Are bike sharing programs part of the city transportation system, or are they businesses disconnected from city services? That seems to be the question raised most recently in response to the financial problems of New York City’s Citibike, the largest and most prominent bike sharing system in North America.
funding
Should bike sharing be self-supporting?
Are bike sharing programs part of the city transportation system, or are they businesses disconnected from city services? That seems to be the question raised most recently in response to the financial problems of New York City’s Citibike, the largest and most prominent bike sharing system in North America.
Shifting the transit-funding paradigm: Transit finance grows up
Development of creative financing and new revenue sources for transportation projects remains a hot topic in transportation circles. Public-private partnerships exist in highway transportation, often using tolls as the revenue source to attract private investment. Transit P3s, however, remain behind the curve in development of policies and best practices. A P3 proposed for the Purple Line light rail in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, illustrates new opportunities for funding a major capital transit investment with a combination of public and private funding.
PennDOT begins posting bridge weight limits in light of failure of transportation funding
In late June, as the Pennsylvania legislature debated whether or not to raise the wholesale gas tax, PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch warned that he would likely have to place weight restrictions on bridges across the state in order to extend their useful life if additional funding was not allocated. Some may have thought this was just a bargaining point, but now 1,000 bridges across the state have been posted with reduced weight limits.
Colorado's U.S. 36 project breaks new ground
The U.S. 36 project, now underway, will expand a four-lane facility to add an express lane carrying bus-rapid transit, high-occupancy vehicles, and tolled single-occupancy vehicles, as well as ITS systems and a commuter bikeway. Of particular interest to participants in a recent SSTI workshop was the fact that the project’s tolls will support the multimodal facilities.
State DOT funding increases for public transportation
A new report from AASHTO shows that state funding for transit has increased from $13.8 billion in FY 2007 to $13.983 billion in 2011. This funding increase is a result of 18 states increasing their public transit funding by $1.23 billion, which made up for decreases in some other states.
Proceedings from SSTI Community of Practice Meeting – Making the most of the Transportation Alternatives Program (SSTI, 2013)
The findings and key points of the discussions from the May 7-9, 2013 “SSTI Community of Practice Meeting – Making the most of the Transportation Alternatives Program” are being made available for the public.
Virginia drops retail fuel tax; states struggle with transportation funding
When Governor Bob McDonnell signs HB 2313 into law, Virginia will become the first state to completely eliminate the retail fuel gas tax. As revenues from per-gallon fuel taxes continue to drop, states are searching for ways to bolster their transportation revenues.
Light rail debate could put an end to the Columbia River bridge project
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has taken the position that the new Columbia River Crossing bridge project will die if Washington State attempts to remove light rail from the project. However, the GOP-controlled majority in the Washington State Senate has said that it will reject any bridge proposal with light rail, claiming they don’t want to pay for new transit-operations taxes and that rail is a waste of potential road space.
Montana and North Dakota show need for transit service in rural areas
Transit services provide critical connectivity within and between communities of all sizes—urban and rural. Two transit agencies in rural Montana and North Dakota offer best practice examples of how to provide public transit in rural areas and prove there is demand for service in these locales.