Public Transit

MTA Head Jay Walder: One Year Later

Walder’s arrival from London, where he transformed a flagging bus and subway system, brought high hopes for New York’s transit system, says Michael Grynbaum. But is he meeting the expectations of riders and officials?

October 26, 2010 - The New York Times

Moscow Metro Gets a New Map

With the debut of the latest map of the Moscow Metro, TheCityFix's Jonna McKone takes a look at mass transit maps from across the globe and chats with mapmaker Cameron Booth.

October 26, 2010 - TheCityFix

Time-Based or Distance-Based Transit Fares: Is One Better Than the Other?

Is there a difference between the two most common fare structures in public transit?

October 23, 2010 - TheCityFix

What Would it Take to Ditch Your Car?

A conversation series from the National Trust for Historic Preservation asks what it would take for people to ditch their cars and rely solely on walking, cycling and public transportation.

October 22, 2010 - Glass House Conversations

Lack of Transit Intensifies Suburban Poverty

In the last ten years, more than two thirds of poverty growth has happened in suburban areas of American cities. According to Brookings', social services such as transit have failed to keep up in the face of decreasing tax revenue.

October 16, 2010 - The Next American City

Multi-Modal Level-Of-Service Goes Mainstream: Chickens Can Finally Cross Roads

  Why didn’t the chicken cross the road? Because pedestrian Level-Of-Service was below “C”.  

September 22, 2010 - Todd Litman

Snow, Cars and Growth

A couple of years ago, I was listening to a friend explain why she left Rochester for Jacksonville. "I was tired of digging my car out of the snow." It occurred to me that the nexus between driving and winter weather may at least partially explain the decline of America’s northern Rust Belt. Here’s why: car care and storage makes snow a bigger bother than might otherwise be the case: if you don’t have a heated garage, you have to dig your car out of the snow every day, and if you park on the street you may have to constantly move your car to accommodate municipal snow removal.

September 3, 2010 - Michael Lewyn

Changing Travel Demands: Implications for Planning

The graph below shows the most recent USDOT vehicle-travel data covering the last 25 years. Although vehicle-miles of travel (VMT) grew steadily during most of the Twentieth Century, in recent years the growth rate stopped and even declined a little. It is now about 10% below where it would have been had past trends continued.

August 22, 2010 - Todd Litman

Residents Who Live Near Public Transportation Live Healthier, Longer Lives

Study indicates that public transit improvements and more transit oriented development can provide large but often overlooked health benefits.

August 15, 2010 - APTA

Better Transportation Options to Relieve Inequality in Latin America

Safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable public transport options could be integral in addressing inequality in Latin America.

July 30, 2010 - TheCityFix

Bus Advocates Argue Rail Focused Planning Reduces Overall Transit Ridership in L.A.

Dan Weikel of the L.A. Times suggests that the focus on rail transit at the expense of buses has pushed general transit ridership down in general.

July 24, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

NYC Kids are Safer Because They Ride Public Transit More

A recent study shows that traffic fatality rates are lower for children in areas where public transit is widely used.

July 2, 2010 - TheCityFix DC

Free Rides on Bangkok's New Bus Rapid Transit System

All summer long the newly installed BRT in Bangkok will offer free rides to passengers as the kinks are worked out of the system.

July 1, 2010 - TheCityFix

Jews and Transit: "Like a Bagel and Schmeer"

Joel Epstein at the Jewish Journal argues that Jews should support mass transit measures, and the 30/10 plan in particular. "Without 30/10, I fear my kids may be sitting shiva for me before I ride the Subway to the Sea," he writes.

June 24, 2010 - Jewish Journal

Tapping the Crowd to Solve America's Transportation Problem

Slate is soliciting ideas from its readers to improve the nation's transportation system.

June 21, 2010 - Slate

L.A.'s Bold Transit Moves

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to cram 30 years of transit projects into one decade is gathering steam in Washington -- and other cities are watching closely.

June 15, 2010 - Next American City

Valuing The Precious Hours Of Our Lives

Time is a limited and valuable resource. As much as possible, people should spend the precious hours of their lives in the most satisfying and productive possible ways. This has important implications for transportation planning, since most people spend a significant amount of time in transport, and travel time savings are often the greatest projected benefits of transport projects such as roadway and transit service improvements.

June 14, 2010 - Todd Litman

L.A.'s '30/10' Plan Moves Ahead

At first considered a long-shot, the idea being pushed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to fast-track 30 years worth of transit projects into 10 is gaining support at the highest levels.

June 10, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

World Cup's Impact on Transit in South Africa

This post from The City Fix looks at some of the new public transit systems that have been built in South Africa ahead of this year's World Cup.

June 4, 2010 - The City Fix

Is A Mass Transit Bailout the Right Move?

National Journal asks its panel of transportation experts whether mass transit agencies really deserve $2 billion in emergency operating aid.

June 3, 2010 - National Journal

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.