Latest Transit News
Biden Calls for Transportation System Overhaul
Beth DeFalco
Associated Press
May 8, 2009
"The country needs a radical restructuring of its transportation network in to compete with other countries and keep jobs at home, Vice President Joe Biden said."
Clock Ticking on U.S. Transportation Bill
Lisa Lambert
Reuters
April 29, 2009
"Legislators and the U.S. transportation industry are up against a September 30 deadline to pass a massive funding law for the country's roads, bridges and public transit."
U.S. Leaders Say More Infrastructure Spending Needed
Andy Sullivan
REUTERS
March 22, 2009
Transit Use Hit Five-Decade High in 2008 as Gas Prices Rose
Michael Cooper
The New York Times
March 9, 2009
"More people rode the nation’s public buses, subways and commuter trains last year than in any year since 1956, when the federal government created the Interstate highway system..."
DODD URGES WORLD-CLASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AT TRANSIT CONFERENCE
March 11, 2009
"Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today addressed the American Public Transit Association (APTA) Conference..."
America's Most Improved Commutes
Matt Woolsey
Forbes
Feb. 3, 2009
"In these 10 areas, getting to and from work has become less of a hassle."
Tough Times for Mass Transit
Dave Demerjian
Wired Blog
Feb. 3, 2009
"With the economy shaky and gas prices still unpredictable, more Americans than ever using light rail, subway, and bus to get where they need to go. Which makes the service cuts, layoffs, and fare increases that are decimating transit systems across the country all the more painful."
Biden Seeks Upgrades for Maryland Train Station
Brian Westley
AP
Feb. 5, 2009
"Vice President Joe Biden campaigned for President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package Thursday, touring a suburban Washington train station he said is one of thousands nationwide that would benefit from the new spending."
A Pitch for Mass Transit
Editorial
New York Times
Jan. 5, 2009
"Barack Obama is going to enter office with a clear appreciation of the urgent problems of climate change and America’s growing dependency on foreign oil — and a strong commitment to address both."
Entries for 2008
Invest in Mass Transit
Washington Post Editorial
Dec. 9, 2008
"Voters sent a clear message to Capitol Hill on Election Day: Even when times are hard, they're willing to pay for mass transit."
Public Transit Use Up Over Last Year
Marisol Bello
USA TODAY
Dec. 8, 2008
"Ridership on public transit increased 7% to 2.85 billion rides in July, August and September compared with that quarter last year..."
New Ridership Record Shows U.S. Still Lured to Mass Transit
Lena H. Sun
The Washington Post
Dec. 8, 2008
"Americans rode subways, buses and commuter railroads in record numbers in the third quarter of this year, even as gas prices dropped and unemployment rose."
As Gas Prices Fall, Transit Still Popular
Lena H. Sun
Washington Post
Dec. 2, 2008
"Gas prices have plummeted during the past several weeks, but commuters do not appear to be returning to their cars, according to transit officials in the region and elsewhere, who say ridership is still increasing."
Lower Gas Prices Don’t Make Americans Feel Rich
Christopher Maag
The New York Times
Nov. 14, 2008
"...Bob Keller, 62, had parked his Toyota Highlander S.U.V. and started riding the bus to work in downtown Cleveland. With lower gas prices, riding the bus costs as much as he would spend on gas and parking, but he has not considered switching back."
Americans Driving Less, Unmoved by Lower Gas Prices
Haya El Nasser and Paul Overberg
USA TODAY
Nov. 20, 2008
"Americans are driving less despite falling gas prices, reflecting the deepening recession and signaling a shift in lifestyles and driving habits that could outlast the current turmoil."
Survey: Public Transit Pressures Could Hurt Riders
Emily Bazar
USA TODAY
Sept. 9, 2008
"Cash-strapped public transit systems are cutting services and raising fares even as more Americans ditch their gas-guzzling cars for trains and buses..."
Subways and Buses are Packed
NPR
Sept. 2008
The high price of gasoline has inspired more and more drivers to take public transportation.
City Hosts a Transit Extravaganza
Steve Schmidt
The San Diego Union-Tribune<
Oct. 7, 2008
The Driving You Could Have Done . . . Had You Not Been Sitting in Traffic
Washington Post
Oct. 12, 2008
How many potential road miles were eaten up by the daily crawl?
Buses Lure Riders with Plush Seats and Wi-Fi
AP Press
Aug. 21, 2008
"Transit agencies want you to take another look. They're rolling out more attractive and comfortable buses, convenient express routes and even on-board Wi-Fi."
Traffic Deaths Drop to Lowest Since 1994
Larry Copeland
USA TODAY
Aug. 15, 2008
Oregon's Largest City is a Hub for Visitors Who Yearn to be Car-free and Carefree
Laura Bly
USA TODAY
Aug. 15, 2008
U.S. Cities Scrambling to Meet Rising Mass Transit Demands
Manav Tanneeru
CNN.com
July 16, 2008
"U.S. cities are racing to cope with ever-increasing demand on public transportation as gas prices remain at record levels."
Mass Transit Breaks Records
Marisol Bello
USA TODAY
June 2, 2008
"More people are riding the nation's buses and trains, breaking records for the first quarter of the year. Transit operators expect the increase to be greater in the second quarter as gasoline prices soar."
10 Things You Can Like About $4 Gas
Amanda Ripley
Time.com
July 3, 2008
"Wherever people can take public transit, they are doing so."
Ditching The Car, Finding Wheel Deals
CBS News
July 2, 2008
For Mass Transit, Mass Investment
Christian Science Monitor
June 19, 2008
"High gas prices are prying record numbers of Americans from their cars and onto buses, subways, and commuter trains. That has many pluses: It eases pocketbook expenses, road congestion, and pollution. But it's also straining providers of mass transit – a signal for needed change."
Can Mass Transit Rescue America?
Scott Mayerowitz
ABC News
June 13, 2008
"The typical American driver could save $1,800 a year by giving up his or her car and taking the train or bus to work."
A Rail Line Generates New Life
Antoinette Martin
The New York Times
June 1, 2008
"HERE is what light rail has delivered to five formerly down-at-heels neighborhoods along the 20.6-mile system in northern New Jersey: more than 10,000 units of new housing, with a total property value surpassing $5 billion."
Long-Distance Drivers Feeling the Pain of Costly Commute
Nicole Saidi
CNN
June 6, 2008
"Soaring gas prices, nearing a national average of $4 per gallon, are causing long-distance commuters to burn holes in their wallets along with the fuel in their gas tanks."
Interest in Mass Transit, Carpools, Scooters Jumps
Larry Copeland and Oren Dorell
USA TODAY
May 9, 2008
"Commuters across the USA, pushed to the wall by soaring gas prices, increasingly are turning to alternate means of getting to and from work..."
Paying at the Pump
NPR
May 9, 2008
"NPR takes a look at how people across the country are coping with the gas crunch, the factors behind skyrocketing oil prices, what's being done to bring them back to earth and cost-cutting strategies to employ in the meantime."
Gas Prices Rattle Americans
Judy Keen and Paul Overberg
USA TODAY
May 9, 2008
"Record high gas prices are prompting Americans to drive less for the first time in nearly three decades, squeezing family budgets and causing major shifts in driving habits, federal data and a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll show."
Transit Systems Travel 'Green' Track
Charisse Jones
USA TODAY
May 8, 2008
"Carbon footprint" has become part of the national lexicon, and mass transit systems throughout the country are taking steps to ease their impact on the environment even as they strive to provide more service to a growing number of riders."
Healthy Alternative: Take Mass Transit
Larry Copeland
USA TODAY
Feb. 1, 2008
"Want to lose weight and look better? Improve your heart rate, circulation and overall health? Then get out of your car and hop on the bus or train."
She Brakes for Ideology
Fred Hiatt
Washington Post
Jan. 21, 2008
"The next time you are stuck in traffic..."
More Cities Get on Board with Hybrid Buses
Jordan Schrader
USA TODAY
Jan. 22, 2008
"Mass-transit systems across the USA are accelerating orders for diesel-electric hybrid buses..."
Entries for 2007
D.C. Region Named Most ‘Walkable’ in U.S.
Associated Press
Dec. 4, 2007
"Rail transit key..."
Riders Crowd Public Transit Systems
Barbara Hagenbaugh
USA TODAY
October 31, 2007
"Ridership on public transportation jumped to the highest level in nearly five decades in 2006 as high gas prices and expanded bus and train service enticed people to park their cars."
San Francisco Makeover: Nothing Short of In-spired
John Ritter
USA TODAY
Oct. 15, 2007
"It's all part of a $1 billion development... building up instead of out, the denser the better, stressing trains and buses over cars."
The Mass-transit Option
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sept. 30, 2007
"Traffic congestion steadily increases on roads and highways in Southwest Florida."
Who Subsidizes Who?
Megan McArdle
Atlantic Online
Sept. 30, 2007
"Peter Jackson accuses me of ignorance for my position on mass transit subsidies, arguing that the subsidy to mass transit is higher than the subsidy to roads per passenger mile."
By the Numbers: Public Transit's Green Effects
Express
Sept. 27, 2007
"It's probably not too shocking that using public transportation regularly is much more friendly to the environment than driving around from point A to point B."
The State of New Orleans: An Update
Amy Liu and Nigel Holmes
The New York Times
Aug. 28, 2007
"Two years after Hurricane Katrina toppled New Orleans’s levee system, leaving more than half the city under water, there are signs of revival... [but]..."
Milwaukee Ranks Among Top Retirement Places
The Business Journal of Milwaukee
July 23, 2007
"...selections focus on livable community characteristics in each location including mass-transit systems so residents can drive less, expanded sidewalks to encourage walking, better health care, and a wide range of mixed use housing...."
Thrifty Travelers Opt for Buses, Trains: Survey
Reuters
June 30, 3007
"More Americans will stream into subway trains and buses when vacationing in U.S. cities this summer..."
Gas Prices Hit An All-Time High
CBS Evening News
May 20, 2007
"The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.18, according to the latest Lundberg Survey."
Cities Revisit Needs Of the Elderly
Haya El Nasser
USA TODAY
May 18, 2007
"This is the new reality for cities and towns everywhere: If they don't provide services for seniors, they will lose them."
Fed-up Drivers Begin to Look 'Outside the Box'
USA TODAY
May 18, 2007
"From forming car pools and riding bicycles to taking trains and cutting back on pleasure trips, drivers across the USA are finding creative ways to drive less."
High Prices Forcing Many to Drive Less, Downsize, Take Mass Transit
Larry Copeland
USA TODAY
May 18, 2007
"Transportation is the second-largest expenditure for U.S. households; it accounts for 18% of all annual spending, behind housing at 33%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
Drivers Cut Back — a 1st in 26 Years
Paul Overberg and Larry Copeland
USA TODAY
May 18, 2007
"The average American motorist is driving substantially fewer miles for the first time in 26 years because of high gas prices and demographic shifts, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal highway data."
Q&A: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Will Sullivan
U.S. News & World Report
April 30, 2007
"Los Angelinos now spend about four full days a year trapped in traffic, more time than residents of any other city."
Technology to Help Cities Manage Booming USA
Haya El Nasser
USA TODAY
April 25, 2007
"Commuters stuck in creeping traffic are bound to wonder: If streets and highways are this clogged when the nation has 300 million people, how will 400 million ever get around?"
Riders Crowd Public Transit Systems
Barbara Hagenbaugh
USA TODAY
March 12, 2007
"Ridership on public transportation jumped to the highest level in nearly five decades in 2006 as high gas prices and expanded bus and train service enticed people to park their cars."
Entries for 2006
Americans and Their Cars: Is the Romance on the Skids?
Pew Research Center
"Any nation with more passenger vehicles than
licensed drivers has a pretty serious love affair
with the automobile. But the romance seems to
be cooling off a bit—a casualty of its own
intensity."
Transit-oriented Development Will be in Demand
The Denver Business Journal
November 6, 2006
"Study projects that by 2030 some 16 million households will be living in or near transit-oriented developments compared to 6 million today."
REMARKS FOR THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
RAIL-VOLUTION
CHICAGO, IL
NOVEMBER 6, 2006
How Will the USA Cope with Unprecedented Growth?
Haya El Nasser
USA Today
Oct. 27, 2006
"The fact the USA is growing faster than any other industrialized country in the world comes as no surprise..."
US in a Jam Over What to Do About Traffic
Patrik Jonsson
Staff Writer
The Christian Science Monitor
October 18, 2006
"America, it seems, is in a jam. As more and more commuters - some 134 million now - cram America's roads at rush hour, the debate over how to manage all that traffic is as tangled as Atlanta's fabled "Spaghetti Junction."
Mass Transit Still Hot After $3 Gas
Barbara Hagenbaugh
USA TODAY
Oct. 2, 2006
"Although gas prices are plunging, many Americans appear to be continuing to let someone else do the driving."
Travelers Get More Mass Transit Options to Airports
Gary Stoller
USA TODAY
Sept. 27, 2006
"New mass transit options are making it easier for travelers to commute to airports."
Gas Prices Spur Mass Transit Use
CBS News January 18, 2006
"'When it spikes [gas prices], that gets people's attention,' said Mantill Williams, AAA spokesman"
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