Trains
Streetsblog LA
The Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency
The D.C. Metro accident that killed nine riders this week has renewed calls for rail safety upgrades and reminders that car travel remains far riskier
than transit. But the crash is also shedding light on a problem that
goes beyond Washington: tax shelter deals between banks and struggling
transit agencies -- deals that were given a retroactive pass by
Congress even though the IRS considers them illegal.
June 26, 2009
Council Tips Its Hand on Transit Priorities
In addition to discussing Measure R, tomorrow's L.A. City Council Transportation Committee also features a couple of motions that spell out the top priorities for the city's transportation planning in the 2010 Fiscal Year.
June 9, 2009
Why Buy More Trains If You Can’t Afford to Run Them?
Down in balmy South Florida, D-Day is approaching for riders of the the
popular Tri-Rail transit system. A looming $18 million shortfall has
forced the Tri-Rail board to approve a budget that slices daily service and stops all trains by 2011 -- although ridership has doubled since 2005.
May 27, 2009
Doomsday Across America
Following up on Sarah's post
about transit funding woes in Illinois, this CNN segment from earlier
in the month brings home the effect of service cuts and fare hikes in
St. Louis. Similar scenarios are playing out all over the country.
According to the latest tally from Transportation for America, 85 transit systems serving 22 million riders are facing some combination of shrinking service and higher fares.
April 30, 2009
Newsflash! Westsiders Want Rail (and Bikes)
A new organization calling themselves "West LA for Change" debuted itself to thousands of drivers on the 405 by unrolling a 100 foot sign calling for a speeded up time table for the Subway to the Sea and Phase II of the Expo Line. The group doesn't seem to limit itself to transportation advocacy, as their website promotes the group as:
March 23, 2009
Holidays with the Sustainable Transportation Advocates
Will Campbell-Claus Delivers Toys at Midnight Then Ridazz in Training Collect Toys in Pasadena
December 15, 2008
Sprawlsville Steps Back From the Edge
Last week the Federal Transit Administration finally approved the Silver Line,
a long-awaited addition to the capital region's transit system that
will extend to suburbs in northern Virginia. There are still a few
hoops to jump through to secure the necessary funding, but it looks
like some relief is in sight for the area's crushing congestion.
December 12, 2008
San Francisco Breaks Ground on Transit Mega-Center
At a groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited Transbay Transit Center
in San Francisco yesterday, Mayor Gavin Newsom asserted the project
will be "so much more extraordinary than Grand Central Station."
December 11, 2008
Trains Under Baghdad
Via Transport Politic,
some encouraging transit news from Iraq, where the mayor of Baghdad
recently announced plans to move ahead with the city's first subway
lines. The Guardian reports:
November 26, 2008