Articulo: Livability to Become Requirement in Federal Transportation Policy

Transit can have a broad impact on community livability, like this bus stop in Los Angeles, which catalyzed nearby development after simple improvements were made

For years, large-scale transit projects submitted for funding in the United States have been evaluated primarily on cost and the amount of time they save commuters. While these criteria may seem perfectly reasonable, the cheapest, quickest transit route is not necessarily the one that best serves communities along the way.

Two weeks ago, the Obama Administration made a dramatic policy shift on how to evaluate major transportation projects. In a statement on January 13^th, U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that, “We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it makes our communities better places to live.”

Wow! For many years, Project for Public Spaces has advocated for greater community involvement in the transportation planning process, beginning with our 1997 publication, “The Role of Transit in Creating Livable Metropolitan Communities.” Reflecting on this report, Senior Vice President Steve Davies noted, “We first had to define what livability was, because it means different things to different people. It was through this process that we first developed the place diagram, which has become one of PPS’ most influential tools.”

Twelve years later, a key theme of the report–transportation projects can positively affect the livability of communities–is poised to become a part of federal policy. PPS.org sat down with PPS Vice President Cynthia Nikitin to gauge her reaction to this exciting news and discuss the implications for the transportation planning process in the future.

http://blog.pps.org

Video: L.A.’s Orange Line: Bus Rapid Transit (plus bike path!)

Link

Articulo: Johannesburg Fights Taxi Driver Opposition to BRT Project Necessary for 2010 World Cup

Johannesburg Fights Taxi Driver Opposition to BRT Project Necessary for 2010 World Cup

October 6, 2009

» Arguments over government’s involvement in transportation put into question the role of transit in cities dependent on taxis and private buses.

South Africa will host the continent’s firstWorld Cup in 2010, and in preparation for the event, the city of Johannesburg has been rebuilding its transportation system with afocus on a new bus rapid transit network. But threats and shootings by members of the city’s strong taxi drivers union suggests that the project’s full implementation will not come easily. In a city that desperately needs alternatives to its traffic congestion, this kind of opposition is counter-productive.

Johannesburg, the country’s largest city with a population of almost four million, already offers commuter rail service in the form of Metrorail, which carries two million passengers daily. The Gautrain project, currently under construction, will eventually connect downtown Johannesburg with the capital in Pretoria and the international airport. But it will provide fast intercity connections and it will not be open until after the World Cup concludes.

The BRT project, called Rea Vaya, fulfills a different role: more local service to dense areas of the metropolis. Its first phase began operations last month, and when World Cup rolls around next summer, it will offer 86 km of lines and 100 stations. By 2013, as represented in the map above, the system will be expanded to 122 km and 150 stations. Unlike most “BRT” lines, Johannesburg will be getting the real thing in Rea Vaya: bus-only rights-of-way, high-level platforms at stations allowing level boarding onto buses, and pre-boarding fare collection within stations. In other words, it will be efficient and rapid and give the areas along its route an alternative to existing modes of transport, which take too long too frequently.

But taxi drivers in the area see the BRT as major competition, and they’ve been making their opinion known throughout the system’s development period. Several bus drivers have been threatened by taxi owners, and this week a guard for one of the system’s planners was shot in what appears to be direct action by a rogue gang of something equivalent to a taxi mafia. The United Taxi Association Forum, the union of drivers, denies association with any of the violence but it is clear that individual members are threatened by the creation of the BRT system.

While the violence in South Africa may be beyond the international norm, the reaction of taxi drivers to the implementation of a competing government-run transit network is relatively standard. Plans in Lagos for a light rail system, similarly, have been received negatively by drivers of the yellow buses that take most people everywhere.

To some extent, this opposition is reasonable: the BRT system will eliminate the means to make a living for thousands of taxi drivers in Johannesburg. In a country where unemployment is rampant, creating “efficiency” through better transit ultimately means cutting a number of people out of the job market, at least in the short term. Compensation probably should be made to the city’s taxi drivers, just to ensure that they’re able to transition to new careers.

Yet the lack of better urban mobility for the people of Johannesburg is a limitation for the city as a whole, keeping millions of people in traffic when they could be doing more productive things with their lives. Opposing the system ultimately means denying the population of an alternative to most inner-city commutes; using violence to threaten the network’s completion is a disgrace.

Link Articulo

What is Personal Rapid Transit?

ULTRA

ULTra is a battery-driven, 200-mpg-equivalent, elevated personal rapid transit system with many four-person vehicles. First deployment is scheduled for London Heathrow Airport in Spring 2010, to serve Heathrow's new Terminal 5. Working as circulator transit for airports, office parks, universities, and other major activity centers, ULTra is faster than a car. In these applications, ULTra solves the "last mile problem."
16 web pages of details on Heathrow ULTra PRT can be found at: http://www.ultraprt.com/

BAA (formerly British Airports Authority) is a private-sector firm that owns and operates 7 airports including London Heathrow, the world's third largest. The Heathrow ULTra system construction and operating costs are funded by BAA. This transit system is not government-subsidized.

Video:ULTra PRT sustainable transit 2

Articulo: Folding Electric Bike Rental at Bus Stops to Make Ultimate Commute

Folding Electric Bike Rental at Bus Stops to Make Ultimate Commute
by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 09.17.09
CARS & TRANSPORTATION
(http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/bus-stop-e-bike-share.php?dcitc=daily_nl)

BUZZ UP!




















Folding Electric Bikes + Bus Stops = Perfect Commute?
Every once in a while, you see a proposed design and think, "there's absolutely no reason this shouldn't already exist." This is one such design--folding bike rental hubs combined directly with bus stops for a comprehensive public transit system. The system would allow users to rent folding e-bikes from a modular hub attached to each bus stop. Pics and details on how the system would work after the jump.

According to Tuvie, the system would work as follows:

This concept comprises a foldable e-bike that can be rode from the home and deposited to modular mobile hub, and board a bus. Upon arrival at destination, another hub will be there to rent another bike through using the unique Oystercard which can be availed by leasing the service on a per trip or monthly basis.





















Folding Electric Bike Design
The E-bike has been designed with airless tires, robust tubular construction and shaft drive, ensuring durability, while the luminated front bar and dazzling graphics increase the visibility and safety for the rider. E-bikes have designed to be folded quickly and intuitively by the user and deposit it into the storage modules after arriving to a transit hub. RFID technology has been utilized to charge the users on their Oystercard according to the amount of E-bike rental time. When docked, E-bikes act as hub seating and get charged for the next renter.
Not so sure if the 'dazzling graphics' are necessary--and the folding bikes probably don't have to be e-bikes, either. But the proposed system may have a better chance of being feasible if they are, unfortunately.











The transit hubs are designed to be iconic and recognizable, like subway stops. The hubs would also provide a "real time transit schedule" that users can access to help plan their commutes. And the e-bikes are evidently charged on board the bus as it drives: "During the time passengers board on a bus, its ultracapacitors get charged until next stop via a small arm extended from the hub. The buses collect and disperse E-bikes according to demand." This makes it possible for both bike share and bus to be operated by a public authority.









From Tuvie:

The electrical modular buses aim to optimize the needs of next generation commuters by providing ultimate convenience for public transit.










It's a great concept--if there were a system to provide bikes (electric or not) to commuters at every bus stop, it'd make urban traveling much easier. And hopefully, more attractive an option.

EMBARQ: Mexican Cities Take Lead on Sustainable Transport

…“I am convinced that the problems of traffic congestion, air contamination, the loss of time spent on excessively long trips, discomfort to transport system users, and transit accidents can be resolved through developing effective transportation mechanisms like Macrobus,” he said.

…“Without the governor’s leadership, a project like this, done in such a short amount of time, would have been impossible,” Lobo says.

…Macrobús was made possible through technical and financial support from EMBARQ – The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C., and CTS-México, part of EMBARQ’s international network of sustainable transport organizations. CTS-México staff provided technical expertise during the planning and implementation stages, and will continue to support the start-up operations.

http://www.embarq.org/en/news/09/03/06/press-release-mexican-cities-take-lead-sustainable-transport

MACROBUS a la Mejicana

Herramientas para Promover el Uso del Transporte Público

http://zeroperzero.com/crs/nyc-p.html