Photo by Michael Li on Flickr.

Los Angeles wants the 2024 Olympics and says it can do the job for cheap, Greyhound is looking for a new lease on life, and in Georgia, voters just lost their chance to decide whether to fund MARTA expansion. Check out what’s happening around the world in transportation, land use, and other related areas!

Olympic Trials: It costs a lot to host the Olympics, and recently most of the willing bidders have been cities in countries with horrible human rights records. A lot of cities in wealthier countries have said no to hosting, but Los Angeles says it has a model for running the Games at low cost, and wants to use it in 2024. (ESPN)

Greyhound makeover: Greyhound, which many have long viewed as a travel mode of last resort, is working to attract younger riders and stay relevant. By creating new apps and upgrading its aging fleet, the company hopes to compete on shorter haul routes that have been long dominated by the airline industry. (Dallas Morning News)

MARTA never had a chance: Many Georgia voters thought they’d be voting this fall on whether to expand MARTA. That won’t happen, though, as the measure won’t be on the ballot because suburban legislators scuttled a vote on the bill proposing to put it there. (Curbed Atlanta)

Denver’s disputed plan: Blueprint Denver, which in 2002 said which parts of the city should develop and which should stay the same, is due for an update. Local density opponents say that prevailing interpretations of the plan have been too friendly to developers. (Westword)

Healthy town: In England, new towns are focusing on health outcomes for residents, with places fighting diseases like diabetes by promoting active living and restricting fast food near schools. Ten new towns are planned for 170,000 residents by 2030. (Mashable)

For transit, regional > local: In a number of European cities, regional associations called Verkehrsverbünde handle transit operations and coordination. Doing it this way rather than having local, individual agencies run most transit systems, could mean more ridership, lower costs, and better land use decisions. (MZ Strategies)

Quote of the Week

“The London Congestion Charge is better than nothing but does not do the job as effectively as it might since it is not closely related to the congestion costs any given journey creates and, as a cordon charge, in fact generates an incentive once you have paid the charge to use your vehicle.”

- Paul Cheshire, Emeritus Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics.