In August, Uber and Lyft jointly released an analysis conducted by Fehr & Peers examining how their vehicles are contributing to VMT in six major cities: Boston, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The study found that Uber and Lyft vehicles account for just 1-3 percent of total VMT in the metro regions. However, they are contributing a significantly larger share in the core counties of several of these regions.
Boston
Overabundant parking fuels car-oriented living in greater Boston
A new report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council reveals 30 percent of residential parking in the Boston area goes unused at night. This new study builds on an earlier report, featured in an SSTI webinar, growing the sample from 80 properties to 189 across 14 municipalities throughout the city’s inner core. The additional data also let MAPC test for significant factors affecting parking demand. MAPC estimates that the 5,910 empty spaces in their study represent $94.5 million in development costs, or roughly $5,000 per housing unit.
Reopening of Quincy Station MBTA gate provides area households with access to hundreds of thousands of additional jobs
After sitting shuttered for more than 30 years, the city of Quincy, MA recently reopened a pedestrian gate that allows residents of the town’s Penn’s Hill neighborhood to connect directly to the Quincy Adams MBTA station. Previous to the gate reopening, residents were forced to walk more than a mile to cross the Red Line train tracks and access the station. We measured how much this improved the accessibility of the adjacent neighborhoods.
Private transit funding, public good?
Businesses have been funding private employee shuttles and buses for some time, and subsidized or fully-funded transit passes have become a common employee benefit, but sneaker company New Balance may have set a new bar for transit subsidies by building a new commuter rail station. As funding is cut and costs rise, transit agencies must decide whether the private shuttles and services funded by private sources fits with the overall transit plan for the area.
Private transit funding, public good?
Businesses have been funding private employee shuttles and buses for some time, and subsidized or fully-funded transit passes have become a common employee benefit, but sneaker company New Balance may have set a new bar for transit subsidies by building a new commuter rail station. As funding is cut and costs rise, transit agencies must decide whether the private shuttles and services funded by private sources fits with the overall transit plan for the area.
The New Real Estate Mantra: Location Near Public Transportation (APTA, National Association of Realtors & CNT, 2013)
This analysis investigates how well residential properties located in proximity to fixed-guideway transit have maintained their value as compared to residential properties without transit access between 2006 and 2011 in five regions. Across the study regions, the transit shed outperformed the region as a whole by 41.6 percent.
Stockholm’s congestion charge still going strong
Stockholm’s congestion pricing system is a continuing success six years after its initial implementation. Congestion charges in other cities around the world have also gained increased public support after initial resistance. In the U.S. no city has yet implemented a congestion charge, although the idea has been discussed in New York and Boston, with mixed reactions.
Cities feel left out of transportation discussion
At the first national conference of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), city transportation and elected officials expressed dismay that cities may be on their own in moving forward with innovative plans and policies. Attendees were frsutrated that neither cities nor transportation overall got much attention during the recent campaign season.
New generation of transit hubs redefining train stations’ place in communities
Whereas the grand train stations of yesteryear were monuments to transportation with their soaring cathedral-like ceilings, huge open spaces, and rows of wooden benches – today’s transit hubs have both a new aesthetic and role in their communities. They often link multiple modes – heavy rail, light rail, buses, bikes, etc. – and act as central gathering spaces for their communities, with shops, restaurants, parks, space for performances, and public art. The changing role for transit stations was outlined in several recent articles.
Hub and Spoke: Core Transit Congestion and the Future of Transit and Development in Greater Boston (Urban Land Institute, 2012)
The hub and spoke system of the MBTA has produced record ridership, transit-oriented development patterns, and severe challenges for the system. The report focuses on the need to invest in public transit infrastructure so that the MBTA can serve its growing transit ridership, including future trips generated by the pipeline of planned developments in greater Boston.