Questions tagged [transportation]
Questions involving the politics of means of transport, affecting automobiles, boats, trains, planes, as well as roads, railroad tracks, etc.
41
questions
11
votes
4answers
868 views
EU ETS: if within-EU flight emissions are limited to climate goals, does a person choosing to fly add to emissions?
I've been trying to fly less and less because it seems the right thing to do. But I can't quite counter this thought:
The EU Emission Trading System (ETS) covers commercial aviation. So passenger ...
7
votes
0answers
114 views
What caused the momentum for EU directives on blind-spots of vehicles in the last 20 years
During the last 20 years European laws on blind-spots, areas of road the driver cannot see, have become more strict.
The original directive is from 1971 (71/127/EEG). But then there are changes in ...
1
vote
1answer
209 views
Why aren't railways being used to help ease the shortage of fuel in the UK? [closed]
Currently the UK is experiencing a shortage of fuel for road vehicles, this being driven by panic-buying by millions of motorists, which in turn has been driven by a shortage of HGV drivers to deliver ...
4
votes
0answers
129 views
Why doesn't the Paris agreement cover emissions from international shipping?
Why doesn't the Paris agreement include emissions from international shipping?
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO):
Note: The Paris Agreement on climate change was agreed in ...
5
votes
2answers
134 views
When the US government activates a Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), can it activate the civilian crew as well, or are they always volunteers?
CNN's Pentagon activates US airlines to assist with evacuation efforts from Afghanistan
says:
The Pentagon announced Sunday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the commander of US ...
3
votes
1answer
195 views
Why does British Indian Ocean Territory follow RHT?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-_and_right-hand_traffic
Why do cars in the British Indian Ocean Territory drive on the right-hand side of the road (as in the US) instead of on the left-hand side of ...
3
votes
1answer
150 views
Does the US officially acknowledge that Iran diverted a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan in 2010?
Iran and Kyrgyzstan have claimed that a flight from Abu Dhabi to Bishkek was forced to land in Iran in 2010, leading to the arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi, who was later executed.
Interestingly, US ...
14
votes
2answers
4k views
Why does Russia choose to depend on the Bosporus Strait for shipping?
According to the Wikipedia article on the proposed Istanbul Canal, it is said that the Bosporus has nearly 3 times the amount of ship traffic as the Suez Canal. Presumably this ship traffic comes ...
0
votes
1answer
141 views
Why did the Pakistan government put more importance on road communication rather than railways?
NHA (Background)
Roads in Pakistan
National Highways of Pakistan
Motorways of Pakistan
Expressways of Pakistan
It is recognized that Pakistan has one of the most developed road networks in South/...
6
votes
2answers
767 views
Why hasn't the UK government nationalised the rail service in England?
Four months after Wales nationalised their rail services, Scotland has announced that it will nationalise it's railways, obviously this has been an outcome of the slump in passenger numbers due to the ...
3
votes
0answers
48 views
What does the U.S.A. Green New Deal propose on railway electrification? [duplicate]
What role does railroad electrification have in proposal (or various proposals) for an American Green New Deal?
In coverage of the American Green New Deal there has been much attention to electric ...
0
votes
1answer
108 views
Would it be constitutional for Congress to pass a law making (future) taxi licenses non-transferable?
There's almost certainly no political appetite for this in the US right now, but (in theory) would it be constitutional for a federal law to prohibit state and local governments from selling taxicab ...
1
vote
0answers
81 views
Why did France start issuing non-transferable taxi licenses in 2015?
According to a 2016 EU document taxi licenses issued in France before 2015 remain transferable, but those issued thereafter are not.
Under the French system, the licences are called “parking ...
3
votes
1answer
113 views
How are London's cabs licensed?
Is there any similarity between the medallion system predominant in US cities, in which taxicab licenses once (and seldom) issued are forever sold on the open market, with a large secondary (and ...
3
votes
1answer
131 views
Is the transferable medallion system backed predominantly by a political party (or wing thereof)?
For those who don't know, in the US in many cities taxicabs use a transferable licensing system (aka "medallion"), with artificially limited supply:
Most medallion owners never interact ...
5
votes
0answers
194 views
What happened to "Mobility Package 1" (new EU lorry driver regulations)?
After many news pieces covering protest of Eastern EU firms/drivers and some on subsequent parliamentary exhortations, I can't figure out what if anything was adopted from "Mobility Package 1" and if ...
4
votes
2answers
235 views
Did Norway reduce Electric Car Incentives (Policy) because they were so costly?
I wonder whether there is an official statement that some electric car incentives in Norway were stopped, because they were too costly. I came across this document, that states at the very bottom (I ...
24
votes
1answer
4k views
Who determines when road center lines are solid or dashed?
A two lane state highway I regularly travel was recently re-paved, and the last step was to paint the center lines. Seeing the freshly painted lines prompts this question:
Who determines when the ...
7
votes
1answer
263 views
Are Mexican trucks presently allowed beyond a buffer zone around the US southern border?
The US was involved in a long-running NAFTA dispute with Mexico over trucking:
Although the charter of the North American Free Trade Agreement established a schedule that would have opened the ...
1
vote
1answer
537 views
Why does the 25 year import rule for cars still exist in the USA?
A motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it complies with all applicable FMVSS.
Why does that 25 year import rule for cars still ...
27
votes
3answers
8k views
Why did it take so long for Germany to allow electric scooters / e-rollers on the roads?
According to Telegraph Germany has just issued a law that allows electrical scooters on the roads:
Germany has become the latest country to approve the use of electric
scooters on its roads as ...
8
votes
4answers
817 views
Why are so many countries subsidizing the electrical vehicle industry?
I am creating a presentation about main subsidies and taxes for the EV (electric vehicle) market. When I dived deep into this — the question became: why do governments invest in this market? What ...
88
votes
27answers
29k views
What is the capitalist answer to rail passenger transportation being non financially profitable?
In developed countries, rail transport is usually provided at financial loss, and needs to be subsidised by governments. In countries who have refused to do so (mostly on the American continent), ...
0
votes
1answer
243 views
Is Belt and Road Initiative cost-effective?
Does the geopolitical advantage of China's Belt and Road Initiative outweigh the financial costs of the loans? Would the loan be better spent internally or kept unused?
5
votes
2answers
424 views
Can a EU country refuse to allow a car to circulate with plates from another EU country?
A spat between Sweden and Romania; a car with an insulting plates (when read in Romanian) caused the Swedish embassy to release this rather ambiguous statement:
The Embassy of Sweden in Romania would ...
8
votes
2answers
1k views
Does EU freedom of speech allow a license plate that taunts a political party?
A few weeks ago a Romanian bought a personalized number plate from Sweden that seemed perfectly fine for Swedish Transport Agency is usually very vigilant when approving such plates.
However, this ...
3
votes
2answers
304 views
What prevents states and counties in the US from combining drivers license and registration data?
When stopped for a traffic infraction in the United States most (all?) officers ask for license and registration. They are legally allowed to demand this information on request as a condition of ...
2
votes
1answer
385 views
Why was the Kerch strait bridge built along a long route?
Russia just completed construction of a very long bridge across the Kerch strait - 23km.
I was wondering - why didn't it build the bridge along the shorter route, from Chushka port, where the ferry ...
2
votes
0answers
105 views
What would be the social and political consequences if a major country decided to prohibit driverless cars? [closed]
In the news, there's been talk of countries banning petrol and diesel cars by 2030-2040, but what if a major country - say for example; Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and South Africa; decided ...
54
votes
12answers
20k views
Why is US rail passenger transportation less important than in other countries?
Reading this article about the fastest trains in the world, I found no US train. This makes sense since high speed rails is quite limited:
(..) Amtrak's Acela Express (reaching 150 mph (240 km/h)) (...
26
votes
2answers
7k views
Why do so many US States have a relaxed vehicle inspection policy?
According to Wikipedia, many US states have a relaxed policy for car inspection regulations:
Maryland requires an inspection prior to registration or transfer of
ownership only. Several states ...
25
votes
1answer
10k views
What do British people think about female-only carriages on trains?
I read that one politician in British Labour party suggested implementing a women-only carriage but immediately got backlash (here or here).
I tried accessing some of these articles but all of them ...
7
votes
1answer
302 views
Can Bahrain prevent Qatar Airways from flying?
The Washington Post writes:
If not for a gesture of goodwill from Bahrain, whose airspace
practically encircles Qatar, the airline would have to cease
operations.
But is it really a gesture of ...
3
votes
2answers
653 views
Why does the EU invest so much in biodiesel if it has a very low return on investment as a fuel?
According to a chart posted in a Skeptics question, biodiesel is the worst energy source we have in terms of return on investment:
However, every time I travel outside the city in Europe I see huge ...
13
votes
2answers
630 views
Are there countries with true open-market railways?
Over here Ben Southwood makes a case against nationalizing the British train lines:
[..]
Returning it to centralised state control would be a step backwards and a mistake.
Instead we ...
3
votes
1answer
470 views
What are the long term benefits of renationalising the trains in the UK?
Jeremy Corbyn has campaigned and said labour will renationalise the trains "line by line" as they expire.
And has repeated this mandate time and time again.
"Public ownership of our railways is ...
5
votes
1answer
501 views
Why is the East Coast railway being reprivatized?
The various private rail franchises in Britain have all had their share of difficulties. East Coast actually collapsed, and was renationalized. As a public concern, it has outperformed the private ...
8
votes
2answers
5k views
What laws cover the transit areas of international airports?
As of the writing of this question (6/25/13), Edward Snowden is presumed to be at SVO, but there is a disconnect between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama about what that means. From the perspective of ...
2
votes
2answers
397 views
Why would a state reject federal funding for infrastructure?
The government of Florida rejected federal funding for high-speed rail. The same is true for Ohio and Wisconsin. I can't wrap my mind around this — if someone else is paying, why reject basic ...
10
votes
2answers
620 views
Are there any proposals for a significant electrification of US railroads?
Most of the railroads in the United States are not electrified. I can't find figures right now, but I don't think it's much. In the past decade, fuel prices have risen, Amtrak ridership has increased ...
9
votes
2answers
194 views
What is the status of the proposed extension of passenger railroads in the US?
From a European perspective, I have the impression that in most of the USA, intercity passenger rail travel is mestly a touristic endeavour, and not used for "ordinary" intercity travel as it is in ...