Mass transit ridership was down across the United States in the past year, but there’s one place that has seen record numbers of passengers of late: Vancouver, home to the Winter Olympics, according to the Sun. A new train line was built in preparation for the Games and lines were especially long on Sunday with some big events in town. One of those, of course, was the United States’ awesome, amazing hockey triumph over Team Canada, with both Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson from the Los Angeles Kings playing for the superior American squad.
Wired dreams of a future in which all transportation devices — particular cars — can “talk” to one another, sharing information about which route is the best to take and which to avoid. This kind of “intelligent transportation system” has been under development for a couple of decades and Wired thinks the feds need to spend more money on implementation rather than just research.
On the jobs front, the rail car manufacturer Siemens says it will expand its Sacramento plant to one day build high-speed rail vehicles in response to the Obama Administration’s recent award of $8 billion toward HSR projects. Interesting, but I think it’s worth noting there is still not one inch of high-speed track anywhere in the United States. CNN posts the press release from Siemens.
The rest of today’s transportation headlines, compiled by the Metro library, are after the jump.
AAR
Full-Text Report (26p. PDF)
Advocates Make The Case For More Federal Funding For Southern California Transit And Bikeways
LA StreetsBlog
“A Bicycle Is Not A Transportation Device”
DC StreetsBlog
Calif. Drivers May Soon Pay For Accident Cleanup
CBS-5
Cyclists And Planners Talk, Metro Listens
Biking In LA
Extending The Gold Line Eastward Even Further (four route options narrowed to two; public meetings set this week for Pico Rivera, South El Monte, Montebello, and Whittier)
LAist
Glimpse The Wireless Future Of Transportation
Wired
Is A FOX Show Trying To Derail U.S. High Speed Rail?
Infrastructurist
“Libros Al Viento” (Books On The Wind) And Other Mobile Books (libraries operate book vending machines in transit stations)
Polis
Maglev Train Funds Being Sought Again: Gibbons To Press For State, California Assistance
Las Vegas Review-Journal
New Analysis: Major Cities Still Shortchanged By Transportation Stimulus
DC StreetsBlog
Parking Pricing Implementation Guidelines: How More Efficient Pricing Can Help Solve Parking Problems, Increase Revenue And Achieve Other Planning Objectives (30p. PDF)
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
Ratings System Targets Environmental Impact Of Roadways (University of Washington project looks at performance metrics and best practices; “like LEEDS, but for roads”)
Environmental Leader
Record Numbers Taking Transit: Everything That Rolls And Floats Is In Service (1.6 million people a day used buses, SkyTrain, the SeaBus and the West Coast Express during first week of Winter Olympics)
Vancouver Sun
Service Cuts – Again
Riding In Riverside
Siemens to Expand U.S. Manufacturing Facility to Meet High-Speed Rail Needs: Trains Will Be Built With Renewable Energy
CNN
TIGER’s Tale And Lessons For Stimulus Spending (metropolitan areas miss out on stimulus funding)
New Republic
Categories: Transportation News