If you want to see an idyllic, small Italian city, Perugia may be the place for you. It fits all the characteristics of those beautiful Italian towns from the movies. However, it hasn’t forever. It took visionaries with a green…
2011 Sustainable Transport Award Winner: Guangzhou, China
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy recently announced the 2011 Sustainable Transport Award winner, which, as you can see, is Guangzhou, China. Its new bus rapid transit (BRT) system, which integrates bike lanes, bike share and metro stations was…
Conversation Cars on Public Transit: A “Modest Proposal”
There’s been a pretty significant transformation on public transit in the past decade or less. Whereas riders used to start up a conversation with complete strangers on a regular basis in the past, more and more riders are plugged into…
First Subway System Started How Many Years Ago?
Know when the first subway system was launched? And where? Tony Long of Wired does. He recently wrote an interesting post on the history of subway systems around the world, starting with a little bit on the first subway system,…
Transit: Huge Issue for Chicago Voters, Not on Potential Mayors’ Agenda
Chicagoans (yes, that would be residents of Chicago) love public transit. Even non-users support mass transit (maybe because it saves them a ton of time). But candidates running for Mayor of Chicago (election to be on Feb. 22) are hardly…
Caltrain Threatened with Service Cuts, Citizens to the Rescue?
The mobility of Caltrain’s 40,000 daily riders on the Peninsula and the South Bay could drastically suffer under deep service cuts being considered to close a $30 million budget gap, but a movement to get the commuter rail service agency…
Why Republicans Try to Kill Public Transport (Despite its Economic Benefits)
Republicans, many of them, would have public transportation funding cut despite the clear economic, financial (for citizens), quality of life, and environmental benefits. Why? Yonah Freemark of the Transport Politic finds some answers and shares them in Understanding the Republican…
Save $9,656 a Year, Ride Public Transit
Well, that’s how much you’ll save if you’re the average American. Could be a little less or a little more depending on where you live. The point of the matter is, however, you can save a ton by riding your…
Why Streetcars are Important (& Cool)
Almost 50 years ago, streetcars in Washington, D.C. stopped running and most of their tracks were removed. Now they’re back and ready for a revival, with parts of the first two lines slated to open next spring. In this post, we talk to Dan…
Light Rail & Streetcars Becoming More Popular, Transforming Cities
In my graduate studies in city and regional planning, one thing became very obvious to me: cities, by definition and at their best, are densely-populated places. However, with the rapid rise of automobile use, North American cities have been on…