Marc Scribner
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marcscribner.com
Marc Scribner
@marcscribner.com
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Transportation policy @reason.org. Covering infrastructure, planes, trains, and automobiles—especially when robots are involved.

https://marcscribner.com
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My @reason.org colleague Bob Poole is in @wsj.com tomorrow arguing for converting air traffic control to a public utility.

The rest of the world has moved in this direction since 1987. It’s long overdue for the U.S., where Bob developed this idea almost 50 years ago: www.wsj.com/opinion/how-...
February 10, 2025 at 1:14 AM
marcscribner.com
The Biden administration pushed weird Neo-Brandeisian antitrust ideas into DOT via the FTC.

It led Buttigieg to adopt a bizarrely aggressive (and error-prone) stance on airline competition. Will Trump continue this self-styled antitrust populism?

My thoughts @reason.org reason.org/aviation-pol...
Aviation Policy News: An air traffic control corporation is back on the policy agenda - Reason Foundation
Plus: Europe's aviation and climate conundrum, U.S. airline competition continues to thrive, and more.
reason.org
February 9, 2025 at 4:20 AM
marcscribner.com
The Biden DOT was noticeably less enthusiastic about automated driving than the Trump 45 or Obama DOTs due to its unprecedented deference to unions fearful of robot competition.

The Trump DOT can revive federal AV policy—if it stays focused.

My latest @reason.org: reason.org/transportati...
January 10, 2025 at 1:16 PM
marcscribner.com
Jimmy Carter was a critical champion at a pivotal moment in transportation deregulation. He signed the bills legalizing price competition in airlines, trucking, and freight rail—and just as importantly, appointed chairs of the CAB and ICC to take on recalcitrant bureaucrats. RIP.
December 30, 2024 at 5:31 PM
marcscribner.com
Just in time for the holidays…

My biannual review @reason.org of the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions as it relates to the Department of Transportation—with a special focus on midnight regulations from the Biden administration.

reason.org/commentary/m...
Midnight regulations pursued by the Biden administration's Department of Transportation - Reason Foundation
The Fall 2024 Unified Agenda lists 222 active rulemaking projects at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
reason.org
December 23, 2024 at 11:23 PM
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On Nov. 21, FAA finalized its Special Federal Aviation Regulation for powered-lift pilot certification and operating requirements. FAA deserves praise for taking constructive feedback and clearing a path for advanced air mobility.

My latest @reason.org: reason.org/aviation-pol...
Aviation Policy News: Open letter on air traffic control to DOGE's Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy - Reason Foundation
Plus: Boeing's little-noticed moon mission failure, senators attack airline "junk fees," and more.
reason.org
December 16, 2024 at 5:08 PM
marcscribner.com
I wonder what fraction of New Jersey Mystery Drone reports can be attributed to the New Jersey airspace management reorganization FAA announced in July, which has led to rerouting conventional aircraft out of the preferred routes the public is used to seeing aircraft use.
December 14, 2024 at 2:34 PM
marcscribner.com
Many people both nominally for and against port automation in the U.S. are mischaracterizing the issue. It isn’t about fully automating ports with robots; it’s about *partially automating*, especially container stacking, because land constraints mean ports need to densify yards.
December 13, 2024 at 1:05 PM
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My testimony from today’s Senate Aviation panel hearing on air traffic control: reason.org/testimony/mo...

As I told senators, “The bottom line is this: successfully modernizing the technology and service provision of air traffic control in this country will require institutional modernization.”
reason.org
December 12, 2024 at 5:54 PM
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I’m testifying tomorrow at the Senate Commerce Aviation Subcommittee hearing on air traffic control modernization. There’s a lot for Congress to consider as we work toward infrastructure that can better support current airspace users and new entrants: www.commerce.senate.gov/2024/12/nomi...
Markup & Subcommittee Hearing on U.S. Air Traffic Control Systems, Personnel and Safety
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Executive Session and Subcommittee Hearing on US Air Traffic Control Systems, Personnel and Safety
www.commerce.senate.gov
December 11, 2024 at 2:07 PM
marcscribner.com
More bad news for high-speed rail fans. Japan is souring on international investments following large losses.
A government-appointed committee today urged a Japanese public-private fund to avoid joining greenfield high-speed rail (HSR) projects as an equity partner after the fund reported huge losses from overseas projects. The Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development, should not adopt a comprehensive role in HSR packages covering civil engineering, train tracks and railcar, according to a draft report by the committee comprising academic and business experts. It is not viable to use a public-private fund to invest in long-term, large-sized overseas infrastructure projects in the early stages, as these are high-risk and do not offer a potential for earnings, the committee stated in the report. Any equity investments in such projects in their early stages should lie outside the fund’s role, due to their high risk, the report stated. The report follows JOIN's reporting a net loss of JPY 79.9bn (USD 517m) during the fiscal year ended March 2024, up from a loss of JPY 1.1bn a year earlier. The huge loss was caused by its decision to book losses for infrastructure projects, such as the Houston-Dallas HSR project in the US, three urban redevelopment projects in Yangon city in Myanmar and four railway projects in Brazil, in line with accounting principles.
December 7, 2024 at 3:36 PM
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In my latest @reason.org, I examine Japan's proposed "autoflow road" that's gotten some attention online.

The engineering is cool, but the economics are much more dubious--especially when compared to ongoing road and rail vehicle automation efforts.

reason.org/transportati...
A shrinking truck driver workforce and a new labor policy limiting driver hours have spawned a looming logistics crisis in Japan, known as the “2024 problem.” Japanese industry turned quickly to automation as a potential solution. The government, for its part, has been similarly investigating automated freight transportation, including new dedicated infrastructure and cargo vehicles that would constitute a new mode of surface transportation. Japan’s approach to its partially self-inflicted logistics problem can be contrasted with freight automation efforts in the United States, where developers of automated road and rail cargo vehicles plan to mostly leverage existing infrastructure. In April 2024, the Japanese government ended an exemption on overtime hours for truck drivers. These stricter labor regulations coupled with a shrinking driver workforce have alarmed the broader business community that is dependent on reliable freight movements. In response to widespread concern that government policies have amplified a looming goods-movement crisis, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism established a Study Group on Automated Logistics Roads that began meeting in Feb. 2024. On Oct. 10, 2024, the Study Group published a market sounding survey (Microsoft Word document in Japanese) for the preferred project type. They envision a fully automated (including loading and unloading) cargo transportation system capable of moving 3.6-foot Type 11 pallets up to 5.9 feet tall that would be propelled by clean energy at 18 mph. The automated logistics road must utilize existing road space between Tokyo and Osaka (e.g., highway medians on the Tomei Expressway, Shin-Tomei Expressway, Meishin Expressway, and Shin-Meishin Expressway). The 320-mile system should have at least eight stops (one for each prefecture between Tokyo and Osaka) and be able to handle between 120,000 and 140,000 tons of cargo per day. The market sounding survey explicitly asked about contractor qualifications to develop the automated logistics road as a public-private partnership. The survey further suggested that a concession consortium should involve companies with expertise in infrastructure design-build, financing, vehicle manufacturing, system operation, toll collection, maintenance, and disaster recovery. Responses were due to the Study Group on Nov. 7.
December 4, 2024 at 11:18 PM