Mass Transit

Andrew J. HawkinsApr 26, 2023

Kids are literally crawling under stalled trains because the rail industry is beholden to no one.

The photos and videos in this ProPublica piece about blocked train crossings really help sell how utterly atrocious it is that the rail industry is forcing kids to risk their lives just to get to school. This part in particular made me want to tear my hair out.

“I feel awful about it,” said Scott E. Miller, the superintendent. His district has asked Norfolk Southern for its schedule so that the schools can plan for blockages and students can adjust their routines. The company has disregarded the requests, school officials said.

Blocked Crossings Force Kids to Crawl Under Trains to Get to School

[ProPublica]

Andrew J. HawkinsApr 19, 2023

PRT making a comeback?

According to Bloomberg, the city of San Jose just approved a personal rapid transit (PRT) system in which pod-sized autonomous vehicles would travel on their own dedicated road back-and-forth between the airport and a nearby rail connection. It’s an incredibly dumb idea and a repudiation of proven high-capacity transportation systems like buses and trains. Nobody asked for this, and yet...

If you want to read about the fascinating history behind PRT, read my colleague Adi Robertson’s piece about the Alden staRR Car at West Virginia University. It’s still in operation!

The road not taken

Adi Robertson

Feb 24

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 22, 2023

The Great American Bus Crisis.

A private bus route from my town in New Jersey to New York City was just cancelled because the pandemic has wiped out ridership. But apparently the problem is much, much worse than just that one route.

Nearly half of private US bus companies have shut down since 2019, according to the American Bus Association, and more could close as work-from-home policies have altered commuting patterns and more people turn to driving amid the pandemic.
“There were about 3,000 bus companies in 2019, there’s closer to 1,500 or 1,600 bus companies left,” American Bus Association President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Pantuso said in an interview. “It’s possible we could lose more.”

That is very bad.

New Jersey to NYC Commuters Face Disruption as DeCamp Bus Route Ends

[Bloomberg.com]

Pete Buttigieg still believes in smart cities

The US Department of Transportation is making a big bet on smart city technology with the release of $94.8 million in federal funding. But in an interview, Secretary Buttigieg warned that not every project ‘is going to prove out.’

Andrew J. HawkinsMar 22, 2023

Andrew J. HawkinsNov 28, 2022

Elon Musk’s Boring Company makes big promises to cities, and then fails to deliver.

A half dozen cities and states have been ghosted by Musk’s tunneling venture. It seems that once things get serious, and governments start talking about permitting and environmental review, the Boring Company vanishes. Take Maryland for example:

An aide to Mr. Hogan toured a parking-lot test site at the company’s then-headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport, getting a look at a tunnel-boring machine the company purchased secondhand. Boring named it Godot, the title character in Samuel Beckett’s play about a man who never shows up.
The Republican Hogan administration sped up the bureaucratic process for Boring, granting a conditional permit in October 2017 and an environmental permit a few months later.
All Boring had to do was bring its machine and start digging, former Maryland officials said. But months, and then years, passed. Maryland was waiting for Godot.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Ghosts Cities Across America

[WSJ]