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.
Brooklyn’s super convenient but mostly illegal private bus service (The Atlantic Cities)
Well clearly I made a glaring oversight during my transit tourist trip to New York. Writer Lisa Margonelli examines the thriving — but technically illegal — private transit system operating in New York’s outer boroughs. There are a couple interesting debates brought up in the article, including whether or not the private transit service actually undermines the existing public transit system. Margonelli argues that the private jitneys provide a complementary and fundamentally different type of service.
Bike-friendly events like L.A.’s CicLAvia promote fun fitness (L.A. Times)
The Times’ Boostershots blog takes a look at how events like CicLAvia can promote public health by making physical activity fun. And I cannot overstate how fun CicLAvia is. The next one is this Sunday, October 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
More rail service could spring from new agency (San Diego Union Tribune)
Here’s a story from a few weeks ago that fell through the cracks. Various regional transportation agencies along the San Luis Obispo–Los Angeles–San Diego (aka LOSSAN) rail corridor are exploring the possibility of creating a super-agency to improve management of the services they operate. The Union Tribute suggests that we could see “as many as 27 additional daily train trips along the San Diego-Los Angeles corridor,” on top of the 11 operated daily today. This intercity corridor is the second busiest in the U.S. behind the Northeast Corridor.
Categories: Transportation Headlines
Forget the jitneys, I’m more fascinated by the possibility of more trains on the LOSSAN corridor. Certainly more trains (and less regional bureaucratic provincialism) would be a good thing.
The article that this links to suggests San Diego Coaster trains heading further north and Metrolink trains in San Diego. Coaster trains are Compass (San Diego’s TAP, same tech, same contractor) compatible.
Would this mean TAP-ping onto Metrolink? Perhaps even cross-card compatibility of TAP and Compass, like they have with SUICA, PASMO and even ICOCA in Japan?
Nah, that would make too much sense.
@Frank M:
So long as they follow the ADA, Title 6 and have verified and enough insurance.
As a believer in open market competition, I wouldn’t mind legal private transportation businesses competing with public transportation. If they offer better service without taxpayer support, sure, why not?
The article on outer borough vans in NYC is interesting because none of this is new.
For many, many years San Francisco had private “jitneys” running up and down Mission Street from Daly City just over the SF border to the Transbay terminal in downtown SF. They were in direct competition with the SF Muni 14 Line and charged the same fare as Muni at the time.
I believe they are all gone now. Did the LA area have similar services even after the transit services were made “public”?