Metro Los Angeles is rolling back public health measures on its buses systemwide in the middle of the worst Covid wave of the entire pandemic.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is resuming normal boarding operations on buses today. Since March 2020, the nation's second busiest bus system had been requiring passengers to use rear doors to board and light buses without paying fares.
An article by Ryan Fonseca for LAist provides details on the resumption of front door boarding on Metro, noting that rear door boarding and fare-free rides were implemented to protect riders and drivers during the pandemic: "Skipping the fares and requiring rear-door boarding made it possible to do a better job of social distancing."
Advocates are questioning the timing of the change, with Covid infections in the county higher than they've been at any point in the pandemic. Metro seems to be aware of the current public health risks, announcing on January 4 that it was canceling all enrollment events for its low-income fare program (not to be confused with a fare-free pilot program under consideration at Metro in 2021).
Fare-free transit has been one of the hottest topics in planning during the pandemic. Albuquerque last week announced the largest fare-free pilot program of any U.S. city to date.
FULL STORY: Free Bus Rides Are Ending On LA Metro. Check Out The Limited-Time Discounts Going Into Place
The Deepening Transit Crisis: L.A. Times Reports Drug Use on Transit
An article by the L.A. Times earlier this week has raised the temperature of the debate about drug users and crime on rail transit. Concerns about public safety on transit are a common symptom of post-pandemic transit around the country.
Can L.A. Metro Fund its Fareless Transit Pilot?
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors has approved a program that would eliminate fares for students and low-income riders, but the program's future rests on finding sustainable funding sources.
L.A. Metro Will Pilot Free Fares for Most Riders
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will let low-income residents and K-12 students ride for free starting in January 2022.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association