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
News Release
EPA’s decision to allow California to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 reversed after President Trump signs CRA resolution
California’s green light from the Environmental Protection Agency to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 was revoked after Congress passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA)…
Blog
Clearing the tracks: CEI’s three-point blueprint to DOT deregulation
Background The Trump administration has made good on some of its promises of deregulation – namely with two executive orders from the beginning of this…
Blog
Senate pulls plug on California’s gas car ban
The US Senate on Thursday voted 51-46 for H.J. Res.88, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to repeal the Environmental Protection…
Search Posts
Daily Caller
Business Leaders Unsurprisingly Tepid About FAA’s New 624-Page Drone Rulebook
The Daily Caller discusses the Federal Aviation Administration's new regulations on drones with Marc Scribner. “The new FAA drone rules are disappointing and…
News Release
CEI Comments on FAA Drone Regulations
Today, June 21, 2016, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration finalized their operational rules for commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems. Transportation policy expert Marc Scribner responded:…
Blog
Building on the Optimism of “Uber-Positive” Attitudes
There’s a new resource for understanding the state of play between politics and developments in the sharing economy, the pleasantly slim volume by the Manhattan…
Blog
Diana Furchtgott-Roth Still Mistaken on Air Traffic Control Reform
A lonely critique from the center-right of air traffic control corporatization appeared on MarketWatch making a series of incorrect and misleading claims. I have previously…
Blog
Export-Import Bank Drama Continues
The Senate’s main business right now is the annual Defense Appropriations bill. The Export-Import Bank, or Ex-Im for short, might become part of that bill.
Blog
Railroad Industry Releases New Economic Impact Report, Urges Regulatory Restraint
Today, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) released its latest State of the Industry Report, highlighting new research from Townson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute…
Daily Caller
Government Should Steer Clear Of Rail Re-Regulation
The Daily Caller quotes Marc Scribner on the freight rail industry's system. The Towson study found that the freight rail industry in a single…
Comment
CEI Petitions FCC to Reconsider Conditions Imposed on Charter-Time Warner Cable Merger
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute, John France, Daniel Frank, Jean-Claude Gruffat, and Charles Haywood seek reconsideration of the…
Blog
Air Traffic Control Reform Opponents Still Miss the Big Picture, Repeat Errors
Air traffic control is in dire need of reform and modernization, and there is a great plan in the House FAA bill to do just…
Washington Examiner
What’s the government’s role in regulating Uber and Lyft?
The Washington Examiner discusses the government's role in regulating ridesharing services with Marc Scribner. "Municipal taxi regulators are often captured by the entities…
Blog
Air Traffic Control in Urgent Need of Reform… If Only Critics Could See That
CEI has for years called for air traffic control reforms now being considered in the House. It is critical for the future health of the…
Blog
CEI’s Marc Scribner Discusses TSA Lawsuit on Cato Daily Podcast
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner, one of the petitioners in CEI’s lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration’s final rule on airport body scanners, joined Cato’s…
Politico
Thune nudges Shuster to shelve privatization plan
Politico's Morning Transportation discusses Marc Scribner's comments on conservative opposition to proposed air traffic control reform. THEM’S FIGHTIN’ WORDS: None-too-pleased with Heritage Action’s…
Blog
Conservatives for Big Government: Air Traffic Control Reform Opponents Have Lost Their Minds or Principles
UPDATE: Diana Furchtgott-Roth has responded. I offer my reply. Right now in Congress, there is a proposal to end a government monopoly, replace…
AMI Newswire
TSA body scanner rule challenged in federal court
AMI Newswire interviews Marc Scribner about CEI's lawsuit over TSA airport body scanners: "It is unclear to TSA how the risk associated with motor…
Blog
Reason’s Bob Poole Sets Record Straight on Air Traffic Control Reform
Reason Foundation Director of Transportation Policy Bob Poole has an excellent article in National Review debunking the myths peddled by a handful of conservatives on the House’s AIRR Act…
Blog
CEI Sues over TSA’s Body Scanners
Today, CEI, The Rutherford Institute, CEI Vice President Iain Murray, and yours truly filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. Court…
Washington Post
Lawsuit challenges TSA’s use of full-body scanners in airports
The Washington Post discusses with Marc Scribner CEI's lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration over their full-body scanner rule. Filing suit in the U.S. Court of…
Daily Caller
Lawsuit May Reverse Ban On Vaping E-Cigarettes On Flights
The Daily Caller discusses CEI's lawsuit against the Department of Transportation's rule prohibiting electronic cigarettes on planes with Marc Scribner. The Competitive Enterprise…
Politico
In budget fight, appropriators eye long TSA wait times
Politico's Morning Transportation discusses CEI's lawsuit against the TSA's body scanner rule and quotes Marc Scribner on the case. COMING TODAY: The Competitive…
News Release
CEI Sues TSA Over Airport Body Scanner Rule
Airport body scanners, long the object of both public opposition and legal scrutiny, are headed back to court. Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI)…
Reason
Mass Transit Use Is Declining As Millennials Buy More Cars
Reason quotes Marc Scribner's insights on mass transit's pleas for more government spending. More than a quarter of U.S. government spending on surface transportation…
The Hill
E-cigarette ban on flights being challenged in lawsuit
The Hill reports on CEI's lawsuit against the Department of Transportation's rule banning electronic cigarettes on aircraft. A Department of Transportation (DOT) rule…
Blog
CEI Challenges Illegal “Vapes on a Plane” Regulation
Today, CEI, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA), and CEI employee Gordon Cummings, as a private individual, filed a lawsuit challenging the…
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta streetcar ridership takes a plunge in 2016
The Alanta Journal-Constitution quotes Marc Scribner on recent developments with the Atlanta streetcar: But Marc Scribner, who tracks streetcar projects across the country as…
The Atlanta Jornal-Constitution
Atlanta streetcar ridership takes a plunge in 2016
The Atlanta Jornal-Constitution discusses streetcar ridership with Marc Scribner. But Marc Scribner, who tracks streetcar projects across the country as a research fellow…
The Hill
Modernizing America’s airports a critical step to modernizing our aviation network
The Hill mentions CEI's support of the passenger facility charge. Support for the PFC continues to grow in Washington. The Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Tribune News Service
Banning Cars from Urban Centers: Costly, Few Benefits Provided
“Take back our streets!” is a common refrain among urban activists. No, they’re not talking about reducing violent crime, as many of them reside in…
Blog
If You Build It, They Won’t Come: The Failure of Field of Dreams Transit Planning
Following decades of excessive local government fare regulation that led to a terminal decline in the private mass transit industry, government began taking over the…
Foundation for Economic Education
The 50-Year Disaster of Government Trains, Buses, and Streetcars
The Foundation for Economic Education cites Marc Scribner's research on government spending on mass transit infrastructure. There, in a nutshell, you have a short…
CapX
Let’s stop making air transport security worse
A few weeks ago, I planned a trip to Berlin for mid-March. I initially thought to tack on a couple of extra days to conduct…
Blog
Air Traffic Control Reforms Will Give Us Modern Technology, Not Union Giveaways
Guest Post by David Grizzle Former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Counsel, FAA As the former chief operating officer and chief counsel at the…
Blog
Senate FAA Bill Betrays Free Market and Fiscally Conservative Principles
Last month, I wrote about why everyone should be disappointed by the Senate’s FAA reauthorization bill: it fails to include key air traffic control reforms contained…
The Hill
Push for energy tax breaks roils Senate debate on FAA bill
The Hill discusses a coalition letter on the FAA reauthorization bill that CEI signed. Dozens of conservative groups — including Heritage Action, Americans for…
Law360
Alaska Air, Virgin America Face Bumpy Antitrust Ride
CEI Fellow Marc Scribner speaks to Law360 about a proposed merger between Alaska Air and Virgin America: “If you look at their…
Blog
No, the AIRR Act’s Air Traffic Control Reforms Do Not Grant Controllers Strike Powers
Capital Research Center, a conservative policy group in Washington, D.C., recently published an extended essay, “PATCO’s Revenge: Capitol Hill cronyism may give the air…
Law360
FTA Adds State Safety Oversight Rule To Regulatory Arsenal
Law360 interviews Marc Scribner about new oversight authority from the Federal Transit Administration: "This has been a trend in regulatory oversight going…
Blog
Senate FAA Reauthorization Bill Disappoints
This morning, the Senate Commerce Committee held a markup hearing on their Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S. 2658). A couple of positive…
International Business Times
Feds Propose Two Crew Member Minimum On Trains, Irking Rail Industry And Drawing Praise From Safety Advocates
International Business Times discusses the Federal Railroad Administrations regulation that undermines technology. Marc Scribner of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank…
Daily Caller
Proposed Railway Rule Slammed As Union Giveaway
The Daily Caller discusses a new regulation by the Federal Railroad Administration with Marc Scribner. “It forces a redundancy that won’t improve safety…
Blog
DOT Compromises Safety and Efficiency for Union Favoritism
Today, a draft proposed rule from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration has been making the rounds. It will be published in the…
Politico
Senate Commerce FAA bill heads for Wednesday markup
Politico's Morning Transportation quotes Marc Scribner on the costs of the FAA reauthorization bill. But the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Marc Scribner maintained that…
Blog
Beware of Misleading CBO Score of the AIRR Act
The AIRR Act (H.R. 4441), the FAA reauthorization bill in the House, contains badly needed reforms of U.S. air traffic control. See my FAQ on what…
Blog
Is Conservative Opposition to the Passenger Facility Charge Softening?
CEI is a strong supporter of transportation user fees. We prefer tolls over fuel taxes, and local airport user fees over tax-funded federal…
Politico
House and Senate may soon settle on 3-month FAA extension
Politico's Morning Transportation quotes Marc Scribner on the Department of Transportation's ban of e-cigarettes on all U.S. commercial flights. ‘Vapes on a plane’…
News Release
CEI Responds to TSA’s Final Rule on Airport Body Scanners
Today the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued a final rule on the agency’s use of body scanners in direct response to CEI’s court victory…
News Release
CEI Attacks the DOT Ban on Electronic Cigarettes on Airplanes
CEI fellow Marc Scribner said: The Department of Transportation’s decision to ban electronic cigarettes on commercial flights has less substance to it than the…
Blog
DC Streetcar Opens as a Monument to Morally Bankrupt Urban Planning
On Saturday, February 27, the DC Streetcar finally opened its 2.2-mile stretch on H Street and Benning Road N.E. Years delayed and for a cost…
Blog
Up in the AIRR, Part 2: Unmanned Aircraft Systems
To date, CEI’s analysis of the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act (H.R. 4441) has largely focused on proposed air traffic control reforms, which CEI…
NPR
Revived Streetcars May Be On Track For Disappointment
NPR's All Things Considered discusses the problems with streetcar systems with Marc Scribner. "This isn't really a mobility enhancing technology," says Marc Scribner, a research…
