Tuesday, April 1, 2025

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...

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...

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...

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....

Babbage: August 14th 2013: Pipe dreams of fast pods

ELON MUSK, creator of PayPal, proposes the superfast transit system for Californian commuters, London recycling bins nab data from passers-by and why rabbits have...

Latest articles

Revitalizing Mexico City’s Historic Buenavista Central Station

The current iteration of Buenavista Station debuted in the 1960s and continues to serve as a vital lifeline for thousands of commuters every day....

Shifting gears: Gender equity in transit

Gender inequities in transportation systems have often overlooked women’s travel and safety needs. From biased crash testing to undervalued non-work trips, this Women’s History...

The country’s civil engineers agree: $1.5 trillion didn’t produce good infrastructure

Despite historic levels of investment in infrastructure over the last twenty years, America’s 2025 infrastructure grades for roads, bridges, safety, and transit look mostly...

Nominate Now for the 2026 Sustainable Transport Award

Does your city or region deserve more recognition for new transport, street design, or policy improvements that increase mobility and improve quality of life...