New DOT Secretary?

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I am unsure what this will all mean. While Buttigieg is a competent person, and stood up quite well on the National political stage, I would have never thought of him as the best expert we have on transportation.

President (Elect) Biden has more pressing issues, like Covid-19 and the economy, that needs 110% of this attention. Transforming Amtrak into a fleet of gleaming-white HS bullet trains zooming between US cities, while nice, really isn't even near the top of the pressing American agenda. No Treasury Secretary can change that.
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
I am unsure what this will all mean. While Buttigieg is a competent person, and stood up quite well on the National political stage, I would have never thought of him as the best expert we have on transportation.

President (Elect) Biden has more pressing issues, like Covid-19 and the economy, that needs 110% of this attention. Transforming Amtrak into a fleet of gleaming-white HS bullet trains zooming between US cities, while nice, really isn't even near the top of the pressing American agenda. No Treasury Secretary can change that.
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Definitely true. Although I think since he is competent and stands up well in the national spotlight, he might be in a better position to sell transportation needs to the nation than someone who is may have more direct knowledge, but isn't as well-spoken. He has a following so people will listen. Usually the Transportation Secretary is somebody nobody has ever heard of. This time he's fairly well-liked. It may or may not make a big difference, but it can't hurt much.
 
Considering that the current Secretary of Transportation is the wife of the Senior Senator of Kentucky and their home is Louisville, how much Amtrak experience did she have? How much of Kentucky is served by Amtrak? Louisville certainly isn't. The new potential Secretary has been Mayor of a city that has Amtrak service. Surely, he is better acquainted with Amtrak than Secretary Chao was when she joined the President's Cabinet
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
I am unsure what this will all mean. While Buttigieg is a competent person, and stood up quite well on the National political stage, I would have never thought of him as the best expert we have on transportation.

President (Elect) Biden has more pressing issues, like Covid-19 and the economy, that needs 110% of this attention. Transforming Amtrak into a fleet of gleaming-white HS bullet trains zooming between US cities, while nice, really isn't even near the top of the pressing American agenda. No Treasury Secretary can change that.
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But passenger rail is part of what's needed to deal with climate change, which apparently the new administration is planning a big push. Even though most of the talk in transportation and climate change is having to do with technology-forcing to get more battery electric cars on the road, such cars don't do anything about containing suburban sprawl, which is, in itself, a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions. Passenger rail is essential to allow for more cities and towns to develop in a denser, more walkable manner. Of course, most of this would be corridor/regional service. No need to start with 200 mph bullet trains, if we could even replicate the Piedmont Service, or the Wolverines, or the Lincoln Service, etc. in more places across the country, that would be a big start. Even better would be to upgrade to something more on the lines of the Capitol Corridor, or Pacific Surfliner, or Empire Service, not to mention, in corridors with numerous large cities along the route, to upgrade to a transit ecology similar to the NEC, and to upgrade the NEC to a transit ecology of something similar to Europe or Asia.

This should me folded into climate change policy, and also some national security policy, in the sense that the country should diminish its reliance on petroleum, which might reduce the strategic significance of a lot of very unstable regions in the world. If oil is less important for us, there's less of a chance that we'll stumble into an ill-advised war over securing our oil supply.
 
MARC Rider said:
This should me folded into climate change policy, and also some national security policy, in the sense that the country should diminish its reliance on petroleum, which might reduce the strategic significance of a lot of very unstable regions in the world. If oil is less important for us, there's less of a chance that we'll stumble into an ill-advised war over securing our oil supply.
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I agree with a whole bunch of what you said - probably all of it. But you and I aren’t the ones that need convincing. If we don’t get conservatives to go along willingly - nothing truly good will happen with rail and Amtrak.

What scares me is if Amtrak somehow gets tied to a hot button political issue. What hot button political issue could that be, you ask? I have two in mind (I say). One, the Green New Deal, and two, climate change. Experience tells me that conservatives will fight tooth and nail to keep anything closely resembling the Green New Deal or sweeping climate change legislation from passing. I don’t want Amtrak anywhere near those two issues.

Ten to twenty years from now it won’t matter - our kids will be in charge and they recognize and support those issues. But for the next 10 years we will have to tread carefully and cajole our way along if we want meaningful, short-term change that accomplishes what we want without rubbing anyone’s nose in it.

Sensible, future minded infrastructure and transportation improvements are something that (nearly) everyone can get behind if it is couched properly. We just have to see that it IS couched properly!

I know from observing him that Mayor Pete is intelligent and articulate enough to make that argument effectively. Whether or not he has the political skill is yet to be determined.
 
I don't think Amtrak needs to be getting 110% of Biden's attention. It isn't even in the top 5 of issues the US has to deal with in the next 4 years. But the fact is that having someone who wants Amtrak to succeed as the head of the DOT will be a good thing. Most of the time the DOT is putting Amtrak near the back of the pack when it comes to which chick the momma bird is going to give the worm to. At least now, Amtrak has a chance to get a worm a bit more often.
Get back to daily LD service immediately. Give Amtrak a little more money every year on a steadier basis. It doesn't need to be a billion more, even $300Mn more would make a huge difference. Keep buying more cars every year and then buy some new LD loco's too. Get rid of the Mica rule on dining cars and then bring back the dining cars ASAP. Find a way to incentivize the freight companies to not bury Amtrak trains if they fall out of their time slot. Get at least one or two of the western LD trains to twice a day as soon as the equipment is there. Ok, that last one may be crazy talk, but the first few items are eminently doable and they wouldn't take a huge amount of money.

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President (Elect) Biden has more pressing issues, like Covid-19 and the economy, that needs 110% of this attention. Transforming Amtrak into a fleet of gleaming-white HS bullet trains zooming between US cities, while nice, really isn't even near the top of the pressing American agenda. No Treasury Secretary can change that.
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Cho Cho Charlie said:
President (Elect) Biden has more pressing issues, like Covid-19 and the economy, that needs 110% of this attention. Transforming Amtrak into a fleet of gleaming-white HS bullet trains zooming between US cities, while nice, really isn't even near the top of the pressing American agenda.
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Expanding rail service helps the economy by creating immediate jobs in construction, engineering, logistics, etc. and then continue to help the economy by transporting passengers to towns for work, vacation, etc which of course means they are spending money.

Dakota 400 said:
The new potential Secretary has been Mayor of a city that has Amtrak service.
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Also a city that has the last of the real electic interurban lines in operation.
 
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Cho Cho Charlie said:
I am unsure what this will all mean. While Buttigieg is a competent person, and stood up quite well on the National political stage, I would have never thought of him as the best expert we have on transportation.
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I am not sure that it matters very much whether he is an expert. Cabinet member is an executive position, not a technical one; much like being CEO, it is less important that someone knows the nuts and bolts than it is that they can manage the people who do know the nuts and bolts in order to achieve goals. It's not the job of a secretary of whatever to personally carry out the department's mission.
 
keelhauled said:
I am not sure that it matters very much whether he is an expert. Cabinet member is an executive position, not a technical one; much like being CEO, it is less important that someone knows the nuts and bolts than it is that they can manage the people who do know the nuts and bolts in order to achieve goals. It's not the job of a secretary of whatever to personally carry out the department's mission.
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Having been recruited for the Oregon DOT out of the Army by then Gov. McCall I can tell you that you are right. However, having an executive who leans one way or another can motivate the mid-level bureaucrats who want to keep their jobs and promotions going. There are usually things in the in-basket that can be pulled out for some work.

When the highway guys tried to tie things up I could pull out letters signed by the governor to citizens indicating his support for rail passenger service. When the next governor came in we were directly ordered to stop several projects. The governor after that at least allowed them to resume. None of this had to do with partisan politics, but rather personal relationships or the desire to be different from the predecessor. I went on to other jobs where results were demanded.
 
jiml said:
What's interesting to an outside observer is that if your new Transportation Secretary is indeed an Amtrak supporter, he will be speaking as a younger person as opposed to someone who remembers "the good old days" of passenger rail. This may actually augment his credibility with those that matter.
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I can get pretty cynical after 50 years of this but at least it’s a different approach. And, I should admit, it’s been 50 more years than the Stanford Research Institute predicted for the future of rail passenger service. They estimated that the 1970’s would see the end of intercity rail service in a study commissioned by... the SP!

-- rwr
 
Rail Passengers Association helps a lot with lobbying politicians. If you arent yet a member, please consider joining!
 
I don't want to prejudge Pete Buttigieg, but I am a little bit disappointed.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have been working to make transit and rail more accessible and more of a normal option for years. And even though we have a way to go, we have had some success. Portland helped usher in the new era of light rail, and Portland-Seattle has useful corridor service.

I know there is politics of choosing a "small town mayor", but I feel that if there was a real commitment to changing US transit and energy-using policies, it would make more sense to choose someone from a state or city that had shown it could implement real change with transit.
 
Bob Dylan said:
Mayor Pete mentioned Amtrak in his Introduction remarks today, and said that just like "Amtrak Joe", the President elect, he feels strongly that Rail of all types is important to updating our Transportation Networks and Improving the Enviroment thru New Technolgies.

This seems like a sure Win for the Country!!!
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I agree with you Jim, I think Mayor Pete is a great choice. Don't understand all the negativity. It is a political position so of course a politician would be appointed. We got someone who supports Amtrak service and I am happy about that.
 
When writing about Pete Buttigieg some describe him as a "small town mayor."

Why? He is or was:
  • a graduate of Harvard College and Oxford University and a Rhodes Scholar.
  • a consultant at the management consulting firm McKinsey.
  • an intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve, attaining the rank of lieutenant.
  • a candidate for president in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries
  • the winner of the 2020 Iowa caucuses, he placed second in the New Hampshire primary.
  • He dropped out of the race on March 1, 2020 and endorsed Joe Biden the next day -- so his political instincts are good and he knows a winner when he sees one (not a loser, like some).
I think the articulate, educated and experienced Pete Buttigieg brings a lot to the cabinet (political) post of Secretary of Transportation, way way beyond his experience as "a small town mayor."
 
Manny T said:
When writing about Pete Buttigieg some describe him as a "small town mayor."
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I had just chalked it up as a willful or otherwise display of ignorance on part of the ones describing him as such without any additional notes.

Thanks you for elaborating what items were ignored by them.
 
Matthew H Fish said:
I don't want to prejudge Pete Buttigieg, but I am a little bit disappointed.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have been working to make transit and rail more accessible and more of a normal option for years. And even though we have a way to go, we have had some success. Portland helped usher in the new era of light rail, and Portland-Seattle has useful corridor service.

I know there is politics of choosing a "small town mayor", but I feel that if there was a real commitment to changing US transit and energy-using policies, it would make more sense to choose someone from a state or city that had shown it could implement real change with transit.
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I love Portland but “keep Portland weird” isn’t just a bumper sticker. If Biden brings in someone from the West Coast the conservatives would start gathering their pitch forks!
 
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