Critics of a transit referendum in Nashville see trains and buses as the transportation solutions of the past. According to this thinking, ride-hailing companies and self-driving cars are the future.
As the city of Nashville approaches a May transit referendum, critics of the proposal are suggesting notably contemporary alternatives to public transit. Instead of buses and trains, writes Jamie McGee, referendum opponents are pitching ride-sharing and self-driving cars.
"The ideas reflect a common complaint from opponents of the transit plan, that it relies heavily on old technology and does not adequately incorporate the advancements being made in ride-sharing, autonomous vehicles or, even, flying taxis," according to McGee.
The debate raises questions of how technology can be applied in older systems of public transit, as well as whether the newest technologies will actually deliver on their promises. Throughout the article, there are opportunities to explain transportation planning concepts like induced demand.
The arguments of the plan's opponents, it should be noted, are exactly what Ethan A. Green was worried about when writing about the Nashville transit referendum for Planetizen earlier this month.
Read the full story: Nashville transit referendum: Where do Uber, Lyft, autonomous vehicles fit in?
Following a Failed Referendum, Nashville Transit Advocates Regroup
Last spring, voters resoundingly quashed Let's Move Nashville, a $5.4 billion plan to build out the city's transit options. The plan paid too little attention to current riders, advocates say, and they aim to do things differently.
Nashville's Next Transit Referendum Must Focus on Mobility, Not Development
An article originally posted on Mobility Lab, written by Owain James, looks for lessons from Nashville's failed transit referendum.
Nashville Transit Referendum Soundly Beaten at the Ballot Box
Transit advocates suffered a resounding defeat in Nashville yesterday. The Let's Move Nashville plan does not have the funding to build-out its ambitiously pro-transit agenda.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight
While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.
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.
How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities
After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.
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 Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello