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
Blog
Mandates before proven safety: How the Railway Safety Act ignores rail safety
The Washington Post’s recent piece on the Railway Safety Act underscores an essential point: safety legislation must be grounded in evidence, not fear or…
Blog
Pardon me boys, is this the Special Interest Express?
The Washington Post published a smart editorial on Monday on why the proposed Railway Safety Act is a bad idea. The legislation is…
News Release
White House wrong to push Railway Safety Act
The White House is reportedly urging lawmakers to include new restrictions on freight rail operations in upcoming infrastructure or transportation legislation. CEI policy experts…
Search Posts
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…
Reason
National I.D. By Any Other Name Still Stinks
Reason covers the release of a new report published by the Cato Institute and authored by Jim Harper. There have been many pushes to…
Blog
Trump State of the Union Response: Double Down on Cutting Red Tape
Cutting red tape, so talented individuals can thrive, will help put the long-term roar back into the economy.
Blog
More Misguided Conservative Criticism of the Passenger Facility Charge
Congress should free the hand of airports to finance improvements with user fees rather than relying on federal tax revenue.
The Tennessean
Opponents Paint Grim Picture of Nashville Transit Plan at Forum Watched by Both Sides
The Tennessean covers Marc Sribner’s appearance at a forum surrounding Nashville’s transit plan. Opponents of Mayor Megan Barry’s transit plan brought in conservative thinkers leading the…
Blog
#SOTU2018: All Eyes on Infrastructure
Despite the Trump administration’s misguided call for additional federal spending on infrastructure, there are some bright spots for free marketers in the administration's plan.
Washington Examiner
Air Traffic Control Might Finally Move Into The 21st Century
America is long overdue for an overhaul of our radar-based air traffic control system. Yet federal modernization efforts are plagued by delays, cost-overruns, and shifting…
U.S. News & World Report
The Right Kind of Stimulus
Ask any politician about infrastructure, and they’ll tell you they’re for it. And why wouldn’t they be? Most politicians view infrastructure spending as a means…
City Journal
Well-Heeled Fliers Against Air-Traffic Reform
The City Journal quotes Marc Scribner on the influence the NBAA has in preventing federal reform and modernization of air traffic control. Members…
Blog
7 Congressional Efforts the President Should Urge Members to Support
President Trump should use his State of the Union address to encourage members of Congress to pass these 7 bills immediately.
Blog
Where Are the President’s Surface Transportation Board Nominees?
Three seats currently sit empty on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and the White House should move quickly to nominate cautious and judicious rail experts…
Forbes
Who Will Own the Infrastructure in the Smart City?
There is great enthusiasm for the smart city concept. Integration of autonomous vehicles, drones and networked communications are expected to manage congestion, lead to fewer…
Roll Call
Whiplashed Planners Fear GOP Swerve on Infrastructure
Roll Call discusses private activity bonds with Marc Scribner. Los Angeles has gained national notice for a series of ambitious projects affecting all facets…
Politico
Study Bag
Politico’s Morning Transportation covers the release of Modernizing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards by Marc Scribner. Take a gander at a new…
Law360
Old Standards Holding Back Auto Safety Advancement
Law360 covers the release of Modernizing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards by Marc Scribner. Federal regulators’ failure to routinely update motor vehicle standards to keep…
The Washington Examiner
Congress in the Driver’s Seat on Self-Driving Cars
The Washington Examiner discusses self-driving cars with Marc Scribner. For auto manufacturers, technology experts, and lawmakers, 2018 is shaping up to be the year…
Blog
Congress Must Help Modernize Outdated Auto Safety Regulations
Congress should encourage safety regulators to more rapidly adopt modern standards developed by private professional organizations. …