Etiquette on public transport: Spread ’em
THERE is a reason why men tend to spread their legs as wide as they can when they ride on public transport. It’s just...
Atlanta’s new trams: All aboard!
A TINY scarlet hut on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Thelma’s Kitchen and Rib Shack, serves up world-beating catfish and grits. Demand for its grub...
The Second Avenue Subway: I'm from the government, and I'm here to help
I WON'T lie: the newsletter drew me in. I was interested as soon as I saw it lying on the counter at a relative's...
Sharing a lift: Carpooling uber alles
“MARK my word,” Henry Ford declared in 1940, “A combination of airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come.” No...
Streetcars and urban renewal: Rolling blunder
LATE and over budget, streetcars are finally rumbling to life in Washington, DC. The long-awaited service, which has cost at least $135m to build,...
The Economist explains: Why trams are a waste of money
STREETCARS—otherwise known as trolleys or trams—had their golden age around 100 years ago, carrying urban workers to nascent suburbs around Europe and America. But...
Bob Crow: Union man
SOME people would resent being treated as the pantomime villain of London politics. Not Bob Crow, who died early this morning. The leader of...
New York: The subway, after Sandy
NEW YORK was warned. In 2011, a year before Superstorm Sandy hit the city, Klaus Jacob, a scientist at Columbia University, warned in a report that...
Fares: Maybe buses should be free
AFTER riding a tram in Strasbourg, Matt Yglesias, a blogger with Slate, has decided that proof-of-payment fare-collection systems—in which fares are enforced by inspectors who...
Latest articles
E-Buses Are the Solution for Clean, Equitable Public Transport Everywhere
All over the world, electric buses (e-buses) are becoming a cornerstone of sustainable, efficient public transport. As cities grapple with rising pollution, greenhouse gas...
Three opportunities to work with incoming USDOT Secretary Duffy
Last Wednesday (Jan. 15), former Congressman Sean Duffy faced questions from the Senate Commerce Committee, tasked to vet the next Transportation Secretary. Here are...
Art meets action: Revitalizing West Baltimore
In West Baltimore, our partners West North Avenue Development Authority (WNADA), Graham Projects, and Open Works hosted a community engagement pop-up to redesign West...
Time’s up! What wins has Biden notched and what has he left incomplete on...
In November 2020, we sent the incoming Biden administration a memo outlining immediate and longer-term actions we urged the new president to initiate. Four...
