Thursday, October 9, 2025

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

Lessons from Jinan, China’s Electric Transformation

In recent years, China has emerged as a global leader in public transport electrification. From megacities like Shenzhen and Beijing to provincial capitals, the...

How to Keep SUVs Out of Emerging Economies

Car-centric transportation systems have seriously damaged the environment, safety, and livability of cities around the world. Fossil-fuel-based passenger transport is a major contributor to...

In Brazil, This Project is Improving Public Transport with Data and Technology

The impacts of urban passenger transport are not just a growing concern in Brazil, but an increasingly problematic source of GHG emissions, responsible for...

A More Walkable, Cyclable, and Accessible Future for Addis Ababa

As Ethiopia’s capital and largest city experiences rapid growth, the need for a safe, efficient, and sustainable transport system has never been greater for...