The Case for Leaving Fare Beaters Alone and Making Public Transit Free – VICE
Public Transit
Nationalize Greyhound – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
When the narrator of Simon and Garfunkel’s classic 1968 song goes to “look for America,” he takes a Greyhound bus. Fifty years later, there’s never been a better time for America to go looking for Greyhound.
In the last three decades, the struggling inter-city bus company has gone through two bankruptcies and been passed from an American conglomerate, to a Canadian conglomerate, to a British one, FirstGroup. And in May, FirstGroup put Greyhound up for sale.
I’m thankful for air conditioning on the bus
I’m thankful for…
The cold blast of the air conditioning on the bus on a hot and sticky morning. It’s so refreshing compared to my non air conditioned apartment.
Automatic Vehicle Location Systems in Transit
Why Did America Give Up on Mass Transit? (Don’t Blame Cars.) – CityLab – Pocket
Dump the diesel buses for climate’s sake, transit experts tell MTA – New York Daily News
People living in the city’s low-income neighborhoods are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change including extreme heat and rising sea levels because of aging infrastructure, and that includes diesel buses, the Regional Plan Association said in a report released on Wednesday.
The report, dubbed “Equitable Adaptation,” was produced in conjunction with nonprofit immigration group Make the Road New York and lays out 13 ways local officials could quickly shore up infrastructure. Critical among them is banning diesel buses in the city.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority operates 5,700 buses, and all but 10 are powered by diesel or hybrid-diesel. The agency plans to purchase 1,700 new buses over the next five years, and early proposals show some 1,300 will run on diesel fuel.
Why Public Transportation Works Better Outside the U.S. – CityLab – Pocket
In some ways, the story of American transit is not so unique. Europeans and Canadians also like to drive. Their countries have also built big expressway networks. The difference is more basic, yet profound: When transit service isn’t good, few will choose to use it.
Fortunately, improving American transit doesn’t necessarily demand multi-decade, hundred-billion-dollar infrastructure projects: It can be done by better advantage of existing space and existing vehicles, and then deploying them in ways that encourage people to actually use them.