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Cities must rethink public transit investment priorities amid national transport issues. With the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics being held in the U.S., America’s public transit shortcomings will be on display and likely result in further congestion for the host cities. Mass Transit David Tyler March 10, 2025 It's no secret America’s public transit systems are falling short compared to those of other countries, and longer wait times and fewer service hours across cities signal that U.S. innovations aren’t up to par. 5-1-2025Public transit ridership has been increasing nationally, and according to Artemis Technologies’ recent research “The Future of Sustainable Transit Report,”conducted with research firm Censuswide, 40 percent of Americans surveyed said they spend at least an hour on public transit per week. However, despite its ubiquitousness in daily life, almost half (49 percent) would give their city’s public transit a grade C or below. With the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics being held in the U.S., America’s public transit shortcomings will be on display and likely result in further congestion for the host cities. It’s clear that there’s an immediate need for cities to rethink their investment priorities when it comes to more efficient and sustainable transportation options that not only meet the needs of commuters but also shift this negative public perception.
The state of public transit systems in the U.S......Public transit has continued to be a pain point for citizens due to cities’ unsatisfactory approach to sustainability and poor user experience. As they try to grapple with unhappy commuters and other problems including heavy traffic and insufficient funds, cities across the U.S. are enacting new legislation that are triggering problems of their own instead of making progress. In New York City, the goal of congestion pricing is to help fund Metropolitan Transportation Authority repairs and upgrades but has resulted in increased subway and commuter rail overcrowding. Across the coast in California, San Francisco is facing one of the worst financial crises in its history, with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency facing a deficit of nearly $322 million by next year. With attempts to raise taxes and enact bridge tolls failing, the city has had no choice but to begin service cuts, with more coming this summer. According to data from Artemis’ report, 64 percent of Americans have experienced a public transportation disruption. In particular, almost half (46 percent) of respondents have been late for work, school or a doctor’s appointment as a result of public transit failures. Instead of normalizing these sore spots for the everyday commuter, it’s time to make taking public transit a more pleasant experience.
Americans want to see greater sustainability investments......Along with the rider experience, Artemis’ research underscores that sustainable transportation is an important consideration for consumers, but they’re doubtful about their cities’ ability to meet proposed initiatives. Public transit has continued to be a pain point for citizens due to cities’ unsatisfactory approach to sustainability and poor user experience. As they try to grapple with unhappy commuters and other problems including heavy traffic and insufficient funds, cities across the U.S. are enacting new legislation that are triggering problems of their own instead of making progress. In New York City, the goal of congestion pricing is to help fund Metropolitan Transportation Authority repairs and upgrades but has resulted in increased subway and commuter rail overcrowding. Across the coast in California, San Francisco is facing one of the worst financial crises in its history, with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency facing a deficit of nearly $322 million by next year. With attempts to raise taxes and enact bridge tolls failing, the city has had no choice but to begin service cuts, with more coming this summer. According to data from Artemis’ report, 64 percent of Americans have experienced a public transportation disruption. In particular, almost half (46 percent) of respondents have been late for work, school or a doctor’s appointment as a result of public transit failures. Instead of normalizing these sore spots for the everyday commuter, it’s time to make taking public transit a more pleasant experience.
Americans want to see greater sustainability investments......Along with the rider experience, Artemis’ research underscores that sustainable transportation is an important consideration for consumers, but they’re doubtful about their cities’ ability to meet proposed initiatives......read on https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/blog/55272932/op-ed-cities-must-rethink-public-transit-investment-priorities-amid-national-transport-issues
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Healthier Air, Fewer Deaths.....The impact of this transformation is quantifiable. With fewer combustion engines spewing pollutants into the air, the city has seen a consistent year-on-year drop in harmful emissions. According to Airparif, the combination of regulatory pressure, low-emissions zones, and sustainable transport options — especially cycling — are directly responsible for the improved air quality. And the benefits are more than just environmental. The study estimates that maintaining and expanding current measures could prevent up to 7,900 premature deaths due to pollution-related illnesses. That’s a staggering figure — and one that underscores the life-saving potential of better urban planning and active mobility.
The Road Ahead......read on https://momentummag.com/paris-proves-the-power-of-pedals-how-cycling-helped-cut-pollution-in-half/
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According to Carlin Thandi Ngandu, the community engagement coordinator for Mobility for Africa, 300 women across Zimbabwe are part of the program, with a goal of ensuring that 70% of the beneficiaries are women. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses, including buying furniture and other assets,” Bhobho said at a market where she delivers crops for farmers in Wedza district, about 150 kilometers (nearly 100 miles) from Harare.Called “Hamba,” meaning “go” in Ndebele, the tricycles are powered by solar-charged lithium-ion batteries. Mobility for Africa, a local startup, piloted the project in 2019 by leasing the vehicles to groups of women for $15 a month. Today, individual women like Bhobho can own them through a lease-to-purchase program. “I used to depend on my husband for everything, even money for bread,” she said.
Bhobho now owns land, has opened a small grocery store, is paying off a car and has moved her children from an underfunded rural public school to a better-equipped private institution. She earns up to $300 a month, comparable to government workers like schoolteachers. Beyond material gains, she has gained self-esteem.......read on https://apnews.com/article/
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Our recommendations, detailed in the report and outlined below, can help business leaders and fleet managers develop and successfully implement a thorough change management plan, regardless of where they are in their decarbonization journey. Recommendations.....Create a roadmap for fleet decarbonization.....read on https://rmi.org/how-fleets-can-electrify-light-duty-commercial-vehicles/
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US spends billions on roads rather than public transport in ‘climate time bomb’. New analysis finds money from Biden’s $1.2tn infrastructure bill has overwhelmingly been spent on widening highways for cars Guardian Oliver Milman Thu 29 Feb 2024 Roads, roads and more roads. The US is continuing to spend billions of dollars on expanding enormous highways rather than fund public transport, with a landmark infrastructure bill lauded by Joe Biden only further accelerating the dominance of cars at the expense, critics say, of communities and the climate. Since the passage of the enormous $1.2tn bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021, hailed by Biden as a generational effort to upgrade the US’s crumbling bridges, roads, ports and public transit, money has overwhelmingly poured into the maintenance and widening of roads rather than improving the threadbare network of bus, rail and cycling options available to Americans, a new analysis has found. Just a fifth of the money has gone so far to public transit, with much of the remainder also facilitating more car driving, such as the refurbishment of bridges. Of reported funds dispersed to states, more than half – around $70bn – have been spent on the resurfacing and expansion of highways, a process that researchers have consistently found only spurs greater use of cars and therefore more congestion. Just a fifth of the money has gone so far to public transit, with much of the remainder also facilitating more car driving, such as the refurbishment of bridges. This spending is a “climate time bomb”, according to the new Transportation for America analysis, which calculates that more than 178m tons of greenhouse gases will be emitted due to planned highway expansions by 2040, only slightly offset by emissions-reducing measures that also stem from the bill. “We’re seeing investments that are not too conscious of the climate across the board from states,” said Corrigan Salerno, policy associate at Transportationfor America, a transport policy group.
“Nothing is fundamentally changing in terms of modes of transport. This much money going into highway expansion is, for one, a liability into the future, and two, it just doesn’t work. We’ve been expanding highways for decades on decades, and everyone consistently finds themselves stuck in traffic.” Funding from the federal government has been given to states with broad flexibility on how to use it and state authorities, by and large, have chosen to persist with car-centric infrastructure. The Biden administration’s department of transportation did advise states to prioritize road repair, rather than expansion, and to bear in mind communities, usually of color, that have been severed by highways and are subjected to the resulting air pollution. There is little sign of improved fortunes for public transport, however. Rail and bus services were badly hit during the Covid pandemic, with a lack of commuter revenue causing headaches for several city systems seeking to cover their basic operational costs. Some jurisdictions, meanwhile, appear openly hostile to non-car options. Lawmakers in Indiana this week moved to ban dedicated bus lanes in Indianapolis, while officials in Miami Beach recently rejected a plan to extend a rail line to help alleviate congestion......read on https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/29/biden-spending-highways-public-transport-climate-crisis UNITED STATES JUST DOESN'T GET IT- WHILE VANCOUVER DOES........About Metro 2050: Regional Growth Strategy https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/metro-2050-the-regional-growth-strategy........and........Transport 2050 is the new Regional Transportation. Strategy (RTS) https://www.translink.ca/news/2022/january/transport%202050%20sets%20bright%20new%20vision%20for%20regional%20transportation
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