tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/subways-26229/articlesSubways – The Conversation2023-04-14T12:18:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2027082023-04-14T12:18:23Z2023-04-14T12:18:23ZLow-cost, high-quality public transportation will serve the public better than free rides<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520876/original/file-20230413-14-9lul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C2485%2C1665&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chicago's Washington-Wabash station opened in 2017 – the first new stop on the city's elevated rail system in 20 years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/train-arrives-at-the-washington-wabash-station-in-chicago-news-photo/1159260224">Youngrae Kim/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public transit systems face daunting challenges across the U.S., from pandemic ridership losses to traffic congestion, fare evasion and pressure to keep rides affordable. In some cities, including <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/15/inflation-free-public-transportation-00039644">Boston</a>, <a href="https://www.governing.com/community/what-can-cities-learn-from-kansas-citys-fare-free-transit-program">Kansas City</a> and <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/free-public-transportation-accelerates-in-some-us-cities/6966994.html">Washington</a>, many elected officials and advocates see fare-free public transit as the solution. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/cares-act">Federal COVID-19 relief funds</a>, which have subsidized transit operations across the nation at an unprecedented level since 2020, offered a natural experiment in free-fare transit. Advocates applauded these changes and are now pushing to make <a href="https://dcist.com/story/23/03/01/fare-free-buses-in-jeopardy-as-d-c-revenue-projections-drop/">fare-free bus lines</a> <a href="https://qns.com/2023/03/queens-legislators-urge-governor-to-include-mta-fare-freeze-free-bus-funding-in-final-state-budget/">permanent</a>.</p>
<p>But although these experiments aided low-income families and <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/03/06/ridership-on-fare-free-mbta-buses-more-than-doubled-in-programs-first-year">modestly boosted ridership</a>, they also created new political and economic challenges for beleaguered transit agencies. With ridership still <a href="https://transitapp.com/APTA">dramatically below pre-pandemic levels</a> and temporary federal support expiring, transportation agencies face <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23653855/covid-transit-fares-buses-subways-crisis">an economic and managerial “doom spiral</a>.” </p>
<p>Free public transit that doesn’t bankrupt agencies would require a revolution in transit funding. In most regions, U.S. voters – <a href="https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/travel-mode-shares-in-the-u-s/">85% of whom commute by automobile</a> – have resisted deep subsidies and expect fare collection to cover a portion of operating budgets. Studies also show that transit riders are likely to prefer <a href="https://doi.org/10.17610/T6WC8Z">better, low-cost service to free rides</a> on the substandard options that exist in much of the U.S. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bright blue light rail train collect passengers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The KC Streetcar is a free two-mile route running along Main Street in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The city also offers free bus rides, but infrequent service is a concern.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kansas-city-missouri-the-kc-streetcar-is-a-free-two-mile-news-photo/1459409750">Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Why isn’t transit free?</h2>
<p>As I recount in my new book, “<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo191431990.html">The Great American Transit Disaster</a>,” mass transit in the U.S. was an unsubsidized, privately operated service for decades prior to the 1960s and 1970s. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, prosperous city dwellers used public transit to escape from overcrowded urban neighborhoods to more spacious “<a href="https://www.governing.com/context/the-fascinating-rise-and-fall-of-streetcar-suburbs">streetcar suburbs</a>.” Commuting symbolized success for families with the income to pay the daily fare. </p>
<p>These systems were self-financing: Transit company investors made their money in suburban real estate when rail lines opened up. They charged low fares to entice riders looking to buy land and homes. The most famous example was the Pacific Electric “red car” transit system in Los Angeles that <a href="https://ohiostatepress.org/books/BookPages/FriedricksHenry.htm">Henry Huntingdon</a> built to transform his vast landholdings into profitable subdivisions.</p>
<p>However, once streetcar suburbs were built out, these companies had no further incentive to provide excellent transit. Unhappy voters felt suckered into crummy commutes. In response, city officials retaliated against the powerful transit interests by taxing them heavily and charging them for street repairs. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the introduction of <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling">mass-produced personal cars</a> created new competition for public transit. As autos gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, frustrated commuters swapped out riding for driving, and private transit companies like Pacific Electric began failing. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In the early 20th century, Los Angeles had a world-class public transit system – here’s how it went off the rails.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Grudging public takeovers</h2>
<p>In most cities, politicians refused to prop up the often-hated private transit companies that now were begging for tax concessions, fare increases or public buyouts. In 1959, for instance, politicians still forced Baltimore’s fading private transit company, the BTC, to <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo191431990.html">divert US$2.6 million in revenues annually</a> to taxes. The companies retaliated by slashing maintenance, routes and service.</p>
<p>Local and state governments finally stepped in to save the ruins of the hardest-strapped companies in the 1960s and 1970s. Public buyouts took place only after decades of devastating losses, including most streetcar networks, in cities such as Baltimore (1970), Atlanta (1971) and Houston (1974). </p>
<p>These poorly subsidized public systems continued to lose riders. Transit’s <a href="https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/travel-mode-shares-in-the-u-s/">share of daily commuters</a> fell from 8.5% in 1970 to 4.9% in 2018. And while low-income people <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/07/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s/">disproportionately ride transit</a>, a 2008 study showed that roughly 80% of the working poor <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/commuting-to-opportunity-the-working-poor-and-commuting-in-the-united-states/">commuted by vehicle instead</a>, despite the high cost of car ownership.</p>
<p>There were exceptions. Notably, San Francisco and Boston began subsidizing transit in 1904 and 1918, respectively, by sharing tax revenues with newly created public operators. Even in the face of significant ridership losses from 1945 to 1970, these cities’ transit systems kept fares low, maintained legacy rail and bus lines and modestly renovated their systems.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Tax policies and subsidies have promoted highway development across the U.S. for the past century, creating car-centric cities and steering funding away from public transit.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Converging pressures</h2>
<p>Today, public transit is under enormous pressure nationwide. Inflation and driver shortages are driving up operating costs. Managers are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-24/overdose-deaths-on-metro-trains">spending more money on public safety</a> in response to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/us/public-transit-crime.html">rising transit crime rates</a> and unhoused people <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/03/23/the-future-of-fare-free-buses-in-raleigh">using buses and trains for shelter</a>. </p>
<p>Many systems are also contending with decrepit infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. public transit systems a grade of D-minus and estimates their national backlog of <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/transit-infrastructure/">unmet capital needs at $176 billion</a>. Deferred repairs and upgrades reduce service quality, leading to events like a 30-day <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/boston-braces-for-transit-emergency-as-orange-line-shutdown-looms-ahead/2809005/">emergency shutdown of an entire subway line</a> in Boston in 2022.</p>
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<p>Despite flashing warning signs, political support for public transit <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-u-s-unwilling-to-pay-for-good-public-transportation-56788">remains weak</a>, especially <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/driving-on-the-right-americas-polarized-transportation-policy">among conservatives</a>. So it’s not clear that relying on government to make up for free fares is sustainable or a priority. </p>
<p>For example, in Washington, <a href="https://dcist.com/story/23/03/01/fare-free-buses-in-jeopardy-as-d-c-revenue-projections-drop/">conflict is brewing</a> within the city government over how to fund a free bus initiative. Kansas City, the largest U.S. system to adopt fare-free transit, faces a new challenge: finding funding to expand its small network, which <a href="https://www.governing.com/community/what-can-cities-learn-from-kansas-citys-fare-free-transit-program">just 3% of its residents use</a>. </p>
<h2>A better model</h2>
<p>Other cities are using more targeted strategies to make public transit accessible to everyone. For example, “Fair fare” programs in San Francisco, <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/fairfares/index.page">New York</a> and Boston offer discounts based on income, while still collecting full fares from those who can afford to pay. Income-based discounts like these reduce the political liability of giving free rides to everyone, including affluent transit users. </p>
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<p>Some providers have initiated or <a href="https://transitforwardri.com/pdf/Strategy%20Paper%2025.%20Fare%20Integration%20190725%20FINAL.pdf">are</a> <a href="https://www.seamlessbayarea.org/integrated-fare-vision">considering</a> <a href="https://www.transitchicago.com/new-agreement-will-streamline-and-enhance-cta-and-pace-unlimited-ride-passes-in-2023/">fare integration</a> policies. In this approach, transfers between different types of transit and systems are free; riders pay one time. For example, in Chicago, rapid transit or bus riders can transfer at no charge to a suburban bus to finish their trips, and vice versa. </p>
<p>Fare integration is less costly than fare-free systems, and lower-income riders stand to benefit. Enabling riders to pay for all types of trips with a single <a href="https://www.securetechalliance.org/smart-cards-applications-transportation/">smart card</a> further streamlines their journeys. </p>
<p>As ridership grows under Fair Fares and fare integration, I expect that additional revenue will help build better service, attracting more riders. Increasing ridership while supporting agency budgets will help make the political case for deeper public investments in service and equipment. A virtuous circle could develop.</p>
<p>History shows what works best to rebuild public transit networks, and free transit isn’t high on the list. Cities like Boston, San Francisco and New York have more transit because voters and politicians have supplemented fare collection with a combination of property taxes, bridge tolls, sales taxes and more. Taking fares out of the formula spreads the red ink even faster.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202708/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Dagen Bloom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Everyone likes getting something for nothing, but history shows why the math behind free public transit doesn’t add up.Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1934372022-11-29T13:33:58Z2022-11-29T13:33:58ZStill recovering from COVID-19, US public transit tries to get back on track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492863/original/file-20221101-25191-x6w1v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5615%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ridership on public transit had been declining even before the spread of the virus.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/elevated-subway-train-and-new-york-city-skyline-royalty-free-image/1216197405?phrase=new%20york%20city%20subway%20train&adppopup=true">Leo Patrizi/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>U.S. commuters take approximately <a href="https://www.apta.com/news-publications/public-transportation-facts/">10 billion trips on public transit every year</a>. SciLine asked <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=gkID6ccAAAAJ&hl=en">Kari Watkins</a>, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, what cities can do to increase public transportation ridership and how people can make better use of this environmentally friendly mode of transportation.</em></p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Kari Watkins discusses why public transit matters to communities throughout the United States.</span></figcaption>
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<p><em>Below are some highlights from the discussion. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em></p>
<p><strong>Why is transit a sustainable mode of transportation?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kari Watkins:</strong> Economically, it’s <a href="https://www.vtpi.org/tranben.pdf">easier on people’s pocketbooks</a>. Environmentally, transit has <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-programs/environmental-programs/transit-and-sustainability">less emissions per trip</a>. </p>
<p>From an equity point of view, transit is more sustainable than other modes because you’re <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26264/racial-equity-addendum-to-critical-issues-in-transportation">more able to serve all people</a>. This service is out there – you don’t have to afford a vehicle in order to be able to take it.</p>
<p><strong>How does public transit affect traffic congestion?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kari Watkins:</strong> We save about 24% of our congestion levels <a href="https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/umr/archive/mobility-report-2012.pdf">by having transit in our 15 largest cities</a>. </p>
<p><strong>What has research shown us about transit’s safety?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kari Watkins:</strong> Transit is the <a href="https://www.apta.com/news-publications/public-transportation-facts/">safest mode of transportation</a> because of the professional drivers and because of the nature of how the services are provided. They’re often in their own corridors with really, really high factors of safety in how those corridors are designed. </p>
<p>When we look at cities where more people take transit as opposed to driving themselves, we always have lower crash rates, both internationally and across the U.S.</p>
<p><strong>What are some trends of ridership on public transit systems in recent years?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kari Watkins:</strong> Over the past approximately five years before COVID, we were <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26320/recent-decline-in-public-transportation-ridership-analysis-causes-and-responses">seeing declines in both bus and rail</a> in ways that we had not seen before and could not be attributed to things like population decreases or lower employment rates. We saw declines that could be largely attributed to the rideshare companies. Uber and Lyft were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2022.04.006">taking a pretty heavy toll on transit ridership</a>. </p>
<p>In addition to this, before COVID, low <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=m">gas prices were a factor</a>. When gas prices go down, transit ridership is going to go down. And a little bit of increases in fares on transit systems was also hitting transit ridership. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/APTA-POLICY-BRIEF-Transit-Ridership-09.28.2022.pdf">And then COVID hit</a>. </p>
<p>What happened during COVID was a lot of the people who rely on transit on a day-to-day basis – those critical workers, folks who were keeping our society going during the early parts of COVID – they still had to get to work. And many of those folks are bus riders as opposed to rail riders, because of the way we’ve set up these systems. And so we saw bus ridership decline, but it was still at significant portions of what it was before COVID. </p>
<p>Rail, <a href="https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/transit-ridership-dropped-heavy-rail-stations-during-covid-19-pandemic-ridership-change-depended-neighborhood-characteristics">on the other hand, was decimated</a>, especially commuter rail. </p>
<p>Most commuter rail agencies are even still today nowhere close to what they were pre-COVID. In the early days of the pandemic, they were at 10% <a href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/APTA-POLICY-BRIEF-Transit-Ridership-09.28.2022.pdf">of the ridership levels that they once were</a>. </p>
<p>We’re seeing some agencies, like Los Angeles Metro, where they’re predicting that in the next year or two, they’re going to be back up to the levels that they were pre-COVID. But there’s a lot of cities that have been permanently hit, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-23/la-looks-to-beat-new-york-back-to-pre-pandemic-transit-ridership#xj4y7vzkg">such as San Francisco and New York</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Why are some transit agencies facing a ‘fiscal cliff’?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kari Watkins:</strong> What happened during COVID was that many of these agencies were rescued through government programs where <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57636">they got extra operating funds</a> because the federal government and state governments knew that these agencies were going to be facing such dramatic declines in ridership that they wouldn’t be able to provide their services without some sort of extra support. </p>
<p>But all of that extra operating funding is disappearing over time. And with some agencies, they expect it’ll last another year, maybe two, but they’re not sure if their ridership is projected to be back at the same levels that it once was.</p>
<p><strong>How could transit become more environmentally friendly?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kari Watkins:</strong> There’s actually a lot that can be done to our system <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/five-transit-policies-cities-should-prioritize-to-become-more-sustainable/">if we electrify transit further</a>. For decades, we’ve had transit lines that had overhead systems to power it, or a third rail system, where it’s powered from underneath, like our subway systems. </p>
<p>All of those are really expensive to build. But battery technology that is <a href="https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/the-new-batteries-that-will-make-you-an-electric-car-believer/">coming around for our passenger vehicles</a> is also coming around and <a href="https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/27709/Electric-bus-of-future">improving greatly for larger-scale vehicles</a>, such as trucks and buses. This gives us the ability to start to electrify routes that are running on pavement in streets. The hang-up is simply that we have to run these routes for an entire day and the window to charge them is just a small window overnight.</p>
<p><em>Watch the <a href="https://sciline.org/social-sciences/public-transit/">full interview</a> to hear more about public transit.</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.sciline.org/">SciLine</a> is a free service based at the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science that helps journalists include scientific evidence and experts in their news stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kari Edison Watkins is an Associate Professor for the University of California at Davis and has received funding from the US Department of Transportation, the Transportation Research Board, the National Science Foundation, and multiple state and local agencies. </span></em></p>Public buses, subways and trains are relatively safe, fast and cheap. But competition from rideshares and concerns over COVID-19 will soon see some local agencies short of funds.Kari Edison Watkins, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1672542021-09-02T23:54:52Z2021-09-02T23:54:52ZA subway flood expert explains what needs to be done to stop underground station deluges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419151/original/file-20210902-27-1r1ksoy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C8%2C5679%2C3749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Underground and underwater.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/commuters-walk-into-a-flooded-3rd-avenue-149th-st-subway-news-photo/1235009695">David Dee Delgado/Getty Images via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Subway stations in New York were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/nyregion/nyc-subway-transit-updates.html">inundated with water</a> following <a href="https://www.amny.com/new-york/torrential-rains-in-nyc-suspend-all-subway-service/">heavy rain</a> on Sept. 1, 2021. But the Big Apple isn’t alone – over the last year we have seen similar images in other major cities, including <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/lifestyle/travel/london-flooding-severe-delays-london-21037568">London</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-china-subway-flood-survivors-harrowing-experience-i-may-not-be-able-to-get-out-11627130928">Zhengzhou in China</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>We spoke with Klaus Hans Jacob, a <a href="https://www.earth.columbia.edu/users/profile/klaus-hans-jacob">geophysicist and flood expert</a> who analyzed New York’s subway system before and after <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3Kh5Lzumf0">2012’s Hurricane Sandy</a>, about the ongoing – and increasing – flood risk to coastal underground transportation systems and what city planners can do to prepare and protect.</em></p>
<h2>Are instances of major subway floods increasing? And if so, why?</h2>
<p>In New York over the last month or so we have had three subway floods – first <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/watch-nyc-subway-station-floods-as-sudden-heavy-downpours-wreak-havoc-on-tri-state-roads/3146172/">due to a heavy downpour</a>, then from <a href="https://www.amny.com/transit/overnight-track-floods-snags-subway-service-during-storm-henri/">Tropical Storm Henri</a> and now <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/01/nyc-streets-subway-stations-overrun-by-flash-floods/">Hurricane Ida</a>. Meanwhile, we have seen similar floods in <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/15/texas-capitol-flood/">cities across America</a> and the world.</p>
<p>I think the message should be pretty clear by now: Climate change isn’t a matter of the future; its effects are happening right now. Warmer oceans means more moisture in the atmosphere, and as that moisture encounters cold air, it all comes down on the cities like the proverbial cats and dogs.</p>
<p>It is not necessarily a problem just for coastal cities. Ida, for example, left havoc across the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-new-york-philly-and-inland-spots-arent-safe-from-climate-change-fueled-hurricanes-like-ida-11630599975">entire interior</a> of the eastern United States. But, of course, many <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/primary-reasons-cities-built-where-they-now">major metros</a> – from London to Amsterdam to Marseilles to New York – have been built next to major rivers or on the coast. This makes them vulnerable to excess water through rising tides or heavy rain. In the latest case in New York, it was from above, but the flooding from Sandy came from coastal surge.</p>
<h2>How does the age of some of these subway systems affect flood risk?</h2>
<p>When the subway was <a href="http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/progress/jb_progress_subway_1.html#:%7E:text=On%20Thursday%20afternoon%2C%20October%2027,later%20arrived%20at%20145th%20Street.">initially built in New York starting in 1904</a>, no one was thinking of sea level rise or torrential rains. And so the fundamental design of the underground system did not take those phenomena into account. </p>
<p>We know better now. For the past 20 years, it has been clear that more severe storms are an <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-climate-change-can-affect-extreme-weather-but-there-is-still-a-lot-to-learn-136003">inevitable outcome of human-made climate change</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1433258249491451908"}"></div></p>
<p>But despite having a couple of decades to do something about it, we are still in a reactive mode rather than being proactive. Essentially city officials are cleaning up the mess after the storm, rather than taking measures like relocating infrastructure or protecting it.</p>
<h2>So what can cities do to better protect aging subways systems?</h2>
<p>In the case of older subway systems, we cannot reasonably expect them to be relocated over the next few decades. Instead we need to fix them.</p>
<p>Odd as it may seem, water in itself is not the problem. Rather, it is a mismatch of the amount of rainfall we are seeing and where the openings are in our subway systems – not just where people go in and out, but also the ventilation grates where air goes in and out and where the electric cables enter the system. All of these openings allow for water to run off the streets and into the subway. </p>
<p>These are known engineering problems that can be fixed. In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority <a href="https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2019/10/30/hurricane-sandy-anniversary-seven-years-later-mta-outlines-prep-for-future-storms">fixed a large proportion</a> of the problem caused by coastal storm surges by installing things such as gates and barriers – some installed permanently, some that need to be inserted into place before the water shows up. These prevent water getting into the subway system. When working as designed, they can result in a 98% reduction in coastal flood potential, according to my calculations.</p>
<p>But these measures work for coastal flooding. The problem we saw on Sept. 1, 2021, was the result of runoff water from the streets that gets into the system. With coastal storm surges, the water comes into the subway system only at a low level – perhaps at entrances just a few feet above sea level. With the rain, even at higher elevations in a city, subways can flood.</p>
<h2>How do you address this runoff street water problem?</h2>
<p>You have to approach it in two ways: Avoid street flooding in the first place and protect entrances to subways. </p>
<p>Avoiding street flooding can be achieved through increasing the capacity of street gutters and the sewer system to take up the runoff water from streets. This can be done by widening or adding new gutters, but also by having larger-diameter sewer pipes in the roads.</p>
<p>And then you can make the ground more absorbent by <a href="https://www.epa.gov/soakuptherain/soak-rain-trees-help-reduce-runoff#:%7E:text=Trees%20are%20increasingly%20recognized%20for,the%20soil%20that%20promote%20infiltration.">planting more trees</a> on streets and putting in permeable surfaces. For example, rather than concrete parking lots, put in gravel which is a permeable surface that allows the ground to absorb water.</p>
<p>Individual property owners can, if they have a flat or near-flat roof, put <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-green-roofs-can-protect-city-streets-from-flooding-82679">gardens on their roofs</a> rather than have gutters. Green roofs can absorb the water coming down from the sky; and catch basins – devices that collect storm water – and then release that water slowly over days, for each house; they can help to ensure sewer systems don’t get overwhelmed. These measures work best in areas with lots of single-family houses.</p>
<p>Trash on the streets can amplify the problem by clogging up drainage, but it isn’t the systemic issue. It just makes a bad situation worse.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Firefighters pump rainwater from a flooded metro station in Zhengzhou, China" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419179/original/file-20210902-13-pj1dsj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A flooded metro station in Zhengzhou, China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/firefighters-pump-rainwater-from-a-flooded-metro-station-on-news-photo/1332081722?adppopup=true">VCG/VCG via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When it comes to protecting existing subway entrances, you can build berms – mini levees or raised banks – of several feet at every entrance. That does make it more difficult for people with disabilities, so you have to also modify elevators to take people down.</p>
<p>All it needs is good engineering – there is no mystery. Well, it is engineering, and political will and money.</p>
<h2>Are we seeing this engineering in newer subway systems?</h2>
<p>These are not new problems; the fact that water flows downhill has been known since the beginning of mankind. But newer underground systems are dealing better with this. Tokyo <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.11.730">deals with flooding</a>, <a href="https://english.dorts.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=07AD51A0326C05A8&s=EB778A52E17E85DF">Taipei likewise</a>. They have had problems in the past but are faster to adapt. For example, transport officials in Tokyo installed sliding doors in underground passages that are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705816340917?via%3Dihub">able to withstand the pressure</a> from storm floods 15 meters deep.</p>
<p>Newer subway systems also tend to have entrances at high points compared to their surroundings. The key is not letting water build up near entrances in the first place - so don’t put subway entrances near low points of a street. </p>
<h2>You mentioned political will and money…</h2>
<p>It isn’t cheap. To effectively protect a city’s subway system from flooding costs tens of billions of dollars. But it is cheaper to fix the problem before extreme events than having to fix the problem after the damage is done.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the current <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/10/us/politics/infrastructure-bill-passes.html">trillion-dollar infrastructure bill</a> going through Congress has a <a href="https://www.vox.com/22621793/public-transit-funding-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill">totally insufficient amount for subways</a> – far more of it, around US$110 billion <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/10/senate-infrastructure-bill-what-is-in-it/">goes to bridges and roads</a> than public transportation modes, which are set to receive around $39 billion.</p>
<p>[<em>Get our best science, health and technology stories.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-best">Sign up for The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167254/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Klaus Hans Jacob carried out pro bono analyses of MTA subway system's vulnerability to flooding that was published before Sandy hit in 2012.</span></em></p>Images of water gushing into subway stations filled social media following heavy rain in New York City. Solutions are at hand – but it takes money and political will, an expert explains.Klaus Hans Jacob, Professor of Geophysics, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1662452021-09-02T16:17:02Z2021-09-02T16:17:02ZAs people continue working from home, the monthly transit pass needs to change to remain worth it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416622/original/file-20210817-17-9uhcms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=307%2C150%2C2861%2C1961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People are shoulder to shoulder inside a city bus while commuting at rush hour during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public transit <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/coronavirus-covid19-public-transit-1.5509927">use dropped sharply when the pandemic hit</a> as many people stayed home. And over a year and a half later, as fall approaches, vaccination rates increase and “normalcy” feels within reach, it is important to think about how commuting has changed and how we will need to adapt the way we plan for transit. </p>
<p>As people moved to cars and non-motorized transport over fear of infection through what some have called “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-public-transit-covid-19-pandemic-1.5556374">forced togetherness</a>,” transit agencies are worried it may take years to regain lost users — up to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pandemic-public-transit-montreal-loss-1.5666607">10 years in Montréal’s case</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Graph illustrates decline in public transit and travel as pandemic began" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417260/original/file-20210820-25-1p8iqf8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sharp drops in public transit and all other travel were experienced early on in the pandemic. Transit has since gained back some, but not all of its ridership. Note: The baseline is the median value across Canada, for the corresponding day of the week, during the 5-week period Jan. 3 – Feb. 6, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is because people changed their habits, and changing habits takes time: research suggests <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/328407">it can range from 60 to 250 days</a>. The pandemic has been long enough for habits to have changed; avoiding public transit, using a car and working from home are likely to stick. </p>
<p>With fewer riders funding the system, agencies and governments will need to rethink public transit promotion, funding, operation and expansion. </p>
<p>As researchers who look at <a href="https://cirano.qc.ca/fr/sommaires/2019RP-07">telecommuting and travel</a>, <a href="https://publications.polymtl.ca/5266/">travel disparities</a> and the <a href="https://cirano.qc.ca/fr/sommaires/2019RP-06">economics of transit project funding</a>, the past year has challenged much of our understanding of the way these issues will interact in the future.</p>
<h2>Getting essential workers where they need to be</h2>
<p>Throughout the pandemic, public transit played an important role in getting essential workers where they needed to be. By the end of 2020, 34 per cent of Americans were <a href="https://moovit.com/press-releases/2020-global-public-transport-report/">using public transit just as much as they did pre-pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Those still using transit were likely <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-07/in-a-pandemic-we-re-all-transit-dependent">“transit dependent” riders</a>, or individuals with no other available alternatives to access the workplace — like grocery store clerks with jobs deemed essential.</p>
<p>Transit operators had to adapt to maintain services. In England, some operators actually increased service to prevent packed trains and enable social distancing, leading to additional expenses while <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51736185">receiving less revenue</a>. Other operators, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-layoffs-transit-covid-19-1.5541108">like in Winnipeg</a> and <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/12/09/ttc-plans-to-continue-at-reduced-pandemic-service-levels-in-2021.html">Toronto</a>, had to reduce service given reduced revenues. </p>
<p>In March 2020, <a href="https://www.stm.info/fr/presse/communiques/2020/covid-19---la-stm-rappelle-de-ne-pas-utiliser-le-transport-en-commun-si-vous-pensez-etre-atteint-par-le-virus">Montréal operators asked users travelling for COVID-19 tests to not use public transit</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Passengers wear face masks on a Halifax Transit ferry. Ferry is seen with a dozen passengers on the top deck, Halifax harbour peaks through the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416638/original/file-20210817-15-rsh6dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Passengers wear face masks on a Halifax Transit ferry as it arrives in Dartmouth, N.S. in July, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new world with increased remote work</h2>
<p>One objective of public transit has always been to get people to work. For those who can’t work from home, the situation remains the same, but for the hundreds of thousands who can, getting the economics of transit fares right will be crucial. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1803588/table-discussion-evolution-transport-commun-avenir-outaouais-mobilite-quebec">virtual conference of Québec transit operators</a> raised the question over reconciling public transit with working from home.</p>
<p>Monthly transit passes having been the tool to entice users to stick with transit for decades. But the “new” weekly commute — now expected by <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm">Statistics Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/2-in-3-remote-it-workers-in-canada-will-quit-rather-than-return-to-the-office-full-time-kovasys-survey-finds-896942142.html">some recruitment firms</a> to range between two and five days — may make a monthly transit pass hardly seem worth it. Just how much remote work will stick remains to be seen, but <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm">Statistics Canada</a> suggests 41 per cent would prefer spending half of their work week at home. </p>
<p>One way to weigh this decision would be to assess at what point a pass is more economical than single fares. By dividing the cost of a monthly transit pass by the single fare or bundled rebate, we can assess how many trips are needed before riders actually save money.</p>
<p>Depending on the city, it is currently profitable to own a pass for as little as 15 workdays in Montréal (one round trip per day), or as many as 26 in Toronto. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Table illustrating recovery cost ratio of standard adult monthly passes for selected agencies" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/417285/original/file-20210821-19-2owx6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recovery cost ratio of standard adult monthly passes for selected agencies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Société de transport de Montréal (STM), Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Calgary Transit, Vancouver Translink)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Statistics Canada’s estimates, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2021001/article/00012-eng.htm">transit agencies may need to cater to constant commuters, as well as commuters with 12 in-office days a month</a> (three per week) and eight in-office days a month (two per week). By this account, only workers with abundant use of transit for other activities will be enticed to continue purchasing transit passes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People sit on a Montreal metro wearing face masks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416796/original/file-20210818-15-1ctt7ia.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many transit users commute wearing face masks on a metro in Montréal in July 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What to do, or at least to consider</h2>
<p>Riders will need to recalculate the value of purchasing monthly passes and many may drop their use. Transit agencies need to consider adjusting fares to cater to commuters and become imaginative as to what will work for a variety of work weeks. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.transport-network.co.uk/New-seasons-to-leave-part-time-workers-worse-off/17258">Britain</a>, a flexible tap-in tap-out system and automatic capping of fares may offer better deals for frequent users. An increasing discount as transit passes are used more frequently could reward frequent users and enable lower off peak fares. In the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/remote-work-pushes-transit-agencies-to-rethink-monthly-rail-passes-11610978401">United States</a>, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority started selling <a href="https://www.septa.org/media/releases/2020/10-15-20.html">three-day transit passes</a>, while New Jersey Transit announced a pilot program which will include a <a href="https://www.njtransit.com/press-releases/nj-transit-launches-njt-rewards-program">rewards program sponsored by local businesses</a>.</p>
<p>The challenges to transit in coming years will be multiple: regaining riders, adapting fares, competing with and complementing other modes. The impact of remote work on downtown parking prices is another unknown. If property owners reduce parking fees, this could make transit even less attractive. </p>
<p>Some transit agencies now describe themselves as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-16/transit-needs-to-compete-for-post-covid-commuters">mobility managers</a>, focusing not on getting people to use transit but rather on how to avoid driving. The potential for additional government funding given growing climate change wariness, may motivate other agencies to follow suit. </p>
<p>Perhaps the only good coming out of this pandemic is to have made the essentialness of transit more visible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166245/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ugo Lachapelle received funding from the City of Montreal and the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) on a project relevant to this article. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Georges A. Tanguay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Increasing even part-time remote work disrupts public transit revenue. Agencies need to adapt fare structures and business models to meet the changing work market.Ugo Lachapelle, Professeur au département d'études urbaines et touristiques, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Georges A. Tanguay, Professor, Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1585892021-05-21T12:27:08Z2021-05-21T12:27:08ZPandemic-stricken mass transit would get $85 billion in Biden stimulus plan – a down payment on reviving American cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401721/original/file-20210519-13-1is09cw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C0%2C5993%2C4013&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">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.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/pedestrians-pass-by-a-subway-station-in-manhattan-on-may-17-news-photo/1318524077?adppopup=true">Spencer Platt/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Congress now has control over what kind of commute – good, bad, awful – workers returning to offices in the U.S. will have.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/">American Jobs Plan</a>, released in March 2021, includes US$85 billion for city transit agencies to improve their systems by purchasing new buses and train cars and maintaining subway stations and tracks. </p>
<p>If passed in Congress, the dollars would explicitly build on the relief already provided to cities in last year’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/legislation/2021/01/20/president-biden-announces-american-rescue-plan/">American Rescue Plan</a>, according to the White House. That coronavirus relief bill, passed in March 2020, kept fare-starved buses, trains and subways running throughout the pandemic, often with scaled-back service, <a href="https://transitcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TC_Covid_FINAL_Pages-1.pdf">helping millions of U.S. workers</a> to reach jobs providing essential services. The money covered <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/publications-and-resources/american-rescue-plan-act-of-2021.aspx">payroll, rider safety measures and pandemic protective equipment for drivers</a>.</p>
<p>Each of these bills supports <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/American%20Rescue%20Plan%20Act%20-%205307%20Runs%20(Tentative)%203.8.21.pdf">public transit systems</a> in different but critical ways. U.S. transit agencies have always maintained a delicate balance in how they spend scarce taxpayer money, between <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/transit/">operations and capital investment</a>. </p>
<p>In practice, both are necessary to keep subway and bus systems running – and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zbew56MAAAAJ&hl=en">as a scholar of urban planning</a> who studies transportation systems, I emphasize the necessity of reliable mass transit to revitalize American cities post-pandemic. </p>
<h2>Languishing systems</h2>
<p>Even before COVID-19, transit agencies lacked the money to maintain their systems. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/transit/">recent report</a> the American Society of Civil Engineers gave a D minus to American transit infrastructure. The country’s aging “fixed-rail” systems, <a href="https://eh.net/encyclopedia/urban-mass-transit-in-the-united-states/">a category that includes subways, commuter rail and light rail</a>, are in chronic disrepair. Boston’s subway system opened in 1897 and others shortly thereafter, or in the 1960s and 1970s. Over time, these systems require more investment just to maintain reliable service. </p>
<p>During recessions, however, many have foregone it out of financial necessity. And starting around 2014, <a href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/APTA-2020-Survey-Impact-COVID-19-Agencies.pdf">transit agencies saw declining ridership</a> – and resulting revenue decreases – as on-demand services like Uber and Lyft expanded nationwide. </p>
<p>The American Society of Civil Engineers documented the predictable consequences. The industry has $176 billion in needed investments that is expected to grow to <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Transit-2021.pdf">$250 billion by 2029</a>. Currently, 19% of transit vehicles and 6% of tracks and tunnels are rated in “poor condition.” </p>
<h2>Essential service for all workers</h2>
<p>The pandemic further upset the fragile <a href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/APTA-COVID-19-Funding-Impact-2021-01-27.pdf">financial balance of American mass transit</a>.</p>
<p>Ridership on subways, trains and buses nationwide plummeted <a href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/2020-Q4-Ridership-APTA.pdf">80% during April 2020</a> as people who could work remotely did. Large-scale events, like sports and concerts, were canceled. People increasingly ordered goods online.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four gleaming, clean and unused ticket-vending machines in a subway station" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401723/original/file-20210519-12241-s5mwrm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An empty Metro station in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 19, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-empty-metro-subway-station-is-seen-during-the-covid-19-news-photo/1217215255?adppopup=true">Morgan Lieberman/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some people – those who deliver goods, pick up trash and take care of patients – never stopped reporting to work during the pandemic. Other essential workers, such as construction and restaurant staff, soon resumed on-site work. But cities saw <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/08/climate/nyc-transit-covid.html">much less daily movement</a> of people. </p>
<p>Studies suggest that the sharpest decline in transit ridership occurred in regions with higher percentages of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102654">white, educated and high-income workers</a>. Regions with more jobs in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102654">trade, transportation and utilities</a> saw lower declines. So did transit systems in <a href="https://www.govtech.com/fs/after-a-devastating-year-transit-is-adapting-to-the-future.html">the South</a>, where a higher percentage of riders may be essential workers.</p>
<p>Less money from fares was compounded by reductions to the various local and state taxes and other revenue sources that <a href="https://www.apta.com/wp-content/uploads/APTA-COVID-19-Funding-Impact-2021-01-27.pdf">help support transit operations</a>. New York’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/08/climate/nyc-transit-covid.html">Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> says it will require an additional <a href="https://new.mta.info/document/30186">$8 billion through 2024 to avoid service cuts and layoffs</a>.</p>
<h2>Everyone wants good transit</h2>
<p>Many essential workers are what transportation planners often refer to as “captive riders” – they have to use public transit. They contrast with higher-income “choice riders,” who sometimes own cars. </p>
<p>This longstanding distinction between “captive” and “choice” transit riders, however, <a href="https://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/07/12/the-choice-vs-captive-transit-rider-dichotomy-is-all-wrong/">ignores that most people who live in cities</a> want affordable and convenient ways to reach a diversity of destinations, not just their offices but also <a href="https://nytransit.org/resources/public-transit-facts">shops, their friends’ houses, parks and theaters</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, how urbanites get to those places depends on where they live. According to a <a href="https://transitcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/TransitCenter-WOB-2016.pdf">survey of 3,000 transit riders</a> nationwide conducted by the New York nonprofit TransitCenter, “in walkable neighborhoods with frequent transit service, people with and without cars both ride transit more than people in areas with poor transit.”</p>
<p>This is why public transit’s societal benefits extend beyond shuttling people to and from work. It offers choice about how they travel, which reduces congestion. According to the <a href="https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2019.pdf">Texas A&M Transportation Institute</a>, the average driving commuter wastes 54 hours per year in traffic, costing them $1,080 in wasted time and fuel. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Congested highway with a city in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401725/original/file-20210519-21-1w5vw3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Boston at evening rush hour on Aug. 6, 2020. By then, state data suggested that traffic was approaching pre-pandemic levels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/boston-traffic-at-evening-rush-hour-on-aug-6-2020-state-news-photo/1227951361?adppopup=true">Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many large urban areas can expect extreme <a href="https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2020/06/05/transportation-lab-predicts-extreme-traffic-for-some-cities-following-covid-19/">traffic congestion this year as workers stop working remotely</a> – if they choose cars over public transportation. Fifty-five percent of Americans <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/transit/">have access to transit</a>. But car owners will drive if subways and buses cannot maintain frequent, convenient and reliable service. </p>
<h2>Transit is safe</h2>
<p>As for COVID-19 risk on public transportation, evidence shows <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/10/nyregion/nyc-subway-coronavirus.html">it is quite low</a>.</p>
<p>The ventilation systems in most transit systems are better than many other indoor spaces. In addition to mandatory mask-wearing, many cities – including Detroit and San Antonio – made transit free or enabled back-door entry <a href="https://nacto.org/covid19-rapid-response-tools-for-transit-agencies/">to limit rider-driver interactions</a>.</p>
<p>These COVID-19 safety protocols, along with good air flow, ensured the safety of transit passengers throughout the pandemic. Enforcing the <a href="https://theconversation.com/public-transit-drivers-struggle-to-enforce-mask-mandates-154689">mask requirement will remain a challenge</a>.</p>
<p>Worldwide, transit agencies in Korea, China and Taiwan continued to carry between 70% and 90% of typical ridership without new local cases among riders. Studies in Japan and France, using contract tracing, showed <a href="https://transitcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FactSheetFinal.pdf">limited connections between transit usage and COVID-19 clusters</a></p>
<p>If Congress passes the American Jobs Plan, the infrastructure funding it sends to cities and states will encourage American transit agencies to upgrade their buses, trains and subways, improve tracks or expand service <a href="https://apta.com/wp-content/uploads/TRANSIT_PRIORITIES_POST_PANDEMIC_Nov_2020.pdf">for all workers returning to their regular lives</a>. The package allows cities to spend their portion of the $85 billion to <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt15t657r2/qt15t657r2.pdf?t=qpo52c">provide the kind of frequent, reliable and less costly service</a> that makes mass transit a more appealing option than a rideshare service. </p>
<p>Good mass transit also encourages people to travel in cities – fueling the pandemic recovery that people badly want and the economy so desperately needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Steiner receives funding from United States Department of Transportation (under their University Transportation Center Program (see <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/content/university-transportation-centers">https://www.transportation.gov/content/university-transportation-centers</a>)) and Florida Department of Transportation. </span></em></p>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.Ruth Steiner, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1310192020-03-03T14:33:14Z2020-03-03T14:33:14ZBombardier woes reflect Canada’s failed infrastructure policy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318049/original/file-20200302-18308-1de8l6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C244%2C3888%2C2328&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Bombardier sign welcomes travellers to Berlin Central Station, where Bombardier's rail division headquarters are located. Canada's failure to invest in rail infrastructure has hurt Bombardier.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikimedia)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canada needs modern transportation infrastructure to enable sustainable mobility. This infrastructure has to meet new demands for energy efficiency and emission standards while serving denser urban populations. </p>
<p>Ideally, Canadian businesses ought to play a leading role in designing, building and operating such infrastructure, both in Canada and around the world. </p>
<p>However, Canada isn’t doing well on this front. <a href="http://canadianinfrastructure.ca/downloads/canadian-infrastructure-report-card-2019.pdf">Sustainable infrastructure investments have been neglected</a>, rail transport export surpluses have turned to deficits and Canada’s leading transport company, Bombardier, is expected to <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/business/local-business/aerospace/end-of-line-draws-near-for-bombardier-trains-as-alstom-confirms-talks">sell the country’s largest rail business</a> to French firm Alstom.</p>
<p>To turn this negative trend around, Canada needs to promote transport technology businesses, supported by a stable, predictable policy framework for sustainable infrastructure. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4480%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316277/original/file-20200219-11040-1msots5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bombardier Transport offices are seen in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que. Bombardier Inc. says it’s reached a US$8.2-billion deal to sell its rail business to French train giant Alstom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Growing deficit</h2>
<p>Canada had a solid trade surplus in rail transport in the 1990s. But this has turned into a continuously growing deficit over the past 20 years, reaching <a href="https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/tdst/tdo/crtr.html?grouped=GROUPED&searchType=BL&naArea=9999&countryList=ALL&toFromCountry=CDN&reportType=TB&timePeriod=10%7CComplete+Years&currency=CDN&productType=HS6&hSelectedCodes=%7C86&runReport=true">$2.4 billion in 2019</a> (see Figure 1 in the graphic below).</p>
<p>The only major market for Canadian rail equipment is the United States, but even in that bilateral relationship, Canadian exports of $228 million are swamped by <a href="https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/tdst/tdo/crtr.html?grouped=GROUPED&searchType=BL&naArea=9999&countryList=ALL&toFromCountry=CDN&reportType=TB&timePeriod=10%7CComplete+Years&currency=CDN&productType=HS6&hSelectedCodes=%7C86&runReport=true">imports of $1.5 billion</a> (Figure 2).</p>
<p>Canada has literally transformed from a rail transport leader to a laggard in two decades.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/317220/original/file-20200225-24659-9gp8rv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canada: Trade balance for rail transportation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Created by the author using data from Statistics Canada</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This trend is closely associated with Bombardier. The Québec company has, since the 1970s, become <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bombardier-inc">one of the biggest players worldwide in rail transport</a>. However, this growth was achieved by acquisitions around the world, not by growing businesses in Canada. Consequently, the international hub for its transport unit is now in Europe, with <a href="https://www.bombardier.com/en/media/newsList/details.bt_20170703_grp_bombardier-transportation-relocates-global-headq.bombardiercom.html">global headquarters in Berlin</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, Bombardier’s technology failed to stay cutting edge. Recently, the company has been in the news due to complaints about major quality-control problems from subway operators <a href="https://torontolife.com/city/transportation/timeline-bombardiers-excuses-not-building-torontos-new-transit-fleet/">in Toronto</a>, <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/business/local-business/thanks-to-bombardier-and-its-delays-some-londoners-will-ride-for-free">London</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-08/about-300-nyc-subway-cars-pulled-from-service-for-door-glitches">New York</a> as well as from the <a href="https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/deutsche-bahn-ic-1.4773380">the German national rail operator</a>. </p>
<h2>Toward carbon-neutral transit</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/#/CAN">climate change challenges Canada</a> to become more energy-efficient and carbon-neutral, transportation has to make its contribution. That means infrastructure investments need to address not only today’s needs, but the needs of society in 10 years as investments tend to create lock-in effects for several decades. </p>
<p>In other words, today’s investments need to cater to tomorrow’s needs, when society has a higher urban density and is no longer able to ignore the environmental impact of its mobility choices.</p>
<p>For urban mobility, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40726868">any choice is better than single-occupancy commuter cars</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-need-to-innovate-to-improve-transportation-and-reduce-emissions-125778">Cities of the future require different types of urban transport systems</a> such as subways, trams and bike paths.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/build-it-and-they-will-ride-bicycle-geography-lessons-for-toronto-106503">Build it and they will ride: Bicycle geography lessons for Toronto</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>For medium distances, air travel also needs to be replaced by more energy-efficient models, such as high-speed rail. </p>
<p>With increasing urbanization, especially along the Windsor–Toronto–Montréal-Québec City corridor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/modelling-for-major-road-projects-is-at-odds-with-driver-behaviour-63603">the suitability of alternative modes of transport is changing</a>. Cars may be appropriate for isolated rural communities, but less so for metropolitan areas with hundreds of thousands of people. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5184%2C3251&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316276/original/file-20200219-11005-bmtt3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this May 2018 photo, a high-speed train is seen at the Saint-Charles train station, in Marseille, France. Canada needs to embrace high-speed rail.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Claude Paris</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent decades, Canadian infrastructure dollars have poured into roads and airports, neglecting passenger rail travel within and between urban centres. Canada is consequently facing an <a href="https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/098.nsf/eng/00027.html">infrastructure gap compared to other industrialized economies</a>. </p>
<h2>Progress is slow</h2>
<p>On the one hand, municipalities like <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/while-ottawa-waits-kitchener-waterloo-welcomes-light-rail-transit">Kitchener-Waterloo</a>, <a href="https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/toronto-council-green-lights-subway-expansion">Toronto</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/sto-tramway-lrt-gatineau-ottawa-1.5446921">Gatineau</a> are moving forward with urban transit schemes, although they’re modest at best compared to developments in Europe and Asia. Other cities like <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-get-it-done-why-ottawa-bc-and-vancouver-should-come-together-to/">Vancouver</a> are struggling to raise funds. </p>
<p>On the other hand, the <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/connecting-the-southwest-english.pdf">2020 transport plan by the Ontario government</a> prioritizes road transport, discontinues <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-infrastructure-bank-to-support-vias-rails-expansion-plans-through/">already advanced plans</a> for <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/high-speed-rail-in-canada/197169">high-speed rail</a> and offers only <a href="https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/queens-park-outlines-southwestern-ontario-transit-plan-after-axing-high-speed-rail">token projects for sustainable urban transit</a>. </p>
<p>In 2019, Sweden and Germany saw a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/german-swedish-flight-shame-train-environment/">decline in domestic flights and an increase in long-distance train travel</a>, a consequence at least in part of raised climate awareness. In Canada, most people lack such choices because mid-range rail transport is slow, infrequent and requires advance booking. </p>
<p>At the same time, Canadian industry needs <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/publications/economist-economiste/state_of_trade-commerce_international-2019.aspx?lang=eng">domestic infrastructure to move products for export</a>. That’s a high priority in view of Canada’s policy objectives to diversify exports away from the United States, which <a href="https://oec.world/en/profile/country/can/%5D">currently accounts for 73 per cent of exports</a>.</p>
<h2>Investing in infrastructure and technology</h2>
<p>What would it take for Canada to become a leader in sustainable mobility? </p>
<p>Canada is promoting an image of itself to the world as environmentally responsible and concerned about climate change. At the same time, Canada has a highly educated workforce with capabilities to develop cutting-edge technologies. That means Canada should have a strong foundation to develop sustainable mobility systems. </p>
<p>So what’s missing?</p>
<p>First, Canada needs to invest in skills and technologies. Developing mass transport is technology intensive, requires systems management knowledge and software that ensures that trains run frequently, speedily and on time. A well-managed system, for example, doesn’t grind to a halt when there’s a disruption hundreds of kilometres away, <a href="https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/southwestern-ontario-loses-all-via-service-amid-anti-pipeline-blockades">as happened recently in southwest Ontario</a>. </p>
<p>The private sector has to lead. With its focus now on business jets, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-bombardiers-risky-plan-selling-green-trains-and-keeping-black-planes/">Bombardier is unlikely to play a role in sustainable mobility</a>. This creates both opportunity and need for Canadian technology entrepreneurs to fill the void.</p>
<h2>A predictable policy framework</h2>
<p>Second, the industry needs predictable domestic demand for for high-quality transport products and services. </p>
<p>For infrastructure businesses, demand is tied to government regulations and public sector investments, both nationally and locally. Governments investing in infrastructure must insist upon the highest quality, not only to deliver value for money for Canada’s travelling and commuting public, but also to induce businesses to develop products that can succeed internationally.</p>
<p>And governments must make long-term commitments, because infrastructure projects take years if not decades to complete. For businesses to invest in new capabilities, they need predictable demand. No one will commit to projects that may be cancelled after the next election. </p>
<p>Building infrastructure takes time. Sustainable mobility systems require persistent investment in high-quality infrastructure that will enable Canadians to make environmentally friendly travel choices in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131019/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Klaus Meyer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Building infrastructure takes time. To develop sustainable transportation, Canada needs to invest in high-quality infrastructure that will enable us to make environmentally friendly travel choices.Klaus Meyer, Professor of International Business, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/927222018-03-13T10:37:50Z2018-03-13T10:37:50ZPeople are stranded in ‘transit deserts’ in dozens of US cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209772/original/file-20180309-30972-1a7ww7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Where's my bus?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-waiting-bus-510619786?src=-3UA3qZmgq7J-B6Mb4b4vQ-1-0">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Less than two months after President Donald Trump pledged in his State of the Union Address to “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-state-union-address/">rebuild our crumbling infrastructure</a>,” prospects look dim. The Trump administration is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/white-house-turns-to-congress-for-ideas-on-infrastructure-funding/2018/03/06/98c217ea-20a2-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html?utm_term=.299e39636e03">asking Congress</a> for ideas about how to fund trillions of dollars in improvements that <a href="https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/solutions/investment/">experts say are needed</a>. Some Democrats want to <a href="http://www.mywabashvalley.com/news/democrats-would-reverse-some-tax-cuts-to-fund-infrastructure/1017212089">reverse newly enacted tax cuts</a> to fund repairs – an unlikely strategy as long as Republicans control Congress.</p>
<p>Deciding how to fund investments on this scale is primarily a job for elected officials, but research can help set priorities. Our current work focuses on transit, which is critical to health and economic development, since it connects people with jobs, services and recreational opportunities.</p>
<p>Along with other colleagues at the <a href="http://soa.utexas.edu/resources/urban-information-lab">Urban Information Lab</a> at the University of Texas, we have developed a <a href="http://www.transitdeserts.org/index.html">website</a> showing which areas in major U.S. cities do not have sufficient alternatives to car ownership. Using these methods, we have determined that lack of transit access is a widespread problem. In some of the most severely affected cities, 1 in 8 residents lives in what we refer to as transit deserts.</p>
<p><iframe id="ksjBu" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ksjBu/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Deserts and oases</h2>
<p>Using GIS-based mapping technology, we recently <a href="http://www.transitdeserts.org/">assessed</a> 52 U.S. cities, from large metropolises like New York City and Los Angeles to smaller cities such as Wichita. We systematically analyzed transportation and demand at the <a href="https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/gtc/gtc_bg.html">block group level</a> – essentially, by neighborhoods. Then we classified block groups as “transit deserts,” with inadequate transportation services compared to demand; “transit oases,” with more transportation services than demand; and areas where transit supply meets demand. </p>
<p>To calculate the supply, we mapped out cities’ transportation systems using publicly available data sets, including <a href="https://developers.google.com/transit/gtfs/">General Transit Feed Specification data</a>. GTFS data sets are published by transit service companies and provide detailed information about their transit systems, such as route information, frequency of service and locations of stops. </p>
<p>We calculated demand for transit using <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/">American Community Survey data</a> from the U.S. Census Bureau. Transportation demand is difficult to quantify, so we used the number of transit-dependent people in each city as a proxy. A transit-dependent person is someone over the age of 12 who may need access to transportation but cannot or does not drive because he or she is too young, is disabled, is too poor to own a vehicle or chooses not to own a car.</p>
<p>Transportation deserts were present to varying degrees in all 52 cities in our study. In transit desert block groups, on average, about 43 percent of residents were transit dependent. But surprisingly, even in block groups that have enough transit service to meet demand, 38 percent of the population was transit dependent. This tells us that there is broad need for alternatives to individual car ownership.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209608/original/file-20180308-30983-15g9a0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Transit deserts in Orlando, Florida. Red areas are transit deserts, and green areas are transit oasis areas. In tan areas, transit supply and demand are in balance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Urban Information Lab, University of Texas – Austin</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, we found that 22 percent of block groups in San Francisco were transit deserts. This does not mean that transit supply is weak within San Francisco. Rather, transit demand is high because many residents do not own cars or cannot drive, and in some neighborhoods, this demand is not being met. </p>
<p>In contrast, the city of San Jose, California, has a high rate of car ownership and consequently a low rate of transit demand. And the city’s transit supply is relatively good, so we only found 2 percent of block groups that were transit deserts. </p>
<h2>Who do transit agencies serve?</h2>
<p>Traditional transit planning is primarily focused on easing commute times into central business districts, not on providing adequate transportation within residential areas. Our preliminary analysis showed that lack of transit access was correlated with living in denser areas. For example, in New York City there are transit deserts along the the Upper West and Upper East sides, which are high-density residential areas but do not have enough transit options to meet residents’ needs.</p>
<p>Our finding that denser areas tend to be underserved suggests that cities will be increasingly challenged to provide transit access in the coming decades. The United Nations estimates that <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.pdf">two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities</a> by 2050, which will mean growing demand for transit. Moreover, fewer Americans, particularly millennials, are choosing to <a href="https://qz.com/873704/no-car-households-are-becoming-more-common-in-the-us-after-decades-of-decline/">own vehicles</a> or even <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/the-decline-of-the-drivers-license/425169/">get driver’s licenses</a>. </p>
<p>This dual challenge underlines the urgency of investing in transportation infrastructure. The problem of transportation access is only likely to grow more acute in the coming years, and new infrastructure projects take many years to plan, finance and complete.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/167460708" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Expanding New York City’s bike lanes has given commuters an alternative to the deteriorating subway system.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Transit deserts reinforce inequality</h2>
<p>We also found that relatively well-off neighborhoods have better transport services. This is not surprising: Wealthier people tend to have higher access to cars, and thus rely less on public transit. </p>
<p>Lower access to transportation for poorer Americans creates a kind of negative economic feedback loop. People need access to high-quality transportation in order to find and retain better jobs. Indeed, several studies have shown that transit access is one the most critical factors in determining <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/upshot/transportation-emerges-as-crucial-to-escaping-poverty.html">upward mobility</a>. Poor Americans are likely to have lower-than-average <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/stranded-how-americas-failing-public-transportation-increases-inequality/393419/">access to transit</a>, but often are unable to move out of poverty because of this lack of transit. Investing in infrastructure thus is a way of increasing social and economic equality. </p>
<h2>What state and city governments can do</h2>
<p>Shrinking transit deserts does not necessarily require wholesale construction of new transit infrastructure. Some solutions can be implemented relatively cheaply and easily. </p>
<p>New and emerging technologies can provide flexible alternatives to traditional public transportation or even <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/08/16/arlington-planning-to-subsidize-rideshare-trips-to-the-metro/?utm_term=.08ea232560e1">enhance</a> regular public transit. Examples include services from transit network companies, such as Uber’s <a href="https://www.uber.com/ride/uberpool/">Pool</a> and <a href="https://www.uber.com/ride/express-pool/">Express Pool</a> and Lyft’s <a href="https://www.lyft.com/line">Line</a>; traditional or dockless bike sharing services, such as <a href="https://mobike.com/global/">Mobike</a> and <a href="https://www.ofo.com/us/en">Ofo</a>; and microtransit services like <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2015/10/19/ubers-china-rival-just-launched-didi-bus-its-internet-bus-booking-service/">Didi Bus</a> and <a href="https://www.chariot.com/">Ford’s Chariot</a>. However, cities will have to work with private companies that offer these services to ensure they are accessible to all residents.</p>
<p>Cities also can take steps to ensure their current transit systems are well-balanced and shift some resources from overserved areas to neighborhoods that are underserved. And modest investments can make a difference. For example, adjusting transit signals to give buses preference at intersections can <a href="https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/699.1.pdf">make bus service more reliable by helping them stay on schedule</a>. </p>
<p>Ultimately federal, state and city agencies must work together to ensure an equitable distribution of transportation so that all citizens can fully participate in civil society. Identifying transit gaps is a first step toward solving this issue.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to include data on transit deserts in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92722/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Research described in this article is partly funded by the US Department of Transportation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Bischak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even in cities with good public transportation, some areas can be ‘transit deserts,’ where demand exceeds supply. Living in these zones makes it hard to access good jobs, health care and other services.Junfeng Jiao, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning and Director, Urban Information Lab, The University of Texas at AustinChris Bischak, Masters of Community and Regional Planning Candidate, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/828592017-09-15T08:48:53Z2017-09-15T08:48:53ZCommuting by subway? What you need to know about air quality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184227/original/file-20170831-22427-faa9vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2013. Subways abound in fine particles often carried by brakes or trains.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/3336/10915927833/">Diego Torres Silvestre/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/in-pace-change-govt-to-double-network-in-18-months-add-4-cities-on-metro-map/articleshow/60149847.cms">Four more major Indian cities</a> will soon have their own metro lines, the country’s government has announced. On the other side of the Himalayas, Shanghai is building <a href="http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2106229/shanghai-metro-keeping-worlds-longest-mass">its 15th subway line</a>, set to open in 2020, adding 38.5 km and 32 stations to the world’s largest subway network. And New Yorkers can finally enjoy their Second Avenue Subway line <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/the-second-avenue-subway-is-here">after waiting for almost 100 years</a> for it to arrive.</p>
<p>In Europe alone, commuters in more than 60 cities use rail subways. Internationally, more than <a href="http://mic-ro.com/metro/metrostats.html">120 million people</a> commute by them every day. We count around <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/what-we-do/london-underground">4.8 million</a> riders per day in London, <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9tro_de_Paris">5.3 million</a> in Paris, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway">6.8 million</a> in Tokyo, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Metro">9.7 million</a> in Moscow and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Subway">10 million</a> in Beijing.</p>
<p>Subways are vital for commuting in crowded cities, something that will become more and more important over time – according to a United Nations 2014 report, <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014.html">half of the world’s population is now urban</a>. They can also play a part in reducing outdoor air pollution in large metropolises by helping to reduce motor-vehicle use.</p>
<p>Large amounts of breathable particles (particulate matter, or PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>), produced in part by industrial emissions and road traffic, <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/Housing-andhealth/publications/pre-2009/air-quality-guidelines.-global-update-2005.-particulate-matter,-ozone,-nitrogen-dioxide-and-sulfur-dioxide">are responsible</a> for shortening the lifespans of city dwellers. Public transportation systems such as subways have thus seemed like a solution to reduce air pollution in the urban environment.</p>
<p>But what is the air like that we breathe underground, on the rail platforms and inside trains?</p>
<h2>Mixed air quality</h2>
<p>Over the last decade, several <a href="http://improve-life.eu/en/scientific-publications-on-subway-air-quality/">pioneering studies</a> have monitored subway air quality across a range of cities in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The database is incomplete, but is growing and is already valuable.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184215/original/file-20170831-22617-1ffjqel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Subway, Tokyo, 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/132514254@N04/31341365561/">Mildiou/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, comparing air quality on subway, bus, tram and walking journeys from the same origin to the same destination in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935115300426">Barcelona</a>, revealed that subway air had higher levels of air pollution than in trams or walking in the street, but slightly lower than those in buses. Similar lower values for subway environments compared to other public transport modes have been demonstrated by studies in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231002006878">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231006008727">Mexico City</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1309104215303792">Istanbul</a> and <a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/-/content/articlehtml/2014/em/c3em00648d">Santiago de Chile</a>.</p>
<h2>Of wheels and brakes</h2>
<p>Such <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135223100700698X">differences</a> have been attributed to different wheel materials and braking mechanisms, as well as to variations in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717302449">ventilation</a> and air conditioning systems, but may also relate to differences in measurement campaign protocols and choice of sampling sites.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184220/original/file-20170831-22617-1mtzmna.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Second Avenue Subway in the making, New York, 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Avenue_Subway_-_72nd_Street_Station_(8744771284).jpg">MTA Capital Construction/Rehema Trimiew/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Key factors influencing subway air pollution will include station depth, date of construction, type of ventilation (natural/air conditioning), types of brakes (electromagnetic or conventional brake pads) and wheels (rubber or steel) used on the trains, train frequency and more recently the presence or absence of platform screen-door systems.</p>
<p>In particular, much subway particulate matter is sourced from moving train parts such as wheels and brake pads, as well as from the steel rails and power-supply materials, making the particles dominantly iron-containing.</p>
<p>To date, there is no clear epidemiological indication of abnormal health effects on underground workers and commuters. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/articles/19926083/">New York subway workers</a> have been exposed to such air without significant observed impacts on their health, and no increased risk of lung cancer was found among subway train drivers in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.20584/abstract">Stockholm subway system</a>.</p>
<p>But a note of caution is struck by the observations of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18178587">scholars</a> who found that employees working on the platforms of Stockholm underground, where PM concentrations were greatest, tended to have higher levels of risk markers for cardiovascular disease than ticket sellers and train drivers.</p>
<p>The dominantly ferrous particles are mixed with <a href="http://improve-life.eu/en/scientific-publications-on-subway-air-quality/">particles from a range of other sources</a>, including rock ballast from the track, biological aerosols (such as bacteria and viruses), and air from the outdoors, and driven through the tunnel system on turbulent air currents generated by the trains themselves and ventilation systems.</p>
<h2>Comparing platforms</h2>
<p>The most extensive measurement programme on subway platforms to date has been carried out in the Barcelona subway system, where 30 stations with differing designs were studied under the frame of <a href="http://improve-life.eu/">IMPROVE LIFE project</a> with additional support from the AXA Research Fund.</p>
<p>It reveals substantial variations in <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971401715X">particle-matter concentrations</a>. The stations with just a single tunnel with one rail track separated from the platform by glass barrier systems showed on average half the concentration of such particles in comparison with conventional stations, which have no barrier between the platform and tracks. The use of <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971401715X">air-conditioning</a> has been shown to produce lower particle-matter concentrations inside carriages.</p>
<p>In trains where it is possible to open the windows, such as <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935115301705">in Athens</a>, concentrations can be shown generally to increase inside the train when passing through tunnels and more specifically when the train enters the tunnel at <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27325017">high speed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184222/original/file-20170831-22559-qedm6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">According to their construction material, you may breath different kind of particles on various platforms worldwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_Tube_(6549832833).jpg">London Tube/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Monitoring stations</h2>
<p>Although there are no existing legal controls on air quality in the subway environment, research should be moving towards realistic methods of mitigating particle pollution. Our experience in the <a href="http://improve-life.eu/en/welcome/">Barcelona subway system</a>, with its considerable range of different station designs and operating ventilation systems, is that each platform has its own specific atmospheric micro environment.</p>
<p>To design solutions, one will need to take into account local conditions of each station. Only then can researchers assess the influences of pollution generated from moving train parts.</p>
<p>Such research is still growing and will increase as subway operating companies are now more aware about how cleaner air leads directly to better health for city commuters.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=121&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=121&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=121&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/202296/original/file-20180117-53314-hzk3rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Created in 2007, the Axa Research Fund supports more than 500 projets around the world conducted by researchers from 51 countries. To learn more about the work of Fulvio Amato, visit the <a href="https://www.axa-research.org/en/projects/fulvio-amato">dedicated site</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82859/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fulvio Amato receives funding from Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and from AXA Research Fund. More information on Fulvio Amato's work is available on the website of the Axa Research Fund <a href="https://www.axa-research.org/en/projects/fulvio-amato">https://www.axa-research.org/en/projects/fulvio-amato</a>.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Teresa Moreno receives funding from the European LIFE Programme (IMPROVE LIFE13 ENV/ES/000263) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness with FEDER funds (METRO CGL2012-33066). </span></em></p>Subways seem like the perfect solution to improve air quality in cities. But what about air quality underground?Fulvio Amato, Tenured Scientist, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Teresa Moreno, Director of the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA - CSIC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/756642017-04-04T14:50:18Z2017-04-04T14:50:18ZHow science can help cities prepare for attacks on metro systems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163844/original/image-20170404-5702-ctctxt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tokyo, Moscow, Madrid, London, Brussels, and now St Petersburg. These major cities have all suffered attacks on their metro systems. The most recent events in St Petersburg, where a metro bombing <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39486640">killed at least 14 people</a>, remind us of the challenges faced by underground transport systems in keeping people safe during an emergency. This is where engineering and psychology research can come in useful, helping to optimise evacuation procedures using insight into how people behave.</p>
<p>To start with, there are several key ways that evacuating an underground system differs from evacuating a building. Underground environments are often unfamiliar to the evacuees, especially if the evacuation has to start in the tunnels between stations. The system’s enclosed nature also means visibility can rapidly deteriorate from smoke. Tunnels are generally not divided into separate sections to stop smoke spreading, which allows it to rapidly fill all spaces.</p>
<p>This can cause a number of problems when it comes to evacuating passengers. <a href="https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/publication/8033733">Evacuation slows down</a> when visibility is poor and people cannot fully rely on what they can see to help them get out. Smoke can also obscure signs and other visual instructions, making it difficult for people to locate the closest emergency exit. For this reason, evacuees often rely on alternative senses such as hearing or touch to find their way to safety. This is why auditory alarms and hand rails can be <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0379711213000660">much more useful</a>.</p>
<p>Another reason these kind of guides and information are needed is because people tend to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0925753596810113">move towards familiar places</a> or people in an emergency. For example, if someone is looking for a way out of a metro system, they may well try to get back to where they came in. But in many instances, closer emergency exits may be available in the tunnels. These exits often lead to safety in a significantly shorter time.</p>
<p>Similarly, people’s attention can narrow to focus on immediate threats rather than analysing all the information available to them, especially when they are under pressure to escape as quickly as possible. This is where social influence can come in. If one person can find a quicker evacuation route, their interaction with other evacuees can help spread this information and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847814000771">help everyone get out quicker</a>.</p>
<p>At a more fundamental level, the design of the tunnels and trains can lead to significant safety improvements. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753513002336">Experimental research</a> has shown the effectiveness of an evacuation from a metro train depends on the configuration of the train door and the space available after getting out of it. This can include the presence of a height gap between the train doors and the outside floor and narrow spaces for evacuation in the tunnels.</p>
<p>The height gap in particular, which can be up to 1.4 metres, can be a major obstacle during evacuation, slowing down the flow of people out of the train. It may also mean that some evacuees, particularly children and older people, may not be able to evacuate on their own. This height difference can make it even more important that the driver manages to get the train to a station, as the driver in the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/03/europe/st-petersburg-russia-explosion/">St Petersburg attack did</a> – despite the fact the bomb went off inside a tunnel. This likely led to a quicker evacuation and less severe consequences.</p>
<p>It’s worth also considering that people are often a lot <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/fam.1083/asset/fam1083.pdf?v=1&t=j13hxkr4&s=263c6c74e40c0ab28653b2c3da307c3d34187180">more rational than you might think</a> in a disaster. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/st-petersburg-explosions-bomb-attack-witness-metro-victims-blasts-station-doors-a7664356.html">Media reports</a> often use the <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3250916/st-petersburg-sennaya-ploshchad-metro-station-lockdown-bomb-threat/">ambiguous word “panic”</a>, suggesting irrational and competitive (anti-social) behaviour. But <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/13378/">investigations of disasters</a> have demonstrated that people actually tend to act rationally and in a non-competitive way.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zuj8KT6Okco?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>In fact, people often tend to help each other in emergencies, including during <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10694-015-0471-4">metro train evacuations</a>. For example, footage from the St Petersburg bombing shows people trying to help others get out of the attacked trains, and similar altruistic behaviours have <a href="https://www.nist.gov/publications/occupant-behavior-egress-and-emergency-communication-federal-building-and-fire-safety-0?pub_id=101046">been observed</a> in several <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.58.824&rep=rep1&type=pdf">other disasters</a>. So whatever preparations metro authorities make for disasters, they can consider their passengers to be part of their solution. They need to design the tunnel environment for the people, not the people for the environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enrico Ronchi receives funding from the Swedish Transport Administration and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Nilsson receives funding from Brandforsk, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), Swedish Transport Administration and Norwegian Public Roads Administration.</span></em></p>The St Petersburg attack shows how engineering and psychology can help optimise how people are evacuated in a disaster.Enrico Ronchi, Associate Senior Lecturer in Evacuation Modelling, Lund UniversityDaniel Nilsson, Senior Lecturer, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/567882016-04-01T10:19:58Z2016-04-01T10:19:58ZWhy is the U.S. unwilling to pay for good public transportation?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117005/original/image-20160331-28451-1qke7af.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Maintenance has been pushed off so much that the D.C. Metro needs to shut lines down for months for repairs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/momentsnotice/11155919104/in/photolist-hZP15Q-vvaQ4d-DqLoFJ-9ijfDs-rcEBuv-bxbuy8-qMmtAR-qvsuuB-DF4yty-DFVCVx-e4j5Nd-fn33eG-AcpXCe-uBjjEi-sPDCs6-e41ck2-EqvtaG-dMWpoX-DDgCa8-nD5MwK-7Gnxkx-sEWUGv-im9Ex5-ekE9Nr-ejzDLL-e4jSkL-e2cUVt-pFzwNm-ewQKyK-5vyiZX-oKaRuT-dB5K54-5YKq8x-nAF8es-rT5GDc-sJ6CTS-i2SWL4-5uzaEs-p5KerP-yJY84T-BtaZPa-xHEW7A-gaK6PS-g9tKTT-cRqyou-bkLq7S-AoSeJX-yfMHVm-e7hipR-b5Mvqa">momentsnotice/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Officials in Washington, D.C. said this week they may have to shut down portions of the Metro subway system <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/2016/03/30/fba8ae0a-f688-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_metro-310pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory">for months</a> because its piecemeal approach to maintenance is no longer sufficient. </p>
<p>The disclosure follows a shutdown of the entire Metro system on March 16 for 24 hours. Three-quarters of a million people use the system each weekday, so the inconvenience and cost were considerable.</p>
<p>The reason: frayed electrical cables discovered in at least 26 locations that posed an immediate danger. Closing the Metro was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/washington-braces-for-full-day-of-metro-shutdown-to-deal-with-safety-concerns/2016/03/16/42324598-eb3f-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html">probably the safest thing to do</a>.</p>
<p>Just two days previously, an electrical fire in a tunnel forced stoppages to busy commuter service. In September 2015 a train was stuck inside a tunnel, and passengers choked for over an hour as smoke from a fire was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/1-dead-dozens-hurt-on-metro-car-filled-with-smoke/2015/01/12/e832c0f0-9aa8-11e4-a7ee-526210d665b4_story.html">accidentally pumped into the train</a>. One woman died. In the last six years 15 people have died in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Metro">seven separate incidents</a>.</p>
<p>A system that opened to such fanfare in 1976 is now crumbling. It is a depressingly familiar story that is not limited to urban public transport. The U.S. has a major and growing infrastructure gap – though chasm is a more appropriate metaphor. </p>
<p>The quality of a country’s infrastructure is <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2014-15.pdf">directly linked to its competitiveness</a> because it makes businesses more productive and improves the quality of life. Why has the U.S. let its public transit slip so far? </p>
<h2>From First to Third World</h2>
<p>The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the <a href="http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org">nation’s infrastructure a D+</a>. Its report from 2013 depicts a woeful tale of deferred maintenance. More than 70,000 bridges are in need of repair. We need around US$1.7 trillion for our <a href="http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/grade-sheet/americas-infrastructure-investment-needs">surface transportation alone</a>.</p>
<p>The week that the D.C. metro was closed, I was in Zurich, Switzerland. The contrast could not have been starker. There, a ticket is good for rail, bus and tram. It is clean and efficient, a widely shared experience and a deep source of pride. Most people in the country use public transport in the cities to get around. It is a vital part of urban public life. </p>
<p>In international comparisons, the U.S. is falling further behind. To fly from either Seoul or Shanghai into Los Angeles airport is to make the journey from a First World to a Third World airport. To fly into New York’s JFK from Zurich or most European capitals is to fly from the future into the past. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117006/original/image-20160331-9712-vvdmo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For people coming and going to Dulles – the main arrival point
for international travel – there is no Metro rail station, which would shield travelers from road traffic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/7119320@N05/7619519164/in/photolist-cBj2A5-aGiSoX-bCB3mZ-9ZZoT9-dPpx7U-byV1Ub-98o7oA-bCBhMH-bCB2Sg-bpG5HG-dQQ1P8-bpG8zE-bCB3PT-bpGcCq-bCB4Qv-bCB4ig-bpGfzd-bpG9qb-bCBf6g-bCB5JZ-bCB78x-bCBh2V-bCBfz2-bpGdtU-bpGkFd-dYAdsH-bCBaAK-bpGjhd-bpGgus-bpGeru-bpGg3E-dYFWfb-dYAd2z-61iaLt-dtCgGJ-7dVjEE-7Gts1b-hPcN-7ytBPZ-7UfzT9-5nuaVb-4NL1Mz-cy5qzo-4AD65-9X79LW-8QRTDs-7Gtt4S-7GtsiW-7GpBLT-7Gpxbn">Sean_Marshall/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And when you arrive in Los Angeles or New York City airports, the public transport connections are often nonexistent or inadequate. If you fly into Dulles, the main international airport for D.C., you will wait in vain for a train to the city (although buses are available). The Metro has yet to link the city to the airport, 40 years after the system opened.</p>
<p>Now Switzerland, which ranks at the top globally for overall infrastructure, may be a reach for the U.S. But when the U.S. ranks <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2014-2015/rankings/">16th for infrastructure quality</a>, easily outranked by countries such as France and Spain, then we should start worrying. </p>
<p>There are substantial costs to the decline of our public transportation system. Closures, accidents and inefficiencies cost individuals and companies and reduce the <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-the-economy-to-grow-its-time-to-look-at-cities-and-efficiency-54517">efficiency of our national economy</a>. Poor infrastructure means Americans spend <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/economic_analysis_of_transportation_investments.pdf">$120 billion each year</a> in extra fuel and lost time. </p>
<p>To some extent, this state of affairs should be no surprise. </p>
<p>Our competitors are out-investing us in the vital infrastructure necessary to make our economy efficient and internationally competitive. Even when our public infrastructure spending is higher than our competitors, it is <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/quality-not-just-quantity-of-infrastructure-needs-attention-1432138724">less well-targeted</a> because decisions are more politically motivated than based on economic rationality.</p>
<p>We seem unwilling to pay for public services. Our declining road system, for example, is funded by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-should-america-fund-its-highways-in-the-21st-century-53197">Highway Trust Fund</a>, which is derived from a gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon. It has not been raised since 1993, and more fuel-efficient vehicles means less revenue. Raising the gas tax is not considered politically feasible, even in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-should-america-do-with-its-2-per-gallon-gas-windfall-52258">time of declining gas prices</a>. </p>
<h2>What went wrong?</h2>
<p>At least four reasons can be cited for the decline in the quality of urban public transportation. </p>
<p>The first is the early and continuing embrace of the private car as a form of urban transport. In Europe, expensive gas and restrictive land use measures kept people in dense cities, and urban growth followed along the lines of mass transit, reinforcing and consolidating their use. </p>
<p>In the U.S. growth spread across a landscape of freeways and motorway exits, encouraged by federal investment in the national highway system in the 1950s. As low-density suburban sprawl spread, public transport became less viable. New suburbs and Sunbelt cities constructed in the last half of the 20th century were built around the private automobile. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117007/original/image-20160331-28472-jbjq74.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Encouraged by the construction of the highway infrastructure, Americans moved out to the suburbs and started to rely more on cars, rather than public transit, to get into cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over time, Republican-dominated suburbs came to see mass transit as a special Democratic interest and voted accordingly. For example, the mayor of Nashville’s plans for public transport last year were <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/10/10/nashville-mayor-wanted-bring-two-parts-his-city-together-then-was-crushed-state%20legislators/QT91unb8xk4xPBqkTumgMP/story.html">blocked by state politicians</a> and right-wing national interest groups.</p>
<p>Second, as cities were designed to meet the needs of the motorist, mass transit systems that had been owned by private companies were <a href="http://eh.net/encyclopedia/urban-mass-transit-in-the-united-states/">abandoned or effectively dismantled</a> in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s because they were losing money.</p>
<p>As a result, many mass transit systems were taken over by municipalities. This led to a high-cost, low-revenue system dependent on the vagaries of federal, state and city funding. Meanwhile, car drivers were economic <a href="http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/glossary/free-rider-problem/">free riders</a>, not charged for the social costs of their accidents, pollution and congestion.</p>
<p>The third reason is that all infrastructure ages and needs costly maintenance and continual improvement, yet funding is often constrained. </p>
<p>Even when new transit systems were built, such as in D.C., or existing ones were upgraded, as in New York City and Boston, they still had to be maintained, which takes up large chunks of public money without the benefit of a ribbon-cutting ceremony. </p>
<p>Building something new gives politicians a photo opportunity, replacing a frayed electrical cable does not. And there are many other claims on government such as pensions, schools, Social Security and a large military. Our infrastructure chasm is a quiet, slow-moving but relentless crisis only brought into focus when wires fray to the point of immediate danger. </p>
<p>Across the country, transit systems have a backlog of deferred maintenance. Chicago Transit Authority, for instance, spent $5 billion on infrastructure upgrades in the past five years, but needs <a href="http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/finance_budget/2015_CTA_Budget_Book.pdf">another $13 billion</a>. Cities in the U.S. have a repair backlog that <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/03/19/471077807/d-c-metro-closure-a-symptom-of-national-transit-funding-woes">amounts to $86 billion</a>.</p>
<h2>Private affluence and public squalor</h2>
<p>Fourth, there is a deeper tension in the U.S., first noted by economist Kenneth Galbraith, between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Affluent_Society">private affluence and public squalor</a>. </p>
<p>Many of us, it seems, have lost faith in the public realm. The private car is the embodiment of U.S. individualism. The decline of our cities’ infrastructure is one expression of loss of faith in the public realm as a place of beauty and efficiency and an embodiment of what one journalist refers to as “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/03/16/metro-closed-shutdown-dysfunction-infrastructure-decay/">our anger and our pessimism</a>.”</p>
<p>This thinking has made our cities less about shared experiences and more a place of different lives and separated spaces. </p>
<p>There is some room for optimism. A series of reports highlight the <a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Pages/default.aspx">advantage of investing more in public transport</a>. And as more people want to live in cities in dense walkable neighborhoods, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-are-booming-but-progress-is-uneven-and-to-some-too-costly-49624">demand for public transport is increasing</a>. </p>
<p>Ridership rates vary by city and with the price of gas, but the overall usage trend is <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/how-your-citys-public-transit-stacks-up/">upwards</a>. The top 10 transit systems carry <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_rapid_transit_systems_by_ridership">12.6 million people each workday</a>.</p>
<p>And millennials lack their parents’ and grandparents’ love affair with the automobile. We may be at the cusp of a generational shift in attitudes to the car and mass transit. Cities and cars were never a good fit, something more people appear to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/02/29/the-car-century-was-a-mistake-its-time-to-move-on/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage/story">realizing</a>. </p>
<p>Urban public transport may come to be seen as a more desirable, more sustainable, more equitable way of getting around the city. If only we can remember to ensure we have enough money to replace those electric cables before they pose a serious danger.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56788/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Rennie Short does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How did urban public transport in America, like much of our infrastructure, get to be in such bad shape? Will millennials help turn it around?John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.