Here is a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by us and the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog.

Congestion pricing drops Bay Bridge commuting times (Mercury News)

The waiting time for westbound morning commuters on the Bay Bridge has dropped 15 percent since tolls were raised from $4 to $6 during the rush hours as part of a congestion pricing effort. Officials say that some motorists appear to be switching to BART while others, however, are shifting their commutes to before 5 a.m. and after 10 a.m. — the windown when the higher tolls are in effect.

L.A.’s first diesel buses (Metro library’s Primary Resources blog)

The first diesel bus arrived in 1940 and was praised for its quick acceleration and smooth ride — unlike many buses at the time. Three years later, Angelenos were complaining about smog. Of course, it wasn’t just buses that was the problem — but it became clear over the years that diesel buses were definitely contributing to the air quality problem. Metro on Wednesday retired its last diesel-powered bus.

Downtown foothall stadium the way to go (Huffington Post)

Transit advocate Joel Epstein says that if a new football stadium has to be built in the Los Angeles area, then the best place for it is next to L.A. Live, as is proposed by AEG. The reason: it’s near the Blue Line, future Expo Line and possibly a future downtown streetcar. One other wrinkle: if AEG can sell the naming rights for its new stadium to Farmer Insurance — as is apparently being discussed, Epstein says that Metro should raise some revenues by selling naming rights to its transit stations.

Public transportation systems come at a high price (High Country News)

Writer Joseph Taylor despises the current rhetoric often used when it comes to discussing the cost of building transportation. It’s too black-and-white and ignores history, flossing over facts such as that most infrastructure built in the U.S. has been heavily subsidized. He takes a look at the issue through the prism of the debate over the cost of high-speed rail in California, which Taylor views as a complicated — and hardly simple — debate about costs and benefits.