Tuesday, December 30, 2025

What public transit can learn from Uber and Lyft

Riders on San Francisco's Muni light rail system. David Lytle, CC BYFor all of their complaints about it, Americans care about public transit. Surveys...

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

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...

With the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, ITDP Calls for Scaling More Public Transport

As the United Nations inaugurates its first Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035) this December, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is urging...