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
News Release
CEI: Proposed Changes to CAFE Standards Are Good News for Consumers
Today, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency released proposed revisions to future fuel economy standards set under the Obama Administration.
The Gazette
Iowa among states barring automated truck ‘platoons’
The Gazette cited CEI on Senior Fellow Marc Scribner’s report, “Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning“ A new report released this month by Competitive…
News Release
Trump Tariffs Will Harm US and EU
President Trump is set to meet with EU President Jean-Claude Juncker today, with trade tensions topic #1, but CEI Senior Fellow Iain Murray warns that…
Blog
House Transportation Chairman Proposes Examining Shift to User Fees for Highway Funding
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA), the outgoing chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, this week released a legislative discussion draft of a new infrastructure bill,…
Blog
CEI Releases ‘Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning, 2018 Edition’
CEI has released my third annual report on state barriers to vehicle platooning, Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning: A Guide for State Legislators, 2018 Edition.
News Release
Report: Automated Truck Technology Would Mean Cost Savings and Safety Gains – If Legislators Update Decades-Old Laws
Automated vehicle technology promises big cost savings in transporting goods nationwide and increased highway safety, but outdated state laws remain a roadblock, according to a…
Study
Authorizing Automated Vehicle Platooning, 2018 Edition
Automated vehicles have captured the public’s imagination in recent years following successful on-road demonstrations by developers such as Waymo.[1] The prospect of…
SCPR
AUDIO: Marc Scribner Discusses Driverless Cars and State Safety Regulations on AirTalk
CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner joined AirTalk on Southern California Public Radio to discuss driverless car technology and state safety regulations.
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Congress to Repeal Ban On Operating Civil Supersonic Aircraft
Fifty years after the Concorde’s maiden flight, the ingenuity of American innovators and entrepreneurs means the next generation of commercial supersonic transportation is right around…
Blog
Last Chance for the 115th: Senate Should Pass AV START Act
Back when CEI published “Free to Prosper: A Pro-Growth Agenda for the 115th Congress” at the end of 2016, we wrote that “[t]o…
News Release
CEI on Potential Auto Tariff: “Trump Tax” Is Deeply Troubling
This week, the Trump administration launched a probe to consider imposing tariffs on imported automobiles. CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner warned such a "Trump tax" would be bad…
Blog
Debunking the Dilatory Objections to the AV START Act
In September 2017, the House of Representatives passed the SELF DRIVE Act by unanimous voice vote. The bill would for the first time establish…
SFGate
Trump, Top Car Executives Meet Amid Struggle Over Climate Rules for Automobiles
SFGate cited Myron Ebell on the need for diversification in motor vechicle standards in order to suit the diverse needs of Americans living across the…
Blog
Zero Emission Vehicles Can Increase Air Pollution: Study
A new report by economist Jonathan Lesser of the Manhattan Institute challenges the conventional wisdom that zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) are superior to new internal…
Blog
Clearing a Regulatory Path for Automated Trucks and Trains
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the national safety regulator of heavy trucks and buses, or commercial motor vehicles. It was created in 2000…
The Washington Examiner
Trump’s Transition Chiefs Urge Him to Stay the Course On Auto Rollback
The Washington Examiner cited Myron Ebell in his signing a joint letter to the president urging him to stay on course in reforming auto emissions…
Letters
CEI Joins Trump Transition Leaders to Urge President Trump to Continue with CAFE Reforms
As members of your presidential transition team, we write to thank you for the tremendous progress that America has made under your leadership. As a…
Comment
CEI Comments on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (“FMCSA”) Request for…
The State Journal-Register
Point: In The Name Of Safety, They Should Allow Testing Of Driverless Cars On Their Roads
The State Journal-Register cited Marc Scribner about how local jurisdictions are not qualified to determine the legality of driverless cars and that their lack of…
Comment
CEI Comments on Automation in the Railroad Industry to the Federal Railroad Administration
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the Federal Railroad Administration’s (“FRA”) Request for Information on…
Blog
Multi-State Petition against EPA Vehicle Standards Makes Weak Legal Case
California joined by 16 states and the District of Columbia yesterday petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop Environmental Protection Agency administrator…
Illinois News Network
Proposal: Raise state’s gas tax to highest-in-nation 85 cents a gallon
Illonois News Network quoted Marc Scribner on the necessity to find alternatives for Illonois to support renovating its aging infastructure rather than increasing the state’s gas…
Reason Magazine
Clear the Runway: The Fight Over ‘Uber for Planes’ Is Coming to Congress
Reason Magazine cites CEI’s Marc Scribner on regulations that could harm the sharing economy for private planes. In other words, the battle…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Supporting Amendment to FAA Reauthorization Act to Remove Cap on the Passenger Facility Charge
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Pete Sessions, Ranking Member Jim McGovern: We write today to express our strong support of…
News Release
Lawmaker Seeks Improvements in Aviation Safety Regulation
Today, Rep. Mark Meadows (R, N.C.) introduced a significant reform amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation. The amendment directs the FAA to…
Blog
Even without Air Traffic Control Reform, House FAA Bill Improvement to Status Quo
Last week, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) introduced his updated Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, eliminating the air traffic control reform title, and making…
Letters
CEI Coalition Letter to Senate Commerce on Surface Transportation Board Nominee Confirmation Hearing
View Full Document as PDF Dear Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson, and members of the Committee: We write today on the forthcoming…
C-SPAN
VIDEO: Marc Scribner Discusses Automotive Innovation and Wireless Technology at New America Event
C-SPAN covers New America’s event on automotive innovation and wireless technology featuring CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner as a panelist. …
C-SPAN
VIDEO: Marc Scribner Joins The Washington Journal to Discuss Trump’s Infrastructure Plan
CEI Senior Fellow Marc Scribner joined The Washington Journal on C-SPAN to discuss President Trump’s infrastructure plan.
Blog
Hope for Reforming Obama-Era Fuel Economy Mandates at EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency is approaching the April 1st deadline to complete its Midterm Evaluation of the Obama administration’s fuel economy and motor vehicle greenhouse…
Blog
Cracking Down on Automated Vehicles Would Mean More Death and Destruction
Real-life road testing is the best way to continue improving the performance of automated driving systems, thanks in part to the gathering of real-time road…
Blog
Human Achievement: The Shipping Container
One of the most underappreciated drivers of the modern global economy is the humble shipping container. Widely adopted internationally in the second half of the…
Blog
CEI Submits Comments to Federal Vehicle Regulator on Automated Driving Systems
The process for modernizing federal motor vehicle safety standards needs to be improved, thereby allowing for more rapid deployment of vehicles equipped with new self-driving technology…
Comment
CEI Comments to NHTSA on Removing Regulatory Barriers for Vehicles with Automated Driving System
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the…
USA Today
Let our airlines compete: Maybe more dogs will reach their destinations
Glenn Harlan Reynolds quotes a recent interview with Marc Scribner in his USA Today column on airline competition and regulation: When you…
Techdirt
Slowing Down Driverless Cars Would Be A Fatal Mistake
This article was cowritten with Caleb Watney, technology policy associate at the R Street Institute Unsubstantiated driverless car hype may be annoying, but that shouldn’t blind…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Supporting the AV START Act (S. 1885)
Speeding up the AV START act could potentially save thousands of lives.
Comment
CEI Comments in Response to the Federal Highway Administration’s Request for Information on Automated Driving Systems
View Full Document as PDF On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”), I respectfully submit these comments in response to the…
Vox
America’s 3 Infrastructure Problems
Vox examines the Trump administration’s infrastructure plans with Marc Scribner: So where did that $1.5 trillion number come from? According to…
Blog
Skepticism of Driverless Car Hype Is Warranted But Shouldn’t Sacrifice Innovation and Safety
Applying the precautionary principle to the regulation of self-driving cars could mean more highway fatalities, by delaying the introduction of new, lifesaving technologies. …
Watchdog.org
Government watchdog: States like Illinois must be more accountable for infrastructure maintenance
Watchdog.org discusses the effect of the Trump Administration’s infrastructure plan and cites Marc Scribner’s work: Any federal infrastructure funding plan needs to…
Blog
Rep. Dave Brat’s Pro-Competitive Free to Fly Act Is a First Step in the Right Direction
The Free to Fly Act would eliminate a generations-old anti-competitive federal law governing domestic airline ownership.
Vox
Trump’s Plan Does Nothing for America’s Real Infrastructure Problem
Vox’s Matthew Yglesias cites Marc Scribner’s blog analysis of the Trump administration’s infrastructure proposals: Infrastructure is a big, complicated subject that…
The Wall Street Journal
Private Jet-Setters Against Better Air Travel
The Wall Street Journal cites Marc Scribner in discussing potential roadblocks to air traffic reform: President Trump’s 2019 budget proposal again includes a…
Blog
Trump’s Infrastructure Plan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
This morning, the White House released its long-anticipated, 53-page infrastructure proposal. It is an expansion of the leaked six-page summary that I commented…
News Release
White House Infrastructure Spending Plan Should Refocus on Maintenance for Roads, Water Treatment
The White House is expected to announce a $200 billion infrastructure spending plan, with a focus on shortening the permitting process for construction, directing dollars…
Marketplace
AUDIO: President Trump to Outline Infrastructure Plan
Marketplace discusses President Trump’s infrastructure plan with Marc Scribner. Listen to the full story at Marketplace.
WIRED
Outdated Auto Safety Regulations Threaten the Self-Driving Revolution
Self-driving cars should be welcomed for their substantial safety and mobility gains for the traveling public, especially the elderly and disabled. But the federal government’s failure…
Blog
Uber Wants to Make It Illegal to Operate Your Own Self-Driving Car in Cities
Beleaguered ridesourcing giant Uber has been criticized for a wide variety of sins, both real and imagined. But their biggest sin yet may be what…
E&E News
Who’s Who in Trump’s Infrastructure Initiative
E&E News discusses Trump’s infrastructure plan with Myron Ebell. President Trump’s ballyhooed infrastructure push — envisioned as a $1.5 trillion construction push paired with…