Thursday’s Headlines Are Still Recovering
Suggestions abound for boosting ridership on transit systems that have been struggling since the beginning of the pandemic.
By
Blake Aued
7:09 AM EDT on June 8, 2023
- How can transit recover post-COVID? Make sure service is reliable and that buses, trains and stations are clean and safe, and modernize their schedules to meet the needs of today’s riders. (City Journal)
- Bond-rating agencies are downgrading struggling transit agencies like the D.C. Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit, which will make it more expensive for them to borrow money for future projects. (City Lab)
- Fare capping and new technology that streamlines fare payment are the latest hope for attracting more riders. (Mass Transit)
- A new U.S. DOT program will send out $570 million to upgrade 400 rail crossings where pedestrians are often forced to endanger themselves by climbing over stopped trains. (Washington Post)
- New Acela trains are languishing in a stockyard because Amtrak has nowhere to test them. (Curbed)
- Transit agencies are having mixed success with battery-electric buses. (Governing)
- Car-centric neighborhoods are bad for our health because they make it unsafe to walk as much as doctors recommend. (Urban Edge)
- New research shows that people’s eyes are drawn to cars, but we don’t like looking at them, which means people who live in car-free cities would be happier. (Scientific American)
- A Boston-based transit advocacy group says Massachusetts should electrify its regional rail network. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare hit an all-time high of 428,000 rides in May. (DCist)
- Philadelphia painted its Market Street bus-only lane red to make it more visible to drivers. (CBS News)
- More people are walking in Flagstaff, but bike infrastructure is lagging behind. (Arizona Daily Sun)
- Oakland County, in suburban Detroit, is expanding transit service to four new communities. (Fox 2)
- If everyone biked as much as the Dutch, carbon emissions would drop by almost 700 million tons, about as much as Canada produces each year. (Euro News)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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