Public Transit

Transit Agencies Lease Real Estate to Generate Much-Needed Cash

They must replace revenue from riders, who have been slow to return.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

Deploying the National Guard to Fill a School Bus Driver Shortage

Schools across the country are finding it difficult to recruit and retain school bus drivers.

  • By Andrea Noble

Transit Leaders See New Federal Money as a Bridge, Not the End of the Line

Bus, subway and local rail systems nearly shut down when the pandemic first struck. Now they’re trying to find a new way forward.

  • By Daniel C. Vock

How the Infrastructure Proposal Would Fund Roads, Bridges and Public Transit

The proposal puts $150 billion in new funding toward surface transportation and transit, but won’t close the backlog in maintenance and capital costs.

  • By Andrea Noble

Transportation Agencies Grapple With Lasting Effects of Telework

Many workers are not going back to offices full time and governments need to figure out how to adjust. “When we are not collecting gas taxes and ferry fares, our budget is hurting," one state transportation chief said during a Route Fifty event.

  • By Jean Dimeo

In One City, Residents Found a New Use For Scooters: Penis Graffiti

The vulgar drawings, made by tire skid marks, began appearing in Topeka, Kansas, shortly after the city partnered with Bird scooters on a pilot program.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

The Benefits and Challenges of Electric Car Policy

At an annual summit of transportation policymakers, local and state leaders discussed the future of transitioning from gasoline-fueled vehicles to electric-powered ones.

  • By Brent Woodie

As the Pandemic Subsides, Traffic is Creeping Back

A report from StreetLight Data found the average daily number of vehicle miles traveled was down 15% overall in 2020 but as of March has started to return to normal levels.

  • By Andrea Noble

Tackling Social Inequity, Some Cities May Ditch Bus, Subway Fares

Fare revenue covers on average 30% of transit agencies’ operating costs.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

$5.6B in Earmarks Included in Transportation Bill

The 1,473 local projects funded in the bill range from a transportation center adjacent to the San Diego airport to a paved bike lane in New Jersey.

  • By Andrea Noble

What Is Pete Buttigieg Doing?

The secretary of transportation is on the road, talking infrastructure with anyone who will listen.

  • By Edward-Isaac Dovere, The Atlantic

Sick of Dangerous City Traffic? Remove Left Turns

COMMENTARY | Left turns are dangerous and cause a lot of unnecessary traffic.

  • By Vikash V. Gayah, The Conversation
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Pandemic-stricken Mass Transit Would Get $85 billion In Biden Stimulus Plan – a Down Payment on Reviving American Cities

COMMENTARY | New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority was hit hard by a 79% ridership reduction during the pandemic. It needs an extra $8 billion through 2024 to avoid service cuts and layoffs.

  • By Ruth Steiner, The Conversation

Biden Plan to Boost Public Transit Funding: Visionary or Wasteful?

Critics of the plan say buses should get more attention.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

Need a COVID-19 Vaccine? Visit Your Local Transit Center

Transit agencies across the country are giving free rides to vaccine sites and some are hosting clinics in their facilities.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

Two Mayors Envision the Future of Public Transit

COMMENTARY | The mayors of Kansas City, Missouri and Richmond, Virginia offer their thoughts on how to rebuild public transit in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • By Quinton Lucas and Levar Stoney

San Francisco and D.C. Transit Agencies Consider Big Layoffs, Service Cuts

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Grocery stores with pharmacies buying medical-grade freezers for vaccines … Virginia looking for citizen members of its new redistricting commission … California governor denies parole for Manson follower.

  • By Laura Maggi

Austin Embraces $7 Billion Transit Investment Plan

City voters approved a tax hike that will fund a new rail system, bus routes, and shuttles, in addition to investments in bike lanes, sidewalks, and urban trails.

  • By Emma Coleman

No More Rush Hour? A Look at the Pandemic’s Impact on Traffic

The average number of vehicle miles traveled was 16% lower in July than the previous year, and rush hour traffic is now more spread out over time, according to a new report.

  • By Andrea Noble

Federal Government to Offer $10M to Research Covid Spread on Public Transportation

Major cities could be excluded from receiving grants for “permitting anarchy, violence, and destruction,” per a presidential memo cited in the funding opportunity. 

  • By Aaron Boyd

Transit Authority Looks to Bus Lanes to Reduce Crowding, Encourage Social Distancing

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will add up to 14 miles of dedicated bus lanes in Boston and its suburbs to improve bus service, aiming to provide customers with room to spread out and spend less time onboard.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram