Are We There Yet? Painless Commutes
March 26, 2013
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Visit the Are We There Yet? home Some places just don’t have the density of jobs and residents and intensity of activity that justifies an investment in rail transit. Many of these communities are investing in bus and shuttle service as well as in programs that make it easier and more pleasant to carpool, walk and bike to jobs in an urban or suburban downtown, and to get healthier while doing it. Des Moines, for example, which has a population 400,000, has been investing nearly $2 million a year to make the downtown more walkable and create a network of bike lanes and trails. Google — which offers job perks that are the envy of Silicon Valley, including chef-prepared food at all hours — is trying to make commutes as painless as possible by ferrying its pampered workers on shuttles that run on biodiesel, with leather seats, wi-fi, and even room for dogs. The Google shuttle carries a quarter of the company’s…
Bus-Oriented Development And Bus Passenger Facilities
September 11, 2012
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A pair of bus-focused studies have been added the Resource Center best practices database.
How BRT Improves Transit Service And Contributes to Economic Development
August 20, 2012
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A July 2012 General Accounting Office study "Bus Rapid Transit: Projects Improve Transit Service And Can Contribute to Economic Development" has been added to the Resource Center's best practices database.
Research Explores Train Vs. Bus Preferences
June 18, 2012
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An April 2012 article from the Journal of Public Transportation entitled "Bus or Rail: An Approach to Explain the Psychological Rail Factor" has been added to the Research Center best practices database. The article by Milena Scherer of ETH Zurich and Katrin Dziekan of the Berlin Institute of Technology explores whether there is an inherent preference for fixed rail transit among transit riders and why. The research found a preference for using rail, assuming equal service conditions, of 63 percent for regional train and 75 percent for trams compared to bus services. The rail factor is highly loaded with emotional and social attributions, the researchers note, and account for 20–50 percent of the share in the different schemata for bus, rail, and tram.
Bus Rapid Transit and Development: Policies and Practices that Affect Development Around Transit
April 10, 2012
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A 2009 report prepared by the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute, Center for Urban Transportation Research, on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration has been added the Resource Center best practices database. "Bus Rapid Transit and Development: Policies and Practices that Affect Development Around Transit" explores the relationship between land use and bus rapid transit (BRT) system development in comparison to other fixed-guideway modes such as heavy and light rail.
Lessons for Increasing Choice Ridership While Maintaining Transit Dependent Ridership
February 23, 2012
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A report from the Mineta Transportation Institute at the San José State University College of Business has been added to the Resource Center best practices database. "Lessons for Increasing Choice Ridership While Maintaining Transit Dependent Ridership" examines the Atlanta transit system in an effort to identify what types of policies would expand the use of transit by choice riders while at the least not hurting transit-dependent riders.
FTA To Hold Applicant Webinars For State Of Good Repair, Bus Livability And Clean Fuels Grant Opportunities
February 22, 2012
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FTA will conduct informational webinars on February 29th and March 1st for applicants to the Fiscal Year 2012 State of Good Repair Initiative, Bus Livability Initiative and Clean Fuels Grant Program funding opportunities. The webinars will provide an introduction to the programs, information on applicant and project eligibility, and a review of the criteria that will be used to select projects. Participants will also receive step-by-step instructions for completing the required forms and submitting their application in www.grants.gov.
Bus Advertisements from Around the World
September 30, 2011|via Naphtali Knox
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Bus advertisements are often seen as a way to generate revenue for struggling transit agency bottom lines. Sometimes they are of interest but mostly the wraps are copies of ads that you would see in many different places. Though some go the extra mile to be more entertaining and use pieces of the bus that helps get the point across. Naphtali Knox who edits the Northern California APA newsletter forwarded along a number of entertaining images of bus advertisements around the world. We are hoping folks can help us identify where they are from as well as enjoy the creativity that some of these ads bring. Post in the coments if you know where they are from. Enjoy!
Don't X Out Public Transportation Rallies
September 14, 2011
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Don't X Out Public Transportation rallies are being scheduled around the country for Sept. 20. At the rallies, public transit riders, advocates and employees will call on Congress to support public transportation by opposing proposed cuts of more than one third to federal transportation funding.
Leveraging Bus Rapid Transit to Build More Sustainable Communities
June 24, 2011
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A report examining development opportunites along 64 miles of King County Metro Transit's future bus rapid transit corridors has been added to the Best Practices research articles.
