And the debate goes on in other states as well.

 

Roads or rails?

 

It's the $50 million question for a committee whose mission it is to

decide which of the region's most serious transportation needs will

get federal aid. Roads, or rails?

 

By TOM BELL, Staff Writer

Portland (Maine) Press Herald

December 16, 2007

 

A pot of roughly $50 million in federal money will likely be

available in two years to be spent on one to three big

transportation projects in Greater Portland.

 

The question about where to spend the money which regional

planners have wrestled with for months with no public

involvement ... has emerged as a hot issue.

 

A regional planning committee has drafted a list of 10 projects,

with the goal of winnowing the list down to two or three projects

to send to the federal government in 2009. Some of the top

projects include adding additional lanes on I-295 in Portland

and replacing the Veterans Bridge

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

Downeaster subsidy running low

The rail authority will ask the state for money, but bridge and road

repairs also need to be funded.

 

By DAVID SHARP The Associated Press

December 15, 2007

 

As Amtrak's Downeaster marks its sixth anniversary, the rail

authority that runs the Portland-to-Boston service is preparing

to lobby for state funding to keep the trains running beyond

June 2009.

 

The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority is seeking

an annual appropriation of $7 million to $8 million to replace an

expiring federal subsidy, which now accounts for nearly half of

the Downeaster's annual $13 million operating budget. Without

the state funding, or some other funding source, the service

won't be able to continue.

 

Patricia Quinn, the authority's executive director, said the

Downeaster has proven itself with a 30 percent increase in

ridership since it started.

 

.....

 

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=155556&ac=PHnws

 

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

County Approves Downtown Miami, Stadium Plans

City of Miami Approved The Plan Last Week

County Voted 9-4 In Favor Of The Plan

 

Special Property Tax Money Collected From Downtown Will Fund Projects

David Sutta

 

http://www.miamidade.gov/citt//library/2004/municipal_prog/streetcar_project-7-8-04.pdf

From the Ogden, UT Standard-Examiner:

 

FrontRunner service could start in April

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

 

By Jordan Muhlestein

Standard-Examiner staff

 

 

....

a little mo money for the 2nd ave subway:

 

 

 

 

 

Second Avenue Subway To Get $160 Million In Federal Funding

 

December 17, 2007

 

Lawmakers announced Monday that the Second Avenue subway project is set to get more federal funding.

 

Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jose Serrano said more than $160 million for the project is included in an appropriations bill for next year.

 

The House is expected to pass the bill, with the Senate approving it later this week.

 

This is the largest amount of federal funding the project has received to date.

 

When the Second Avenue subway project is finished, it is expected to ease overcrowding and delays on the Lexington Avenue line and provide a more convenient commute to Manhattan's East Side. 

 

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=5&aid=76660

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature3

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

January 3, 2008

Tri-Rail sets new high mark in ridership

 

The South Florida Regional Transportation Agency's Tri-rail commuter line carried a record 3,501,701 riders in the Miami-Palm Beach corridor in 2007, a 10.2% increase over the previous high mark set last year, when Tri-Rail led the nation in commuter rail ridership growth. Since its Double Track Corridor Improvement Program was completed in March 2006, ridership has increased by more than 31%. Tri-Rail now operates 50 trains each weekday and 16 a day on weekends and holidays.

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071223/FEATURES05/712230302

 

More frequent trains could help break car dependence

 

December 23, 2007

 

By CARL ETNIER

 

My challenge was to travel on the ground from Montpelier to Yellow Springs, Ohio, while leaving my car at home. I was going to a conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions (www.communitysolution.org), and I wanted to test the feasibility of using the transportation system from an oil-rich era to arrive at a conference about adapting to an energy-scarce future.

 

I had scheduled a 9:40 a.m. departure from Montpelier Junction on the Vermonter train to Springfield, Mass. Connecting trains would take me to Cleveland, and I'd continue by bus to Springfield, Ohio, with a cab or hitchhiking covering last 10 miles into Yellow Springs. The trip would take 24 hours or more, but with a laptop, a cell phone and a bag of reading material, I could use much of the time productively.

 

..........

 

Carl Etnier, director of Peak Oil Awareness, blogs at vtcommons.org/blog and hosts the weekly radio show Relocalizing Vermont on WGDR, 91.1 FM Plainfield.

 

MORE AT THE LINK ABOVE

^I have to comment on the part about the Carl Etnier trying to travel to last fall's Yellow Springs Peak Oil conference on land only:

 

I actually contacted the organizers of the Yellow Springs conference a few months prior to it and offered to help put them in contact with the Ohio Rail Development Commission  so someone from there could give a presentation about the Ohio Hub plan, etc.  I had checked with ORDC and was told they would give a presentation if asked. 

 

Surprisingly, the organizers of the conference had NO interest in having a presentation about the Ohio Hub at the conference.  I found this to be quite puzzling. 

 

They never did give me much of an answer.  Only that "this conference is about local, community solutions" meaning that a state-wide proposal didn't fit the category of local.  I explained to them that if I were an Ohioan attending the conference-- and I'm sure most of the attendees were Ohioans-- I would want to know that the state is actually trying to do something that is an important part of the solution to the peak oil problem. After all, people are still going to need (and want)some alternative form of intercity travel that is locally accessible.  It didn't sway them.

 

Remarkable.

An average passenger train may take 300 to 400 cars off the highway.  Multiply that out by a factor of 6 to 8 trains a day in each of seven corridors outlined under the Ohio Hub Plan.

 

The average freight train can haul one-ton of freight 423 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel (or bio-diesel).

 

What is it that some of these folks don't understand about the relationship between providing more and better trains and reducing the demand for oil and gasoline?  We have no hope of reducing the impacts of Peak Oil if we don't provide more options to being forced to reach for the car keys.

January 6, 2008

A Turning Point for Transit

By KEN BELSON

New Yrok Times

 

YOU don’t need Nostradamus to know that traveling to work, visiting Manhattan to catch a play or heading to the shopping mall is going to get more expensive in 2008.

 

Not only are gasoline prices heading toward new highs, but bridge, tunnel and highway tolls, as well as fares on New York’s subways and commuter train and bus lines, are going to climb this year.

 

More at:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/06RtransitNJ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

Commuter rail plan stalls

Divide over funding for trains, buses means line now unlikely to start in 2010

By LARRY SANDLER

[email protected]

Posted: Jan. 8, 2008

 

Plans for a Milwaukee-area commuter rail line have been put on hold, amid continuing disagreement over how to fund the trains and the region's public buses.

 

The deadlock has highlighted a split between the area's business leaders and their usual Republican allies. Major business groups have been pushing for public transit improvements to ensure workers can reach jobs, but GOP legislators and county executives have balked at adding or raising taxes.

 

More at:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=704417

FUNDING FOR QUEBEC CITY TO WINDSOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL STUDIES:

 

The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced that the Government of Canada will fund up to one third of the cost of updating feasibility studies, including a passenger forecast study, for a high-speed rail service between Windsor, Ontario and Quebec City. T

 

 

http://railpace.com/hotnews/

Printed from the East Bay Express Web site:

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/who_said_building_a_railroad_was_easy_/Content?oid=617668

 

Who Said Building a Railroad Was Easy?

This could be the make-or-break year for the state's proposed high-speed rail system

By Matthew Green

 

January 9, 2008

 

You enter the Transbay Terminal at 9 a.m. There is no baggage check, no metal detector, and no need to remove your shoes. The train departs on time, the seats are cushy, the leg room ample. It leaves San Francisco and heads south through the Central Valley, sweeping past gridlock at speeds up to 220 miles per hour. And before noon you're in downtown Los Angeles, having never left the ground. At least that's how it looks in the flashy YouTube video.

 

The proposed California high-speed rail system could be a reality within twenty years, despite being one of the world's biggest infrastructure projects. But that depends on what happens in 2008, a year of reckoning for the $40 billion rail line. After more than a decade of planning that already has cost taxpayers $40 million, the proposal is still stuck in the conceptual phase. Most Californians haven't even heard of it, due largely to state funding decisions that have kept the dream alive but not provided it the means to move forward.

 

More at link above:

bloomies congestion pricing plan to be modified:

 

 

Traffic Panel Leaning Toward Modified Congestion Pricing Plan

 

January 10, 2008

 

 

The commission studying ways to reduce traffic congestion in the city appears to be leaning toward a modified version of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion plan, even though a new poll released Thursda finds that the majority of New Yorkers are not too keen on the idea of congestion pricing.

 

The mayor's original plan was to charge $8 to enter or $4 to drive through Manhattan below 86th Street during rush hour.

 

The new suggestion is a bit scaled down in its scope. The zone would be shrunk to Midtown and below, with the northern boundary at 60th Street.

 

There would be a $1 surcharge on taxi trips in that zone, and drivers would only be charged to enter it, not drive within it. There would also be increased meter parking rates in the zone.

 

"The mayor's plan, I don't think that's what is going to come out of the commission," said Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign and the mayor's appointee to the traffic commission. "It costs too much."

 

"I've been looking at the alternative congestion pricing plan, the second plan, and that seems to incorporate a lot of the recommendations that have been made by people throughout the city," said Elizabeth Yeampierre, a Brooklyn leader and another appointee by the mayor to the commission.

 

A source told NY1 that bridge tolls are not being ruled out yet, as well.

 

New Yorkers who spoke with NY1 had mixed feelings about the proposed fees.

 

“Who wants to pay more money?" said one motorist.

 

“This is my business. I’m gonna get paid back anyway,” added a professional driver. “It’s going to help keep traffic low. It works in London, so I guess it could work in New York as well.”

 

City and state lawmakers committed in principle to introduce some sort of traffic reduction plan and the recommendation goes to them once the commission makes its final choice.

 

The commission will hold a hearing on the proposals next week.

 

The group will vote on a plan January 31st. The state legislature is expected to make a decision on a final plan by the end of March.

 

Publicly there is no consensus. After a contentious two-hour meeting at MTA headquarters in Midtown, unanimity seems very unlikely.

 

That's because Assemblyman Richard Brodsky instead wants license rationing -- limiting entrance to the city based on the license plates on cars. Unlike congestion pricing, his plan doesn't raise money for the MTA. Instead, he wants a new tax for that.

 

"We should aspire to the plan that reduces pollution the most and reduces congestion the most," said Brodsky.

 

According to Governor Eliot Spitzer, a new tax is a not an option.

 

"It will not raise taxes," he said during his State of the State address Wednesday.

 

Observers also know Albany lawmakers are in an election year. Brodsky's close with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. With other elected officials supporting congestion pricing, he's the wild card. He's thought to be warming to the idea -- but remains a political enigma.

 

He'll be lobbied by a new advertising campaign set to push for congestion pricing.

 

Meanwhile, even if the commission approves a plan that includes congestion pricing, a new poll finds it would still be a tough sell to New Yorkers.

 

According to Quinnipiac University released today, 58 percent of New York City voters oppose congestion pricing in general while 37 percent are for it.

 

But 60 percent approve the plan if the money collected is used to help improve subways and buses.

 

"I think there's a lot of people that drive into the city that probably could come at non-rush hour, but come because that's most convenient," said one New York.

 

"If they do something to try and deter people from having personal cars here in the city, I believe that Times Square wouldn't be so screwed up. I believe the congestion around here would be much easier," added another.

 

The strongest support for the plan is in Manhattan. It's the only borough in which a majority are for it. The strongest opposition comes from Staten Island.

 

New Yorkers are also strongly opposed to putting tolls on the free East River bridges. In fact, a majority of those polled say if they had to choose, they would prefer congestion pricing to the tolls.

 

Quinnipiac surveyed more than 1,100 registered voters last week.

 

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

 

Great.  Force drivers uptown!  More traffic on 125!    This sucks!

Should be interesting to see how watered down and ineffectual the commission makes the congestion pricing plan.  Unfortunately, NYC public opinion is a lot closer to Dallas than it is to London when it comes to surface transportation :(.  MTS, why would this force drivers uptown?  That's a complaint I've heard before, but never understood the reasoning.

From North of the border.....

 

Train comes full circle, back into vogue

Airport transit line, high-speed T.O. link suddenly feasible

 

ANDY RIGA

The Montreal Gazette

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

 

To understand why two long-mulled train megaprojects are suddenly in vogue again, visit Dorval at rush hour.

 

Streams of cars arrive and leave Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, often in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Motorists speed to and from Toronto on Highway 20. Planes take off for the short hop to Toronto. Travellers wait in long lines for taxis at the airport stand.

 

After decades of debate, study and neglect, some experts say the time is right for the proposed trains: a high-speed Montreal-Toronto rail link, and a light-rail transit line connecting downtown, the airport and the West Island.

More at:

 

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=802c9fe4-c996-4745-be27-1dbee7f986fb&k=20360&p=1

Good article. We need Canada to show us up by building something terrific in the Toronto-Montreal corridor to start with. If Mexico presses ahead with the Guadalajara-Mexico City line, and Argentina builds its HSR line (See http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=7449.msg247917#msg247917), it will hopefully shame the U.S. into action.

ny mta head notes that congestion can be significantly reduced w/o much impact on public transit:

 

 

Congestion pricing key to MTA's growth

 

my view by elliot g. sander

 

JAN 16

 

There will be a lot of talk about congestion pricing over the next two weeks as the Congestion Mitigation Commission prepares to recommend a method to reduce the amount of traffic on our streets. As the public discussion focuses in on the details of one plan versus another, it is important to remember the big picture. Revenues generated by congestion pricing — hundreds of millions of dollars each year — would be used to provide a steady and predictable revenue stream to the MTA to make the capital investments needed to improve service throughout our system.

 

The new revenue is critical to the ambitious capital plan that we will present to Albany in March. The MTA hopes to move ahead with big expansion projects while investing in new technologies to improve existing service. For subway riders, that means more trains and less waiting. But congestion pricing would do even more for bus riders. It would allow us to pur- chase new buses to increase frequency on many routes, and to create new bus routes throughout the city.

 

Even better, it would speed trips for bus riders and make each bus less expensive to operate. Right now, when MTA buses are stuck idling in traffic, we must spend money on excess fuel and overtime for drivers. By decongesting the streets — not just in Manhattan but throughout the city, as commuters from all the boroughs leave their cars at home — congestion pricing would make travel times for bus riders faster. That leads to a virtuous cycle. As traffic is reduced, buses become faster. Faster buses attract more riders out of their cars, which reduces traffic further.

 

Some people have worried that congestion pricing would make crowded trains even more crowded. But the number of new riders would be a tiny fraction of the number of people already riding. In fact, the number of city and suburban residents who are expected to switch to mass transit, while enough to significantly reduce congestion, is less than 1 percent of our current ridership of more than 9 million people daily on subways, buses and regional trains. Compare that figure with the fact that ridership on the MTA network has grown by 40 percent over the last 10 years and is projected to grow by another 20 percent by 2030 as the city is expected to grow by a million people and the region by 3 million. In order for the MTA to handle all those new riders, we must have robust funding streams in place, like the one provided by congestion pricing.

 

Elliot G. Sander is Executive Director and CEO of the MTA.

 

 

expect delays before this is fully rolled out, the dutch chipkaart (smart card) was hacked again!  :laugh:

 

 

Transport smart card hacked again

Tuesday 15 January 2008

 

Transport users watchdog Rover and the government’s privacy council both again criticised the introduction of a transport smart card on Tuesday following news that hackers had broken into the disposable card system.

 

 

 

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2008/01/transport_smart_card_hacked_ag.php

January 17, 2008

Rail Runner Express: Governor backs creation of regional transit district

Santa Fe New Mexican

 

Local governments would have more control over Rail Runner Express Commuter trains and could choose to pay for the service through new taxes from area residents if an emerging idea gains traction.

 

In a state public-policy shift, the New Mexico Transportation Commission and the Governor's Office are encouraging formation of a regional transit district in the four counties that already have or soon will have commuter train service. Last year, Gov. Bill Richardson shot down the idea, but he issued a statement Thursday supporting it.

 

more at:

 

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SantaFeNorthernNM/Rail_Runner_Express_Governor_backs_creation_of_regional_transit

They said rail transit would fail in Minneapolis, too....

______________

 

January 22, 2008

Hiawatha light rail ridership keeps gaining

 

Minneapolis residents continue to support light rail transit, as evidenced by record ridership numbers being reported for Metro Transit's Hiawatha Line. Average weekday ridership in December was 30,859, following an average November ridership of 30,877. December's total of 843,426 riders was almost 50,000 more than projected ridership of 794,075 for the month. Average Saturday ridership in December was 22,483, while average Sunday ridership was 18,973. The Hiawatha Line began operating on June 26, 2004.

And that's 843,426 riders who would have otherwise clogged the highways... kudos!

Wow, go Minneapolis- that's pretty impressive ridership for a brand new system.  And sure puts the rapid to shame :(.

 

It won't go anywhere (sadly, in my opinion), but how's this a way to boost ridership:

 

From Metro (http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Are_free_subways_in_our_future/11561.html)

Are free subways in our future?

Advocate wants traffic fees to give straphangers a break

 

by joshua rhett miller / metro new york

 

> email this to a friend

 

JAN 24, 2008

 

MANHATTAN. Imagine getting a free ride every time you step on a subway, bus or commuter train. That’s what Theodore Kheel wants to make happen...

 

 

Interesting idea! I like it.

interesting, i always wonder what the real numbers were for something like that.

 

 

here's a link to kheel's plan in whole:

 

A transit free-for-all

Published on January 24th, 2008 in Asides, MTA Economics.

Ted Kheel, the 93-year-old public advocate, has unveiled the $100,000 plan he funded to advocate for free transit. Unfortunately, I don’t have time right now to really drill down on the 55-page report, but it’s a good plan. I was originally skeptical, but now I think it can work. The short of it: Kheel was a 24/7 $16-per-car, $32-per-truck congestion fee that is earmarked for transit only. More later. [The Free Transit Report (PDF)]

 

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2008/01/24/a-transit-free-for-all/

What cities besides New York would this work in? I can only think of a handful...Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco...you have to have a good public transit in place when a plan like this would go into effect. However, on the face of it, it's quite interesting and might be an innovative way to adddress NY congestion and build up transit. There are a lot of streets in Manhattan which would make good light rail corridors.

Maine studies new links for transportation

By TOM BELL

Blethen Maine Newspapers

 

01/25/2008

 

After years of talking about the need to extend public transportation north and west of Portland, the state has begun a study to determine if the idea is worth pursuing.

 

The $1 million federally-funded project will examine the practicality of running commuter train and express bus service on a coastal route between Brunswick, Freeport, Yarmouth and Portland, and to the west between Auburn and Portland.

 

More at:

 

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4693119.html

interesting, i always wonder what the real numbers were for something like that.

 

here's a link to kheel's plan in whole:

 

A transit free-for-all

Published on January 24th, 2008 in Asides, MTA Economics.

Ted Kheel, the 93-year-old public advocate, has unveiled the $100,000 plan he funded to advocate for free transit. Unfortunately, I don’t have time right now to really drill down on the 55-page report, but it’s a good plan. I was originally skeptical, but now I think it can work. The short of it: Kheel was a 24/7 $16-per-car, $32-per-truck congestion fee that is earmarked for transit only. More later. [The Free Transit Report (PDF)]

 

Certainly an interesting idea, but I feel like you'd have to charge a nominal fee so that the public treats it with respect.  Except for "high culture" places like museums, people tend to treat things that don't cost anything like they are valueless.

OK, how about rail transit running on electricity .... from wind generators?!?!

 

http://www.calgarytransit.com/environment/ride_d_wind.html

 

Calgary Transit and the Environment

 

Ride The Wind

 

Commencing 2001 September 1, Calgary Transit entered into a partnership with ENMAX and Vision Quest Windelectric Inc. to develop a program (Ride the Wind) that uses wind-generated electricity to power the CTrains.

 

There are 12 windmills located in Southern Alberta that generate the wind-power. The equivalent amount of power used by the CTrain is sent to the main power grid. The windmills generate this power.

 

 

^That's really clever- good for Calgary.  Funny that it's a petroleum business hub doing this though.

commentary from the free metro paper today:

 

 

Voices: Congestion pricing fairest for the poor

 

my view by melissa mark-viverito

 

JAN 30

 

In the East Harlem and South Bronx communities that I represent, we are automatically skeptical when business interests and politicians from outside our communities claim to be watching out for us — because nine times out of 10, they’re doing just the opposite.

 

So it is with congestion pricing. For months, some suburban elected officials from wealthy areas, as well as a coalition backed primarily by the American Automobile Association and Manhattan garage owners, have tried their best to cloak themselves as guardians of New York’s poor and middle-class residents.

 

They have cynically insisted, for instance, that congestion pricing — a plan to charge drivers who enter Manhattan’s central business district during working hours — would most affect residents who can least afford it. That is nonsense. The truth is that just 5 percent of commuters in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx travel to Manhattan by private car. People who drive their cars to work also earn 30 percent more a year than those of us who use mass transit. It is our poor and middle-class families who would benefit from congestion pricing — as the fees charged to drivers would be used to improve the bus and subway system.

Critics have also tried to whitewash congestion pricing’s health benefits to communities such as Harlem and the Bronx, where kids are hospitalized for asthma attacks far more often than in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

 

Poor communities need creative measures to reduce the vehicle emissions that create the conditions for asthma and other health problems. What we don’t need, want or deserve is to be used as fig leaves for those who represent suburban commuters and parking magnates. I hope the members of the state commission studying traffic congestion have seen through these ploys, and that they listen to the concerns of Bronx residents and other outer-borough New Yorkers. Tomorrow, we will learn for certain if they hear our concerns when they release a report that will determine whether or not the City Council and State Legislature will take up votes on congestion pricing.

 

Unlike those who falsely claim to speak for the best interests of my constituents, the commission ought to recognize it would be irresponsible not to pursue a policy that could provide immediate and measurable relief of traffic congestion while improving the air that all of my constituents breathe and the buses and subways that they ride daily.

 

Melissa Mark-Viverito represents Manhattan’s District 8 in the New York City Council.

 

 

Article published Jan 31, 2008

 

Faster trip to Chicago?

House passes bill that would shorten South Shore train route

 

JOSHUA STOWE

Tribune Staff Writer

 

SOUTH BEND -- South Shore riders are a step closer to a quicker commute.

 

The state House has passed a bill that would make two route modifications in order to cut a half hour off trips between South Bend and Chicago. The measure will next go before the state Senate.

 

"This is good news," said John Parsons, a spokesman for the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District that owns and operates the South Shore line. "We think if this is successful, it'll certainly provide a catalyst to jump-start getting federal funding for the two projects as well."

 

More at:

 

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/News01/801310391/1011/News

Crowd criticizes I-295 widening

Most who attended a Portland meeting also want more invested in public transportation.

 

By TESS NACELEWICZ Staff Writer

January 31, 2008

 

Don't widen Interstate 295 and instead invest more in public

transportation such as rail and bus service.

 

Those were the predominant messages from a standing-

room-only crowd of more than 70 people at a public meeting in

Portland on Wednesday night on a proposal to address

congestion and safety on I-295 through such measures as

making interchanges safer and possibly widening the highway's

busiest sections.

 

"I was frankly flabbergasted to see that you had widening

I-295 as a solution to the problem at a time when everyone is

concerned about climate change, air pollution and the cost of

fuel," said Bob Greenberg of Portland.

 

More at:

 

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=166211&ac=PHnws

from the nytimes, ny state commission approves a slightly modified congestion pricing plan:

 

 

January 31, 2008,  5:00 pm

Panel Passes Congestion Pricing Plan

By William Neuman

 

 

A plan to thin Manhattan’s perpetual throngs of traffic by charging fees to drivers and increasing prices for on-street parking was approved by a 13-2 vote on Thursday afternoon by a state commission appointed to review different proposals. The plan to decrease traffic [pdf] in much of Manhattan, first proposed in a slightly different form by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg last April, would charge drivers $8 to go below 60th Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

More at:

 

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/panel-passes-congestion-pricing-plan/#more-1914

 

APTA “outraged ” by Bush transit budget

 

President Bush’s proposed transit budget for the 2009 fiscal year contained a bombshell for transit interests.

 

The American Public Transportation Association promptly issued a statement saying it was “outraged that the Bush Administration’s request for FY 2009 would cut $202.1 million for public transportation and proposed to transfer an estimated $3.2 billion dedicated for public transportation to fund highway projects.”

 

More at:

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

Wouldn't that go better here:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,14029.0.html

 

By the way, no one ever accused the Bush Administration of not having balls. Thieves and crooks have a lot of balls, too, but that doesn't make them good citizens. And taking $3 billion from transit to fill the bankrupt black hole called the Highway Trust Fund is certainly criminal, especially in this era of peak oil and global warming. Sometimes I wonder about the future of humanity when the Bush Administration tries sh!t like this.

KJP....good idea.  I will re-post it.

We must link growth to public transit

Op-ED

By Dianne Brake

Philadelphia Enquirer

 

When people think of ways to reduce greenhouse gases, talk usually centers on solutions such as cutting industrial smokestack emissions, encouraging Americans to drive hybrid cards, building more "green" buildings, using solar power, and replacing incandescent lightbulbs with fluorescent ones.

 

More at:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dianne Brake is president of PlanSmart NJ, a Trenton-based land-use research and advocacy organization.

 

Find this article at:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/pa/20080118_We_must_link_growth_to_public_transit.html?adString=inq.news/pa;!category=pa;&randomOrd=020508074601 

 

Riding That Train

Meet the people who seem to travel as many hours as they work on a long commute to Sacramento

Sam Whiting

 

Sunday, February 3, 2008

 

At 6 on a Wednesday morning, Jim Bourgart is already 15 minutes into a 175-minute commute by foot, bus, train and foot again. From downtown San Francisco he'll catch an Amtrak motor coach to the Emeryville station, where he'll sit 20 minutes on a hard plastic bench waiting for the 6:40 to Sacramento.

 

He doesn't mind as long as he is moving. It is the lost sleep time in the waiting room that hurts. Since the Capitol Corridor runs both the bus and the train, you'd think it could tighten the time-cushion allowed for traffic that never appears on the eastbound bridge.

 

More at:

 

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/03/CMMLTSV10.DTL

 

 

St. Paul Pioneer Press

 

President Bush's 2009 budget proposal includes $71 million for the Northstar commuter rail line.  Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., said the money would complete the federal government's $156 million investment in the $320 million project.  Coleman called the Northstar line a "critical transportation project" for Minnesota.  "When completed, Northstar will ease congestion, create jobs and decrease our dependence on foreign oil," Coleman said.  The 40-mile line will run from downtown Minneapolis through the northwest suburbs and to Big Lake. It is expected to open late next year.

 

- Associated Press

:-o  sure feels like a record

 

 

 

It’s 1951 all over again on subways

by patrick arden / metro new york

 

FEB 7, 2008

 

MANHATTAN. Subway ridership hit a 56-year high in 2007, when the number of straphangers jumped 4.2 percent to reach 1.56 billion. The system hasn’t seen that many passengers since the days of the Third Avenue El.

 

Overall, subways and buses carried 2.3 billion riders last year, the highest annual figure since 1969 and an increase of 2.7 percent from 2006. Weekend ridership averaged 5 million, the first time that’s happened since 1952. The L was the fastest growing subway line, with an 8 percent increase in weekday ridership.

 

 

http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Its_1951_all_over_again_on_subways/11690.html

 

Damn!! That's huge ridership.

Black leaders blast county over Metrorail North Corridor

Posted on Fri, Feb. 08, 2008

By LARRY LEBOWITZ

 

If Miami-Dade County intends to fulfill its promise to build the 9.5-mile Metrorail North Corridor, then elected leaders can expect to face a litany of tough decisions in the coming months, commissioners were told Thursday. County leaders are still stinging from this week's U.S. Department of Transportation decision to downgrade the extension's viability to a level where it no longer qualifies for up to $700 million in matching federal funds.

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/411130.html

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature5

 

February 7, 2008

NYC subway ridership at highest level since 1951

 

New York city subways carried 1.56 billion riders in 2007, the highest number since 1951 and 4.2% or 60.1 million trips more than in 2006. Weekday subway ridership in 2007 averaged more than 5 million for the first time since 1952. In 2007, average weekend subway ridership was 5.1 million, up 6.3% or 304,000 trips from 2006 and the highest weekend ridership in 35 years. In the last five years, annual subway ridership increased 10.6%.

 

MTA New York City Transit’s total subway/buys ridership last year was 2.3 billion, highest since1969 and 2.7% or 60.1 million trips higher than in 2006.

 

"Helping fuel the growth in ridership," said the agency, "was a strong city economy, including record tourism and MetroCard discounts, specifically use of the 30-day MetroCard which had a 31.3% market share, the highest ever for the 30-day pass which was introduced in July 1998. The use of discounted unlimited ride and bonus MetroCards reached a record 85.8% in 2007 – 49.4% using unlimited ride passes and 36.4% using bonus pay-per-ride MetroCards. Taken together, MetroCard discounts yielded an average non-student subway and bus fare of $1.29." The base one-way fare is $2.00.

But wait, there's more....

 

February 7, 2008

DART seeks design-build interest for two LRT projects

 

Notwithstanding recent budgetary difficulties and questions concerning capital construction of light rail, Dallas Area Rapid Transit will host a “Megamixer” at DART headquarters beginning 8:00 a.m., Feb. 11, to pursue such construction in an economical fashion.

 

Construction contractors and vendors are invited to learn about upcoming opportunities to provide design-build services for both the 9.3-mile Orange Line expansion, serving North Irving, Las Colinas, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and 4.75 miles of the Blue Line, extending the line from Downtown Garland Station to Downtown Rowlett Station.

 

DART notes this is its first design-build solicitation, and hopes to engage a private contractor for both architecture/engineering and construction services for both projects. DART intends to award one separate contract for each project, but says teams will not be precluded from competing separately for both.

 

DART expects a design-build approach "will expedite the overall project schedule through concurrent efforts on design and construction. This fast-tracking approach could also enable DART's contractor to identify, quantify and secure construction materials earlier in the process, potentially locking in the lowest available prices."

 

More details are available through DART's website, http://www.dart.org/procurement/vendorguidelegal.asp.

Crowd resists widening I-295

 

A Portland meeting on transportation spending draws supporters of investing in public transit.

 

 

By TOM BELL Staff Writer

Portland (Maine) Press-Herald

February 13, 2008

 

Highway expansion of any sort was the primary target Tuesday during a meeting in Portland on transportation spending.

 

Only a handful of people expressed support for proposals to widen Interstate 295 in Portland or improve highway interchanges in Falmouth, Yarmouth and Freeport.

 

Many more in the crowd of more than 100 people -- judging by the applause and the signs that people waved -- believed that regional planners should make investments in public transit their top priority.

 

More at:

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story_pf.php?id=169058&ac=PHnws

'Brain Train' supporters urge passage of bills

 

By ARIEL HART

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 02/14/08

 

Supporters of the Athens-to-Atlanta "Brain Train" passenger rail line rallied at the Capitol Thursday morning.

 

In a mark of their support for more comprehensive rail plans, they released poll results that they say also show support for a Macon-to-Atlanta commuter rail line among active voters in that southern corridor.

 

 

Find this article at:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/02/14/rail_0215.html 

 

Once again, it's rather depressing that other areas are so aggressive re LRT and transit yet we here in Cleveland are so conservative...