Transit
Basics
Transit Vote 2016: Seattle’s Huge, Imperfect Transit Expansion
We continue our overview of what’s at stake in the big transit ballot initiatives this November with a look at Seattle. The first installment of this series examined Indianapolis.
October 17, 2016
Transit Vote 2016: Indianapolis’s Chance to Get a Real Transit System
The presidency and Congress aren't the only things at stake when voters go to the polls next month. In several cities, people will also be deciding the future of their transit and transportation systems. With the odds of increasing federal transit funding looking remote in gridlocked Washington, these local ballot measures take on even more importance. Before the election, Streetsblog will be looking at what's at stake in some of the big transit ballot initiatives, starting with Indianapolis.
October 13, 2016
Sprawl Is a Global Problem
Sprawl isn't just a problem in car-centric America. Even cities with the world's best transit systems are surrounded by suburbs with poor transit access, according to a new report by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. As billions of people migrate from rural to metropolitan areas in the next few decades, these growth patterns threaten to maroon people without good access to employment while overwhelming the climate with increased greenhouse gas emissions.
October 11, 2016
Finally Some Relief for Memphis Bus Riders
The shameful state of Memphis's bus system is one of the more outrageous stories in American transit.
September 21, 2016
How Transit Agencies Can Offer Better Paratransit Service at Lower Costs
Paratransit service for people with disabilities is a big part of what modern transit agencies do, and it's getting bigger all the time. As the population ages and more people rely on paratransit to get around, agencies need to get smart about how they provide the service -- or else rising costs will eat into their capacity to run buses and trains.
September 20, 2016
A New Resource for Tracking Transit Trends in American Cities
How does transit ridership in your city stack up against other cities? A new tool from transit analyst extraordinaire Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic can help you figure it out.
September 9, 2016
No, Uber’s Not Going to Replace Buses, But It Can Complement Them
Not a day goes by without a raft of stories about "new mobility" providers -- ride-hailing companies like Uber or car-share services like Car2Go that have tapped into recent technological advances to provide new ways to get around.
September 9, 2016
America Has a Terrible Traffic Safety Record Because We Drive Too Much
Even though the U.S. traffic fatality rate per mile driven has fallen by two-thirds in the last 50 years, America today still has the deadliest road system per capita in the developed world. Much of the improvement from safer driving and better emergency care has been wiped out by increases in total traffic.
September 8, 2016
Court: Don’t Spend Billions on Outdated Travel Forecasts
Cross-posted from City Observatory.
August 11, 2016
5 Reasons No One Should Ever Take the Straddling Bus Seriously
The taller the bus, the harder it falls. Since 2010, a Chinese firm's "straddling bus" concept has captured the imagination of people around the globe who want to avoid the hassle of carving out street space for transit. But a "test run" last week in the city of Qinhuangdao looks like it was the final blaze of glory for this idea.
August 10, 2016