Transit
Basics
Detroit’s Big Transit Success Story Isn’t Its New Streetcar — It’s the Buses
Today is the grand opening for the QLine, Detroit's 3.3-mile, mixed-traffic streetcar on Woodward Avenue. It's getting tons of local press attention, but TransitCenter reports that the Motor City's true transit renaissance is not due to the streetcar, but the city's successful, under-the-radar turnaround of its bus system.
May 12, 2017
Charlotte Transit Has Problems That Expensive Fantasy Maps Won’t Fix
Kimley-Horn, a multinational consulting firm looking to plan the next phases of the Charlotte area's rail expansion, also has ideas for new rail lines above and beyond the region's long-term blueprint -- projects that would be designed and built, naturally, by multinational consulting firms like Kimley-Horn. Trouble is, the firm's fantasy exercise does nothing to address the real challenges facing Charlotte's transit network.
May 10, 2017
Can Memphis Turn Around Its Struggling Bus System?
The current level of transit service in Memphis is bleak. So a week ago, 11 Shelby County public defenders took part in Bus Rider's Day, which Commercial Appeal columnist David Waters called "an exercise in empathy and, as it turned out, endurance" to understand the transportation challenges facing their clients.
May 5, 2017
Only Six Cities Are Worthy of Rail Funding, Manhattan Institute Scholar Decrees
A new report from Manhattan Institute senior fellow Aaron Renn argues that the federal government should stop supporting new rail lines in cities across the country.
May 4, 2017
Columbus Just Launched a Completely Redesigned Bus Network
This week, Columbus, Ohio, became the latest city to flip the switch on a redesigned bus network, changing a decades-old route map in a bid to jump-start flagging ridership. The updated routes bring huge numbers of people and jobs within closer reach of frequent transit service.
May 2, 2017
House and Senate Decline Trump’s Request to Gut Transit Funding, For Now
Yesterday, Congress came out with a funding package that keeps the government operating until the end of September. Officially, it's known as the omnibus appropriations package for fiscal year 2017. Unofficially, it's a Republican Congress ignoring the wishes of President Donald J. Trump, and for transit projects around the country, it's what amounts to good news these days.
May 2, 2017
App-Based “Microtransit” Provider Bridj Closes Shop
Bridj, the premium app-based "microtransit" service that tailored routes and prices based on customer demand, has folded after exhausting its funds.
May 1, 2017
As Nashville’s Mayor Pushes Light Rail to Win Referendum, What Will Happen to Buses?
sustained Koch Brothers-funded attack. Since then, the city has elected a new mayor and decided on a new vision for transit. Yesterday, Mayor Megan Barry said a light rail line would be the first project funded under her plan, which is likely to go before voters next year. While that moves forward, there is a lot Nashville can do in the meantime to improve its lackluster bus network.
April 27, 2017
A Simple Change to Make the Walk to Transit Feel Within Reach
Sometimes, high-quality transit is within a walkable distance, but people just aren't used to walking to the train. New signage in St. Paul, Minnesota, funded through a local challenge from a national foundation, aims to help people get over that mental block and walking to the nearest Green Line station.
April 26, 2017
How You Can Tell Larry Hogan’s Decision to Kill the Red Line Was Racially Discriminatory
He canceled the Red Line, which would serve predominantly black Baltimore neighborhoods, but not the Purple Line, which will serve a whiter, more affluent population but is not demonstrably more cost-effective.
April 21, 2017
