Acknowledging that highway investments drive up car use and traffic, transportation professionals and advocates have grown more interested in accounting for induced demand in transportation investments. But the laws of induced demand are not limited to highways. As several cities have shown, investing in bicycle infrastructure can increase bike use by 100% or more.
Philadelphia
Transit futures in an Uber world
Bus ridership in Philadelphia is down according to a recent article on Philly.com. This decline is correlated with the rise of Uber and other ridesharing apps in the city that provide some riders with an alternative to taking the bus. Transit agencies around the country are struggling with the Uber effect, where some riders are turning away from buses and using transportation network companies instead.
Bike share offers lessons in providing equitable transportation options
Bikes shares, which now offer expanded transportation options in cities around the nation, have also tested those cities’ abilities to serve their communities equitably. The placement and pricing of these systems are often barriers for low-income communities. Philadelphia’s new system, however, while not a perfect example, improves upon its predecessors and offers important lessons in equitable transportation provision.
Federal funding fears lead PennDOT to reassert authority over Philly highway billboards
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently announced it will reassume its authority to regulate billboards along National Highway System (NHS) routes in Philadelphia. PennDOT, which had allowed the City of Philadelphia to regulate billboards along NHS routes since 1974, was concerned that a lack of effective control of outdoor advertising along the routes as mandated by the Highway Beautification Act, would result in a 10 percent reduction in the amount of federal highway aid that the state receives.
SEPTA leads the way in fare collection technology
SEPTA’s new fare collection system, New Pavement Technologies, transitions SEPTA from being the last large transit agency in the U.S. using tokens to the agency with the most broad-reaching contactless fare system.
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.