Transportation policy @ReasonFdn. Covering infrastructure, planes, trains, and automobiles—especially when robots are involved.
Washington, DC
Joined January 2009
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As I outlined in WSJ (wsj.com/opinion/the-tsa-need…), this will keep happening until the U.S. adopts the screening model used by most peer countries: TSA as dedicated security regulator and screening devolved to airports.
See @ReasonFdn’s draft TSA Reform Act: reason.org/commentary/reform…
Marc Scribner retweeted
The socialist D.C. council member is wrong to assume that autonomous vehicles will reduce employment.
buff.ly/U4BaSi6
Now that I’m finally done working, I can wish you all a Happy National Transit Database Annual Release Day.
Every few months I come across a U.S. publication touting in-road EV charging (aka dynamic wireless charging).
Before DOTs fund yet another pilot, they should examine why Europe’s much-more EV-focused policymakers have moved on.
My latest @ReasonFdn: reason.org/transportation-ne…
Now-bankrupt Brightline’s financing presumed strong growing ridership. If they couldn’t realize growth during a year of fuel price spikes (and fare cuts!), there may not have been much latent demand for passenger rail in Florida that they thought they were serving.
Marc Scribner retweeted
"Airlines, airports, and air traffic control are interconnected, so the East Coast problems rippled across the country, contributing to over 1,000 delays at LAX, San Diego, San Francisco, and other airports across California." — @marcscribner
Opinion: Outdated air traffic control system strands and delays Californians ocregister.com/2026/09/25/ou…
Marc Scribner retweeted
Our air traffic control system is so poorly managed that one simple failure a couple of days ago expose a broken backup system and inability to cope, causing over 1,000 flight cancellations, 6,000 delays, and negatively impacted tens of thousands of passengers. @marcscribner reason.org/commentary/flight…
Marc Scribner retweeted
There is low-hanging populist fruit in the fact that the main opponents of air traffic control reform are private plane interests.
The Philly TRACON outage is a reminder that the problem is not just ancient FAA equipment that breaks—it’s the entire obsolete U.S. air traffic control model.
My latest at @ReasonFdn ⬇️
The Philly TRACON outage is a reminder that the problem is not just ancient FAA equipment that breaks—it’s the entire obsolete U.S. air traffic control model.
My latest at @ReasonFdn ⬇️
RIP, TSA Gold+. We hardly knew ye.
My latest @ReasonFdn examines the demise of the TSA’s ambitious airport security screening modernization effort.
This experience suggests that Congress, rather than the agency, must lead successful modernization efforts.
A transportation accident that spans modes!
Sec. Duffy's point on a lack of ATC investment is well-taken, but increasing immediate appropriations to unreliable institutions doesn't address the root cause.
Sustained modernization requires institutional modernization.
UPDATE: An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey which caused a telecom outage and forced FAA to pause flights in the Northeast.
Right now:
- Flights are resuming at LGA and PHL
- Flights into EWR, JFK, and Teterboro Airport are paused
This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future.
Follow @FAANews for updates.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Amtrak stated the cut was by a New Jersey Transit contractor on NJ Transit property, not an Amtrak crew. businessinsider.com/faa-outage-new… nbcnewyork.com/new-jersey/new…
Verizon said contractors cut its cable running adjacent to an Amtrak rail line. reuters.com/world/us/faa-h…
Global best practices recognized by ICAO and adopted widely are:
- Put the ATC provider at arm's length from its regulator (rather than FAA-style self-regulation)
- Allow the ATC provider to collect cost-based user fees and finance major improvements with revenue bonds.
We @ReasonFdn prefer the NAV CANADA nonprofit utility model for ATC (reason.org/policy-brief/chan…), but the government corporation (USATS) proposed by the Clinton administration would also be a major improvement.
For more on ATC reform and modernization, see: reason.org/topics/transporta…
A major domestic mistake following 9/11 was concentrating airport security into a self-regulating monopoly. TSA was broken from the start.
The good new is the reform template exists. Our peer countries have already figured this out. Global best practices have been published.
See my Wall Street Journal op-ed from earlier this year that sketches out the model: wsj.com/opinion/the-tsa-need…
And my draft reform legislation: reason.org/wp-content/upload…
And my colleague Bob Poole’s longer report: reason.org/policy-brief/remo…
Two autonomous trucking companies began testing in California after waiting years for needed regulatory updates. They may not make it to deployment.
In my latest @ReasonFdn, I examine legal and political threats to AVs—especially trucks—in California.
reason.org/transportation-ne…
FAA is adopting the Air Force's NEPA categorical exclusion for supersonic flight: public-inspection.federalreg…
It applies for 30,000+ ft over land and 10,000+ ft over water and 15 nautical miles from shore. Primary purpose is to facilitate civilian supersonic flight testing.
In their legal challenge to California regulations that legalized driverless trucks, the Teamsters adopt a hyper-bullish position on the near-term prospects of AVs.
It harkens back to 2015 when “think pieces” calling for outlawing more dangerous human driving were being written
The Teamsters’ latest effort to stop driverless trucks in California is interesting: their main argument is the state did not adopt an extremely optimistic view that AVs would transform transportation in 2026-2027, and then estimate those economic impacts: ocregister.com/2026/08/15/bi…
