I-65 choking on cars, #publictransit "only solution"

Nashville Public Radio: "“The only solution is to look at some kind of public transportation system,” Graves says. “From my perspective and I think a lot of people in this room, we need TDOT to engage more with transit and not just talk about roads and bridges.”"

Missing from #publictransit funding debate, buses save more than they cost

Tampa Bay Times: ""It was pretty clear in that ordinance language that we're talking about a road-intensive plan," said Commissioner Stacy White."

Spending more on roads fixes nothing. Yet public-transit advocates keep losing the funding debate. Investing in buses actually saves money... and saves even more if they are fare-free. But the true costs of the auto and sprawl culture do not get into the debates. So the sprawl profiteers win again and again.



we show the true costs of the auto here

McKinney, TX, car culture doesn't work for poor, old, disabled

Dallas News: "The move has left some residents stranded.

Justin Mann and his guide dog, Garvey, arrived at their McKinney home on a TAPS Public Transit bus on Oct. 8, 2015. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News) Staff Photographer
Mann relied on TAPS to get from his McKinney home to work each day in Frisco. For months now, he's bummed rides from friends and family. He's resorted to using a SignUpGenius page to connect with volunteers willing to drive him each day.
Sometimes, he takes Uber to work. A couple of times, he's stayed at a hotel in Frisco when he knew he wouldn't have a ride.
He moved to the northern Dallas suburb in 2011 to be closer to his parents in Gainesville. He researched public transportation options before the move and landed on McKinney. 
"Had I known what I was dealing with now, I would never have moved here. Ever," he said."

Texas town bus ridership up 24% with fare-free plan for students

Valley Metro seeing ridership boom: "Ridership on Valley Metro, the bus service which spans an area from Brownsville to Zapata County, is forecast to be up 24 percent over last year.
“Primarily it’s because of partnerships we have with South Texas colleges — UTRGV, STC, TSTC,” said Tom Logan, Valley Metro’s director. “The students, the faculty and staff have really started taking advantage of that service, and that’s where we’ve seen that growth in our ridership numbers.”
And who wouldn’t take the bus? For many students, faculty and staff, rides are free with a valid college ID.
Yet the numbers suggest these new riders don’t account for all of the ridership increase."