Transit
Basics
Why Is Portland’s Transit Chief Advocating for More Highways?
After suffering an embarrassing defeat a year ago, the Oregon highway lobby is rattling the can for more money again. They have a list of highways they want to widen, and they say Portland's economy depends on it. In addition to the usual suspects, the highway cheerleaders include Neil McFarlane, general manager of TriMet, the regional transit agency.
February 23, 2017
Introducing a New Streetsblog Series: Getting Transit Right
With more American cities raising impressive sums to expand transit, the question of how to invest effectively is increasingly essential. So far, few places have hit on a policy combination that makes transit more useful to more people. To help cities "get transit right," Streetsblog is launching a new series about which transit strategies are working and which are not.
February 16, 2017
What American Commuter Rail Can Learn From Paris
In the U.S., regional rail is mostly good for one type of trip: the commute. But in Paris, regional rail is oriented toward all types of trips, and people ride throughout the day, not just at rush hour. One key to success is running frequent, predictable service all day long.
February 13, 2017
Downtown Seattle Added 45,000 Jobs and Hardly Any Car Commuters
Transforming from a car city to a transit city is no easy task. Just ask Denver and Los Angeles, which have spent billions to build rail systems but struggled to reduce solo car commuting rates. But Seattle shows it can be done: The share of downtown commuters who drive alone dropped from 35 percent in 2010 to 30 percent last year.
February 10, 2017
Boston Identified Its Most Dangerous, Degrading Bus Stops. Now What?
The MBTA is evaluating all 7,600 of its bus stops for safety and accessibility, and it will either improve or eliminate 200 of the worst ones.
February 8, 2017
Don’t Push Bus Riders to the Margins
Mayors frequently face pressure from business interests to remove bus riders from downtown areas. But that's a big mistake, says transit consultant Jarrett Walker.
February 6, 2017
Columbus Is About to Double Access to Frequent Bus Service
Columbus hopes to increase ridership 10 percent in three years with a system that prioritizes frequent service in a more grid-like pattern, connecting people to job centers.
February 3, 2017
Police Tried to Cut Off Transit Access to Airport Protests
Thousands of protesters were pouring into American airports Saturday in response to Donald Trump's refugee ban, when suddenly light rail service skipped the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The incident raises serious questions about who controls access to transit.
January 31, 2017
How Could Transit Agencies Cope With a Sudden Loss of Federal Funds?
Under Trump and the Republican Congress, transit agencies can't be certain the funding they're expecting will materialize. Via TransitCenter, here's a look at how cities have coped with the sudden and dramatic loss of resources.
January 24, 2017
Trump’s First Budget May Zero Out Federal Transit Funding
Donald Trump's first budget will reportedly follow a blueprint for extreme spending cuts laid out by the Heritage Foundation. That could spell disaster for cities, since Heritage recommends eliminating federal support for transit.
January 19, 2017
