Air travel and rail transport were early examples of deregulation bringing huge benefits to consumers and industries. Yet automobility, air travel, and freight rail, are increasingly threatened with further regulation that will reduce their ability to transport goods and people. CEI opposes these attacks by arguing for greater freedom in mobility and opposing perverse transportation industry regulations.
Transportation Issue Areas
Featured Posts
National Review
J. D. Vance’s One-Track Mind for Railroad Regulation
Ohio senator and GOP vice-presidential nominee J. D. Vance has something of a soft spot for unions, as evidenced by his co-sponsorship of the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Paying for mass transit with Marc Scribner
In this week’s episode we cover California’s minimum wage for fast-food workers, overturning the FCC’s universal service fee, and pushing back on…
Capitol Matters
East Palestine Report: Congress Should Rethink Its Reaction
In almost a decade working for the British Department for Transport, no officials impressed me as much as the accident investigators. They were dedicated experts who…
Search Posts
Citation
Vincent Vernuccio Criticizes TSA Push for Unionization
Vincent Vernuccio again slams the TSA, this time for stealing from passengers and failing to do a better job of policing their own, while…
Florida Political Press
Ron Rushing, Citizen Candidate For U.S. Senate Opposes Sun Rail Project
Washington Examiner
NYT: Tea Party vs. John Mica’s Myopic Monorail to Nowhere
Richmond Times Dispatch
Fuel-Economy Standards Need a Warning Label
One News Now
Information Requested in High-Speed Rail Project
National Review
Obama Mandates a Market for His Green Cars
The Wall Street Journal
Why Your New Car Doesn’t Have a Spare Tire
Auto makers comply with fuel economy mandates by making cars lighter and more dangerous. Fewer tires, higher taxes. That may be what’s in store for…
American Spectator
My Mother-in-Law Is Owed an Apology
My mother-in-law once gave me a Leatherman multi-tool for Christmas. The one she gave me had Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, scissors, a knife, and…
News Release
Gov’t Communications on “Train to Nowhere” Probed by CEI’s FOIA of Department of Transportation
Washington, DC, June 21, 2011 – Americans deserve to know what government officials really think about the “train to nowhere” supported by the Obama administration…
Legal Brief
CEI’s FOIA Request to Department of Transportation Regarding the Central Valley High-Speed Rail Corridor
Full Document Available as PDF The attached Freedom of Information Act request letters…
American Spectator
What Did They Know?
AOL - Jobs
What’s Really to Blame for Air Traffic Control’s Increasing Errors
Detroit News
Michigan Target of EPA Carbon Diktat
Comment
CEI Replies to Consumers United for Rail Equity Before the Surface Transportation Board
Full Document Available as a PDF On behalf…
Reuters
Revamped Vehicle Fuel Economy Stickers Add GHG, Savings Data
Mercury News
Informative New Window Labels for 2013 Vehicles Unveiled
National Review
Raise DC Cab Fares; Don’t Create a Cartel
One News Now
Victory Over Rail Funding may be Short-Lived
One News Now
Vincent Vernuccio on FAA unions
CEI Labor Policy Counsel Vincent Vernuccio discusses the recent news about Federal Aviation Administration employees who were reportedly sleeping…
News Release
Re-regulating the Railroad Industry Would Harm Railroads, Shippers, and Consumers
Washington, D.C., April 13, 2011 — Yesterday, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submitted a second comment letter in response to the Surface Transportation…
Comment
CEI Submits Supplemental Comments on Railroad Competition Before the Surface Transportation Board
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the…
News Release
CEI Vote Score Alert: Official Time Amendment to FAA Reauthorization Act
What: Gingrey Amendment # 29 to the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 H.R. 658 CEI Position: Yes The Competitive Enterprise Institute announced today…
One News Now
The Full Price of Ethanol
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses how support for ethanol affects the price of many food and consumer items.
Comment
CEI Submits Comments on Railroad Competition Before the Surface Transportation Board
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI),…
One News Now
Marc Scribner on Wasteful Transit Policy
CEI Land-use and Transportation Policy Analyst Marc Scribner says rail transit policy is all about people’s love for trains.
Daily Caller
Government yard sale could help bring down national debt
Study
The Case for Reform of the Railway Labor Act
End Unionization through Regulation and Allow Workers to Decertify Unions…
News Release
Agency Proposes Burdensome Restrictions on Truckers’ Hours
February 18, 2011, Washington, D.C. — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a new Hours-of-Service (HOS) Rule for commercial motor vehicle…
Comment
CEI Submits Comments on Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Hours of Service
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute…
News Release
Obama Budget Fails On Regulatory Reform
Washington, D.C., February 14, 2011 — President Barack Obama has submitted a $3.73 trillion spending budget blueprint for fiscal 2012, blowing well past President George…
American City and County
PPPs are good for transportation infrastructure, bad for real estate
One News Now
Expert: High-speed rail quota overly ambitious
One News Now
Is the TSA More Interested in Airport Security Or Supporting Unions?
One News Now
Fred Smith on the Future of the Automobile
CEI President and Founder Fred Smith appeared on a panel at the 2011 Washington Auto Show to discuss the…
Multi-Housing News Online
Not All Public-Private Partnerships Are Created Equal
In recent years, policymakers have taken to promoting public-private partnerships (PPPs) as somewhat of a silver bullet to various problems. They typically tout them…
Study
Resist New Burdens on the Transportation Sector
Liberate to Stimulate Index The transportation industries—airline, railroad, shipping, and trucking—are networks involving both a flow and a grid. The flow element…
Study
Put Mobility First in Surface Transportation
Liberate to Stimulate Index Surface transportation policy has become less rational and more ideological in recent decades. Environmentalists, urban planners, and their…
Study
Reform the Transportation Security Administration
Liberate to Stimulate Index Reform of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is long overdue—as the recent passenger backlash against both the TSA’s…
Study
Enhance Auto Safety
Liberate to Stimulate Index Automotive safety is the primary mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In recent decades, however,…
AASHTO
Competitive Enterprise Institute Report Examines Limitations of PPPs
Study
The Limitations of Public-Private Partnerships
Government at all levels in the United States has been slowly moving away from grand central planning schemes and toward markets. One result has been…
Atlantic Yards Report
Atlantic Yards cited in Competitive Enterprise Institute report as example of bad public-private partnerships
Atlantic Yards Report
Chris Horner on SUV and Truck Sales
Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses how the sales of larger vehicles such as trucks…
Study
Enhance Auto Safety
Full Document Available in PDF Automotive safety is the primary mission of the National Highway Traffic…
Study
Resist New Burdens on the Transportation Sector
Full Document Available in PDF The transportation industries—airline, railroad, shipping, and trucking—are…
Atlantic Yards Report
Ohio, Wisconsin Reject High-Speed Rail Funds
Legal Brief
Antitrust Amicus Curiae Brief Supporting CEI’s Challenge to the 1998 Tobacco Settlement
Full Document Avalible in PDF On December 10, 2010, five law professors filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in…
One News Now
States backing out of railroad projects
News Release
Think Tank Applauds Fiscal Responsibility in Wisconsin and Ohio
Washington, D.C., December 9, 2010 – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that the Obama administration was pulling $1.195 billion in American Recovery and…
One News Now
Vincent Vernuccio on TSA outrage
One News Now
GM Shares Are Artificially Inflated (Letter to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to note that General Motors’ supposed “success story” is actually a money-loser for taxpayers. Not only did GM’s recent sale of…
Study
Electronic Waste
Full Document Available in PDF Increasingly, news reports and environmental activists are claiming that we are facing a…
Study
Automobile Fuel Economy Standards
Full Document Available in PDF The federal government’s fuel economy standards for new cars are…
Journal Sentinel
Stop pretending that it’s high-speed rail
On Nov. 2, voters across Wisconsin made their voices clear on government-run passenger rail: Don't build it. Voters in Dane, Kenosha and Racine counties soundly…
NCPA
High-Speed-Train Wreck
The National Center for Policy Analysis discusses revamped rail systems with Iain Murray and Marc Scribner. The Obama administration and high-speed rail proponents…
NCPA
Chris Horner on Chevy Volt Subsidies
CEI Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses why government support is needed to keep…
Trib Live
High-speed train wreck
Appeared in: The Bellingham Herald, Lexington Herald-Leader, Athens Banner-Herald, The Sacramento Bee, Great Falls Tribune, Fort Worth…
Trib Live
Air Board’s Arrogance Damaging
Infrastructurist
TIGER II Proposals Already Under Attack by Auto Interests
Washington Examiner
We’ve Been LaHood-Winked on Transportation Mobility Grants that Push Big Green’s Anti-Car Agenda
On Wednesday, President Obama’s Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, announced the grant recipients of his department’s $600 million Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER II)…
Progressive Railroading
USDOT doles out TIGER II grants for 75 transportation projects
E&E News
Free-market group decries DOT’s ‘sloppy social engineering’
News Release
CEI Blasts Anti-Mobility TIGER II Grants
Washington, D.C., October 20, 2010 – The Department of Transportation today revealed its list of 73 Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II…
News Release
Experts Urge Michigan’s Next Governor to Reform Insurance Regulations
Contact: Lee Doren, 202-331-2259 Washington, D.C., October 19, 2010 – Michigan’s next governor has his work cut out for him. It is no secret that…
NCPA
Sharing Isn’t Caring
National Review
LaHood: Distracted Regulating
My Northwest
Car Free Day not for Everyone
News Release
Protest World Car-Free Day — Take a Drive!
Washington, D.C., September 21, 2010 — Here we go again – another year, another “World Car-Free Day,” the annual day dedicated to life without…
My Northwest
Chris Horner discusses new car stickers
Senior Fellow Chris Horner discusses the government's proposal to grade cars and have a sticker displaying the grade.
Reason
Why Does the NTSB Hate Babies?
News Release
New Airline “Safety” Proposal – As Deadly As Ever
Washington, D.C., August 13, 2010 – The National Transportation Safety Board is reportedly recommending, once again, that airlines require separate seats for all children,…
Reason
Hype-brids: Networks Tout Green Vehicles, But Americans Buy Four Times as Many SUVs
Reason
Obama Administration Made Illegal Race-Based Decisions When Closing GM and Chrysler Dealerships
Newsletter
Cap and Trade, Financial Regulation and Toyotas and the Truth
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) mentions plans to pass a cap-and-trade bill in a post-election “lame duck” session if necessary. President Obama signs the Dodd-Frank financial…
Newsletter
Banning Pets, Vampire Attacks and Consumer Credit
The City of San Francisco proposes a ban on pet sales. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received some bizarre claims, including a woman’s…
Reason
Regulatory Flights of Fancy
In Washington, D.C., everything old is new again. Keynes is back as the defunct economist our politicians are in thrall to, wind and solar…
Newsletter
Ethanol, Amtrak and Auto Insurance
New global warming legislation contains subsidies for ethanol production. Amtrak, which loses money annually, is now embroiled in legal troubles. State governments take an increasingly…
Reason
Time to set Amtrak free
For almost 40 years, Amtrak has been a burden on American taxpayers. It has a record of inefficiency, incompetence and overspending. Now we can…
Newsletter
Toyota’s Body Count, Toll Roads and Voter Intimidation
US News & World Report claims that the death toll from runaway Toyotas was more than originally reported. Concession agreements between cities and private companies…
Newsletter
Union Bus Drivers, Fannie Mae Reform and Transportation Partnerships
In New York, bus drivers can take months of paid leave to recuperate from being spit on by passengers. The Obama…
Newsletter
EPA’s Carbon Regulations, Internet Gambling and Reviving Rail
The Senate prepares to vote on Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon emissions. The House’s Ways and Means…
Newsletter
Energy Taxes, the Kagan Nomination and Toyota’s Safety Record
Sens. John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman prepare to introduce their much-anticipated energy bill on Wednesday. Obama nominates Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Toyota posts…
Reason
GM Deliberately Tried to Deceive Americans (Letter to the Editor)
The Examiner was right to criticize General Motors for falsely claiming in a recent TV ad campaign to have “repaid”—“in full”—what it received from…
Reason
What Do Arlingtonians Get For Their Always-Rising Tax Bills? (Letter to the Editor
I was saddened that the County Board raised taxes on April 24 to pay for a billion-dollar spending spree. All over the…
Newsletter
GM’s Misleading Bailout Claims, Swine Flu and Financial “Reform” Legislation
General Motors boasts that it has repaid its government loans in full, despite having used other bailout funds to repay the initial loans. The government…
Newsletter
Greenhouse Gas Regulation, High-Speed Rail and Waiting on Crist in Florida
The 2006 Supreme Court verdict in Massachusetts v. EPA is cited as one of retiring Justice John Paul Stevens’ most influential. President Obama pushes for…
Reason
GM’s Tricky Payback
President Obama’s tax-cheat treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, is trumpeting the fact that General Motors has paid back a small fraction of what taxpayers…
Reason
Punish GM’s False Advertising
News Release
General Motors Deceptive Advertising Challenged by Watchdog Group in FTC Filing
Washington, D.C., May 4, 2010 –The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that General Motors misleadingly…
Opposing Views
What’s With Obama and His Obsession With Trains?
In 2000, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment (the “Monorail Initiative“) authorizing the creation of a high-speed intercity rail network. However, as the economy slowed…
Opposing Views
General Motors Still Losing Billions (Letter to the Editor)
The Washington Times was right to criticize the Obama administration for its misleading hype about General Motors repaying $6.7 billion of the $50…
Washington Times
Tolls, More Freeways Would Improve Transport (Letter to the Editor)
The editorial "Freeways are the solution to congestion" (Comment & Analysis, April 12) got it half-right. Widening roads to support more cars is far less…
Newsletter
Tax Day, Open Skies and Toyota’s Legal Tactics
Tax Day inspires out an array of protests and demonstrations. The U.S. and EU signed an “Open Skies” agreement last month, which purportedly allows airlines…
Washington Times
Fly the Free Skies
When the United States and European Union first signed their Open Skies aviation agreement in 2007, the U.S. airlines got the better of the…
Newsletter
Fuel Efficiency, Imports, and H1N1
The Obama Administration plans to increase fuel efficiency standards. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative releases the 2010 National Trade Estimate report. The Centers…
Newsletter
Compact Fluorescents, Toyota, and Health Care
USA Today quotes Policy Analyst Michelle Minton saying that CEI will be celebrating the development of the compact fluorescent lightbulb. Members of Congress interrogate Toyota…
Newsletter
Finance, Trade and Toyota
Sen. Chris Dodd has introduced a new financial reform bill. U.S. Sugar is lobbying to keep government restrictions on sugar imports. The Washington Post’s coverage…
Newsletter
Court Nominations, the TSA, and Climate Change Biases
President Obama nominates left-leaning Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit court. President Obama chooses retired Army Gen. Robert A. Harding to lead the Transportation Security…
CEI Planet
CEI Planet: January – February 2010
To view this issue of the CEI Planet, please click here to download the PDF file. Below are selected articles from the January-February 2010 issue: …
Newsletter
Immigration, Bake Sales and Snow Removal
The Wall Street Journal reports that E-Verify, the federal database intended to track undocumented workers, actually fails 54% of the time. The New York City…
