Transporation Daily News May 2

Infrastructure:

 

*Bridge traffic down, carpools up -- The Bay Area's toll bridge traffic — a key indicator of area commuting patterns — is declining, and this time it's not because of job loss, as it was when the dot-com bubble burst. Transportation officials say they know that because the drop in car crossings is accompanied by an increase in carpool traffic — 5.3 percent on the Bay Bridge over the nine months ending in March — as well as a continuing increase in public transportation ridership. CC Times 5/2/08

 

Gov.'s staff exploring new taxes -- As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to say publicly that he will hold the line against new taxes, his administration is laying the groundwork for a possible tax increase. Gov.'s staff exploring new taxes -- Administration officials are soliciting advice from business groups and other special interests on how to propose billions of dollars in tax hikes that could help close a budget shortfall the governor now says is as large as $20 billion. LA Times 5/1/08

 

Ports:

 

*Dockers shut West Coast ports in brief protest -- Dockworkers from Long Beach to Seattle defied their employers and an arbitrator's ruling and brought cargo operations to a standstill for eight hours Thursday in protest of the war in Iraq. At least 6,000 workers represented by San Francisco's International Longshore and Warehouse Union did not report for work for the day shift, effectively shutting down 29 West Coast ports. SF Chronicle 5/2/08

 

Air travel:

 

Schwarzenegger's Jet Commute May End as Santa Monica Seeks Ban  -- A federal judge will decide on May 15 whether the governor can land aboard a Gulfstream IV in Santa Monica, a 15-minute drive to his home in Los Angeles' wealthy Brentwood enclave. The governor's brother-in-law, Bobby Shriver, is among the Santa Monica city council members who voted unanimously on March 25 to ban large jets at the municipal airport. Bloomberg 5/2/08

 

Calif. Assembly adopts airline passenger bill of rights -- California lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation requiring airlines to provide passengers with food, water, lights, air and working toilets when they're stuck on airport tarmacs for long periods of time. The measure cleared the Assembly by a 54-16 vote, with critics challenging whether California has the authority to regulate airlines. It now goes to the Senate. San Diego Union Tribune 5/1/08

 

Oakland-to-Hawaii flights return -- Soon after Hawaiian Airlines kicked off service between here and Honolulu on Thursday, company officials said they are mulling the possibility of new service to Maui. The inaugural flight by Hawaiian Airlines from Oakland to Honolulu carried about 220 passengers on a jetliner with a capacity of 260. That was a decent start, said Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive of Hawaiian Holdings Inc., the Honolulu-based company that owns the airline. Inside Bay Area 5/2/08

 

Airlines slow down flights to save on fuel -- Drivers have long known that slowing down on the highway means getting more miles to the gallon. Now airlines are trying it, too — adding a few minutes to flights to save millions on fuel. Southwest Airlines started flying slower about two months ago, and projects it will save $42 million in fuel this year by extending each flight by one to three minutes. JetBlue adds an average of just under two minutes to each flight, and saves about $13.6 million a year in jet fuel. USA Today 5/2/08