Rep. Cooper isn't so sure federal money is going to be there for the bus rapid transit project Mayor Karl Dean wants to build. And there's a new opposition group.

“I think his view is that right now with sequestration going on, and until we strike some sort of grand bargain on the deficit, there’s just not a whole lot of extra money floating around out there for projects like this,” Hill said.

Monday is a big day for those who enjoy learning about transit issues related to technology.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will join nearly 2,000 of the nation’s top transportation officials and high-tech leaders to discuss the future of transportation at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s (ITS America) 23rd Annual Meeting & Exposition being held April 21–24 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

The event will showcase next generation technologies to improve the nation’s roadways, travel experience and safety. The latest smart phone apps, GPS systems, electric car and Connected Vehicle technology (cars that talk to each other and the roadway) will be on display.

In addition to the mayor, officials expected to attend include the following:

· Polly Trottenberg - Under Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation
· Victor Mendez - Administrator, Federal Highway Administration
· David Strickland - Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
· Greg Winfree - Deputy Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration
· Ken Leonard - Director, ITS Joint Program Office
· Marsha Blackburn - House Energy and Commerce Committee and Vice Chairman (R-Tenn.)
· Tom Taylor - Vice President of Advanced Strategy, Hughes Telematics, A Verizon Co.
· Dan Ferrick - CEO, Agero
· Kamyar Moinzadeh - President and CEO, Airbiquity
· Dennis Beal - Vice President of Global Vehicles, FedEx Express
· Dan Pallme - Director, Intermodal Freight Transportation Institute, University of Memphis
· Thom Mason - Laboratory Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
· Bill Bronrott - Deputy Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Read more here.

Metro public transit officials on Thursday unveiled their proposed name for the bus rapid transit line that is planned for the West End-East Nashville corridor and outlined their financing plans for the project. They see The Amp getting 43 percent of its $174 million in funding from the federal government, with the state providing for about 20 percent. And asked about community groups in North Nashville pressing for the line to cut through their community, Mayor Karl Dean said the dollars from D.C. would likely only come if the higher-density West End corridor is chosen.

The summary also highlighted BRT’s projected impact on traffic and travel times along the corridor. Projections included in the report showed that, in 10 years, an individual using BRT to travel from St. Thomas Hospital to Bridgestone Arena would arrive about twice as fast as someone travelling by car. Officials expect a ridership of more than 1.6 million in the first year of operation, based on ridership forecasts, and said that number is projected to grow to 2.5 million by 2022.

Click here to check out the full engineering and design analysis of the project.

The Nashville International Airport recorded 689,046 passengers in February, a 0.8 percent increase over the 683,551 passengers who used BNA in February 2012, according to Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority numbers released today.

The figure represents the second-best February passenger total BNA has ever seen, with the record (700,837) having been set in February 2008.

Southwest Airlines announced today two new nonstop flights between Nashville International Airport (BNA) and both LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. 

“Nashville International is pleased to give our passengers more options to connect to the Big Apple,” Rob Wigington, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, said in a release. “New York City and Newark are popular business and leisure markets for Music City.”

Eli Rodriquez, Southwest’s Nashville station leader, said that the improved connectivity between the two cities shows Southwest’s commitment to Nashville and BNA.

Southwest Airlines began service to Nashville in 1986. Since then, the company has grown its operation to more than 77 daily nonstop departures to nearly 30 cities. From Nashville, and specifically, Southwest offers eight daily nonstop departures to Chicago and Houston.

The traffic analytics gurus at Inrix say the economy is turning around and they have the frustrated drivers to prove it. Inrix's Gridlock Index has been steadily improving in recent months and has now spent two months in positive year-over-year territory. Check out the Gridlock Index going back to January of 2011 here.

January's composite IGI score of 6.4 meant that the average trip took drivers in the 100 most populated metro areas 6.4 percent longer because of increased traffic congestion. While the latest IGI trends suggest economic conditions might be getting better, a look over the longer-term shows the economy still has a ways to go. January's IGI score is still far below the level last reached in 2010, when U.S. GDP growth bounced back into positive territory after two years of contraction.