Toronto's Metrolink brings together city and transportation planners to brainstorm the transit of the future.
"Any transportation system in the future has to be user friendly, seamless and add value because somebody has to pay for it and the public sector won't be able to pay for all of it, said George Hazel, a British transportation planning expert.
Connectivity is key, he said. "How do you join up the buses to the transit, to the parking, to cycling, to walking because there are discontinuities all over the place," he said. "In Singapore, you can get into a taxi and there's a swipe (machine) behind the driver's head. You can use your transit card in a taxi."
Some of yesterday's ideas are pie in the sky, "But we have to be creative," said Al Robinson, GO Transit's director of equipment development, who was part of a brainstorming team rethinking the interiors of transit vehicles.
Among the suggestions: A quiet car equipped with laptops, wireless Internet access and reclining chairs so people who wanted to sleep or work could do so in comfort."
FULL STORY: Planners dream big for future of transit

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

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
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