Articles for Public Transit

Trump's infrastructure "fantasy": Ditch mass transit for self-driving cars, private highways
4 days, 18 hours ago

Trump's infrastructure "fantasy": Ditch mass transit for self-driving cars, private highways

Salon  

While President-elect Donald Trump rarely spoke about infrastructure projects during the 2024 campaign, especially compared to the grand promises of his earlier campaigns, Trump's allies plan to revive infrastructure planning from his first administration. Instead, it's likely to mean reduced funding for public transit, increased investment in autonomous or "self-driving" vehicles and contracting out major infrastructure projects to private investors. …

Transportation Infrastructure Cars Infrastructure Projects Congress Trump Administration
Driving to work: Why it’s psychologically difficult to switch to public transit or biking.
2 weeks, 6 days ago

Driving to work: Why it’s psychologically difficult to switch to public transit or biking.

Slate  

Commuters are creatures of habit—until, suddenly, they aren’t. The behavioral science of commuting holds powerful lessons for policymakers, civic leaders, and environmentalists hoping to convince drivers to instead use modes like public transit and biking that can ease gridlock, improve air quality, and mitigate climate change. “Overall, we found a whole set of interventions—many of which are used regularly in …

Travel Transportation Brussels Work Public Transit Public Clark
New York races to revive Manhattan tolls intended to fight traffic before Trump can block them
1 month, 1 week ago

New York races to revive Manhattan tolls intended to fight traffic before Trump can block them

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Rather than alienate suburban commuters in an election year, New York’s governor slammed the brakes last spring on a plan to launch America’s first “congestion pricing” tolling system to discourage people from driving into the most traffic-choked parts of Manhattan. Trump, whose Trump Tower penthouse would be within the congestion pricing zone, said Thursday that he “strongly” …

Trump New York City Public Transit Pricing New York Republican Congestion
Fatal hijacking of L.A. Metro bus was ‘a real-life nightmare’
2 months, 4 weeks ago

Fatal hijacking of L.A. Metro bus was ‘a real-life nightmare’

LA Times  

Disturbing details emerged Wednesday concerning a gunman accused of hijacking a Los Angeles Metro bus, fatally shooting a passenger and leading police on a pursuit that ended in a dramatic predawn standoff with SWAT officers downtown. L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn called the incident a “real-life nightmare” and lauded the bus driver and law enforcement during …

Board Public Transit Metro Los Angeles Los Angeles Bass
Paris is now more accessible for disabled people. Will it last after the Olympics and Paralympics?
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Paris is now more accessible for disabled people. Will it last after the Olympics and Paralympics?

Associated Press  

PARIS — Since the start of the Olympics, Ndieme Lame has been commuting every day to the Stade de France where she works as a volunteer helping visitors find their way. Ndieme Lame, a 57-year-old volunteer for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, rides on the Tramway T3a line, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 7 2024, in …

France Olympics Paralympics Public Transit Train 2024 Metro
L.A. to get $77 million in federal funds to add electric buses before Olympics, hopes for millions more
5 months ago

L.A. to get $77 million in federal funds to add electric buses before Olympics, hopes for millions more

LA Times  

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announces a $77-million grant for Los Angeles on Thursday at the Coliseum. Standing before the renowned peristyle at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where the 1984 Olympics opening ceremony was held, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday touted a $77-million infusion of cash for Metro to pay for more electric buses. The buses will help …

Olympics Games Public Transit Metro Los Angeles Los Angeles
Low-income residents to receive debit cards in Oakland’s ‘universal basic mobility’ program
5 months, 1 week ago

Low-income residents to receive debit cards in Oakland’s ‘universal basic mobility’ program

LA Times  

A woman and her baby head to West Oakland on a BART train. A thousand residents of West Oakland will be receiving prepaid debit cards with $320 on them for use on public transit. After a 2021 pilot program showed potential benefits of “universal basic mobility” in Oakland, the city has doubled down on incentives for public transit. A thousand …

Public Transit Residents Cards Oakland Transit Program Debit Cards
It’s one of California’s worst freeway bottlenecks. Will fixing it ruin the planet?
6 months ago

It’s one of California’s worst freeway bottlenecks. Will fixing it ruin the planet?

LA Times  

Underneath the Yolo Causeway near Sacramento, where a nearly half-billion-dollar effort is underway to add toll lanes to Interstate 80 and ease congestion, swollen rivers fill wetlands in the winter season and bat colonies roost in the bridge’s grooves in warm months. “It’s a bellwether project,” said Carter Rubin, director of state transportation advocacy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, …

Transportation Climate Change Environmental Public Transit California Greenhouse Gas Project
NY governor’s subway mask ban proposal sparks debate over right to anonymous protest
6 months, 1 week ago

NY governor’s subway mask ban proposal sparks debate over right to anonymous protest

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — A new proposal by Gov. “Because mask wearing is such a broad activity, done by so many people for so many reasons, it creates a real danger of selective prosecution against disfavored groups,” he said, adding that “COVID completely scrambled the contours of the debate over arcane mask laws.” New York previously banned public mask-wearing by groups …

Law Public Transit Protest New York Public Hochul Klan
A policing surge is coming to L.A. Metro. Critics call it more of the ‘same failed solution’
7 months ago

A policing surge is coming to L.A. Metro. Critics call it more of the ‘same failed solution’

LA Times  

It’s Friday, May 17. At a news conference Thursday, L.A. Mayor and Metro board chair Karen Bass said she had directed “an immediate surge of law enforcement personnel on Metro buses, on rail cars and in stations to address this spike.” Bass also announced an upcoming board motion that would increase law enforcement deployment throughout the transit system. The surge …

Law Safety Law Enforcement Enforcement Public Transit California Metro
Editorial: L.A. Metro is doomed if it can’t keep bus and train riders safe
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Editorial: L.A. Metro is doomed if it can’t keep bus and train riders safe

LA Times  

A memorial for Mirna Soza Arauz is seen at the Universal City Metro platform on April 29 in Los Angeles. The recent violent attacks on the Metro system, including assaults on bus drivers and the fatal subway stabbing of Mirna Soza Arauz, 67, on her way home from work, present an existential threat to public transit in Los Angeles. But …

Safety Security Trains Public Transit Train Metro Los Angeles
Column: Disneyland is ditching gas cars at Autopia. It’s a great first step for Tomorrowland
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Column: Disneyland is ditching gas cars at Autopia. It’s a great first step for Tomorrowland

LA Times  

Cars get stuck in traffic as they near the exit to Autopia in Disneyland. At the Anaheim park’s opening, Walt Disney called Tomorrowland “a vista into a world of wondrous ideas” and “a step into the future, with predictions of constructive things to come.” He promised it would offer “new frontiers in science, adventure and ideals.” Nearly seven decades later, …

Energy Climate Change Florida Clean Energy Climate Cars Gas
Pennsylvania governor to deliver budget while seeking money for higher education and public transit
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Pennsylvania governor to deliver budget while seeking money for higher education and public transit

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro is set to deliver a second budget proposal to Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday with a firmer grasp on how he wants to pursue several top priorities, his state in a relatively strong fiscal position and lessons learned from last year’s ugly budget fight. He also wants to spend more money to attract major companies …

School Budget Democratic Public Transit Senate House Public
‘Driving in traffic is stressful’: More commuters are trying public transit after fire closes 10 Freeway
1 year, 1 month ago

‘Driving in traffic is stressful’: More commuters are trying public transit after fire closes 10 Freeway

LA Times  

Commuters disembark from a Metro train at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. Caprice “Kip” Harper was among those commuters who heeded the call from transit officials to take public transportation after a fire under the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles closed that vital thoroughfare. “Driving in traffic is stressful, and I also wanted to save energy for the …

Public Transit Train Metro Los Angeles Station Transit Pasadena
Opinion: German travelers loved Los Angeles' Metro. Wait, what?
1 year, 1 month ago

Opinion: German travelers loved Los Angeles' Metro. Wait, what?

LA Times  

I just spent a week riding Los Angeles buses and trains, along with 25 broadcast journalists from Germany, all of us in L.A. for a mid-career fellowship program. When I told my local contacts we planned to take public transit to dozens of meetings and events — three to four a day, from the Westside to downtown and beyond — …

Germany City Public Transit Train Metro Los Angeles
Renewed Debates Over the Safety of Lorry Rides for Singapore’s Migrant Workers
1 year, 3 months ago

Renewed Debates Over the Safety of Lorry Rides for Singapore’s Migrant Workers

The Diplomat  

In the early morning of July 18, an accident involving three lorries along the Kranji Expressway in northwest Singapore resulted in 26 migrant workers being taken to three different hospitals after sustaining minor injuries. A joint statement signed by over 50 civil society and community groups in Singapore denounced the inaction of the government, and called for an immediate ban …

Business Home Safety Society Singapore Workers Migrant Workers
Indian Consulate condemns assault on Sikh student in Canada, calls for action
1 year, 3 months ago

Indian Consulate condemns assault on Sikh student in Canada, calls for action

Hindustan Times  

The Consulate General of India in Vancouver strongly condemned the assault of a 17-year-old Sikh high school student at a bus stop in Canada’s British Columbia province and called for prompt action against perpetrators. “Officers determined a 17-year-old Sikh student was either beer or pepper sprayed by another teenage male after exiting a public transit bus on his way home,” …

India Canada Student Assault Sikh Public Transit Bus
The $1 ride that costs Metro $43. Why some want to keep it going
1 year, 3 months ago

The $1 ride that costs Metro $43. Why some want to keep it going

LA Times  

Ana Castro thumbs through her phone as the Metro Micro van pulls up next to her retail job at the Lynwood shopping center Plaza Mexico. “I always use it.” The rub is that while riders pay only $1 for the on-demand service called Metro Micro, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority pays about $43 per ride. “It’s a money loser …

Costs Ride Public Transit Metro Los Angeles Los Angeles
A vote to empower autonomous ‘robotaxis’ from Cruise and Waymo has divided San Francisco
1 year, 4 months ago

A vote to empower autonomous ‘robotaxis’ from Cruise and Waymo has divided San Francisco

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “You’re going to take away jobs …

Independent Vehicles City Public Transit San Francisco Vote Public
COVID-19 is ‘heating up all around’ this summer. Should we be wearing masks again?
1 year, 4 months ago

COVID-19 is ‘heating up all around’ this summer. Should we be wearing masks again?

LA Times  

The uptick in coronavirus transmission this summer has not brought major alarm from health experts. There are people who may want to avoid contracting COVID-19 “because it’s disruptive to life.” Chin-Hong said he’s aware of people who’ve had to change big travel plans to Europe and Africa because of illness. And even if you don’t choose to mask up, “definitely …

Public Health Risk Public Transit California County Covid Wearing
Editorial: Can Taylor Swift fans save public transit? Maybe
1 year, 4 months ago

Editorial: Can Taylor Swift fans save public transit? Maybe

LA Times  

Taylor Swift performs in March during the opener of her Eras tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. All the doomsday talk about a public transit death spiral? Because fans going to Taylor Swift’s concerts are fueling a city-by-city transit boom that points the way to reviving slumping ridership by improving service for leisure travelers and non-9-to-5 commuters. In …

Travel Weekend Taylor Swift Service Public Transit Metro Los Angeles
New York City's congestion pricing program set to transform Manhattan
1 year, 6 months ago

New York City's congestion pricing program set to transform Manhattan

Hindustan Times  

The Biden administration is poised to greenlight New York City's groundbreaking congestion pricing program, allowing tolls on vehicles entering Lower Manhattan. Congestion pricing advocates argue that this program is vital for New York City's recovery from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Congestion fees are projected to generate crucial revenue to fund $15 billion in future investments, aiming to …

Transportation Traffic New York City Public Transit Pricing New York Congestion
Car-dependent California seeks to follow New York’s lead and save public transit
1 year, 6 months ago

Car-dependent California seeks to follow New York’s lead and save public transit

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sadaf Zahoor has bucked California’s car culture by never owning one, yet she and other residents who rely on public transit worry its bleak financial outlook could soon leave them standing at empty train stations and bus stops. “We’re doing our best but not sure what is possible at this point,” said Vinita Goyal, executive director of …

Money Budget Service Public Transit San Francisco California New York
Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket
1 year, 7 months ago

Millions snap up new Germany-wide public transit ticket

Associated Press  

BERLIN — Public transit companies in Germany say more than 3 million people have already snapped up a new ticket being launched Monday that allows them to use all local and regional trains, buses and metros across the country for 49 euros a month. The new Germany Ticket is intended to encourage people to ditch their cars in favor of …

Germany Public Transit Ticket