Talking Headways Podcast: Ride the Bus, Save the World

This week, we’re joined by Steven Higashide, director of research at TransitCenter, to talk about his new book “Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit.” Higashide talks about how he got interested in transportation issues, his favorite bus ride, and what we can do to change the way buses operate in our cities.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Photo: Bradlee9119 via Flickr

Needed: A Federal Program to Boost Transit Service

By Ben Fried and Steven Higashide |
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Transit Center and is republished with permission.  On March 13, 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, the Federal Transit Administration responded to the emergency by enabling transit agencies to spend federal funds to run buses and trains. It was a break with longstanding policy. Normally, federal grants are reserved […]

Detroit Bus Driver Contract Offers Bonuses When Ridership Rises

By Angie Schmitt |
A new labor contract between the Detroit Department of Transportation and ATU Local 26 explicitly ties bus driver bonuses to ridership increases. If farebox revenue goes up, 30 percent of the increase will belong to drivers, up to a certain point, DDOT announced earlier this week. Individual drivers’ bonuses are capped at $350 per year the first year and can rise […]

The “Choice” vs. “Captive” Transit Rider Dichotomy Is All Wrong

By Angie Schmitt |
The conventional wisdom about transit often divides riders into two neat categories: “choice” riders — higher-income people with cars — and “captive” riders — lower-income people who must use transit because they don’t own cars. But this framework can undermine good transit, according to a new report from TransitCenter [PDF]. In the attempt to cater only to “choice” riders or “captive” […]