Library Guides: Transportation and Energy

Developed by Connie Fly, Librarian

California

• California: Transportation Topics  - A major directory to all things having to do with transportation in California.  Includes the unexpected such as bridges, cable cars, harbors, ferries, and rivers.
• California Department of Motor Vehicles
• California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) - Includes highway conditions and maintenance information, weather reports, DMV, Amtrak service in California.
• California Surface Policy Project - Provides essays, reports, and legislative news relating to California transportation issues. Such issues include traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, public transit, bicycling, smart growth, social equity, public health and the environment. STPP focuses on the transportation needs of people, better travel choices, and public safety.
• California Travel and Transportation - State of California government site that serves as a major gateway to information on transportation, travel and tourism in California.
• California's Energy Crisis - News and analysis about California's power crisis that started in 2000, including a timeline and coverage of related lawsuits. Also features daily power alert updates, background information about alerts and outages, and energy saving tips. From the Web site for the San Francisco Chronicle.
• California Traffic Information- A directory of highway information for travelers. Road closures, construction delays, and weather-related driving problems are listed for the state of California.
• The Energy A-Z - Pages contain selected energy topics listed in alphabetic order and linked to EIA data pages that are mostly in html or text format.
• NCSL Legislative Tracking Database -  The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) tracks state legislation related to highway safety issues such as aggressive driving, air bags, cell phones, child passenger seats, motorcycle helmets, etc.
• A Primer on Gasoline Prices - This primer explains "the components of the retail price of gasoline," as well as why gas prices fluctuate, why gas prices differ regionally, and why prices in California are higher and more variable. From the Energy Information Administration (EIA), an independent statistical agency within the Department of Energy.
• Profile of Transportation in California - The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) presents a profile of transportation in California—part of a series covering the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This collection of transportation information from BTS, other federal government agencies, and other national sources provides a picture of the state’s infrastructure, freight movement and passenger travel, safety, vehicles, economy and finance, and energy and environment.
• Smart-Traveler - The single place on the Internet to get information on all your transportation needs in California.  This site is divided into geographic regions and provides some local transit maps and schedules. Depending on what part of California you are interested in additional information is available about airports, bike paths, ride share, ferry schedules and municipal railways.
• TranStar Trip Planner - Use the TranStar trip planner to get a transit itinerary for travel anywhere in Southern California. TranStar includes all bus, rail and Amtrak schedules for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, as well as connecting service between lines.

Tulare/Visalia

• Tulare County Transit Guide
• Visalia City Coach

National 

• AirSafe - Useful information for the airline passenger

• Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) - offers a clickable map of major US airports with real-time information on flight arrival and departure delays caused by weather and other backups. 
• Alternative Fuels Data Center - The Alternative Fuels Data Center is a one-stop shop for alternative fuel and vehicle information needs. This site has more than 3,000 documents in its database, an interactive fuel station mapping system, listings of available alternative fuel vehicles, links to related Web sites, and much more.
• Amtrak - National train system with reservation and trip planning information.
• Aviation Safety Information -  The purpose of this website is to provide the public with access to several of the principal aviation safety data and information sources the Federal Government uses for various purposes.
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics, US DOT - includes many full-text guides and statistics all modes of transportation in the United States.
• EPA Green Vehicle Guide - At the updated EPA site, users can download a .pdf version of the agency's 2001 Model Year Fuel Economy Guide, find and compare the mpg of 1985-2001 model year cars and trucks, read about fuel economy and future technologies, and learn about hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.
• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network - U.S. Dept of Energy - covers such topics as alternative fuels and vehicles; air emissions and standards; and regulations, laws and incentives.
• EnergyFiles (Energy Science and Technology Virtual Library) - At this site you will find over 500 databases and Web sites containing information and resources pertaining to science and technology of interest to the Department of Energy, with an emphasis on the physical sciences.
• Energy Security, Oil Shocks and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project - This project includes studies of Strategic Petroleum Reserve size and drawdown policies, reviews of the macroeconomic costs of oil price disruptions and studies of the social costs of oil use and imports.
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Highway Administration
• Fuel Cells: Green Power - A report in Acrobat (PDF) format on the science and technology of fuel cells and the possible environmental benefits of their applications in automobiles and electrical power generation. From the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U.S. Dept. of Energy.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• National Traffic and Road Closure Information
• National Transportation Library - A directory of highway information for travelers. Road closures, construction delays, and weather-related driving problems are listed by state with links to information for major U.S. cities and highways. From the Federal Highway Administration.
• Power Grids in the U.S. - A map showing the three "main interconnections of the U.S. electric power grid and the ten North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) regions" is accompanied by a brief explanation of the relationships between the grids. From the U.S. Department of Energy
• Renewable Energy - From the Energy Science and Technology Virtual Library. Provides links to a wealth of websites concerning renewable energy.
• Sources of Information in Transportation - A bibliography (5th edition, September 2001) compiled by members of the Transportation Division of the Special Libraries Association and published by the National Transportation Library. It attempts to list and evaluate sources of information for the whole field of transportation. Coverage includes print and electronic information sources in aviation, maritime and inland water transportation, intelligent transportation systems, trucking, and highways. Hyperlinks are provided for direct access to sources on the Web.
• Transportation Links -  Provide the transportation community with a one-stop gateway to relevant transportation data and information
• U.S. Department of Transportation

AMTRAK

• Amtrak - National train system with reservation and trip planning information.
• Amtrak Reform Council: Final Restructuring Plan [.pdf]
• Amtrak Response to the Final Report of the Amtrak Reform Council
• Amtrak Annual Reports [.pdf]
• Brief History of the US Passenger Rail Industry

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For Questions and Comments, please mail to connief@cos.edu