Transportation headlines, Wednesday, Feb. 16

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.

Metro Continues to Expand TAP Program. Complaints Still Common (Streetsblog LA)

Inspired by continuing complaints and news coverage about Metro’s smart card system, Streetsblog tackles the TAP card and its many issues. While the long-awaited stored value option is making its way to Metro rail stations, riders are still unhappy with the implementation. Many complain the bus drivers aren’t properly trained to handle the stored value TAP cards, particularly when it comes to express buses that require extra zone fares.

Naming Rights Can Pave the Way for LA Subway (CityWatch)

Joel Epstein pens this piece for CityWatch about a creative funding idea for the Westside Subway: selling naming rights for subway stations. Skeptics may bemoan corporate sponsorship of public right-of-ways, but as Epstein smartly notes – Wilshire Boulevard was named after an L.A. real estate speculator, not a Greek god.

The death of the gas tax — and of infrastructure investment? (Washington Post)

Ezra Klein opines that transportation infrastructure investment is the best best for our economy right now – it provides plenty of jobs and fixes our country’s crumbling roads, bridges and rails. Unfortunately, despite big plans for spending, the gas tax that funds transportation investment hasn’t been raised since the Clinton years.