Transportation Budget News

Improved funding and management changes have the nation’s largest ferry system on a course to better times. Challenges remain, but WSF tackles each one in turn. Unlike the citizens of British Columbia, which pays a German shipyard to build its ferries, Washington state residents resolutely invest at home. By law, ferries are built locally and the results, overall, seem win-win. The state’s Office of Financial Management estimates that every $75 million in ferry construction generates about $90 million for the state’s economy.

Our transportation network consists of different modes like roads, railroads, ship channels and ports. But when it comes to transporting food, building materials, bulk commodities, items used in manufacturing and finished products, each of those modes must be firing on all cylinders and in sync with the others. It is hard to overstate America’s reliance on a safe and efficient freight network. This network is the circulation system that fuels our economy health and helps secure our Nation, and the Obama Administration has consistently emphasized the importance of improving our infrastructure.

The proposed 2016 federal budget included funding for the design of new multi-mission vessels that will serve as training ships for the nation’s state maritime academies, including the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College. President Barack Obama’s $4 trillion proposed budget, released on Monday, included a line item of $5 million for the design of the National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) as part of the Department of Transportation budget. “We are delighted…

Aross-the-board proposed ferry fare increases: Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) to hold public consultations. The increase is necessary to ensure the state meets the ferry-fare-revenue target set by the Legislature in the recently enacted 2013 - 2015 transportation budget. The commission is seeking public comment on the proposal during the coming weeks and plans to make a final decision during its meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at Union Station in Seattle.

Washington State Ferries' (WSF) team gears up to head for meetings with ferry-served communities. With the 2013-2015 transportation budget signed, Washington State Ferries will meet the public to discuss the implications of the budget, as well as new vessel construction progress, ferry system performance measures, liquefied natural gas as a source of fuel, and route-specific issues. "“I look forward to visiting the communities and hearing directly from our riders on the issues that affect their everyday travels,”" said David Moseley, WSDOT assistant secretary, ferries division.

With the release of President Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) expressed both accolades, and some disappointment, over various aspects of the budget pertaining to ports and the efficient and secure movement of freight. Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO, said that, even though the Administration’s budget includes cuts in order to meet the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last year, there are bright spots for seaports, such as a much-needed increase in the portion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ funding pertaining to deep-draft navigation maintenance, and funding for the Department of Transportation’s budget that pertains to enhancing America’s freight mobility.

The record $2.2 trillion U.S. budget proposal is out, and, predictably, the political posturing and positioning for additional dollars has begun in earnest. This year's budget from the President, with its heavy emphasis on defense and homeland security, has outraged a broad spectrum of the inland waterways industry, based on comments delivered by influential organizations in the immediate aftermath of its release. The $2.2 trillion budget includes $380 billion for the nation's military, a $15 billion (4.2%) increase. The new budget provides $41 billion for total homeland security spending. Excluding Department of Defense spending, the budget includes $35 billion for homeland security, a $2.5 billion or 7.6% increase that more than doubles funding over the past two years.