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Tennessee Governor Proposes New Transportation Financing Authority

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In a special legislative session convened this week by Governor Bill Lee (R), lawmakers are considering HB 6006 to create a Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority for maintenance and improvement project contracting and bonding “without limitation as to the amount,” WBIR reports. The authority would be chaired by the governor, with the state comptroller serving as both vice chair and secretary. The bill is one of several on a variety of subjects under consideration during the session.

Meanwhile, Tennessee Senator Mark Pody (R-17), who sponsored SB 24 to direct vehicle and tire sales taxes to TDOT, said the measure would boost the department’s coffers by $1 billion annually, according to “Land Line” Magazine. Similar legislation reportedly failed last year, although that was before TDOT said it needs more than $300 million to shore up its 2025-26 budget.

TRN notes that another pending measure, SB 105, would extend the expiration date of the Transportation Modernization Board, charged with overseeing development of the state’s “Choice Lanes,” from 2025 to 2029.

MTA Says Congestion Pricing Is Working As Expected

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After just three weeks, Manhattan congestion pricing is having impacts planned for and anticipated in regard to congestion zone traffic volume, transit patronage, and transit operations. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) staff delivered that news to board members in a detailed meeting presentation yesterday. Highlights of the reported data include:

  • Travel times at inbound crossings to the Congestion Relief Zone (CRZ) are at least 10 percent and as much as 48 percent faster now than during January 2024.
  • “Drivers in the CRZ are experiencing travel time improvements especially during afternoon peak hours with reductions as high as 59%.”
  • Since the program’s launch, the number of vehicles entering the CRZ has diminished by over a million.
  • “Bus riders and especially express bus riders have benefited from less gridlock and are continuing to experience faster and more reliable commutes.”
  • With faster and more reliable service, bus and subway ridership is growing.

An MTA news release provides a concise summary of the data, which the authority obtained through TRANSCOM, the interagency coalition that collects and supplies data on metro New York City travel times. A video of the presentation to the board is available on MTA’s YouTube channel. MTA stated it will now provide regular congestion relief program data updates through New York State’s Open Data portal and the authority’s own performance metrics website.

Gothamist notes that MTA officials are hopeful the improved travel conditions reflected in the data will “ease the ire” over CRZ tolling.

Bloomberg CityLab and Daily News report on the data findings and the satisfied reactions of MTA board members and executives.

Trump’s Tariff Threats Disrupt North American Steel Trade

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Transport Topics reports, some steelmakers in Canada and Mexico have paused any new business or sales quotes with US-based customers due to concern that President Donald Trump will include steel in sweeping tariffs he’s threatened to impose starting February 1. “Canada is the top foreign import source of steel into the U.S. and Mexico is the third largest, according to U.S. Commerce Department data.”

Experts Tie Toll Smishing Uptick To “Spoofing,” As FTC Joins Agencies Urging Caution

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Tribune News Service (via “Government Technology”) reports, an ongoing wave of toll-related fraudulent texts could be tied to a popular Chinese “spoofing” kit that recently updated its features to show people how to mimic tolling authorities, according to the cybersecurity website KrebsOnSecurity. The article describes how spoofing scams work and notes that the Federal Trade Commission last week issued its own warning about this latest trend in smishing.

Trump Administration Rescinds Grants And Loans Freeze Following Court Injunction

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Associated Press reports, early this afternoon, the president’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rescinded its January 27 directive to freeze the disbursement of grant and loan funds by federal executive agencies. An ambiguous memo announcing the action “sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn’t be subject to a pause in funding.” Confusion over the intent and full effect of the freeze led a federal judge to block immediate implementation late yesterday, as Reuters and Roll Call report.

The Washington Post reports, according to a White House spokesperson, the purpose of today’s rescission was to “end any confusion” resulting from the court injunction, not to reverse Trump administration efforts to block spending — including budget allocations — it opposes. Other freezes, on foreign aid and some alternative energy funding, remain in effect.

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) had concerns about the breadth of the freeze, reporting yesterday that the OMB directive “renewed questions about the flow of reimbursements to state and local transportation agencies for federal-aid transportation projects.”

The advocacy group Transportation for America blogs about confusion resulting from the recent Trump administration attempts to delay or stop spending. It urges state and local agencies and other stakeholders to report any impacts on their receipt of federal aid and request that future government directives state unambiguously whether transportation funding is implicated.

The New York Times posted online an annotated list of the 2,600 government programs — including many administered by USDOT — that the January 27 spending freeze directive purported to cover.