Photo by Nick (aka TRUCKPIX on Flickr).
“…finally made it to the Turnoff, end of the Eyre highway and I saw this Quinn Western Star heading south on the Lincoln Hwy.”
No Comments?!?
So what’s up with the lack of a “Comment” button? Well, I want this site to be about the content. Trains, Planes, and Autos.
I don’t want distractions added to the site by comment trolls. I don’t want endless debate that results in name-calling. I don’t want to spend time moderating spam from legit comments.
I do want to share news, ruminate on policy, and write. If you are reading this I’m assuming you are a bit like me… cause if you aren’t at least a bit like me you’ll probably find this site a bit boring.
I do want reader feedback. I do want discussion. You can always shoot me an email at joel@trainsplanesautos.net. I’ll likely share reader input right here on Trains Planes & Autos.
Better yet, start your own blog. Link to mine… link to news and info that you read… let’s get fellow engineers thinking about this stuff. Let’s think outside the box of typical civil engineering and look for creative solutions to the problems that our transportation infrastructure is facing.
Gas Taxes
Gas taxes. Why do we tax gas? To place a “penalty” on the consumption? To create an incentive towards reduced use, ie. reduce demand? To fund transportation projects? To encourage R&D for alternative energy? To fund R&D for alternative energy?
The answer used to be simply to fund transportation. Now, in spite of the US being in the midst of inflation and rising oil prices, folks are picking up the gas tax or “carbon tax” as a way to reduce our demand and fund alternative fuel/energy research and develpment.
Mind you, the gas tax is already woefully incapable of funding all the road projects out there.
Kevin Drum asks “Why not tax carbon?” On the one hand he asks,
“what better way to fund energy research than with a carbon tax?”
It would be nice to believe that this carbon tax revenue would be placed in a piggy bank only for use by those doing R&D on alt-fuel. In the next paragraph though, he states
“Given that we’re quite obviously going to need new taxes in the future, I have a hard time seeing the downside of a carbon tax.”
This last statement kind of implies that this carbon tax (ie. gas tax) would really just be additional taxation to be lumped into the general pool. And knowing our government, that’s true. Politics trumps solutions.
A couple problems with the carbon tax:
- Raising taxes on gasoline is regressive. It takes proportionally more from those of lower income. You hurt those at the bottom… those who can’t afford a new Prius to offset the new gas prices.
- This doesn’t solve our funding structure problem with transportation. If anything, it just makes it more of a goobledygook mess.
- This is just going to end up another revenue generating tax that never goes away.
The only problem this may solve is our dependence on foreign oil. However, Drum himself points to studies showing that incremental increase in gas prices (such as though wrought by taxation) do little to curb consumption ie. reduce demand.
Before we starting adding a carbon tax to our fuel, we need to fix our transportation funding structure. We can look at ways to add disincentives to gas consumption later. However, I think that the real way you reduce gas consumption is by switching traffic (freight and passenger) to transportation that is grossly more efficient (rail comes to mind).
Brazil To Hand Over Airports To Private Sector
“We want to combine the urgency of the works with public and private investments,” Mr. Palocci said.
via WSJ.com.
Remember one of the problems we’ve isolated, in government “politics trumps solutions.” When the government brings in the private sector to help expedite projects it is because it’s the only solution they can find to that problem.
Emirates Airlines Has Big Ambitions
“Emirates’ strategy is aggressive,” says Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the chief executive of Air France, who complains that Emirates is siphoning off passengers from Europe’s traditional hubs. “Europe is at the center of the global aviation world. It’s the result of aviation history.”
via Emirates Airlines Has Big Ambitions – NYTimes.com.
Great article on the wild success and growth of Emirates Airlines. The European carriers sound a little off their game… seeking their government’s involvement to help fight off Emirates. If the market is telling you what airline they want to fly, and it isn’t yours, getting the government to intervene isn’t a very fair way to win back market share. See what your competitors are doing right and do it better. Serve the customer… the traveling public.
Photo
Matching pair of SD70ACe’s shot at Crawford Hill, Nebraska by Charles Biel.
Check out Charles’ site when you get a chance. He curates an impressive archive of ATSF, BN, and BNSF motive power images. My personal favorites come from his yearly “party favor” collection… images from this collection frequently adorn my desktop.
Photo
My photo taken from the skybridge while boarding a flight to leave Beijing, China.
Problems vs. Symptoms
As an engineer, I want to fix the transportation system in the United States. Many people want to fix the US transportation system actually. However, many people mis-identify symptoms as problems.
For example, many would say that the lack of high-speed rail in the US is a problem. However, it is merely a symptom of much larger problems within the transportation system.
Here’s a list of problems in the US transportation system.
- Disparate Funding Structures
- True Costs are Hidden
- Politics Trumps Solutions
This will be a running list. I’ll add to it and repost as I identify additional problems. I’ll pick one of these problems from time-to-time and expound.
Flat Fee for Electric Cars?
How can lawmakers create a new system to maintain the transportation infrastructure that “makes more sense than what we have today?” Rep. Chris Reykdal asked.
via Wash. considers annual flat fee for electric cars.
Now here is a politician asking a smart question. The question itself shows that this guy understands the unbalanced funding problem our transportation system has. A flat fee for electric cars will only exacerbate that problem.
Photo
I’d like to features some transportation photos from time to time… trains, planes, OR autos. I’ll use photos of my own, reader submissions, and some favorites from some other folks (attribution will be given).
During high school I worked on the Midland Railway and had the privilege of throttle time with the RS3 in the foreground. Of all the locomotives at Midland, this one really gave a sense of all the horsepower running under the long hood. My photo from a return visit in 2003 I believe.