Air travel wasn't always so miserable ... or so cheap

Jun 4, 2024
In half a century we've gone from piano bars and bone china to cramped seats and $20 sandwiches.
Passengers sit in a model of an Air France Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet interior in 1966.
AFP via Getty Images

How you could get compensated for future delays on Southwest

Dec 19, 2023
The majority of the record fine levied this week by the U. S. Department of Transportation will go towards vouchers for passengers who are held up beginning April 30.
Starting April 30, if Southwest passengers arrive at their destination three or more hours late, they can request a voucher if the issues were caused by something under the airline’s control.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A divide over how to heal a community divided by a highway

Mar 17, 2023
A midcentury expressway tore through New Orleans' historic Black neighborhood of Tremé. A federal initiative wants to address that damage.
Amy Stelly, of the Claiborne Avenue Alliance Design Studio, in front of two expressway ramps. She lives in her childhood home near the interstate.
Carly Berlin

Determined to woo customers, airlines offer more flexibility

Aug 4, 2022
Southwest Airlines says it's getting rid of its one-year expiration date on flight credits. Analysts say more carriers may follow.
Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

How COVID-19 repurposed city streets

Sep 30, 2020
“If you ran a business, and you didn't update the way that you use your assets for 50 or 60 years, you'd probably be out of business,” said Seleta Reynolds, the general manager of the LA Department of Transportation.
People enjoy a newly added outdoor dining area created by the city partially blocking a main boulevard.  “My big challenge now is, how do I make this permanent?” said Seleta Reynolds, the general manager of the LA Department of Transportation.
Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

DOT loosens rules for driverless trucks

Oct 5, 2018
The Department of Transportation said in its new autonomous vehicle guidelines Thursday that a human driver doesn’t necessarily have to be in the driver’s seat of a commercial motor vehicle. That means an artificial intelligence system could potentially drive a truck. What could this mean for the trucking industry? Click the audio player above to hear the […]

Auto execs are at the White House to talk fuel rules

May 11, 2018
President Donald Trump has promised to roll back fuel efficiency rules, but there is still no firm decision. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

For public good, not for profit.

States and cities that raise tolls and taxes may get a leg up for federal infrastructure money

Apr 27, 2018
What’s that old saying? You’ve got to spend money to make money? The U.S. Department of Transportation is trying a variant on that when it comes to funding road and bridge improvements. It’s tripled the amount of money in what’s known as the BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grant program to $1.5 billion. But part of the criteria for state […]

One step closer to using your cellphone on your next flight?

Dec 12, 2013
Thanksgiving is over, but let's give a moment of thanks for the U.S. Department of Transportation.