Posts by David Alpert — Founder
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Bus Transformation #5: Expand and improve unlimited passes
We pay a flat fee for unlimited talk and text on our phones, for unlimited Internet (mostly), for unlimited access to Netflix or Amazon Prime services. Subscription services are popular with consumers. Shouldn't transit be the same way? Keep reading…
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WMATA actually did have a plan to recover ridership, and it’s everything advocates had been suggesting
This weekend, Faiz Siddiqui at the Washington Post reported that the WMATA Board had not seen, discussed, or devised a plan to reverse the dangerous drop in ridership on both the train and bus. Wednesday, he got just such a plan, a 26-page document which WMATA's planning and performance departments had created five months ago. Keep reading…
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We need to battle “cultural” obstacles to accessory apartments, say Hans Riemer and Tracy Loh
The Kojo Nnamdi Show recently discussed accessory apartments, where homeowners turn basements or garages into separate rental units to get income. It's been a topic of public policy debate in many regional jurisdictions, including DC, Arlington, and Montgomery County. Keep reading…
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This 5-year-old railfan and his dad built the Washington Metro with wooden trains
The Metro map is so iconic, people replicate it in all sorts of places. Like a Halloween costume, a jack-o'-lantern, or holiday cookies. On the more directly train-related front, Charles Duan and his 5-year-old son built the Metro map out of wooden trains. Keep reading…
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“It just takes too long” to make DC streets safer, councilmembers and advocates say
Four people have been killed on bicycles and scooters over the past few months, and 27 total people killed on DC roadways this year. In the shadow of those tragedies, advocates and councilmembers packed a hearing to express frustration at the lack of progress making streets safer for vulnerable road users. Keep reading…
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Bus transformation #4: Make bus+rail transfer fares more fair
Some people take a very long bus ride when rail can offer a faster trip. Or they even take two buses with a transfer. Why? Because Metro's fare structure penalizes people for taking a bus and a train. Keep reading…
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It’s been __ days since a driver killed someone walking, biking, or scooting in DC
On Thursday, the DC Council will hold a hearing on road safety for people walking and biking, spurred by two cyclists killed by drivers in July. In a cruel twist of fate, just before the hearing could happen, DC had another pair of deaths — one on a scooter and another on a bicycle. People are rightly furious that the District is not doing more. Keep reading…
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Drivers hit four DC schoolchildren in the first days of the school year
An alarming (but sadly, not surprising) message came over my neighborhood email list recently. The Deputy Chief of Operations and Programs for DC Public Schools, wrote: “In the first 7 days of the traditional school calendar, DCPS have had 4 situations (that we are aware of) where a student and/or a caregiver was struck by a vehicle near one of our schools.” Keep reading…
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Bus transformation #3: Simplify bus numbering and information
Previously, DW Rowlands discussed the complex and interesting history of how Metrobus’s two-digit-number, one-letter-one-number, one-letter-two-numbers, and numbers-then-one-letter routes all got the names they have. This is cool if you’re interested in local history, but is fairly useless for the average transit rider trying to plan a trip. Keep reading…
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8W? 30N? U7? How Metrobus numbers came to be
Metrobus’s route numbers are unusually complicated compared to those of other major cities. Metrobus uses a mix of two-digit numbers, letters followed by one or two digits, and letters preceded by one or two digits. How did we end up with such a mess? Keep reading…