Around 100 cities in the world offer free public transit, the vast majority of them in Europe, especially France and Poland. A handful of experiments in the United States in recent decades, including the cities of Denver and Austin, were viewed as unsuccessful because there was little evidence that they removed cars from the road; new riders tended to be …
Car-free zones could be the future of cities + the story of two city transit upgrades
San Francisco and New York City are limiting cars on certain streets to prioritize other modes of transit.By Terry Nguyenterry. nguyen@voxmedia.com Oct 28, 2019, 8:30am EDT In her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, urbanist writer Jane Jacobs posed a prescient concern. She forecasted one of two possible outcomes for our urban future: “erosion of cities by automobiles, or attrition …
Democrats’ Climate Plans Lack Vision for City Transit
By Angie Schmitt, Sep 4, 2019, 12 The Democratic presidential candidates are racing to release their climate proposals ahead of Wednesday night’s primary debate. But we’ve yet to see a candidate come forward with a really compelling vision for addressing America’s unhealthy relationship with cars. Senator Elizabeth Warren today unveiled her climate plan, borrowed largely from that of Washington Governor Jay Inslee. But even …
Minneapolis recently launched the city’s first “mobility hubs,”
Minneapolis recently launched the city’s first “mobility hubs,” spaces where citizens can access transit and other forms of non-vehicular transportation such as shared bikes and e-scooters. The hubs are intended to increase convenient access to low- or no-carbon transportation options, especially first mile/last mile options, which could cut down on automobile trips. The hubs include a bus stop, bench, designated bike-share and e-scooter parking …
Commuter Rail’s Potential Is Untapped
Cities looking to boost regional rail service can look to Toronto and the Bay Area as models. By Aaron Short, StreetsBlogUSA, Sep 26, 2019, 7 American commuter rail systems have long been wedded to the 9-to-5 work schedule, but as the 21st-century economy demands more flexible hours regional rail systems have not kept pace with those changes. Something has to change …
Will LA Metro Be Ready To Take The Heat Of Climate Change? It’s ‘Complicated’
“Extreme heat is the most pervasive risk that Metro faces,” according to agency officials, who’ve outlined several hazards extreme heat could pose to the transit system, Metro employees and riders. As global temperatures rise, Southern Californians will be faced with new realities to complicate our postcard-perfect weather. Summerlong heat waves could become the new normal throughout the region, according to scientists — and the …
An Increasingly Urbanized Latin America Turns to Electric Buses
From Colombia to Argentina, major cities in Latin America are starting to adopt electric bus fleets. In a region with the highest use of buses per person globally, officials believe the transition will help meet climate targets, cut fuel costs, and improve air quality. BY MARIA GALLUCCI • SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 In Medellín, Colombia, passengers cram aboard a battery-powered bus during the morning commute. Inside, the …
School buses using Via app in NYC: ride requests matched with other passengers in the area that are all traveling in same direction or to the same general location, then algorithm designs the most efficient route for a single vehicle to pick them all up and deliver them
Through the Via partnership, school buses will be able to more quickly adapt routes to respond to kids’ needs, and the tech platform will provide GPS tracking and real-time updates to parents and students as they navigate school transit 8.21.19, WORLD CHANGING IDEAS Fast Company, New York City’s school buses will now be automatically routed and tracked using Via’s algorithm …
Could Kansas City become the first major U.S. city with a free transit system?
August 27, 2019 Emily Park David Wilson It costs $1.50 to ride a bus in Kansas City. That’s $15 per week to get to and from work—$50 per month for those that purchase a 31-day pass. That may not sound like much. But for low-income residents of Kansas City who don’t own a vehicle and struggle to make rent and put food …
Independence Institute argues that upper- and upper middle-class wage earners benefiting (disproportionately?) from transit
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 …