Wednesday, January 7, 2026

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...

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...

Cities can jump-start climate progress by plugging in their vehicles

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, left, and Mayor Eric Garcetti pose next to an all-electric car in this 2015 photo. AP Photo/Nick...

Subways in America: Gangway, please

IN LATE 2013, New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) released a comprehensive report on its capital investment needs for the next two decades. Buried...

Chris Christie and the GOP: Pound foolish

CHRIS CHRISTIE'S overwhelming re-election as governor of New Jersey this week immediately got him hailed as the great hope of Republican pragmatists in the 2016 presidential elections....

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...

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...

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...

A streetcar in the mire: Washington, DC’s pointless streetcar service finally opens

“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,...

Latest articles

Unlocking Better Bus Service Starts with Electric Buses

Buses are the backbone of public transport. Yet in many cities, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), bus services remain slow, unreliable, crowded,...

How Ready Are Brazil’s Cities for Climate Change?

Each storm that floods a bus terminal, or a heat wave that makes walking and cycling a challenge, demonstrates that climate change is fundamentally...

ITDP Mexico’s 2025 Ciclociudades Monitor Assesses Cycling Across Latin America

Since 2011, Ciclociudades has been a key initiative of ITDP Mexico to measure the progress of cycling mobility across cities — originally focused on...

ITDP Mexico’s 2025 Ciclociudades Monitor Assesses Cycling Across Latin America

Since 2011, Ciclociudades has been a key initiative of ITDP Mexico to measure the progress of cycling mobility across cities — originally focused on...