Transit
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Court: Don’t Spend Billions on Outdated Travel Forecasts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
End of an Era? Detroit’s Suburban Power Broker Won’t Block Transit Vote
There was a time when Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson could appeal to white racial anxiety and do lasting damage to the Detroit region. It almost happened again last week when Patterson and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel nearly scuttled a vote on a regional transit tax that would fund a significant expansion bus and rail service.
August 3, 2016
A Better Bus Stop: Big Ideas From Transit Riders for a Better Wait
Streetsblog has been calling attention to the dismal state of transit waiting areas with our Sorriest Bus Stop in America tournament. Transit riders have to put up with conditions that no one should stand for -- bus stops with nothing to sit on and no shelter, bus stops by dangerous, high-speed roads with no sidewalks, even "secret" bus stops with no visible marker that they exist.
August 1, 2016