The city is one of several aiming to improve driver safety.
Philadelphia will test new bulletproof enclosures on eight of its buses in the coming months, a move spurred partially by the fatal shooting of a SEPTA driver by a passenger in October, 2023.
Violent attacks have plagued the system in recent years, U.S. News reports, “including one in which eight high school students waiting to board a SEPTA bus after class were wounded by gunshots from suspects who jumped from a car and opened fire.” The article quotes John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union of America, calling attacks on bus drivers “the dirty secret of public transit in America.” New York City and Philadelphia see over 20 assaults against operators per week combined.
The enclosures, which cost between $15,000 and $18,000 to install, will be tested and adjusted based on driver feedback.
FULL STORY: Philadelphia Tests Bullet-Resistant Glass Enclosures Aimed at Protecting Bus Drivers
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