July 23, 2019 By Joshua Sharf Public transportation used to be sold as a means of helping commuters without cars, or for whom driving was prohibitively expensive, get to their jobs. It was seen as a means of providing mobility to some on the bottom or lower-middle rungs on the economic ladder, largely paid for by those who were busy trying to …
TDM best practice: Shout out to Greater Richmond Transit Company
By Saumya Jain at SSTI, TDM best practice: Shout out to Greater Richmond Transit Company, July 15th, 2019 in NewsTags: TDM, transit, VA In an era of falling transit ridership and utopian sustainability goals, Richmond, Virginia, seems to have hit the nail on the head. With the introduction of a bus rapid transit (BRT) line and an overall bus system redesign, the GRTC has …
The Race to Fuel the Buses of Future Is On
While bus and truck pools account for just a fraction of the vehicles on America’s roads, they’re responsible for generating 80% of the smog and as much as a quarter of the nation’s transportation emissions. That has local and state governments across the country working to overhaul their fleets, touching off a race to gain an early edge and dominate an industry that consumes 1 billion …
Want to increase transit ridership without adding service? Make it easy to get to the stations. Also shift performance measurement from LOS to VMT (or better yet, space use) for roads.
Shifting from LOS to VMT would save time, money, and better support local goals Two recent studies suggest that California’s change in assessing the impact of development—from level of service (LOS) to vehicle miles traveled (VMT)—can reduce costs for developers and streamline the review of projects. Under the new guidelines, both studies to determine transportation impacts and any mitigation measures …
Discounted fares for lower income riders helps and is unlikely to lead to crowding in peak periods
BRIEF: MIT: Discounted fares prompt more transit use among low-income Bostonites, by Katie Pyzyk@_PyintheSky, June 17, 2019 Preliminary results of a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers indicate low-income citizens in Boston take transit more frequently if their fare is discounted. Participants in the study who received a 50% reduced fare took about 30% more trips on Massachusetts Bay Transportation …
Sacramento to offer students free transit starting this fall: expected to raise student ridership 600% and help those without transport get to school. Joins Seattle, DC, Boston, Germany and Paris.
The action in Sacramento reflects a sentiment growing across the nation and the world to make public transportation free, especially for underserved, vulnerable and mobility-challenged populations. Washington, DC offers free public transit trips to students traveling to and from school and school-related activities. Last year Seattle’s city council approved free transit passes for all high school students, and earlier this year Boston’s mayor proposed providing free …
Learning From Uber and Lyft: The Case for Passenger Experience in Transit
Yann Leriche Jun 11 2019 Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft are now established transport providers, offering single ride or shared ride (Uber POOL, Lyft Line) options. Marketed as new mobility options that would reduce car ownership and congestion in cities, TNCs have not proven to solve these societal problems. Actually, ridesourcing companies have likely increased vehicle miles traveled, …
Latinos are being pushed to urban edges, rural areas with few transportation options
By Robbie Webber at SSTI, Latinos are being pushed to urban edges, rural areas with few transportation options, posted on June 3rd, 2019: affordable housing, job access, Latino, transportation options A study by researchers at UT Health San Antonio details the barriers that Latinos in the U.S. face because of poor access to transportation options. Inadequate transit options, unreliable or spotty schedules, long commutes, and a …
How should congestion pricing work in the future? It may be based on “square-foot-second of road capacity”
How should congestion pricing work in the future? It may be based on “square-foot-second of road capacity” that accounts for the width of the vehicle, the size of the buffer zone around it, and the time you occupy that space. New York’s Adoption Of Congestion Charging Might Mean Something Much More Radical Could Come Brad Templeton, Forbes, 28 May 2019 …
Why Public Transportation is Better Outside of the US
Why Public Transportation is Better Outside of the US excerpt from Jonathan English Even when the United States built expensive rail systems, it never took care of the basics. Cities rarely provided good, frequent local connections that allowed people to actually get to rail stations without walking or driving. To this day, in most parts of American cities, it is all but …