Episode 14: parking, land use and transit with Rachel Weinberger

Parking is a very important factor in urban design and transport mode choice, yet is frequently overlooked as cities consider it part of zoning codes rather than transportation infrastructure. Sustainable transportation consultant Rachel Weinberger joins me to explain the connections between parking, transit and the urban environment. The costs of driving are not only heavily subsidized by all levels of government but also bundled into the costs of goods and services in the public and private sectors. As a result, the provision of free or cheap parking (and the perceived endless need for it) promotes driving and makes it more difficult to walk or use other transport modes. We also talk about her work on the original PlaNYC and other transportation politics and trends.

Find out more about Rachel Weinberger by reading her research papers and and in coverage on Streetsblog.

Please send questions, comments and suggestions for future topics or guests to feedback@criticaltransit.com.

Episode 13: News, politics, upgrading busy routes, transport costs and mode choice

A summary of news items turns into a discussion of how cities can use rail to increase capacity while reducing operating costs on overcrowded high-frequency bus routes. Too many people want rail for the wrong reasons, but the most convincing argument for rail is when you can't run enough buses to deal with demand. At the same time, rail is not inherently better than buses, but most people think that is the case because we usually provide high quality rail service and low quality bus service. Hurricane Damage Cost New York City MTA $5 Billion; Nova Scotia intercity bus regulation change increased operator flexibility; transit users save $9,798 annually but only if you don't already own a car; parking makes cities less walkable and transit friendly; cities make people more liberal and open-minded; Vancouver to upgrade 99 B-Line bus to subway (as it should); Minneapolis has also been upgrading busy bus lines to light rail (construction updates); Ottawa is upgrading their model BRT system to light rail. Pittsburgh has three excellent busways.  Read more about bus rapid transit in other places like Bogota and Curitiba. And you can follow Toronto's mayoral saga or the more interesting transit expansion news and the new US House T&I Committee chairman.

Follow the blog at CriticalTransit.com; also leave a message, and subscribe to the podcast feed. Send email to feedback@criticaltransit.com.

All about transit in Boston

Boston is a great place to visit (and live) and offers lots of great lessons on transit service design and operation. It has one of the most diverse transit fleets in North America -- heavy rail (subway/metro), light rail (trolley/streetcar/tram), local and express buses (diesel/CNG/hybrid), electric trolley buses (trackless trolleys), regional commuter rail and a handful of commuter ferry routes in Boston Harbor.  The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), known locally as "the T", provides service throughout the region and operates all of these modes. You can read all about the MBTA on Wikipedia and the transit history and vehicle roster page maintained by local transit fan Jonathan Belcher. This week's super long show explores only a fraction of the system, including the Green Line light rail/trolley network, Blue Line heavy rail line, Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) lines, and the bus network in Harvard Square.

Please send in questions or comments on anything you hear to feedback@criticaltransit.com or comment on this page.

Biking in Toronto with Yvonne Bambrick

Toronto cycling advocate Yvonne Bambrick joins me to discuss bike safety, politics and infrastructure. Yvonne was the first Executive Director of the Toronto Cyclists Union and is now an independent bike consultant.  Activists there are engaging in civil disobedience to delay the politically motivated removal of the popular Jarvis Street bike lane, despite proven safety benefits and a tripling of bike counts since the lane was recently installed on the only north-south bike route in the city center. In other news ... If you want cyclists off the sidewalks you have to make the streets safe for cycling.  A geography lesson shows the segregation and sprawl in many coastal areas of the NY region, and apparently some people want MTA chief Joe Llota to run for mayor next year.  City residents tend to own cars but use them infrequently, a terrible waste of public space.

Send your comments, questions and suggestions to feedback@criticaltransit.com and I will read them on the air.  Critical Transit is listener supported, so if you enjoy the show, tell your friends and colleagues, leave a review on iTunes, and please consider making a donation or sponsoring an episode.

Hurricane Recovery Special with Epic Transit Journey

Enjoy this special, extra-long episode on the damage from Hurricane Sandy and the struggle to rebuild devastated communities and submerged transit networks. We have shuttered rail lines, debris and trash all over the streets, massive flooding in stations, hundreds of shuttle buses, missing rail cars, huge neighborhoods in a now-snowy region with no heat or electricity. ... More people are using bicycles and hopefully some will make it their preferred transport mode. This episode features bits of live audio from Boston during the hurricane and from my epic transit journey from Boston to New York via a combination of local bus services when intercity carriers were not running.

Next week is a discussion about bicycling in Toronto with Yvonne Bambrick. Later this month, the rest of my audio from riding the MBTA, walking and biking in Boston.

Great photos of the damage and amazing recovery efforts courtesy of MTA Photos on flickr:

Episode 8 - Listener feedback on fares, empty buses & Human Transit

The first three listener emails came in, prompting a discussion of fares and pre-payment in more detail. Also, variable loads can make buses appear empty and cause a political problem; so what to do about it? We end with a very informative clip from a talk by Human Transit author Jarrett Walker earlier this year, focusing on the four important questions to consider before attempting to design transit service. In other words, what are we trying to achieve?

I am in Boston this week so stay tuned for some great content including on-street interviews and transit trips when I return.

Somerville, Mass. bike advocate Alex Epstein

A great show today where Alex and I discuss everything from politically-driven street design changes to the effects of car culture on our society. We reclaim some parking spaces along the way, ponder the best way to move sustainable transportation forward, and observe that car-free is the way to be. Check out the fine work of the Somerville Bicycle Committee and their facebook page.If you're in the Boston area, lend your support for the city's first protected bike lane on its busiest cycling route.

We mentioned research by John Pucher and the Victoria Transport Policy Institute on cycling, parking policies, and highlighted efforts to improve the plight of Indian rickshaw operators and a new UBC study showing that bike infrastructure in Vancouver reduced injuries by as much as 90 percent. We also love that Park(ing) Day shows how cars waste urban space. And why cycling is both progressive and conservative.

Next week I have another great show for you while I am visiting Boston to ride buses, trains and my bicycle.

Podcast 6 - News, Street Design, Transit Fares, and please forget about bike helmets

Back with a new podcast, catching up on some things in the news this month. I talk about the importance of redesigning streets to improve safety and comfort for people of all abilities, and it doesn't have to be an expensive, long-term project.  Brooklyn's Fourth Avenue speedway was just redesigned using only paint and plastic bollards (more on road diets).  Advocates are targeting the dangerously narrow and inadequate bike and pedestrian path on the Pulaski Bridge for improvements. This bridge shows why conflicts arise between pedestrians and cyclists, because both groups are given inadequate facilities even while motorists dominate the streets.

Bike helmets aren't all they're cracked up to be. A few Swedish engineers are working on an invisible, inflatable bike helmet. I argue that helmets do not prevent crashes, and by pushing helmet use we neglect the things that actually matter for bike safety like safe bicycling advice, driver education and enforcement. Bike Walk Lee showed the power of bikes in social justice by holding a clinic to help homeless people get access to bike repair services. Toronto removes a key north-south bike lane despite it having tripled bike travel on the corridor in just a few short years.

The last piece of bad news is from California, where politicians are releasing emergency oil reserves to try to appease frustrated motorists. But as we know, that is not a solution.

On the transit side, the Worcester Regional Transit Authority, the disproportionately small bus system in New England's second largest city, is buying three all-electric buses. This a big positive development yet it also highlights the problems with the federal transit funding formulas.

Free service on the Silver Line bus between downtown Boston and Logan Airport will continue until January. The absence of on-board (or any) fare collection has surely caused a dramatic reduction in travel times and made things easier for everyone.  In a related development, my favorite transit blog, Human Transit, discredits route-level fare recovery analyses since each route is part of an interconnected urban transportation system.

Bus Rapid Transit and Customer Service

Here is episode 5 of the podcast, starting with some thoughts on the value of customer service in transit and the difficulty of providing it. Improved bus service is coming to the 14/15 Jeffrey Corridor in Chicago and the S79 on Hylan Blvd in Staten Island (New York City). Both will reduce travel times but neither can really be considered Bus Rapid Transit. In this show I discuss what BRT really is and how our continued pro-car bias routinely prevents us from implementing high quality bus service.

It's a long show but I think you'll enjoy it.

Episode 4 - Bike Safety

Many people who want to bike are held back by reasonable safety concerns. This episode addresses the most common hazards and offers advice for cyclists to maximize their safety. Most importantly, always make sure to claim the space you need, and don't be intimidated by others who might want to steal your space. By staying in control, you can prevent others from endangering you and be able to react in emergency situations. Read all about how to be an "Unracer" in Grant Petersen's Just Ride; see the review in Bicycle Times Magazine (which you should definitely subscribe to). We heard closing music from The Bicycles: "B-B-B-Bicycles!"

Also, I said it's Episode 5 but it's actually Episode 4.  This show got pushed up a week. Send in your feedback, ideas and suggestions for topics and guests.