Transit Subsidies
The Wave of Transit ‘Fiscal Cliffs,’ Explained
Covid and inflation played a role. But for many agencies, the crisis goes much deeper.
LA’s ‘Mobility Wallet’ Helps Bridge Transportation Gaps
The city gave 1,000 residents a $150 monthly transportation stipend that covered transit, bike share, ride hailing, and car rentals.
Philadelphia Councilmember Proposes Transit Access Fund
The plan would allocate 0.5 percent of the general fund toward mobility subsidies for low-income households.
Rural Missouri Transit Service Could Lose State Funding
OATS Transit offers low-cost rides to primarily elderly rural residents with little or no access to other transportation options.
A Brief History of Kansas City’s Microtransit
The city’s costly experiment with on-demand transit is yielding to more strategic investment.
San Francisco Transit Faces ‘Devastating’ Cuts
SF Muni is the latest transit agency to sound the alarm on its funding woes, announcing a slate of massive proposed service cuts it will have to make without new revenue sources.
Suburban Politics Threaten to Derail Transit Recovery
Some of the country’s largest public transit systems are scrambling to find new sources of revenue as emergency aid dollars dry up, but some stakeholders don’t see their value.
Responding to Public Transit Criticism
Public transit plays a unique and important role in an efficient and equitable transportation system. Planners must communicate the benefits that public transit provides and respond to ill-informed critics.
Research Reveals Subsidized Transit Is More Efficient
Contrary to some arguments, public transit networks with higher government subsidies have higher ridership and more farebox revenue.
LA’s ‘Universal Basic Mobility’ Pilot, Eight Months In
The program issued ‘mobility wallets’ to 1,000 residents who took over 67,000 trips.
Opinion: Microtransit Isn’t the Answer to Transit Woes
On-demand services can’t scale successfully without massive government subsidies, and could obscure the impacts of car-centric sprawl.
Advocates Urge Caution as Microtransit Expands
On-demand microtransit is gaining popularity with transit agencies, but is it at the expense of existing service?
Opinion: How to Save D.C. Transit
Ridership data shows that many D.C. transit users depend on the service, despite a drop in ridership. The system needs changes—and funding—to have a future.
D.C. Could Give Residents $100 Transit Subsidy
A proposed bill would distribute $100 in transit fare to District residents and provide $10 million to improving bus and streetcar services in underserved neighborhoods.
Watch: Public Transit Goes Fare-Free in Luxembourg, Starting March 1
On March 1, Luxembourg will be the first country in the world to make all its public transit free to ride.
What’s Behind the Free Transit Coming to Luxembourg
All of the country’s buses, trains, and trams will be free starting next year in a move to help residents struggling with the cost of living.
Means-Based, Transit-Fare Discounts Take a Leap Forward in the Big Apple
The 2019 New York City budget includes $106 million to subsidize half the transit fare for qualified residents for six months. The city joins the ranks of Seattle, Toronto, and the Bay Area that offer income-based discounts for transit fares.
Study: Transit Subsidies Work Best Alone
Research suggests that transit subsidies produce minimal social value when combined with congestion pricing and dedicated bus lanes.
Rural Transit: A Matter of Life or Death, and in Danger
Public transit that serves rural communities is no less essential to the everyday needs of their users as those systems that serve cities. So, why do some states seem so eager to cut subsidies to rural transit providers?
Would Eliminating Road Subsidies Encourage Transit Use?
Not only are transit systems subsidized, but so are America's roads. While some advocate for the reduction of road subsidies to better incentivize transit use, Josh Barro argues for more effective ways to make mass transit work better.
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
