Brad Aaron

 

 

With fall approaching, colleges across the US are encouraging students to come to campus without their cars. In Atlanta, Emory University is selling $250,000 worth of bikes, at a discount, to students and faculty. CNN reports that bike-share programs have started or will soon launch at Duke, the University of Washington, and at least two public universities in Illinois.

As metropolises like New York and Philadelphia consider the benefits of bike sharing, and with Washington DC already off and riding, smaller cities are getting in on the action as well, often through the initiative of major local employers.

In an effort to improve safety and mobility for pedestrians and cyclists, Washington, DC has embarked on a number of livable streets reforms (market rate street parking), and is considering others (reclaiming auto-occupied street space for people). Though a recent article in the Washington Post casts these initiatives as a "war" against car commuters, it's clear that DC officials -- like those in many US cities -- are in fact acting to level the field following decades of auto dominance, and at a time when driving has become a more expensive, less desirable option.

London Mayor Boris Johnson may scale back the congestion pricing plan put in place by Ken Livingstone, whom Johnson defeated in May. The Times is reporting that the current 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. flat rate charge could be altered in a number of ways, including a reduction in the hours during which the fee is applied and reversing an extension of the zone, which was implemented last year.

This AM New York cartoon, currently making the rounds on e-mail, was surely a ridiculous exaggeration when first published in 2004. But it's not as far off the mark today. As the Times reports, Florida is the latest state to start giving away free "gas for life" as a lottery prize. And though the jackpot, in reality, is $2,600 in prepaid gas cards every year until the winner's death, some Floridians say they would prefer that prize to the game's $250,000 cash payout, regardless of which would actually be more valuable.

The $1.7 billion in public transportation funding promised by the Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act would be a step in the right direction, but it pales in comparison to what might have been. The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act -- the cap-and-trade bill that died in the Senate last month -- would have brought 100 times that much in federal transit investment, thanks in large part to Senator Ben Cardin. In a recent interview with Grist, the Maryland Democrat offers a refreshing perspective on the future of US transportation policy.