Breakfast links: Where the rubber meets the road

Busing around

Intercity bus passengers dropped 66% from 1960 to 2002, but are on the rise again since 2006 with the popularity of Chinatown buses and new low-cost carriers with Wi-Fi and new buses. Demand is strongest in the Northeast and Midwest. Those buses move a lot of people very cheaply and with very low fuel consumption. (The Goodspeed Update)

U-may have choice in car sharing

Zipcar may not be the only car sharing option soon. Hertz and U-Haul are entering the car sharing market, with fleets mostly around major universities. Though if U-Carshare is anything like U-Haul’s van business, renting a car from them will mean driving a death trap held together with tape and a 50% chance your car has been double booked when you go to pick it up. (World Streets via TheCityFix DC)

Hipster obsession, suburban stereotypes block Post from actual trends

A Post style piece tries to discuss the impact of Target on Columbia Heights. Sommer Mathis takes the piece apart for its silly generalizations about residents as “hipsters, post-hipsters or quasi-hipsters” and other laziness. More deeply, the article reveals deeper assumptions that chain stores associate with suburban lifestyles and adulthood, while urban neighborhoods go with bodegas, crime, and youth, without actually digging into whether that’s any more than a stereotype. Changes in the way we see big box stores and neighborhoods represent an even more significant and interesting trend in society than who wants matching bathmats and shower curtains. (Washington Post, DCist, Orr)  (Tip: Orr)

On planning in the east

Several blogs respond to my map-based criticism of Prince George’s planning yesterday. Richard Layman argues that Prince George’s can’t easily attract TOD without a better network of transit, which the Purple Line will kick start. And Noah Kazis says it’s not about the land around the Metro stations, but about the County’s penchant for developing sprawl outside the Metro area entirely; that was actually my point as well.

Two bicycle hit-and-runs

A truck driver struck and killed a cyclist in downtown Baltimore, then left the scene (WJZ) … A pickup truck driver also fled after killing a cyclist in Pittsburgh. (Post Gazette)

No rubber trolley for Herndon

Herndon has decided it can’t afford a trolley-shaped bus in and around its downtown. Projections only estimated 219 daily riders. Maybe once a Metro station opens there will be more value in service to downtown and nearby hotels? (Fairfax Times, Joshua D)  (Tip: Joshua D)

Texting getting peak attention

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will convene a summit to discuss the issues with texting and talking on phones while driving. Safety advocates are excited about the newfound federal attention to this issue, after the government originally covered up its research on the dangers of distracted driving. (Times, JTS)  (Tip: JTS)

And…

Maryland is using goats and sheep as lawnmowers along a new highway in Hampstead, in Carroll County, as a way to make the highway a little less environmentally destructive (Carroll Eagle, Dave Murphy) … A door opened while a Metro train was moving on Monday (Post) … Comedian Andy Cobb creates a hilarious video mocking the recent series of completly unfunny videos by Post columnists Dana Millbank and Chris Cillizza. (AMERICAblog)  (Tip: Dave Murphy)