With commuter ridership playing a smaller role in transit operations, agencies must reorganize their services around different travel schedules and patterns.

Writing in Governing, Skip Descant assesses how U.S. mass transit systems, which historically relied largely on commuter travel for the bulk of their ridership revenue, can adapt to new ridership patterns and adjust their services to serve new needs.
For transit agencies in Washington, D.C., where 66 percent of commuters now work from home at least part time, this is now an existential question. “Ridership on Metro, the network of trains and buses serving the nation’s capital, during the first six months of this year was down 64 percent compared to the same six-month period in 2019, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).”
Some of the ways agencies are addressing these challenges: focusing on system reliability; removing friction points for users; launching more mobility options, like small shuttles linking restaurants and attractions; providing on-demand microtransit; and more focus on the first-mile/last-mile obstacles.
Transportation experts say agencies must rethink their service schedules, make it easier to access transit and make connections between systems, and focus on “transit planning that accommodates all of the other non-work trips we take — errand running, trips to schools and doctor’s appointments.”
FULL STORY: Commuter Ridership Is Disappearing. Can Mass Transit Adapt?

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill
A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.
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