Most North American cities offer only basic public transit service, with limited coverage and frequency, modest speeds, unattractive waiting areas, poor land use integration, and few amenities. Such service is used primarily by people who lack alternatives. In such communities, riders tend to abandon public transit as soon as feasible.
Public Transit
New Argument for Public Transit: Better for Texting?
In a recent piece in Wired, Clive Thompson suggests that the solution to the problem of texting while driving is not to stop texting, but to stop driving. The popularity of texting is a good reason to support public transit.
Wired Magazine
The Most Expensive American Transit Projects of the 2000s
This post on The Infrastructurist looks at the most expensive public transit projects of the last ten years in the United States.
The Infrastructurist
Exurbs Will Rise - Again
Grist writer Lisa Selin Davis argues that now is the time to make public transit a priority in serving outer suburbs, because the rebounding economy will inevitably lead to increased demand.
Grist
Houston Looks At Reshaping Transit
Houston Mayor Annise Parker is considering a big shake-up of the city's public transportation, including the option of transitioning to a fare-free system.
The Houston Chronicle
Comparing Five of The Nation's Biggest Transit Systems
GOOD takes a look at five of the nation's biggest public transit systems and compares their ridership, average speeds, and average miles per trip.
Good
Accessibility Vs. Mobility Redux
Wed, 01/13/2010 - 12:59
I’m going to riff off a recent Interchange Blog post by Michael Lewyn on the relationship between mobility and accessibility. Given the positive comments from the planning community to Michael’s post, a little engagement may be necessary for both clarity as well as fully understanding the implications of reading too much into the accessibility versus mobility debate.
The Planetizen News Brief - 12/24/09
4:35 minutes (4.2 MB)
Transit dips in 2008, Buffalo preserves by neglect, and San Francisco expands its borders -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
Recession Pulls Transit Ridership Down
Transit ridership has dipped in 2009, according to a new report from the American Public Transportation Association. The recession and high unemployment rates are being blamed.
USA Today
Is Riding Transit Necessarily Better For The Environment Than Driving?
In the third of a 5-part "Rethinking Green" series, the National Post casts doubt on public transit's ability to reduce global warming while praising driving; applying similar scrutiny to recycling and aquaculture in the first and second installments
National Post via The Vancouver Sun
Is Marketing the Key to Transit Success?
Los Angeles County's transit agency has increased its marketing efforts in recent years. This piece from The City Fix suggests the push has been an effective tool and that other transit agencies should take note.
The City Fix
Can Free Fares Save Public Transit?
With 100 percent subsidies, transit agencies could drop the pretense of being businesses and serve many more people -- or so proponents say. Agencies aren't so sure.
InTransition Magazine
More Passengers And Less Funding Threaten To Cripple Transit Agencies
The recession has made many commuters more transit-dependent while shrinking the public coffers that may for the bulk of transit service. Without further subsidies, agencies face tough choices because of this "incredible paradox."
InTransition Magazine
How to drive traffic away
Mon, 10/19/2009 - 11:08
A few days ago, I was trying to take a streetcar in Toronto- and the streetcar was just as congested as any suburban arterial. The lines in front of streetcars were so long that I couldn't get into the first streetcar. Or the second. Or the third. Instead, I had to wait a few minutes (horrors!) for the fourth streetcar.
I asked myself: what if streetcars only ran every hour, instead of every few minutes? Would the streetcars be equally crowded? Of course not. People would abandon the streetcars and start to use cars (if they owned them) and buy them (if they did not yet own them).
Transit Disoriented Development
Arlington, Texas, is home to the Dallas Cowboys' football stadium. But as the largest American city with no public bus or rail lines, getting to the stadium is no easy task.
The Dallas Morning News
L.A. Officials Call For Speedier Subway Expansion
Scheduled for completion in 2036, a 12.5 mile extension of Los Angeles' subway is progressing too slowly for some officials. That includes the city's mayor, who is hoping to pick up the pace.
Los Angeles Times
Despite Protests and Strikes, BRT Moves Ahead in Johannesburg
Despite strong opposition from taxi driver associations, a new bus rapid transit system is set to open later this month in Johannesburg, South Africa.
AllAfrica
Recession Hurting Transit Agencies Across U.S.
Big metropolitan transit agencies are struggling through the recession, with many considering cutting services and raising fares, according to astudy by Transportation For America and Transportation Equity Network.
Reuters
Real-Time Arrival Data Coming to Philadelphia Bus Riders
Philadelphia's public transit system is preparing to launch a new service that makes bus and train arrival times available to riders' handheld devices.
Plan Philly
Countering the High Costs of Paratransit
A huge but largely under-noticed portion of public transit money goes to paratransit -- equipment and services to transport disabled people. Now, cheaper alternatives are emerging.
Governing
