How to make transit work in sprawling suburbs is a difficult design problem — but a couple small changes can have a big impact, according to new research from the University of Minnesota. The team at the Accessibility Lab at the University of Minnesota modeled and measured job access both by transit and by car for those living near the Twin Cities’ 114 Park-and-Ride transit stations under different scenarios. They found that two key infrastructure offerings — park-and-ride lo

Dockless bikes are coming to Philly — temporarily, at least. Philly is moving forward with plans for a dockless bike share pilot program later this year. The pilot would be separate from the city’s existing Indego bike share fleet, and it would consist entirely of electric pedal-assist bikes. We’ll have more info below, but first: You may recall that the city’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (which oversees bike shares and bike lanes) introduced t

The bill would allow municipalities—including New York City—to move forward in legalizing the electric rides. State Sen. Jessica Ramos and state Assembly member Nily Rozic have introduced a bill on Tuesday that would legalize e-scooters and e-bikes in New York State, while allowing cities to take charge of regulating the increasingly popular modes of transit—which would pave the way for them to become legal in NYC. The passing of the new bill in Albany would take an important

The United States’ intercity rail system is a vital lifeline for its tens of millions of annual passengers. However, the existing system can seem maddeningly archaic. I experienced the strengths and weaknesses of that system on a recent Amtrak trip from DC to see family in Florida – the 2019 edition of the trip I wrote about last year. But after I got to the Sunshine State, I caught a glimpse of a possible future for our rail system: one where Amtrak is not the only company t

“Get ready for rail.” At first the slogan for Ottawa’s new transit project felt like a command. Then it was a question mark, and now it’s a desperate plea—as if the city could will into existence a light-rail plan that has been talked about for the better part of 20 years. Ground broke in 2013 on Ottawa’s extension of its O-Train system—then, a five-station, diesel-powered light-rail line. The mission was to electrify the network and extend it to central, eastern, and souther

The future arrives for me in the form of a rectangle on four wheels, about half the size of a conventional school bus, with large windows all around. When the side door opens, an impressively mustachioed safety attendant named Buddy welcomes me aboard. Standing at a small command terminal, Buddy cues up the route and disengages the emergency brake, and we peel out of the parking spot at a cool 11 miles per hour. This is no David Hasselhoff-ian Knight Rider driving experience—

The feasibility of a Green New Deal—a massive mobilization to decarbonize the economy—has gone from a progressive dream to one of the most commented upon topics in American politics in a few months time. There’s a hunger for action around the environment, and with federal policies frozen or in regression under the current presidential administration, much of the action in the U.S. around combatting climate change has fallen to local and city leaders. From pledging to stay in

Scooter ridership in America has outpaced traditional docked bike share for the first time, a new report shows. In 2018, riders took 38.5 million trips on shared e-scooters across American cities, almost doubling ridership over a year and topping the number of trips made on city-sponsored bike share for the first time, according to a new analysis by the National Association of City Transportation Officials. The report comes as e-scooter use and deployment is surging and dockl