— Air traffic controllers hit back at DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s suggestion that AI could perform ATC for drones.
— FAA considers paying drone users to comply with Remote ID rules.
— Trump, Biden trade blows over electric vehicle policy.
IT’S TUESDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. You can reach Oriana and Tanya at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively. Find us on the platform formerly known as Twitter @Oriana0214 and @TSnyderDC.
AI FOR ATC: Could generative AI be used to keep the skies safe for drones? DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg floated the idea Friday during a speech at the Meridian House in Washington, D.C., saying that air traffic control for drones could be one exciting and “non-obvious” use for AI. “There are not enough human beings in the world” to do air traffic control for the skyrocketing number of drones using the airspace, he said. Tanya has all the details.
HUMAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS DISAGREE: The National Air Traffic Controllers Association told POLITICO they have “serious safety concerns about artificial intelligence separating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System and is profoundly disappointed by Secretary Buttigieg’s comments.” They went on to say that “highly trained human controllers are critical to the safe and efficient integration of UAS in the same airspace as the traveling public.”
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NYET-FLY ZONE: Buttigieg also bemoaned the fact that commercial airlines from the U.S. (and several of our allies) are banned from flying over Russia, and said he hopes other countries will voluntarily stop flying as well. It’s a matter of competition — Buttigieg said some rival airlines are still flying in Russian airspace, which Buttigieg said “presents competitive challenges for U.S. passenger and especially for U.S. cargo air carriers.” He said that avoiding Russia is “impacting their schedules” and adding costs. “It would be a positive development if more international partners were to join us so it was not regarded as a competitive issue but simply as the right thing to do.”
Bonus: Members of the audience also got to hear Buttigieg say a few words in Maltese, his father’s native tongue.
IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM, PAY ‘EM: An FAA advisory committee is recommending that the agency could entice more drone owners to activate Remote ID — which works as a digital license plate — by paying them a stipend to sign up, Oriana reports.
Deadline delay: Drone users were supposed to start broadcasting identifying information last fall, but the FAA pushed the compliance date out to March 16, over concerns that some users were having trouble sourcing the needed equipment. If a drone pilot is flying without Remote ID past that date, the agency can levy fines, and revoke or suspend their license.
The FAA first estimated the cost for drone users to adopt Remote ID to be under $50, but soon discovered that actual costs were far higher, with “nearly all Remote ID modules” costing over $100 and sometimes more than $300, according to the committee report. When asked, the FAA could not provide a figure with how many registered drones already have — or don’t have — Remote ID. As of October, there are nearly 864,000 drones registered with the FAA, and over 330,000 certified remote pilots. The committee also had no estimate of how much the stipend to drone pilots might cost taxpayers, but even a low price point could cost the agency millions.
FERN HOLLOW: At a board meeting this week, NTSB will determine what caused the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh in January 2022. Six vehicles were on or near the 447-foot-long bridge when it collapsed, falling 100 feet into the park below. Four people sustained injures. “Investigators found corrosion, deterioration, and section loss on all four of the bridge’s legs due to the continual accumulation of water and debris,” NTSB said. As a result, NTSB issued an early safety recommendation to FHWA last May to develop a process to identify bridges with uncoated weathering steel components that needs attention. The board will vote on further recommendations as well as final findings and the probable cause of the collapse in a virtual board meeting Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. ET.
BIDEN IN EAST PALESTINE: President Joe Biden spoke to residents of East Palestine, Ohio, Friday, more than a year after a train carrying hazardous material derailed in their town. He announced new research grants to six universities to study ongoing health impacts from the disaster, in which highly toxic vinyl chloride was burned off to avoid an explosion. One of the grants went to Case Western Reserve University, about an hour and a half away from East Palestine. “You’ll have a top researcher with you as long as you need,” Biden said.
Biden also reiterated his support for a rail safety bill, S576, that has yet to get a vote in the Senate despite bipartisan support. “We have obligations to one another,” Biden said. Christine Zhu has the story.
TRUMP GOES AFTER EVs IN MICH.: Donald Trump slammed Biden’s advocacy of electric vehicles during a campaign speech in Waterford Township, Michigan, on Saturday. “Crooked Joe has ordered a hit job on Michigan manufacturing with his insane electric vehicle mandate,” he said. He accused Biden of “telling us to get rid of our cars” and trying “to make trucks all electric” although “electric doesn’t go very far.” Trump also said that “if we built all the charging booths that are necessary, our country would go bankrupt … it would cost like $3 trillion.” The Biden administration has allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging infrastructure.
He came for Fain, too: Trump also accused United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain of selling out the workers with a contract that means “all those cars are going to be made in China within three years.”
Biden campaign spokesperson Seth Schuster responded with a statement saying: “All Donald Trump knows how to do is lose – just like he had America losing the electric vehicle race to China when he was President.” The Detroit Free Press did its own fact check of Trump’s speech.
THE CLIMATE FOR CLIMATE: A new poll from centrist think tank Third Way shows voters think politicians should be talking more about bread basket issues like inflation and cost of living — 35 percent of respondents said those two items were their top concern. Securing the border landed at 22 percent, while climate was at just 6 percent, according to the poll. That highlights the task at hand as President Joe Biden readies for the campaign trail this year, considering his biggest achievements have been climate and infrastructure spending. Scott Waldman at E&E News has more.
ANOTHER UAW STRIKE POSSIBLE: The United Auto Workers are threatening to strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant — the auto giant’s biggest moneymaker — less than four months after the union settled its strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors. In a statement, UAW said that Ford “has failed to reach a local agreement with UAW Local 862 at Kentucky Truck Plant” on health and safety issues like “minimum in-plant nurse staffing levels and ergonomic issues, as well as Ford’s continued attempts to erode the skilled trades at Kentucky Truck Plant,” UAW said. UAW said 9,000 workers would go on strike this Friday if the issue isn’t resolved.
Ford’s response: “Negotiations continue and we look forward to reaching an agreement with UAW Local 862 at Kentucky Truck Plant,” Ford told POLITICO in an email.
AV REBRAND: An autonomous vehicle developer for defense deployment, Robotic Research Autonomous Industries, has changed its name to Forterra. In addition to defense, its system is also in use in commercial trucking but only “on-property commercial trucks,” allowing it to avoid “the regulatory risks faced by robotaxi and on-highway driverless trucking firms.”
— “Biden administration weighs slowing the shift to electric vehicles.” The Washington Post.
— “Air Canada Ordered to Pay Passenger Damages After Chatbot Lied About Bereavement Discounts.” Gizmodo.
— “Boeing to start contract negotiations with Seattle-area union on March 8.” Reuters.
— “China’s first homegrown airliner makes international debut in Singapore.” Reuters.
— “Singapore to impose green fuel levy on flights from 2026.” Reuters.
— ”Facial Recognition: Coming Soon to an Airport Near You.” The New York Times.
— “GAO to Army Corps: Make climate resilience a core value.” E&E News.
— “Heavy-duty hydrogen trucks win out in California’s $1.9B EV plan.” POLITICO Pro.
— “The Tesla Designer Who Translates Elon Musk’s Musings Into Reality.” The Wall Street Journal.
— “How the Big Airlines Beat the Budget Guys at Their Own Game.” The Wall Street Journal.
— “Dubai International Airport had 86.9 million passengers last year in a post-pandemic surge.” The Associated Press.
— “To Avoid Hefty Tariffs, China’s BYD Eyes U.S. Car Market Via Mexico.” The Wall Street Journal.
— “My Mother Got on a Bike. It Changed Her Life.” The New York Times.
— “Let Tesla Expand? Three German Teens Have a Few Thoughts.” The New York Times.
— “Self-Driving Cars Might Just Transform the Way We Work.” The Wall Street Journal.
— “Wife of Tesla employee who died in what may have been the first Full Self-Driving crash said she and her husband were ‘guinea pigs’.” Business Insider.
