Episode 35: The Efficiency of Transit & Listener Questions on Transit Operations

In this episode I debunk the myth endorsed by Freakonomics in their episode on Mass Transit Hysteria and peddled by many others that cars are more efficient than transit. Each transit route is part of a network which may serve many functions that we believe contribute positively to our society. Transit is a public benefit. Most of the episode is devoted to listener questions on transit service design and operations:

• How to design a late night transit network,
• The value of pulse point hubs and transit centers (and why transfers are good),
• How to keep buses on time and minimize bunching,
• Whether a series of coordinated green signals lights actually helps buses (not unless you have built-in transit signal priority) or is just a ploy by traffic engineers to pretend to support transit.
• The fine hosts of the Progressive Podcast share their thoughts on using sustainable transport in places where being car-free is not so common. Listen to their show for informed commentary on political, social and cultural issues as well as sustainable transportation.

Share your thoughts and reactions to the show on Twitter, Facebook, and by emailing feedback(at)criticaltransit.com.

Episode 34: Transit News, Listener Feedback, Lessons from Pittsburgh

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Finally a new episode with your feedback as well as some thoughts on recurring transit strikes and worsening climate change. I share some lessons from my experience riding buses and trains in Pittsburgh, including what kinds of information is important to visitors, new residents and seasoned transit users.

Links to people, places and systems mentioned on this episode:

San Francisco BART transit strike; flooding in Calgary and Toronto; train explosion in Quebec; good news for wildfires; Progressive Podcast Australia; Bikes on Metra commuter rail (The Chainlink forum); riding Divvy bike share (Chicago); Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh bus/rail operator); Bike PGH; struggling city of Braddock; ("mini-Detroit"); Stockholm congestion pricing; Bill Lindeke, GaryRidesBikes, Copenhagenize, StrongTowns, walking_boston, bostonrailfan, TheTAdventure.

UPDATE: Walking Bostonian (@walking_boston) wrote a great summary of the transit situation in Pittsburgh.

Please contribute to the growing conversation about sustainable transportation and spread the word by sharing my work on your favorite social media outlets.  Send in your feedback by emailing feedback@criticaltransit.com or using the contact form at criticaltransit.com.

Episode 33: Grease Rag Minneapolis bike collective

I'm back with a tour update and an inspiring interview with a member of Grease Rag, a Minneapolis bike group offering education and support to women/trans/femme cyclists. The growing collective hosts several monthly open shop nights around the Twin Cities as well as day and overnight rides, discussions and other events which build community and connect people with helpful resources in a positive environment.  Lowrah joins me to share her biking story and discuss approaches to supporting new and current cyclists. Learn how we can all be more welcoming, supportive and sensitive to the tension that various forms of privilege can create.  Find out how you can get involved at GreaseRag.org or on Facebook or Twitter.

Livable streets advocates always seem to think that for political reasons they need to make clear they're not anti-car. But I am. I hate cars with a passion. Cars are entirely responsible for the dismal state of our built environment and its negative effects on society. Sure, they can be useful for moving big stuff, but virtually all car trips are totally unnecessary and millions of us do just fine with bikes and buses. My case for why these dangerous steel boxes have to go, finely tuned while navigating around them on my peace-loving bicycle. Also see Right of Way and 50 Reasons Why Cars Suck.

Speaking of bicycles, I will be in Minneapolis next weekend for the Brompton US Championship, a folding bike ride and race that promises to be a fun time. It takes place June 22 and 23 at the Open Streets event in Uptown.

Gareth wrote in from Toronto about the latest mayoral scandal (background) and prospects for a sustainable transit funding plan.  Meanwhile the TTC wants to absorb and expand the city's Bixi bike sharing network but Mayor Ford is again being an obstacle.  In New York, residents and visitors (including me) are already enjoying North America's largest bike share system, CitiBike: blog, video, interviews with idiots.

Music comes from Rock The Bike's Pedal Powered Stage (video) at Sunday Streets, May 2011, San Francisco.

Send comments, questions, suggestions for topics and guests or anything else to feedback@criticaltransit.com or use the contact form above. Follow me on Facebook or Twitter for near-daily micro thoughts.

Episode 32: La Crosse, Wisconsin: small city and rural transit

We look first at the small radial bus system transit run by the La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility, which I rode on Fare Free Day.  Service Rep/Dispatcher Sonna Severson explains the system, then Director Keith Carlson explains some of the issues and what they've been working on. I toured the MTU service area, rode one of their brand new hybrid buses and enjoyed the two-year-old Grand River Station, a beautiful indoor/outdoor transit center which functions as a pulse point hub for ten fixed routes and Jefferson Lines intercity buses.

When I accidentally discovered the very new Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit, I had to take a ride. I share some audio from the trip as bus driver Carrie tells us about the service and who is using it.  Regional Transportation Planner (MRRPC) Peter Fletcher explains the process of starting a new transit service in Wisconsin, the complex public-private partnership that funds SMRT, and how it's going so far. The service is operated by Running Inc., which also operates a regional shared-ride taxi company.  Some publicity and coordination with MTU schedules, and a spot in Grand River Station, would help the ridership grow.

I biked from La Crosse north along the Mississippi River to Winona, Minnesota, my next stop, in the dark on country roads without my regular dynamo taillight. I blame Brompton for selling me an inferior halogen headlight which caused my inferior rear light to burn out, but thanks to the great folks at Calhoun Cycle in Minneapolis for replacing it and getting me on my way. [UPDATE: Eventually I replaced these with a good Busch & Muller LED light set that's been flawless.]

Read and contribute to the rural transit resource library of the TROUT in Bancroft, Ontario.  Learn about the Brompton US Championship race which will take place during Open Streets Minneapolis on June 23.

Most of this episode was recorded during the first few days of April.  Please send your questions, comments, ideas for show topics and guests to feedback@criticaltransit.com or using the contact form. Follow me and my work on Twitter @criticaltransit or Facebook.

Episode 31: Nice Ride: Bike Sharing in the Twin Cities

I stopped by the Nice Ride Minnesota offices near the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis.  Nice Ride is a bike share system now in its fourth year of operation and its second year in St Paul.  Anthony Ongaro and Mitch Vars discuss the state of the system and how it is helping to make the Twin Cities a happier and healthier place. Later we dream about moving Nice Ride bikes by bike, and Executive Director Bill Dossett explains the evolution of the local bike network and shares his favorite places to ride.

Learn more about the show and my ongoing transit tour, send questions and stories, suggest destinations, topics or guests by emailing feedback@criticaltransit.com, and follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Episode 30: Madison B-Cycle bike sharing

In cities of all sizes there is a new public transportation option that is convenient, flexible and inexpensive. Bike sharing allows you to have a bike when you need it and forget about it when you don't, without the hassles of parking and maintenance. Madison B-Cycle City Manager Claire Hurley explains how bike sharing works, who uses it and why it makes the city more livable. We also talk about utility and recreational bicycling in one of the most bike friendly cities in the country.

Madison B-Cycle was one of the first bike share systems in the United States. Bike sharing has been wildly successful in cities of all sizes and is rapidly expanding across the US and Canada. Check it out when you visit one of these places, and advocate for bike share in your own city. Follow the Bike Sharing Blog to read about international systems.

A few days later I completed a Tour de B-Cycle in which I toured the city by visiting all 32 stations in one day. The second half of this episode features a selection of audio from the adventure.

Episode 29: Madison Metro Transit

The unique geography of Madison, Wisconsin -- built on an isthmus, a narrow strip of land between two lakes -- creates an interesting bus service design. It's not quite narrow enough to put all buses on one street that everyone could walk to for very frequent service, but still there is frequent combined service on three corridors running the length of the isthmus. Like many agencies, Madison Metro Transit is struggling to manage steady growth in ridership. They were recently awarded the Outstanding Public Transportation Award for their efforts to improve and promote their service in innovative ways.  Marketing Director Mick Rusch joins me to discuss their services and some of the operational issues they deal with.

Bus routes and schedules are designed to facilitate connections at a series of transfer points at the edges of the city and downtown around the State Capitol. The most transit friendly city in Wisconsin has installed many transit priority facilities such as bus lanes and most notably a busway for the full length of the busy State Street pedestrian mall. The University of Wisconsin offers unlimited transit passes for their students, faculty and staff.

Metro Transit is struggling to deal with overcrowding and is even considering raising fares in order to increase service frequency. Would changing from a city department to a regional transit authority be the solution? Listen in to learn about bus-bike interaction, winter weather, bus technology and much more.

In the second half a listener shares a video on the structure of Singapore's bus and rail networks and suggests that privatized transit can only work well when heavily regulated. But if a public entity makes all the important decisions, is it still attractive to those who advocate for deregulation?  We also consider whether transit agencies should strive for profit, and suggests a way for the public sector to capture and reinvest some of increasing real estate values that their services facilitate.

Send your comments and suggestions for topics and/or guests by contacting me. Follow the blog at criticaltransit.com, and if this work is useful to you, please support the show to help me continue traveling and reporting.

Episode 28: The Vulture Space (Milwaukee Community Bicycle Project)

Enjoy my interview with Evan Pack, founder and director of the Vulture Space: Milwaukee Community Bicycle Project, a community bike shop focused on getting more people riding bikes more often. The shop sells inexpensive bikes, parts and accessories and provides the tools necessary for all kinds of people to learn and practice bicycle repair. Evan Pack is a Milwaukee native with a passion for long-term bike touring, when he's not busy helping other people get back on the road. Support this great community resource by donating money, parts, tools and accessories, and by becoming a member.  Find out more on website and Facebook page.

All of Evan's favorite bike coops and many more can be found on the Community Bicycle Organizations wiki compiled by the Bicycle Collective Network.

Other useful links: Milwaukee Bicycle Community; Amtrak bike policy (see also this bike packing video); Michael Horne's historic bikes (Milwaukee Magazine); South Shore Cyclery (donated equipment to Vulture Space and vintage bicycles to the Bike Federation); NPR affiliate WUWM on the Vulture Space opening (at the end) and their brief interview on Lance Armstrong; Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park; Milwaukee Bike Share (would be similar to Madison B-Cycle).

Episode 27: Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

On the last bitter cold morning of the year I stopped by the Milwaukee office of the Wisconsin Bike Federation to learn about their efforts to improve bicycling across the state. Their education programs are a model for bike advocacy organizations looking to teach safe cycling skills to new cyclists of all ages. They are working to bring complete street designs to Wisconsin cities and towns and foster an already impressive bike culture.  Thanks to Communications Director Dave Schlabowske; Education Director (and soon-to-be Milwaukee chapter leader) Jessica Binder; and Education Project Manager (and bike polo master) Jake Newborn, for sharing all this great info. Follow the blog and learn about how you can help, and attend their Lobby Day on Tuesday, April 9 to help restore bike funding and promote legal protections for vulnerable road users. And if you become a member you get the shiny new magazine you heard about in the interview.

Also check out the Urban Ecology Center right next door, and have a look around the City of Milwaukee bike pages.

Episode 26: Streetsblog Chicago

My last show from Chicago features sustainable transportation advocates, and Streetsblog Chicago editors Steven Vance & John Greenfield.  Streetsblog is a daily news source covering public transit, bicycling, walking and the growing movement for safe, equitable, livable streets.  Their original site remains at Grid Chicago and their individual blogs are Steven Can Plan and Vote With Your Feet. Links to Chicago DOT, Active Transportation Alliance, the Ventra fare card (Chicago Transit Authority), Chicago Cargo (bike swap photos). I am now in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after completing a multimodal trip by train, bike and bus, which I discuss later in the show.  The coldest days seem to be behind us but it still won't feel like spring in this region for another two weeks.  From here I will spend a few days in Madison and continue northwest making my way up to Minneapolis & St. Paul, Minnesota.

If you find yourself along my route please contact me to share information, suggest places to go or people to talk to, and hopefully meet to discuss transit and bikes.  And if you appreciate the show please consider donating to help support my Sustainable Transport Tour and this reporting. You can also support this work by sharing it with your friends and colleagues, following me on Facebook and Twitter, and leaving a review on iTunes or another blog/podcast service.

P.S.  I have been working on the site to fix some issues and make it load faster.  Please contact me if you have suggestions for improvements, if you experience difficulty accessing the site, or if your comments don't appear after you post them (sometimes real comments get stuck in the spam folder).