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
The American Spectator
Will California Hobble the US Railroad Industry?
CEI’s Patricia Patnode is cited in Reason on the EPA’s imposition of regulation: As Patricia Patnode of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which signed the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: train crews and airport concessions
Our colleague R.J. Smith passed away. R.J. coined the term “free-market environmentalism,” ran CEI’s private conservation efforts for many years, and was a valued…
Daily Caller
Here’s Why It Could Take Longer To Rebuild The Baltimore Bridge Than The Whole Transcontinental Railroad
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in Daily Caller about the length of time it is going to take to rebuild the Balitmore bridge: “If…
Search Posts
The American Spectator
Will California Hobble the US Railroad Industry?
CEI’s Patricia Patnode is cited in Reason on the EPA’s imposition of regulation: As Patricia Patnode of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which signed the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: train crews and airport concessions
Our colleague R.J. Smith passed away. R.J. coined the term “free-market environmentalism,” ran CEI’s private conservation efforts for many years, and was a valued…
Daily Caller
Here’s Why It Could Take Longer To Rebuild The Baltimore Bridge Than The Whole Transcontinental Railroad
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in Daily Caller about the length of time it is going to take to rebuild the Balitmore bridge: “If…
Blog
Will EPA empower California to ban gasoline-powered cars?
Did Congress authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to outlaw the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles? Did it authorize the EPA to…
Blog
Energy and Environment Regulatory Tracker: EV mandates, EPA confuses science and policy, and more!
Keeping track of the most important energy and environmental federal rules can be difficult. The following lists some important proposed rules with open comment periods: …
The Hill
East Palestine anniversary calls for careful attention, not rushed legislation
One year ago today, there was a terrible rail accident in East Palestine, Ohio that shocked the nation. Thousands of gallons of hazardous materials were…
Letters
Coalition Letter on DCA Perimeter Rule
Dear Chairwoman Cantwell and Ranking Member Cruz: We write to inform you that we support expanding the number of flights permitted in and out of…
Blog
Virginia Senate Democrats block repeal of EV mandate
Democrats on a Virginia state Senate committee voted down Republican attempts to roll back the state’s vehicle emissions law on Tuesday. The law, passed…
Daily Caller
Here’s Why The Biden Admin’s Multi-Billion Dollar EV Charging Program Has Short-Circuited
CEI’s Marlo Lewis was cited on the Daily Caller regarding the Biden administration’s multi-billion dollar EV charging program: Marlo Lewis, senior fellow at the…
Blog
Dear California, just let the trains run
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) in April approved regulations to ban the operation of diesel locomotives in California and the rule goes…
National Review
Mass Transit: Preferred over Cars, Except When It Isn’t
For decades, environmentalists and urban planners have been on a mission to get Americans out of their cars and on to buses, light rail, commuter trains,…
Blog
FTC replies to CEI in auto dealer rule, still full of hot, nitrogen-poor air
This week, the Federal Trade Commission issued its long-awaited, nearly-400 page nannyist final rule on auto and other motor vehicle dealers sales. The rule…
Blog
Vehicle kill switches and other horrible things Washington is doing to us from a distance
The remote kill switch for automobiles authorized by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 is a prime…
Blog
10 important amendments for the House Transportation spending bill
The US House of Representatives is currently debating H.R. 4820, its Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development spending bill. There are many good amendments being…
News Release
Amendment prohibiting funding for Biden administration fuel economy regulations would benefit consumers
The House is expected to consider an amendment offered by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) to the Transportation and HUD spending bill (H.R.
Blog
UAW strike epilogue: Big Three will continue to shrink
The United Auto Workers has won, according to the headlines. What the union has won will force three companies, Ford, GM, and Stellantis, owner…
Blog
Air travel will continue to increase—unless grounded by climate change policies
The Duke of Wellington was said to have opposed the growth of railroads in 19th-century Britain because they would “only encourage the common people to…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Creating the future with Jim Pethokoukis
In this week’s episode we talk about income and tax migration, refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the problem with federal crop…
Blog
Former NHTSA administrator nominee still serving as acting administrator, raising serious issues
On May 30, President Joe Biden withdrew the nomination of Ann Carlson to be the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Blog
Wall Street Journal agrees with CEI, opposes Railway Safety Act
In an editorial today, the Wall Street Journal joined with many other voices, including Bloomberg, National Review, and a coalition led…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: milk losses and duck vehicles
Google’s antitrust trial started, and the Justice Department cited Russian antitrust actions to back up its case. The latest inflation numbers were a…
Blog
United Auto Workers want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie
If the United Auto Workers go on strike this week – and as I write this it appears as though they will – it…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: crash test dummies and potato promotion
Congress returned from its August recess. It was a four-day week for the Federal Register due to Labor Day, but the Federal Register still grew…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Defend your points and miles with Bryan Bashur
In this week’s episode we talk about where our doctors come from in the US, what current inflation numbers tell us about…
DC Journal
Railway Safety Act Will Drive Up Prices Without Adding Safety, Critics Say
DC Journal cites CEI’s Iain Murry on the Railway Safety Act: Competitive Enterprise Institute’s vice president for strategy and senior fellow, Iain Murray, agreed, arguing…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: ice fog and pre-merger paperwork
Inflation more or less held steady. The FTC is reportedly getting ready to file an antitrust suit against Amazon. The Federal Register had…
Blog
Let them eat public transportation
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its latest attack on Automobility with proposed CA standards on combustion engine vehicles. The war on…
Blog
Congress is set to reauthorize the FAA. Should it?
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2018 expires at the end of September. This week, Congress will consider H.R. 3935 (118). If…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: nuclear debt collection and high airports
The FTC lost another major antitrust case, this time its bid to stop the Microsoft-Activision merger. CPI inflation dropped to 3 percent, though…
News Release
Coalition warns Congress about Railway Safety Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Rio Grande Foundation today sent a coalition letter to Congress expressing serious concerns with the Senate’s Railway Safety Act…
Blog
Congress should vote no on the Railway Safety Act, says coalition
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Rio Grande Foundation today sent a coalition letter to Congress expressing serious concerns with the Senate’s Railway Safety…
Letters
CEI Co-Leads Coalition Letter on Railroad Safety Act
Dear Members of Congress: The undersigned individuals write to express concerns with the Railway Safety Act (S. 576). Safety advancement in any mode of…
Blog
Costlier cars help the poor, according to EPA
There is plenty of controversy surrounding EPA’s proposed new tailpipe and greenhouse gas emissions rules for model year 2027-2032 vehicles, ranging from whether the…
Blog
This week in ridiculous regulations: electric motors and small business loans
Congress and President Biden reached a debt ceiling deal. Texas attorney general and antitrust hawk Ken Paxton was impeached. Meanwhile, agencies issued new regulations ranging…
Blog
Protecting private property in the Peach State
Institute for Justice communications manager Dan King brings us an infuriating but important story out of the state of Georgia. Property owners in the…
Blog
What happens if governments stop trying to make electric vehicles happen?
I recently spotted an interesting analysis of the market for electric vehicles and the prospect for them eventually replacing ones powered by internal combustion…
Blog
EPA’s new coal rule: Still unlawful after all these years
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted the pre-publication draft of its proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance standards for fossil-fuel power plants…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Letting people prosper with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we talk about Warren Buffet’s electric vehicle pessimism, sky-high school funding in New York City, a report…
Blog
What I told the EPA about its attack on Americans’ cars and mobility
The Biden administration is using the whole of government to stop Americans from driving gas-powered vehicles. This campaign began right at the start of the…
Blog
Senate committee yells ‘all aboard!’ for controversial Railway Safety Act
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved the Railway Safety Act this morning, with all Democrats and Republican Sens. J.D. Vance (OH) and Eric Schmitt…
Blog
EPA’s almost bare-naked electric car mandate
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032 passenger cars, light trucks,…
Blog
Too Clever by Half – EPA’s De-Facto Electric Vehicle Mandate
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced new, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. The standards would increase in…
Fox News
Biden unveils toughest-ever car emissions rules in bid to force electric vehicle purchases
Fox News cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on electric vehicles: “The Biden administration is trying to bend…
Testimony
Testimony of Ben Lieberman Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, and members of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Ben Lieberman and I…
Letters
Coalition Letter on TPA BEAD funding oversight
The Honorable John Thune Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation United States Senate 511 Dirksen Senate Office…
Inside Sources
East Palestine Derailment Reveals a Lot of What Is Wrong With Our Politics
The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous material in East Palestine, Ohio, is a social and environmental disaster that can potentially ruin lives…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing Railway Safety Act of 2023
We write you to urge your opposition to the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Introduced following the horrible accident in East Palestine, Ohio, the legislation…
Issues and Insights
Customers, Not Regulators, Should Hold Southwest Accountable
Southwest Airlines’ scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend has prompted Capitol Hill lawmakers to propose hearings and federal regulators like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to promise a…
Blog
Customers, Not Regulators, Should Hold Southwest Accountable
Southwest Airlines’ scheduling meltdown over the holiday weekend has prompted Capitol Hill lawmakers to propose hearings and federal regulators like Transportation Secretary Pete…
National Review
Southwest’s Debacle Should Cost It Dearly
It is by now clear that the airline chaos of the past week, which started during the punishing winter storm shortly before Christmas, is largely…