Study shows Tennesseans want more biking, walking, and #publictransit

Times Free Press : "NASHVILLE — As Gov. Bill Haslam prepares to recommend a gas tax increase to address state transportation needs, a newly released survey says a majority of Tennesseans also support greater public investments in biking and walking trails, as well as sidewalks and public transportation."

In Georgia, poor people stranded by car culture

masstransitmag : "The lack of public transportation in Glynn County was identified in the last year as the No. 1 challenge the community faces. Studies have linked poor public transportation directly to perpetuating poverty and joblessness in Glynn County.

"Over 30 percent of the children in Glynn County live in poverty households and 45 percent live in single family households," Ennis-Roughton told the BATS members and Don Masisak.

Masisak is with the Coastal Regional Commission and recently presented a proposal and cost estimate for a transportation system.

Ennis-Roughton said further that, "Car ownership is not economically feasible for the majority of those living in poverty, an issue exacerbated by the fact that Georgia ranks No. 1 in the nation for the cost of car ownership," she said in the letter, citing a CNN report. "Isolation from community assets and resources, including youth activities and health services, keeps the impoverished community stranded in a repetitive cycle of hopelessness.""

CARTA announces half-a-million dollars in funding for public transportation

Live5News.com : "Sen. Marlon Kimpson and Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority officials today announced $500,000 in funding from the S.C. Department of Parks Recreation and Tourism for public transit in the Lowcountry.

Sen. Kimpson worked in the Senate to secure the funds, which will be used to tangibly improve the transit experience for hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors beginning early next year."

Arkansas - Service frequency critical to #publictransit ridership

NWADG : "Layza Lopez-Love, a Los Angeles native who works at Community Clinic in Springdale, attended Tuesday's meeting. Lopez-Love said she has not used public transportation in Springdale, not for lack of desire, but because of lack of availability. She frequently rode the bus in Los Angeles, and if she could improve anything about Springdale public transportation, it would be expanding the frequency of bus routes.

"I often hear from other people who use the bus that it runs so infrequently that they are often waiting outside," Lopez-Love said."

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."

Cape Girardeau Co. transit proposes free bus rides

KFVS12 : "At the meeting, Mogelnicki said ridership increases every year, but if ridership becomes free he expects it to grow.

"I think a lot more people would ride the bus if it was free," transit rider John Tinsely said.

He said after going to Kansas City and seeing the light rail run for free, he said why can't Cape Girardeau do the same thing.

"I like it, right now we're in between jobs, so it would be easier for us to ride transportation, we're just now moving here to Cape from Charelston and it's hard for us to get back and forth I think it's a neat idea," transit rider Beria Willis said.

Some city council members said it would be a positive thing for the community.

"I think $2 would make a lot of difference between some people. mean we don't have a bunch of money like [Willis] said we're in between jobs and we're just struggling to get by and we take the bus everywhere we go, so I think it would make a lot of difference," Tinsely said."

Arkansas - bus frequency very important to riders

Report Recommends Improvements To City Public Transportation: "One of the recommendations is to increase the frequency of buses. Something riders agree with.

"Every fifteen minutes they should have the buses, on Saturday and Sunday," said Andrews. "