The Hub 6/22/18: 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.
PlanPhilly: Vision Zero panel hears stark stories of traffic-safety horror – On Tuesday, City Council held a hearing on Philadelphia’s Vision Zero program. Crash survivors and the wife of one man who was killed while walking at 16th and JFK delivered testimony on how these devastating incidents impacted their lives. Clean Air Council was one of several advocacy groups to speak about why Vision Zero is important and why City Council needs to take action.
SEPTA: Comprehensive Bus System Redesign – Philadelphia’s bus network hasn’t changed much in recent memory, and with ridership declining, SEPTA needs to make some changes. The report outlines barriers to efficiency and gives recommendations to fix them. More streamlined routes, better timed service, and an end to the transfer fee are just a few of the suggested changes.
Mobility Lab: The best way to do microtransit? Have transit agencies operate it – Microtransit companies tout themselves as providing first and last mile connections to mass transit. This connection allows people to work and travel greater distances. The Sacramento Regional Transit District recently received $12 million dollars to begin a microtransit program aimed at getting residents to nearby transit hubs that would ordinarily be too far for pedestrians to walk to.
CityLab: To Build a Better Bus System, Ask a Driver – New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency has gathered input from Brooklyn bus drivers about what improvements to the bus system would make them more effective at their jobs. Transit operators’ input should be central to a transit system overhaul, yet their opinions are often overlooked. All door boarding, dedicated bus lanes, and longer breaks between arrivals and departures are a few of the strategies these Brooklyn drivers say will improve their work.
New York Times: How the Koch Brothers Are Killing Public Transit Projects Around the Country – The oil rich Koch Brothers fund the group Americans for Prosperity, which works to halt transit development. In Nashville, canvassers armed with the latest in voter information software convinced voters to reject a transit proposal that previously had high levels of support.
Image Source: City Lab
