The Hub 1/4/19: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Round-Up of Transportation News

“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up to date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.

 

Strong Towns: The Twelve Days of Safety Myths – With a fun take on some serious issues, Strong Town’s Twelve Days of Safety Myths can help us all understand how transportation departments across America can update their thinking.

 

Foreign Policy: The Rise and Fall of China’s Cycling Empires – In the late 1990s urban China was filled with cyclists. The national government launched a successful campaign to increase car ownership and transit ridership, eschewing bikes. As populations boomed, dockless bikeshare seemed to be ushering in a cycling comeback. Lack of cycling infrastructure meant it wasn’t long before the dockless bikes piled up and blocked sidewalks and entrances to businesses. With an unsustainable business model, many dockless bike-share companies folded after just a few short years.

 

Mobility Lab: An empty bus means a full one next time: why deadheading isn’t so bad – An empty bus on the road (AKA deadheading) hardly seems like an indicator of a well working transit system, but in the case of frequent service it can mean just that. Lines that run every 5 minutes will always outperform lines with a longer wait. And while the occasional empty bus on a route may seem wildly inefficient, a line that runs frequently will retain riders.

 

International Railway Journal: Texas Central Railway: blazing a trail for privately-funded high-speed rail – Texas is home to the fourth and fifth largest metros in the United States. 50,000 Texans travel between the metros every week on Interstate 45, one of America’s deadliest roads. Texas Central Railway, a private company, is working to create a high speed rail connection to give travelers a comfortable alternative to driving. The high speed line is predicted to remove over 14,000 cars from I-45 daily.

 

City Lab: How to Push Kid-Friendly Transit in a Rapidly Urbanizing City – Dakar, Senegal is a rapidly growing city, with more and more people needing to get from place to place. Most transit systems are designed for commuters and leave families behind. ImagiNation Afrika is a Dakar based organization focused on creating child friendly transportation. Ensuring busses are safe and not over capacity are the first two hurdles.