Mobility: Alternatives versus Options

An option is something that is available as a choice, usually one out of many.  An individual typically has options when she can chose between two variations of the same services. For transit this could be the difference between choosing to use fixed-route or demand-response services, or between making a transfer or taking a longer walk to get a one-seat ride. Each offers specific benefits and barriers,...

Blocking and Tackling

Technology is not fine if you are not on time. In an April 22, 2010 story from the Wall Street Journal, “Transit Riders Hail the New Killer App,” about an iPhone application that works with NextBus’s AVL system, Geoffrey Fowler wrote, “But there is an irony in the spike in NextBus’ use, say riders: There wouldn’t be such demand if the city had more-dependable public transportation,...

They Say: Printed Schedules

They say transit agencies must have printed schedules, but a colleague at work asked, “Where does it actually say we have to have printed schedules?”  Not that we don’t want to print them, but hey, the budget office wants to know and so did I.  So . . . As far as I can tell, under FTA regulations (49 CFR 601-665) there is not an explicit requirement to publish route schedules as an end to itself,...

Diesel Well Spent: Sustainability through Embodied Energy

When the question arises, “How many miles do your buses get to the gallon?” you need not cringe.  A diesel bus getting 4 miles to the gallon is greener than a hybrid car like a Prius that gets 40 or 50 mpg due to the handy little phenomenon called embodied energy.  Embodied energy is all the energy invested in a quantifiable purpose, generally understood as the generation of some kind of product,...

Tale of Two Bins: Passenger trips v. Passenger Miles

Which bin represents more soda consumed? It may not be the obvious. The efficiency of a transit system is understood largely on the provision of services (revenue miles or hours), the consumption of services (passenger trips or miles) and the cross between the two (passengers per revenue hour, for example).  In times of service cuts and budget crises (like now) the consumption of services will greatly...

The Old Stick in the Mud

Should rural road segments not get service just because there are no sidewalks? ADA does not prevent it. If there is one unrelenting question that comes up when a transit agency is discussing the Americans with Disabilities Act and transit stops it is “Can we put up a bus stop sign in the grass/dirt/sand where there is no sidewalk without violating ADA?”  TPM has dealt with this at length elsewhere,...

Appreciation: Mattapan High Speed Line

I’m standing on the narrow platform of the Mattapan High-Speed Line at Ashmont terminal. The platform flanks an elevated, hairpin turn-around loop abutting the station mezzanine. It is a sweltering July day, and I can’t help but notice that what appear to be sprinklers spraying the rails in the turning loop. Never having encountered this feature on a transit line, I was momentarily puzzled. Was...

Wow, What a Difference!

My friend and rail expert Gregory Thompson loves the movie Chinatown.  He grew up in L.A. in the same time period the movie takes place and appreciates the details in director Roman Polanski’s film, especially the streetcars.  “It’s the bells,” says Thompson.  “You never see any streetcars in the movie, but you hear the streetcar bells coming through the open windows.” Streetcars are...

Doing the Light Lifting

Names can be deceiving. According to the Canadian Transit Handbook, heavy rail cars (subways, metros, and the like) are actually a little bit lighter than light rail cars (30,500 kg compared to 32,600, or 67,100 lbs to 71,720 lbs).  No doubt the heavy and light really refers to infrastructure; a NY subway station weighs considerably more than any light rail stop.  On the vehicles, light rail carries...

The People of Walmart vs. the People of Transit

In the garden of humanity, some folks smell more of the fertilizer than of the rose. This post is written on a bus where a couple just got on.  The woman is dressed in late 80s high-waisted jeans that are as ill-fitting as they are out of style, the man in baggy jeans and a wife-beater t-shirt.  They are arguing loudly and endlessly about whose turn it is to buy more cigarettes.  Their presence...

reCycle: An Innovative Bike Rental Program

Logo by Jeff Horton of Commuter Services of North Florida Several years ago my alma mater Florida State University attempted a spectacularly unsuccessful bike-sharing program (click here for more on bike sharing).  They painted a number of bikes a bright yellow and then set them in various locations around campus, unlocked.  The idea was that students would use them to get from one building to...

Understanding the 53s

There are a number of different funding mechanisms provided by the Federal Transit Administration that all start with the number 53, taken from 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53, but the two most important ones, financially speaking, are 5307 and 5309.  FTA Section 5307 funds are non-discretionary funds, meaning they go out every year to eligible recipients and are distributed to regions on an urbanized area formula...

Filling the First and Last Mile

Whether a transit system resembles a wagon wheel, a spider web, a plate of pasta, or a nice tidy grid, it is always a network, threads connected by intersections and central points.  By definition there are always gaps in the coverage—the spaces between the lines—even in as dense a system as, say, New York’s. Transit is very good at getting people from A to B, but the distance from B to the...

On the Other Hand: Rethinking Shelter Advertising

In response to our story on shelter advertising, Bill Brinton has a very different take on the encroachment of ads into public space. The citizens of many cities in this country desire to improve their communities’ appearances and to reduce sign clutter along roadways.  In November 2009, an overwhelming majority of voters in San Francisco approved a ballot initiative to halt the placement of...

How to build a streetcar in 6 easy steps

United Streetcar is now building modern streetcars in the United States (click here for the story).  This graphic illustrates the process of building one.  Click on the image to enlarge and use Ctrl+mouse wheel to zoom.