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The Hampton Roads Regional Transit Vision Plan (HRRTVP or the “Vision Plan”) looks into the future – 2025 and beyond – to visualize what may be possible for the region’s transit services. It provides a concept for a regional rapid transit network that connects major employment and population centers in Hampton Roads. It envisions thoughtful and coordinated land use planning combined with specific transit modes that improve mobility options for the public. The purpose of HRRTVP is to provide a long-term framework for transit development, not a definite set of approved projects. As the region selects projects for further study, planners, elected officials, and the public will collaborate to define the specific requirements, alignments and transit modes in accordance with local land use planning, alternatives analysis, environmental considerations and available funding.

The New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®) Governmental Research Foundation (GRF) has released a report conducted by the Bloustein School's Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center revealing an association between designated Transit Village areas and higher residential property values. The study, An Evaluation of Property Values in New Jersey Transit Villages, is available online.

According to GRF President Bill Hanley, “The study was undertaken to determine whether the Transit Village Initiative, and its corresponding redevelopment, leads to increased property values for home and business owners within the designated area.”

Researchers performed an in-depth examination of six of the state’s 20 Transit Villages: Bound Brook (Somerset County), Belmar (Monmouth County), Burlington City (Burlington County), Journal Square in Jersey City (Hudson County), Metuchen (Middlesex County) and Pleasantville (Atlantic County). The various site analyses were…

Abstract This article examines changes in transport and land-use policies in Germany over the last 40 years that have encouraged more walking, bicycling and public transport use. It focuses on a case study of policy changes in the city of Freiburg, where over the last three decades, the number of bicycle trips tripled, public transport ridership doubled, and the share of trips by automobile declined from 38% to 32%. Since 1990, motorization rates have leveled-off and per-capita CO2 emissions from transport have fallen—despite strong economic growth. The analysis identifies policies that are transferable to car-oriented countries around the world.

Executive Summary Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) ridership is increasing in tandem with population and employment growth in the Washington, DC region. Metro currently operates the second largest rail transit system in the U.S. and its ridership is expected to grow by 42 percent by 2030. This growth in ridership is likely to occur during an era of increasingly constrained finances. And while the share of those who walk and bicycle to Metrorail Stations has been increasing over time, there remain significant opportunities for growth in both these cost-effective modes of access. This plan identifies strategies to enhance pedestrian and bicycle access and connectivity in and around Metrorail Stations. It provides recommendations for a range of physical infrastructure improvements, as well as policies and programs to encourage multi-modal trips. Accommodating more walking and bicycling access trips will enable Metro to realize projected increases in ridership in the most…

Abstract Over the past two decades, Germany has improved the quality of its public transport services and attracted more passengers while increasing productivity, reducing costs, and cutting subsidies. Public transport systems reduced their costs through organizational restructuring and outsourcing to newly founded subsidiaries; cutting employee benefits and freezing salaries; increasing work hours, using part-time employees, expanding job tasks, and encouraging retirement of older employees; cooperation with other agencies to share employees, vehicles, and facilities; cutting underutilized routes and services; and buying new vehicles with lower maintenance costs and greater passenger capacity per driver. Revenues were increased through fare hikes for single tickets while maintaining deep discounts for monthly, semester, and annual tickets; and raising passenger volumes by improved quality of service, and full regional coordination of timetables, fares, and services. Those efforts by…

Some of today’s most vexing problems, including sprawl, congestion, oil dependence, and climate change, are prompting states and localities to turn to land planning and urban design to rein in automobile use. Many have concluded that roads cannot be built fast enough to keep up with rising travel demand induced by the road building itself and the sprawl it spawns. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to summarize empirical results on associations between the built environment and travel, especially nonwork travel.

Report assesses opportunities to improve land use and transportation linkages in communities surrounding 70 existing and planned transit stations

Smart growth policy strategies attempt to control increasing auto travel, congestion, and vehicle emissions by redirecting new development into communities with a high-intensity mix of shopping, jobs, and housing that is served by high-quality modal alternatives to single occupant vehicles. The integration of innovative technologies with traditional modal options in transit-oriented developments (TODs) may be the key to providing the kind of high-quality transit service that can effectively compete with the automobile in suburban transit corridors. A major challenge, however, of such an integration strategy is the facilitation of a well-designed and seamless multi-modal connection infrastructure – both informational and physical. EasyConnect II explored the introduction and integration of multi-modal transportation services, both traditional and innovative technologies, at the Pleasant Hill Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District station during the initial construction phase of the…