Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Trains

As Highway and Air Travel Slump, Intercity Train Trips Increase

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 21, 2012 | 25 Comments

If your holiday plans happen to include taking the train to another city, you’re in good company. As has been widely reported, Amtrak has broken ridership records throughout the year. A total of 31.2 million passengers boarded Amtrak trains in the fiscal year that ended September 30; that’s an increase of 3.5 percent over the […]

Explaining the Psychological Appeal of Rail Over Buses

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 21, 2012 | 29 Comments

An often-remarked-upon phenomenon in the transit world is the preference, perceived or otherwise, for rail over buses. But this tendency has not been well understood. A pair of recent European case studies delved into this issue, and their findings help illuminate the psychology behind what many have observed. In the first study, set in Germany, […]

The Last Mile: How Bike-Ped Improvements Can Connect People to Transit

By Carolyn Szczepanski | Oct 18, 2011 | 5 Comments

Whether it’s just a short walk down the street or a five-mile bike ride, the journey between home and station is a major factor in people’s decision to take public transit. For the transit officials and livability advocates gathered at the Rail~Volution conference this week, that key piece of the journey is known as the […]

Taking Greyhound? Papers, Please.

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 16, 2011 | 20 Comments

Transportation options for undocumented immigrants are becoming narrower and narrower in the U.S. Whatever you may think of immigration policy, there are about 11 million people living in the shadows in this country who have ever fewer ways to get around. Immigration agents have been boarding Greyhound buses to nab undocumented immigrants, according to a […]

Biden’s Homage to Amtrak

By Elana Schor | Jan 6, 2010

The nation’s Amtrak rider-in-chief, Vice President Joseph Biden, has penned an op-ed for the rail network’s monthly magazine entitled "Why America Needs Trains." The Vice President and his wife share a tender moment — on the Acela. (Photo: NYT) Biden doesn’t get too political in the piece, eschewing calls for more Amtrak funding in favor […]

The Washington Post Features Rail Hack Job

By Ryan Avent | Aug 24, 2009 | 16 Comments

This is the big problem with Ed Glaeser’s New York Times posts purporting to analyze the costs and benefits of a high speed rail system. Despite Glaeser’s acknowledgment that his "back-of-the-envelope calculation" doesn’t "[represent] a complete evaluation of any actual proposed route," the posts are sure to be read and regurgitated by rail opponents uninterested […]

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