The L.A. Times has a charming story about how the Gold Line Eastside Extension has opened up the Eastside holiday tradition of nacimientos to those who have never been. The tour, which is usually done by car or bicycle, was put on by Metro planner James Rojas. The LA Eastside blog also has a story on the tour with many pictures.

Now here’s a neat idea: using bikes to power mass transit. The Transport Politic takes a look at this innovative idea from industrial designer Chi-Yu Chen. Basically, it involves a public bike sharing system where the bikes have batteries that are charged as commuters ride them. When commuters return bikes to the stations, the power generated is put into the general grid and the riders get an appropriate discount on their transit trip.

It looks like Metro isn’t the only agency struggling to get a TAP-like universal fare system to work. The S.F. Examiner takes a look at the plan to rebrand TransLink, the Bay Area’s universal fare system. After 20 years of imperfect planning and implementation, the TransLink brand has suffered and officials hope that a name change will warm Bay Area residents to the system.

The rest of today’s headlines after the jump.

Airlines Choose Alternative Fuels En Masse
Wired

APTA: Economic Slump Hitting Transit Ridership…But Not In L.A.
LA StreetsBlog

Are High-Speed Trains The Future Of Travel? (video interview: Maglev 2000 inventor Jim Powell)
Fox Business

Bills To Curb Distracted Driving Gain Momentum
CNET

Death To Dead Ends: Will The New Suburbia Omit Cul-De-Sacs?
Fast Company

Gold Line Riders Tour Nacimientos
Los Angeles Times

How About A Rail Line All The Way To LAX In 2010?
CityWatch

Integrating The Transportation Network Through Energy Credits
Transport Politic

LA’s Best Bike Plan – “Bringing Home The Bacon!”
CityWatch

More Editorial Page Folly
California High Speed Rail Blog

New Year Begins With Distracted Driving On The Media, Legislative Radar
U.S. DOT Fast Lane Blog

No Streetsie Left Behind: Even More Awards For 2009
LA StreetsBlog

Rebranding TransLink
San Francisco Examiner

Rethinking Public Participation For Smart Growth
The City Fix

San Francisco Ready To Begin Construction On Transbay Terminal
Transport Politic
San Francisco Transbay Transit Center animation (video)

Schwarzenegger’s Folly: Rumored Budget Would Slash Transit Funds And Gas Tax
LA StreetsBlog

Smart Growth America Analysis Reveals Transportation Projects Create The Most Jobs At The Lowest Cost
Transportation For America
Press Release
Full-text report (13p. PDF)

The State Of Transportation (What were the three most important transportation developments of 2009, and what should be the top three transportation policy priorities of 2010, either for government at any level, or for the private sector?)
National Journal Transportation Blog

Three Years Of Bottlenecks On The 405
Los Angeles Daily News

Transit Agencies Upset By Governor Schwarzenegger’s Plan To Divert Funds
SF StreetsBlog

Why Doesn’t The U.S. Have Decent Rail Service? Blame Democracy
Infrastructurist