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
Coalition opposes Trump plan to pass deceptively-named Railway Safety Act
Today, a coalition of free market and conservative groups sent a letter to key Senate committee leaders opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to…
Blog
What Mexico City can teach America about the cost of public transit
I recently vacationed in Mexico. While in Mexico City, I tried to take the metro to attend a concert. At five pesos, or…
Blog
The never-ending ferry tale: Why Washington shouldn’t subsidize ferries
The Trump administration recently announced $664.8 million in federal grants for ferry infrastructure, including $28.2 million for North Carolina’s Cherry Branch Ferry Terminal.
Search Posts
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…
Blog
Up in the AIRR, Part 1: Passenger Facility Charge Modernization
To date, CEI’s analysis of the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act (H.R. 4441) has focused on proposed air traffic control reforms, which CEI strongly…
Politico
Politico Morning Transporation: Transpo unions eye post-Scalia SCOTUS decision
Politico's Morning Transportation mentions CEI's rebuttal to the New York Times article against privitatizing air traffic control. The New York Times editorial board…
Blog
NYT Editorial Board Repeats Falsehoods on Air Traffic Control Reform
The New York Times editorial board has staked out a position on proposed air traffic control reform legislation, and it doesn’t like it. To anyone…
Blog
House Committee Narrowly Approves Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Deadly E-Cigarette Science Denialism
Following three government reports in the 1980s highlighting the low cabin air quality caused by cigarette smoking and the health risks of passive smoke,…
The Hill
Panel votes to ban e-cigarettes on flights
The Hill quotes Marc Scribner on the proposal to ban e-cigarettes on flights which was attached to the funding bill for the FAA. Conservative…
Letters
CEI Joins Organizations Supporting Removal of a Cap on Passenger Facility Charges
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Chairmen Shuster and LoBiondo and Ranking Members DeFazio and Larsen: We write today in strong support…
The Hill
Congress pressured to ditch cap on passenger fees for airports
The Hill reports on a coalition letter CEI signed which urges Congress to eliminate a cap on passenger fees for airports. Libertarian and good-government groups…
Study
Air Traffic Control Reform: FAQ
The Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act offers big opportunities for much-needed modernization.
Letters
CEI Joins 12 Organizations Supporting Modernization of Air Traffic Control
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Member of Congress: As Congress prepares to craft a comprehensive FAA reauthorization package, lawmakers should explore…
News Release
FAA 40 Years Behind on Air Traffic Control; Reforms Benefit Consumers
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released new analysis by CEI fellow and transportation expert Marc Scribner on H.R. 4441, the Aviation…
The Hill
Conservatives rally behind independent air traffic control plan
The Hill reports on a coalition letter CEI signed in support of seperating the nation's air traffic control system from the FAA. Conservative…
News Release
Air Traffic Control Modernization Advances in House Committee
A plan to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system was put forward today by the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep.
National Review
Who Ruined Air Travel? The Airlines, their Unions, and their Politicians
Over on the homepage, Josh Gelernter makes a strong case that the left ruined air travel. He is right when…
Washington Times
Leave the railroad industry alone
The Washington Times discusses the effects of regulations on the railroad industry with Marc Scribner. According to regulatory scholar Marc Scribner of the Competitive…
The Washington Post
Disney loved its no-fly zone — until it wanted to fly its own drones
The Washington Post reports Disney's request to gain an exemption to Temporary Flight Restrictions above Disneyland and Disney World in order to fly drones over the…
Politico
More Idignant Missives
Politico mentions CEI's stance on the FAA drone registry rules in the morning transportation update. The Competitive Enterprise Institute writes to the Federal…
One News Now
Advice to gov’t on autonomous cars: Don’t mess it up
One News Now discusses the White House's announcement of new initiatives on automated vehicles, with Marc Scribner. Marc Scribner, fellow in transportation policy…
Comment
CEI Comments to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), we respectfully submit these comments in response to the…
Blog
CEI Welcomes Obama Administration’s Automated Vehicle Push, With Caveats
The Obama administration’s plan to pump $4 billion over 10 years to “accelerate” the development and deployment of automated vehicles. How they exactly plan to…
Letters
Coalition Letter on the Unlawful TSA Screening of Airline Passengers
Full Document Available in PDF Dear Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings: We are writing to you regarding the TSA’s recent claim…
Blog
2016 Regulatory Schedule for the U.S. Department of Transportation
Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration’s two drone rulemakings got a lot of attention: their strange attempt to implement Congress’s airspace integration mandate and their unlawful…
USA Today
TSA May Require a Full-Body Scan, Rather than Pat-Down
CEI's Marc Scribner comments to USA Today on the TSA's recent decision to end its policy of allowing all travelers to opt for a…
Blog
Automated Vehicles Update: California DMV Releases Draft Rules and Some Notes about that Crash Study
CALIFORNIA DMV AV OPPS RULES PROPOSED: On December 16, the California Department of Motor Vehicles released its draft licensing and operations rules for consumer automated vehicles,…
Blog
FAA Releases Mandatory Drone Registration Interim Final Rule
On December 16, the FAA will publish its interim final rule (IFR) on Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft in the Federal…
Bloomberg
U.S. Cities Spend $1.2 Billion on Streetcars to Nowhere
Bloomberg quotes transportation expert Marc Scribner on cities investing in streetcars. While streetcars in Portland, Oregon and Seattle have succeeded — measured by…
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Route to the Future
The Philadelphia Inquirer discusses the efficiency of trolley systems with Marc Scribner. Marc Scribner, research fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based free-market…
Blog
FAST Act Debrief: A Few Policy Notes on the Latest Highway Bill
Last Friday, December 4, President Obama signed into law the FAST Act, which reauthorizes federal surface transportation programs through Fiscal Year 2020 to the tune…
Washington Examiner
House, Senate reach deal on bill to renew Ex-Im Bank
The Washington Examiner discusses the approved highway bill with Marc Scribner. "We are disappointed that Congress has once again chosen to bail out…
News Release
CEI Comment on Highway Bill Conference Report
CEI transportation policy expert Marc Scribner praised parts of the federal highway bill released today out of a congressional conference committee. Scribner praised parts of…
Blog
Problems with Mandatory Drone Registration
On Saturday, the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Registration Task Force issued its recommendations on a mandatory UAS registration proposal. The report is available here. On…
Blog
Government Submits TSA Body Scanner Final Rule Schedule to Court
On October 23, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered the Department of Homeland Security to produce a schedule for final rule…
Study
Reviving Capitalism
The near-death and rebirth of American railroads is a case study in business leaders fending off regulation.
Comment
CEI Comments Responding To the FAA Request for Information on Registration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Full Document Available in PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the Federal…
Blog
Barbara Boxer: Confirm PR Flak for Key Safety Role or the Transportation System Gets It
Yesterday, the Senate confirmed Sarah Feinberg to head the Federal Railroad Administration. Feinberg has been acting administrator since January. She replaced Joseph Szabo, who had…
Law360
TSA Ordered To Make Final Body Scanner Rule
The D.C. Circuit on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to submit a schedule for when it will issue a final rule on…
Blog
Court Rules against Government in TSA Body Scanner Case
Earlier today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against the government in CEI’s challenge to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) illegal…
Litigation
CEI Challenges TSA Body Scanner Policy
On July 15, 2015, the Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for violating the law by deploying body scanners…
News Release
CEI Prevails: Court Orders TSA to Bare Its Body Scanner Rule
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) won a favorable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordering the Transportation Security Administration…
The Daily Signal
Another Dud Highway Bill from the House
The Daily Signal discusses the new Highway Bill and looks to Marc Scribner for information on the bills expansion of the federal government's role in…
Blog
Is a Drone Registration Mandate Illegal?
Today, the Department of Transportation announced the creation of a task force to develop recommendations for a national drone registration mandate. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stated…
Blog
Initial Thoughts on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act
This morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released its Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act. Unlike the Senate bill, which relies on imaginary pay-fors…
News Release
CEI Report: Keep the Skies Open for Drones
A new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute warns that laws and regulations curtailing use of civilian drones could hold back big economic and…
Study
Keeping the Skies Open for Drones
Drone technology could transform the way we live and work, offering great potential in precision agriculture, aerial photography, to infrastructure inspection, and disaster response. But overzealous…
Blog
Drone Policy Update: FAA Proposes $1.9m Fine, 3 More Bills Vetoed in California, and More
FAA PROPOSES RECORD FINE FOR UNAUTHORIZED UAS OPERATIONS: On October 6, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it was proposing a $1.9 million civil penalty against…
Blog
No, Politicians Shouldn’t Outlaw Driving to Usher in Self-Driving Cars
Over at Fusion, Kevin Roose has what is perhaps the worst article on automated vehicles (AVs) I’ve ever seen. In it, he calls for a near-term…
Blog
USDOT Wants it Both Ways with Off-Peak Freight Movements
Over at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fastlane blog, Greg Nadeau, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, has a post touting USDOT’s support for off-peak freight…
Blog
Drone Policy Update: California Bill Vetoed, New Model Aircraft Guidance, and More
CALIFORNIA UAS BILL VETOED: On September 9, California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed Senate Bill 142 that would have imposed trespass liability on unmanned aircraft system (UAS)…
The Hill
Biden run could be a boon for Amtrak
Marc Scribner talks to The Hill about what Joe Biden's possible presidential run means for Amtrak: Competitive Enterprise Institute Transportation Research Fellow Marc…
The Wall Street Journal
Streetcar Projects Suffer a Bumpy Ride
The Wall Street Journal talks to CEI's Marc Scribner on Atlanta's streetcar system: “What Atlanta did was a huge mistake,” said Marc Scribner, a research…
Blog
Did North Dakota Just Authorize Pepper-Spraying Police Drones?
The Daily Beast’s Justin Glawe has written an article about a North Dakota law aimed at limiting law enforcement use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or…
MSNBC
The Real Problem with the TSA Can’t Be Fixed with Yelp Reviews
This article was co-written with Harper Jean Tobin, Director of Policy at the National Center for Transgender Equality, and John Whitehead, President of The Rutherford…
Blog
New York Times Editorial Board Clueless on Smart Car Safety and Security
On Sunday, August 9, The New York Times ran an editorial, “Protecting Cars from Hackers,” discussing the recent publicized hacking incidents of Fiat Chrysler and Tesla vehicles, with…
Blog
“Flypocalypse” Shows Air Traffic Control Too Important to Be Left to FAA
This past Saturday, hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled due to an air traffic control software glitch in the Washington, D.C. area. Naturally, #flypocalypse began…
The Wall Street Journal
Little State Choice With the FHTF Funds
T. Peter Ruane’s claim (“It’s a Rough Road in Any Direction,” Letters, Aug. 6) “that all of the decisions…
The Heartlander
House Transportation Chairman Proposes Privatizing Air Traffic Control
The Heartlander cites CEI`s Marc Scribner on privatisation of air traffic control: Marc Scribner, a transportation policy research fellow with the Competitive Enterprise…
Letters
Coalition Letter Supporting Aviation Industry Modernization
Full Document Available in PDF The Competitive Enterprise Institute joined a coalition of free-market organizations in writing a letter to aviation leaders of the…
Blog
CEI Sues TSA for Violating Federal Law and Court Order on Body Scanners
Yesterday, July 15, 2015, CEI filed a petition for writ of mandamus with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Our suit requests the court enforce its…
FoxNews.com
TSA sued over airport body scanners
Marc Scribner is quoted in a report on a lawsuit filed by CEI over the deployment of body scanners in airports: “There is…
Legal Brief
CEI v. TSA
At issue in this case is TSA’s multi-year failure to complete its…
News Release
CEI Sues TSA For Violating Federal Law With Body Scanners
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed a lawsuit today against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for violating the law by deploying body scanners before following…
The Washington Times
Desire cools for streetcar in D.C. amid missteps, costs
The Washington Times cites CEI`s Marc Scribner on the streetcar system: There’s at least one thing on which opponents and supporters of a…
Forbes
U.S. Airlines Face Antitrust Collusion Investigation–What’s The Big Deal?
Airlines, apparently including United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines…
Blog
Reimagining Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Pro-Market Recommendations for Policy Makers
Today, CEI published my white paper, “Reimagining Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Pro-Market Recommendations for Policy Makers.” In it, I lay out the case for making…
Study
Reimagining Surface Transportation Reauthorization
Full Document Available in PDF Many transportation policy observers estimate that stagnating revenues and increases in fuel efficiency will cause the current…
The Daily Caller
Objections To Optional Tolling Plan Are ‘Silly,’ Experts Say
The Daily Caller cites CEI`s Marc Scribner on optional tolling plan: “The I-77 corridor has seen a 20 percent increase in traffic volumes…
