Regional transit agencies, already forced to make cuts, are calling for state funding to help them maintain service and access federal grant opportunities.
New Orleans transit riders are suffering from severely reduced service since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, according to an analysis from RIDE New Orleans, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and Jefferson Parish Transit. “At the moment, the average Orleans Parish resident can access only 35% of jobs in the region within 60 minutes on public transit,” notes Blake Paterson in the Times-Picayune.
Although many New Orleans buses used to run every 10 minutes, the region’s agencies now offer just 60 percent of the service they did in 2004. “Both the RTA and Jefferson Parish Transit are expected to face shortfalls in revenue in the coming years that will make maintaining existing levels of service difficult. And Jefferson Parish is in the process of exiting the RTA, leaving Orleans Parish as the sole participant in what was supposed to be a multi-parish public transit agency.”
RIDE estimates that the agencies need roughly $55 million per year for operating revenues to return to pre-Katrina service levels. Transit officials are calling for more support from the state to supplement local funding, which could help meet federal matching requirements and unlock grant dollars. As of 2022, Louisiana ranked 43rd in the nation for per-capita transit spending.
FULL STORY: Is New Orleans public transit at a crossroads? Advocates call for massive investment
Trimet Slashes Bus Service in First of Three Rounds of Cuts
Oregon’s largest transit agency plans to cut 10% of its services in the next year.
SEPTA to Cut 1/5 of Service Starting Aug 24
The Philadelphia transit agency is eliminating 32 bus lines and slashing service on dozens of others after the state legislature failed to come to an agreement over funding.
Transit Service Cuts Likely Coming to Your Town
Absent additional state or federal funding, public transit systems across the nation could be forced to reduce service.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
Colorado’s Largest Data Center Could Rise Next to Homes — Without a Public Hearing
The proposed campus would consume 11 times the power of Denver International Airport; as it has across the country, opposition mounts.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
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