A few days ago, I was trying to take a streetcar in Toronto- and the streetcar was just as congested as any suburban arterial. The lines in front of streetcars were so long that I couldn't get into the first streetcar. Or the second. Or the third. Instead, I had to wait a few minutes (horrors!) for the fourth streetcar. I asked myself: what if streetcars only ran every hour, instead of every few minutes? Would the streetcars be equally crowded? Of course not. People would abandon the streetcars and start to use cars (if they owned them) and buy them (if they did not yet own them).
A few days ago, I was trying to take a streetcar in Toronto- and the
streetcar was just as congested as any suburban arterial. The
lines in front of streetcars were so long that I couldn't get into the
first streetcar. Or the second. Or the third.
Instead, I had to wait a few minutes (horrors!) for the fourth
streetcar.
I asked myself: what if streetcars only ran every
hour, instead of every few minutes? Would the streetcars be
equally crowded? Of course not. People would abandon the
streetcars and start to use cars (if they owned them) and buy them (if
they did not yet own them).
In my experience, there is an inverse
correlation between the amount of public transit service and the amount
of overcrowding on trains or buses: in places with extensive
service, overcrowding is a problem- but in places where public transit
is limited to hourly bus service (e.g. Jacksonville, Florida) buses
tend to be delightfully uncrowded, and usually I can not only sit in a
seat but put my bags on the seat next to me. In three years in
Jacksonville, I do not think I ever had to stand on a bus.
This methodology should tell us something
about how and when we build roads. If (as I have suggested) reduced transit service
means less congestion on transit, why should roads be any different?
Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US
Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.
King County Metro adds 3,000 weekly bus trips, more connections to rail
King County Metro and Sound Transit are both making major adjustments to their bus networks to improve light rail connectivity across the region.
Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to ban fully self-driving buses
State Rep. Ben Waxman's proposed bill would require autonomous buses to have a licensed driver on board.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Record-breaking wildlife overpass in Colorado brings 91% reduction in animal collisions
Prior to the overpass, vehicles were hitting one deer per day on Colorado’s Interstate 25.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Trump wants to cancel nearly 98% of funding for HUD housing support program
Multiple housing groups are suing the administration in an effort to preserve the funding.
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.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
