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 out of the red and on a path toward long-term sustainability is gaining momentum. “Everyone …
Caltrain Threatened with Service Cuts, Citizens to the Rescue? Read More »
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 Party’s Reluctance to Invest in Transit Infrastructure. Here’s a key piece of that article: As …
Why Republicans Try to Kill Public Transport (Despite its Economic Benefits) Read More »
I reported earlier that riding public transportation can save you approximately $10,000 a year. Well, even for those who don’t ride public transit, you are benefiting form it. Of course, you are benefiting because of the cleaner environment you get to live in, but you are also benefiting because public transit saves you time. Think …
Public Transportation Saves U.S. 785 Million Hours a Year Read More »
The U.S. is known for being big, having big visions, having big plans and projects. But has that all changed in the past few decades? Karrie Jacobs of The Infrastructurist delves into this matter in great deal and concludes: “Apparently we’re now a nation that takes only incremental steps.” While our U.S. Secretary of Transportation …
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 local public transit. (I would also note that you can use your time on transit …
In the most comprehensive analysis of U.S. traffic congestion imaginable, the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University just released its 2010 Annual Urban Mobility Report. Due to considerable technological advancements, the Institute said this report provided “much better and more detailed picture of the problems facing urban travelers” than any previous reports and it has …
Traffic Congestion Increasing as Economy Improves Read More »
The price of free parking keeps going up. One cost is painful urban congestion, which is made worse bydrastically under-priced street parking. Another is a relative cost to the environment, which occurs when the near-certain prospect of free (or cheap) parking entices people into their cars and away from alternative forms of transportation. Recently a …
New Study Looks at Hidden Environmental Costs of Parking Read More »
We’ve written on China’s world-record-setting high-speed trains in the past, but I recently ran across these videos and thought they were worth a share. The first one walks you through a ride on one of the country’s bullet trains. Here’s a quote from the YouTube page: Why fly when you can travel the 1000km between …
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 Tangherlini, the former DDOT director under Mayor Anthony Williams, who committed to building one of …
New Transit Projects for 2011 A comprehensive list of transit projects scheduled to start construction or open in 2011. “Streetcar lines dominate the nation’s new transit construction landscape, but this year only light and commuter rail lines will open for service.” NYC Tries ‘Rapid’ Buses in Bid to Cut Transit Costs The city’s much-maligned bus …
We’re bicycling fans here on Ecolocalizer. Have you noticed? Why? Because it’s good for everything: our health, the livability of cities, the efficiency of our cities, equitable access to key needs, and the economy. Here’s more on that last part, the economy, from the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin: Investment in a more bicycle friendly Wisconsin …
How Much is Bicycling Worth to the Economy? $1.5 Billion/Year in Wisconsin Read More »
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 a low-density trend. Think about it, big vehicles for every individual require tons of big …
Light Rail & Streetcars Becoming More Popular, Transforming Cities Read More »
Here’s our weekly link drop. Hope you enjoy it. New Report: U.S. States Failing at Reducing Transportation Emissions The Natural Resources Defense Council and Smart Growth America released a report, “Getting Back on Track: Aligning State Transportation Policy with Climate Change Goals,” analyzing state-level policies to curb carbon emissions in the transportation sector. With the absence of …
Getting oil out of the ground requires water. And as oil supplies are depleted, this process requires more and more water. It turns out that nowadays oil companies are using a TON of water,.. (to access precious oil for our gas-guzzling cars). “Oil companies are grabbing an increasing share of the water in California’s Central …
Weekly news roundup from other sites. TheStreet and Bundle Special Report: America’s Best and Worst Commutes Whether you live in a city, the suburbs or farm country, commuting by car to and from work can be an unavoidable expense. Beyond the obvious cost of gas, there are other ways a commute lightens your wallet — …
To share more stories with our wonderful readers, I’ve decided to start doing a weekly “link drop” — in other words, I’ll drop links to great stories we couldn’t cover (plus a little intro). Hope you find this helpful and enjoy it. Studies Show the Connection Between Travel Times to Food Stores and Public Health …
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) releases figures regarding how much people save by riding transit in the U.S. every month in its Transit Savings Report. It calculates how much the average American saves as well as how much an average resident of twenty of the country’s largest cities (the cities with the most transit …
The Green Business Blog Carnival comes to EcoLocalizer! Following up on Green Business Blog Carnival post #17 on Cleantechnica (which featured a couple posts from EcoLocalizer), here’s the next edition of the Carnival for your reading pleasure. The first ride.. er, post of the day comes from Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, writing over on the SUNflitered blog. It was a …
If you are a regular reader here on EcoLocalizer, you know that I am a big fan of sustainable transportation — bikes, buses, trains, etc. So, when I came across this story, you can imagine I got a big kick out of it. Though I don’t think I would ever try to steal a bus …
New York City Bus & Train Thief Is Addicted To Stealing NYC Transit Read More »
The first Bicycle City is finally getting built! More on that and how Bicycle City got started via co-founder Joe Mellet below. I have seen advertisements for Bicycle City for years now. I remember when it first got started — it looked like a great initiative but was rather mysterious. “Where was “bicycle city” or …
London is one of the latest big cities to implement a modern bike sharing program. The “cycle scheme” (as they call it in England) is popularly called “Boris Bikes” now, named after London Mayor Boris Johnson. To help show the effect of this program, Oliver O’Brien of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University …
I was just writing earlier on the power of cities and the progressive transportation choices cities can take to turn the world around (environmentally, economically, and otherwise). Looking at this from a different (and perhaps more negative) angle, IBM recently released a global “Commuter Pain Study.”
Animation of the upcoming Transbay Transit Center (aka Grand Central of the West) that just broke ground on Wednesday.
Topping yet another bicycle list, Amsterdam is #1 here because of the great bicycle photos to follow along with the fact that 40% of traffic is bicycle traffic in Amsterdam and the city is full of bicycle facilities, including a 10,000-bicycle parking garage at its train station. Amsterdam may not have as high a percentage …
#1 Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour Read More »
With bike weddings, bike parades, hundreds of naked bicyclists, bike fashion shows, popular & interesting cargo bikes, and travelling bike pubs, Portland is #3 on this great bicycle city photo tours list. [social_buttons] Portland has great bicycle facilities (colored bike lanes, bike boxes at intersections, great bike signs, off-road bicycle paths, etc.), a large number …
#3 Portland, Oregon (USA): Great Bicycle City Photo Tour Read More »
Home of the upcoming climate change conference, Copenhagen is #4 in this great bicycle city photo tour series. With about 55% of trips being by bicycle, Copenhagen is an amazing place to visit or live if you like bicycling. The photos to follow give you a taste of this great bicycle city. From dogs on …
#4 Copenhagen, Denmark: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour Read More »
Naked bicyclists, folding bikes, balloon bikes, and more — enjoy this bicycle photo tour of Barcelona. The third B in a row, Barcelona is next on this list of great bicycle cities (right ahead of Basel, Switzerland and Bogota, Columbia). As a dense city with a wonderful climate, Barcelona is naturally a wonderful place for …
#8 Barcelona, Spain: Great Bicycle City Photo Tour Read More »
If a picture is worth a thousand words, this series of photo tours is going to be worth about a hundred thousand. You have probably heard before that the cities on this list are great bicycle cities, but the following photo tours will give you a better and more entertaining visual explanation of why they …
Photo Tours of 10 Great Bicycle Cities: #10 Basel, Switzerland Read More »
England is working to combine two of the world’s cleanest methods of transportation through a new initiative. A handful of strongly funded programs are geared to get more people bicycling to and from rail stations in England.
