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Articles on Mass transit

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American downtowns were facing headwinds even before the pandemic began. Mark Davidson

San Jose and the reemergence of the donut city

Post-pandemic pressures are compounding stresses cities were already facing, leading to the hollowing out of some American cities.
Pedestrians pass the aftermath of a crash in Gaza City in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 11, 2021. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Deaths and injuries in road crashes are a ‘silent epidemic on wheels’

Traffic crashes kill and injure millions worldwide every year and are a major drain on economic development. Improving road safety would produce huge payoffs, especially in lower-income countries.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority was hit hard by a 79% ridership reduction during the pandemic. It needs an extra $8 billion through 2024 to avoid service cuts and layoffs. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Pandemic-stricken mass transit would get $85 billion in Biden stimulus plan – a down payment on reviving American cities

Transit agencies could use the money to buy new subway cars, buses and maintain rails. The funding is designed to build on last year’s emergency aid, which kept transit operating through the pandemic.
Public bikes are meant to complement a city’s existing mass transit network, so the location of docking stations is critical. MusikAnimal/Wikimedia

Chicago, New York discounted most public input in expanding bike systems

Under 10 percent of new Citi Bike and Divvy bike docks are sited where residents suggested using interactive online maps, a new study shows. But that doesn’t mean city officials weren’t listening.
CRRC’s version of the optically guided bus, now operating in Zhuzhou, is more like light rail than its predecessors. CRRC

Looking past the hype about ‘trackless trams’

The autonomous rail rapid transit (ART) system developed in China might make buses sexy, but the technology alone won’t resolve the issues of road space and right of way in Australia.
A race to dominate the emerging tech-driven mobility sector is happening in cities around the world. Jakub Kaminski/EPA

The battle to be the Amazon (or Netflix) of transport

Investment is pouring into urban technology, much of it into innovative ventures that aim to transform how we get around our cities.
CRRC Zhuzhou Institute developed the rubber-tyred autonomous rail transit (ART) system, or trackless tram, which has already been trialled in Zhuzhou, China. Wikimedia

Why trackless trams are ready to replace light rail

For 40 years the author has argued that trains and trams are better than buses. New ‘trackless trams’, which take innovations from high speed rail and put them in a bus, have changed his mind.
Cities are growing vertically as well as horizontally, so infrastructure needs to ensure people can move up and down as well as across the city. Alpha/Flickr

Growing cities face challenges of keeping the masses moving up, down and across

Cities are expanding upwards and downwards, as well as outwards. With urban density also increasing, moving people efficiently around the city, often using ageing infrastructure, is quite a challenge.
Riders on San Francisco’s Muni light rail system. David Lytle

What public transit can learn from Uber and Lyft

Millions of Americans rely on public transit to get to school, work or stores, but many can’t get the service they need. ‘Uberizing’ transit by offering more options on demand could fill the gaps.

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