies.

Visit www.ActOutLoud.org to see the rules and a list of teams; if there isn't one in your area, you can help your local high school create a team and register by April 1, 2013. 

Drivers on our nation's roads are often in a hurry. Whether they're driving to work, like so many of us, or driving for work, like America's truckers, most of us could use a few extra hours – or even minutes – in our day.

But here at DOT, we know that--wherever you're going--the most valuable three seconds of every trip is the time it takes to fasten your safety belt. It’s time worth taking no matter how rushed we are.

And to help spread that important message to truck and bus drivers, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration takes part in a Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership to host a "Be Ready. Be Buckled" children's art contest each year. This year's contest runs through Friday, March 1.

Each year, we ask kids everywhere to use their artwork to show truck and bus drivers that safety belts save lives. Each year, America's kids respond with terrific, safety-minded entries.

And for good reason. Safety belts are the single most effective injury prevention component of highway vehicles today.

It might surprise even transportation fans to learn that DOT's Federal Highway Administration is home to a program supporting ferry service in America. But it's true, and today the FHWA Ferry Boat Program announced $30.9 million in funding to improve ferry service in 37 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Ferry boats offer a valuable option for people living near waterways across the nation traveling to jobs, schools, medical services, grocery stores, and other important destinations. As FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez said, "Ferry service represents a key transportation link for certain communities--much like highways and bridges do in other areas."

And DOT is happy to help improve this service for those who depend on it. The funds announced today will support construction and rehabilitation of publicly owned or operated ferry boats and the terminal facilities that serve them. And because today's announcement includes projects in Maine and Florida as well as Alaska, Hawaii, and California, the awards really cover the nation from north to south and east to west.

With the recent Presidential Inauguration and the initial sessions of the 113th Congress, this is a season for new developments here in Washington, DC. But area automotive fans know that the real destination for seeing the most exciting new developments is the Washington Auto Show.

Featuring more than 700 new vehicles from the world's top car and truck manufacturers, it's a real treat for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to come through the doors during the 10-day show. And while the show is chock-full of eye-catching designs that are sure to get people excited about what's coming on the market, I couldn't help noticing the many safety and sustainability innovations on display.

The cars we're seeing today are safer and more fuel-efficient than ever. From more precise steering control to improved airbag technology, today's vehicles are designed to keep drivers and passengers safe from crashes and safe during a crash. They're also designed to help you save more of your hard-earned money instead of spending it on fuel.

On February 4, 1913--one hundred years ago today--Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Later she would marry and take her husband's last  name, becoming Rosa Parks, a name that continues to inspire so many of us today.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks did one thing that will forever inscribe her in our nation's history: she boarded a bus and dared to sit down where she wanted.

2005 poster commemorating the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest, courtesy MTA/BusTalk

It might seem like a small thing--a 42-year-old woman wanting to sit down after a hard day's work--but it was not. In choosing to be arrested rather than move from the whites-only section of the Cleveland Avenue transit bus, she helped set in motion the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by a young Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

As Dr. King said, "No one can understand the action of Mrs. Parks unless he realizes that eventually the cup of endurance runs over, and the human personality cries out, 'I can take it no longer.'"

The bus where Rosa Parks sat on December 1, 1955, now prominently displayed in the Henry Ford
Museum in Dearborn, MI, which I have visited several times.

On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld a federal district court's ruling that Alabama's racial segregation laws for buses were unconstitutional. Soon after, Montgomery changed its bus segregation law and the boycott ended. But by then, the Civil Rights Movement had achieved the critical mass necessary to help eliminate segregation in many areas of American life.

In the years since then, the Federal Transit Administration has worked hard to eliminate discriminatory barriers of all types on America's public transit systems. The FTA has also worked to increase minority and lower-income engagement in the transit planning process.

“The FTA is proud to carry on the legacy of Rosa Parks every day as we ensure that all transit riders are treated with dignity and respect and have equal access to transit. No one should ever be prevented from connecting with their families, meeting friends, or visiting their local downtown centers. And FTA will continue to work diligently to safeguard the civil rights of all transit riders in every community.”

Rosa Parks could little have anticipated the energy with which FTA has pursued improved access to transit for all Americans. But there is no doubt that our efforts owe a tremendous debt to her courageous action.

On behalf of transit riders across the nation and all who enjoy greater freedoms today, we at DOT want to honor the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks by reminding readers about a true American hero.

On January 29, President Obama signed into law the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 to help the victims of last fall's Hurricane Sandy. A key feature of that law is $10.9 billion in funding for the Federal Transit Administration's new Emergency Relief Program. And today, the FTA is making available the first $2 billion of those funds to transit systems hardest hit by the storm.

The special disaster appropriation requires the FTA to issue interim regulations before the remainder of the $10.9 billion is released. But this initial $2 billion is certainly welcome relief to many transit agencies on the East Coast.

We'll use it to reimburse transit agencies for extraordinary expenses incurred to protect workers and equipment before and after the hurricane hit, and support urgently needed repairs to seriously damaged transit systems and facilities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and elsewhere.

FTA’s Emergency Relief Program was established last summer under the two-year surface transportation law, MAP-21. The special disaster relief the President signed last week provides funds for the program so that FTA can respond to the worst transit damage in our nation's history.

Today the American aviation industry is strong, and it’s getting stronger. More people are flying, and more cargo is shipped around the world. This is a remarkable turnaround from where we were a few years ago.

And that is precisely why the Federal Aviation Administration has been working so hard over the last four years to continue the roll-out of NextGen initiatives. There is no other project more important to American aviation than NextGen—the FAA's next generation transformation of our National Aerospace System--and we’re making it happen now.

One critical part of NextGen is improving the flow of air traffic for an entire region or Metroplex. The FAA has identified 21 areas across the U.S. where several commercial and general aviation airports serve a single, large metropolitan area.

In those regions, airspace congestion and other factors combine to reduce efficiency, often to the frustration of air passengers. But improving air traffic at one airport can have an unanticipated effect on other airports in the same region.

By looking at the metroplex as a whole, the FAA provides solutions on a regional scale, rather than focusing on a single airport or set of procedures. The optimization plan takes into account all airports and airspace that support each metropolitan area as well as how air traffic in those areas interacts with other metroplexes. It considers a wide range of factors including safety, efficiency, capacity, access, and environmental impact.

As part of our Metroplex initiative, flights approaching the Washington DC area started using satellite routes in August and immediately began saving fuel and reducing emissions. The new routes will save $2.3 million in fuel costs in the first year of operation – it helps airlines save money on fuel, and it helps consumers with more efficient flights.