Durham-Orange - What you can get for 1/2 cent

Durham-Orange Friends of Transit:

• Expanded Bus Service - new buses and better service in first two years
• Express/Commuter Rail - Miles of new Commuter Rail service to maximize the use of Amtrak, High Speed Rail and NC Commuter Rail. Express Rail links commuters with job centers, pulling two sides of region closer together
• Light Rail - Miles of new Light Rail service. Light rail links neighborhoods for intra-city travel, short trips.

'via Blog this'

Mass transit, don't pass us by, East Nashville residents say | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

 Fare-Free Music City Circulators

Mass transit, don't pass us by, East Nashville residents say | The Tennessean | tennessean.com: "“Having streetcars running to East Nashville will ensure the overall system’s success by linking our densest growing neighborhoods to the employers that the vast majority of people in East Nashville travel to every day,” said state Rep. Mike Stewart, one of about 50 people who attended a public meeting Thursday evening.

Stewart said East Nashville is “full of people who have already shown a willingness to use, and an excitement about, public transportation.”"

'via Blog this'

Businesses plead for more public transit

St. Petersburg Times: Clearwater's Jolley Trolley is Weekends-Only for Now: Jolley Trolley officials say business owners along the new North Pinellas route have been clamoring to expand the three-day weekend service's hours of operation to include Thursday.

Give South Florida more choices on transportation - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Give South Florida more choices on transportation - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: Years ago, an elderly woman shared with me that her greatest desire was to enjoy ice cream once again. What was keeping her from this simple pleasure? Believe it or not, it was transportation. Apparently, the bus ride to the grocery store took 20 minutes, but the return trip took an hour — by the time she made it home, the ice cream had melted. To fix the problem, Broward County partnered with cities to create a network of smaller, more nimble local buses with flexible routes.

Few issues have larger consequences for our lives than transportation — how we move people and goods impacts all of us. It affects how we do business, where we choose to live, how we budget our money and ultimately, our quality of life.

Raquel Nelson - Victim of Autosprawl

photo

Raquel's taxes pay to subsidize the auto-system. If public transit were fare-free, ridership would increase and service would improve. The critical-mass of the auto-system would be broken and the unfairness of its massive subsidy would be seen for the burden that it is. And maybe there would be justice for a change.

Walking Is Healthy, So Why Isn't It Safer? - Kaid Benfield - Life - The Atlantic 

No End In Sight For Texas Drought, Says National Weather Service : TreeHugger

No End In Sight For Texas Drought, Says National Weather Service : TreeHugger: "All of north Texas is now in at least severe drought (D2)...with the vast majority of the region in extreme or exceptional drought. Water resources have decreased dramatically this summer...and crop losses will likely set record dollar amounts.
The heat is expected to continue the remainder of the summer...with the drought continuing unabated well into the upcoming autumn. With the potential for another La Niña winter...there is little to suggest any end to the drought."

New trolley routes start, more riders expected | wbir.com

New trolley routes start, more riders expected | wbir.com: "New routes and new times could make Knoxville's trolley system a lot easier to use.

If you've taken a ride on one of the Knoxville Area Transit Trolleys before Monday, the red, orange, or blue line may have gotten you close to your destination. From now on, you'll have to hop on the Downtown Loop, the Vol Line, or the Gay Street Line.

'We feel that the names of the trolley routes themselves will help people understand where the service goes on that particular route,' said Cindy McGinnis, General Manager of Knoxville Area Transit."

Can't walk even in the country? Ain't cars great?

Rural areas' lack of sidewalks fuel obesity | TBO.com: "RUSKIN --
Tractor-trailers and school buses routinely speed past Liz Pless' home along rural 15th Street Southeast in Ruskin.

There's no safe place on the busy two-lane street to ride a bike or go for a walk.

Her mailbox stands precariously at the edge of a storm-water trench, and the sidewalk is across the busy street. There are frequent gaps in the walkway, which sits too close to the fast-moving traffic for Pless — or her 11-year-old grandson, Justin — to use.

'When the kids come home, they have to walk down there, in the ditch,' said Pless, 55. 'We don't even have bikes anymore.'"

Seniors increasingly stranded | The Tennessean | tennessean.com

Seniors increasingly stranded | The Tennessean | tennessean.com: "Nashville, where transportation projects are hurting for consistency and for the quality of service needed by the most isolated and frail seniors. A report this summer by Transportation for America ranked Nashville among the least prepared metro areas of 1 million to 3 million people when it comes to senior citizen transit. About 150,000 seniors in the region — 86 percent — will not have access to adequate transportation by 2015, the report concluded."

Southern states break U.S. heat record in July | MNN - Mother Nature Network

Southern states break U.S. heat record in July | MNN - Mother Nature Network: "WASHINGTON — The southern United States in July endured the hottest single month ever recorded in any climate region nationwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday."

Transit is easy and free in Durango, Colorado

The Durango Herald 08/06/2011 | Easy and free: "'It's very convenient,' resident Florence King said of the free trolley service available along Main Avenue.

King, who moved to Durango from Gallup, N.M., a few years ago, has found that public transit here is free from the negative image and complicated schedules and fees that plague other cities' transit systems.

Whether it's these reasons, the economy or both, one thing is clear: Usage of Durango's public transit service is up dramatically.

Since the City Council voted in 2009 to make the Main Avenue trolley free, ridership numbers have seen double-digit increases."