Transportation

In prior State of the Unions, President Obama has put forth bold plans for building high-speed rail, tackling climate change and transitioning to alternative energy sources. Facing an obstinate Congress, he outlined a more modest agenda last night.

January 29, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

If we really want more people to use transit, and we think it's a worthwhile goal to subsidize people's commutes, why go through all the trouble of tax deductions and employer control? Why not just subsidize transit passes directly?

January 29, 2014 - Shane Phillips

The new law is for any bike rider who has ever paused to wonder if drivers on the road even understand the meaning of the traditional right turn hand signal.

January 29, 2014 - Associated Press via Detroit Free Press

Hoping to bypass the Sacramento Superior Court's twin rulings in November that crippled the Calif. High Speed Rail Authority's ability to tap $10 billion in state bond funds, Gov. Brown has petitioned the state Supreme Court to overturn the rulings.

January 29, 2014 - The Sacramento Bee

For the first time in over 50 years, streetcars are on their way back to the nation’s capital, where long-term, the city will build 37 miles of tracks. D.C. planners are citing Portland as the model for an expected rush of development investment.

January 29, 2014 - The Washington Post

Is there a relationship between carless households and density of college graduates? Derek Thompson of The Atlantic connected the dots using Michael Sivak's latest 'peak car' study and saw a relationship between the two variables.

January 29, 2014 - The Atlantic

In a move to increase speed, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is looking to cut some stops from its streetcar and bus routes, rousing debate over whether less is really more - particularly in consideration of elderly and disabled riders.

January 28, 2014 - The Toronto Star

The National Transportation Safety Board called on federal regulators on Jan. 23 to approve several measures in light of a rash of oil train derailments and crude oil explosions as did their Canadian counterparts, the Transportation Safety Board.

January 28, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

A new survey of the American people from the Pew Research Center ranks the priorities of the public on matters like the deficit, healthcare, and crime. Bringing up the rear of public concern: infrastructure and global warming.

January 27, 2014 - Pew Research Center

How far should cops go to ticket jaywalkers, particularly when dealing with non-English speaking senior citizens? An 84-year-old upper-West Side resident was targeted by New York's finest, and ended up arrested, bloodied and hospitalized.

January 27, 2014 - New York Post

People have been driving about 1% less per year for the last 9 years. What can public-private partnerships for transportation alternatives do to stoke this fire?

January 26, 2014 - PlaceShakers

Last year, the U.S. increased oil consumption by two percent, surpassing the increase in China for the first time in more than a decade according to a new IEA report. How does this increase square with peak car, peak VMT, and peak oil consumption?

January 25, 2014 - Marketplace

Tuesday was a day of celebration in South L.A. as officials broke ground on the 8.5-mile Crenshaw Line, the newest addition to the region's expanding transit network. But just two days later, politicians resumed bickering over how to connect to LAX.

January 25, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

There’s a note of melancholy over the human condition in the work of a prankster who has been plastering satirical images and messages around cars on the London Underground.

January 24, 2014 - Prosign

Want an easy to use public engagement tool that helps you to understand the visual preferences of the public? StreetSeen (http://streetseen.osu.edu), a free online tool allows planners and others to simply construct and deploy visual surveys.

January 24, 2014 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

For those of you who thought the recent shuttering of Sydney's monorail symbolized the general decline of the once-futuristic transit mode–think again! Sao Paulo is set to open a new 17-mile line, the first segment of a monorail-based transit system.

January 24, 2014 - Wired

The much maligned "Prius tax", an annual registration fee for hybrid and electric vehicles to ensure they pay their share of road costs that was part of former Va. Governor Bob McDonell's landmark transportation bill last year, may soon be history.

January 24, 2014 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Recent trends in declining car ownership, along with the Millennial generation’s widely-reported abhorrence for driving, have some wondering if the era of car dominance is over. But what if the decline just comes down to trouble paying the bills?

January 24, 2014 - The Globe and Mail

You've heard of road rage. Electric vehicle drivers at Silicon Valley workplaces where EVs substantially exceed chargers may experience "charge rage" when a "top-off" can take as long as eight hours.

January 23, 2014 - San Jose Mercury News

The developers of a transit-tracking app have some for exciting news for public officials: There's a way to improve transit rider satisfaction without reducing fares, buying new vehicles or expanding service. Just give your users more information.

January 22, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities