Posts about Transit
-
Breakfast links: Trains, cars of the future, roads of the past
High trail, grass tracks; Car of the future even more dangerous to peds, bikes?; AASHTO: More highways, and more, and more; WashTimes vs HOT lanes; Dog poop forensics; Graphic texting ad coming to South Carolina; Bad contractor destroys two houses. Keep reading…
-
NextBus accuracy slips, “ghost buses” explained
WMATA released NextBus accuracy statistics last week, and frequent users will not be surprised to find out that accuracy is not where it could be. NextBus only has predictions for 78% of buses, far below the 92% accuracy target. The buses themselves are also not keeping to schedules particularly well, being “on time” only about 75% of the time even with a generous… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Ways of talking
Teen struck by bullet; Obnoxious GGW commenters make the Post; How to pay for streetcars; Fewer homes on the market: good?; Yglesias on cities; Meters everywhere but no money; And…. Keep reading…
-
Then and Now: York Auto Supply to Metro station
Long before work began in earnest in the 1990s for the Metro station at 3701 Georgia Avenue, the northeast corner of New Hampshire and Georgia Avenues became associated with transportation when the York Auto Supply Company opened in 1920. Keep reading…
-
Logjam at the WMATA Board, part 2: Don’t say it like that
Tempers got a little heated at yesterday’s WMATA Board meeting, and jurisdictions are deadlocked. Part of the problem was the funding formula, but another part was the way staff presented options. Two weeks ago, Interim GM Richard Sarles presented a budget that did a fairly nice job of sorting through the many fare and service proposals. It wasn’t exactly what anyone… Keep reading…
-
Logjam at the WMATA Board, part 1: The unfair formula
Two weeks ago, the WMATA Board seemed very close to a consensus on the operating budget after Interim GM Sarles took the lead and proposed a new budget. Yesterday, the budget meeting devolved into fractious fighting over parking fees and late-night fares. What happened? Two things happened. First, the inequitable funding formula penalizes DC for decisions over parking prices… Keep reading…
-
Change the Metrorail formula to change incentives
The current Metrorail subsidy formula does not reward jurisdictions for increasing ridership at their stations. Revenues from increased ridership get spread out across the system, while costs are concentrated. By changing how we calculate each jurisdiction’s share, we can change the incentives. That will encourage jurisdictions to better use the land around… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Fighting transit, paying for roads
Streetcars on the TV; thecranks@dcwatch; Barnes Dance barn dance; Community, students won’t stop UMD anti-transit stance; Virginia can’t afford new freeways; Tysons “piecemeal” street grid?; And…. Keep reading…
-
Commission forming to study WMATA governance
Yesterday, the Council of Governments voted to participate in a Greater Washington Board of Trade-organized “independent review” of WMATA governance. The Board of Trade, an association of businesses across the region, will nominate some “private sector” people for the panel, and COG will select some “public sector” folks. By participating in this process, COG will not only… Keep reading…
-
‘Metrospeak’ camouflages bus cuts
Because of Metro’s budget shortfall, fares will likely rise, and some service reductions will take place. However, Metro’s terminology misleadingly couches major service reductions as “restructurings.” General Manager Richard Sarles’ budget proposal calls for fewer bus cuts - certainly a fact worth celebrating. But some very major… Keep reading…