Editor's Note: Many voters across the country have willingly taxed themselves in order to fund major expansions of transit systems in recent years. This week's excerpt from Are We There Yet? explores this trend and the examples of Denver and Los Angeles. Unfortunately, as the report explains, in many places the dollars for construction have not been matched by funding for operations, a problem proving particularly hard on systems serving low-income, transit-dependent populations.
Visit the Are We There Yet? home Voters have proved to be enthusiastic supporters of transit ... and have stepped up to tax themselves in order to make up for the shortfall in state and federal funding. Twenty-three sales tax measures for transit were passed in 16 states in the 2008 election. These sales tax measures are sometimes criticized as regressive because they impose a greater burden on lower-income families. Many states mitigate this by…

Reconnecting America, Smart Growth America, and Transportation for America are preparing to launch a new venture and we are looking for an experienced entrepreneur to join us in co-founding a startup opportunity. The new venture will create a social community for those living an urban, car-lite lifestyle by providing news, events, and local resources, an easy connection to urban goods & services and bring people together on and offline.

Documents detailing transit-oriented development efforts in Seattle and Dallas have been added to the Resource Center's best practices database.

Editor's Note: Transit ridership is growing and communities across the nation have been responding with new transit systems and major expansions, with mayors often leading the way. But as this week's excerpt from Are We There Yet? illustrates, and recent updates to the Transit Space Race underline, federal funding is falling further behind what is necessary.
Visit the Are We There Yet? home Interest in transit has boomed during the past two decades, and transit ridership is up 13 percent since 2000. The American Public Transportation Association, in its 2011 analysis of transit use, found that “Americans took 10.4 billion trips on public transportation in 2011, the second highest annual ridership since 1957. Only ridership in 2008, when gas rose to more than $4 a gallon, surpassed last year’s ridership.” Regions across the country are responding by building new…

A new report from the Center for Neighborhood Technology, one of Reconnecting America's Center for Transit-Oriented Development partners, has been added to the Resource Center best practices database.

T4America will host a special online presentation on May 16th to get the inside scoop on state transportation funding proposals from the people making these changes happen.

Editor's Note: There are many ways to weave walking, biking, and transit into a seamless tapestry of transportation choices and today's excerpt from Are We There Yet? examines some of the myriad smartphone apps and other efforts that are creating the safe and pleasant connections to transit opportunities that are critical in order to give people more choices for getting around.
Visit the Are We There Yet? home The growing demand for more safe and pleasant environments for walking, biking and taking transit is being aided by transportation engineers like Dan Sturges, who are focused on making it easier for people to get to and from transit stations and bus stops — the so-called “first mile/last mile” connection. Because so many neighborhoods have been built to accommodate the automobile — with wide streets, deep lots and long distances between things — it isn’t always easy to get to stations, and there’s…

"Modern Streetcar Vehicle Guideline," designed to support specification and procurement of modern streetcar vehicles by identifying and describing important technical and operating principles relating to their application, has been added to the Resource Center's best practices database.