A new report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury says that Americans are wasting gas and time every year due to traffic on congested roads. Maintenance costs due to poor road conditions add additional financial burdens to family budgets. In total, the report estimates that insufficiencies in the transportation system and lack of transportation options cost over $100 billion in time and money. However, many news stories have focused only on deficiencies in the road network and missed another message in the report: the need to give commuters alternatives to being stuck in traffic.
transit
Guidelines for Providing Access to Public Transportation Stations (TRB, 2012)
This report provides a process and spreadsheet-based tool for effectively planning for access to high capacity transit stations, including commuter rail, heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit (BRT), and ferry, including trade-off analyses among …
Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options (Transportation for America, 2011)
By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent. That number is expected to continue to grow rapidly as the baby boom …
Transit ridership continues upward trend in 2011
According to new figures from APTA, 2011 transit ridership is at the second highest level since 1957, only higher in 2008, when gas topped four dollars per gallon. An improving economy, rising gas prices, and easy access to transit information via mobile apps are credited as three reasons for the continued rise in transit use. Ridership grew in large, medium and small communities, showing strong support for transit.
A transportation engineer rethinks congestion pricing
Congestion pricing in New York City should be easy; there are only bridges and tunnels to get into the most congested areas of the city, and many already have tolls. Access is limited, and transit is plentiful once commuters arrive in congested Manhattan. But political pressures from the outer boroughs and anti-tax sentiments defeated efforts to implement congestion pricing in 2008. Now a veteran transportation engineer has offered a new plan that could be more popular in the suburbs and still provide incentives to find alternatives to driving into the central business district.
Off-Board Fare Payment Using Proof-of-Payment Verification (TRB, 2012)
The objective of this synthesis was to document the state of the practice in terms of experiences related to the application of proof-of-payment (PoP) on transit systems in North America and internationally, updating the information provided …
Google technology transforming transit use
Google’s technology has made using transit easier for both new and veteran riders, as well as sparking development of third party apps. The familiarity of Google Maps has made use of the transit application an easy transition for many users, even when visiting new cities.
Off-street parking access linked to higher VMT
When it comes to parking in new residential developments, planners often face stakeholders with two opposing positions. Some want land-use authorities to require lots of off-street parking in order to avoid over-demand for street spots. Others complain that all that off-street parking will just induce more traffic; if authorities require anything, they should set parking maximums, not minimums. A new study by Rachel Weinberger of the University of Pennsylvania provides evidence for the latter view.
Impacts of light rail on property values vary by distance and income level
A new study on the economic impacts of New Jersey’s River Line light rail system has shed some light on the complex relationship between transportation infrastructure and the housing market. The study highlights the more localized economic effects of the light rail system. The results provide an interesting opportunity for transit managers and planners to consider the varied effects new transportation infrastructure may have on different types of surrounding property.
The BRT Standard (Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, 2012)
The BRT Standard is an effort by leading technical experts to come to a common understanding of what constitutes internationally recognized best practice in Bus Rapid Transit system design. The best BRT systems are ones that combine efficiency and sustainability with passenger comfort and convenience.