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Transit: Economic development for the 21st Century Blog post by Robert Steuteville on 05 Apr 2011 feature codes development economy highways transit/transit-oriented dev. Graph 1 Source: Center for Transit-Oriented Development Graph 2 TOD by year in Denver. Source: Center for Transit-Oriented Development Robert Steuteville, New Urban Network A study of development around three recent light rail transit lines in Denver, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Charlotte found 24 million square feet of residential and commercial construction (see Graph 1). That's a tremendous burst of transit-oriented development (TOD), especially given that much of it occurred after the US housing market began to collapse (see Graph 2). The development was largely focused near downtowns and other employment areas of the three cities. Factors besides transit contributed to this construction, but transit was a major impetus to growth. If the construction industry throughout much of the US had behaved as it did within a half-mile of these new transit stations, we would have had no recession in real estate. Therein lies a way out of our economic malaise. The US building industry is currently on pace to add a quarter-million new houses this year, the lowest since records have been kept for nearly 50 years. That figure will rise substantially only with the right kind of transportation investments, which have historically spurred new housing and commercial development. Since World War II, new infrastructure has consisted mainly of highways. The massive highway construction fueled growth through the first half of the last decade, but that approach won't work anymore. When highways were built through countryside close to compact cities, they spurred huge amounts of construction. That, however, was when gas was cheap and the room to spread out was plentiful in rapidly growing metropolitan areas. Highway-oriented development tends to be low-density development, because nobody wants to live in a compa

Transportation Services Index and the Economy by Peg Young, Ph.D.; Ken Notis; Gary Feuerberg, Ph.D.; and Long Nguyen PDF Summary The March 2005 release of the Transportation Services Index (TSI), an economic measure of freight and passenger movements,1 marked the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS') entry into the company of federal statistical agencies that produce monthly U.S. economic indicators. The TSI consists of three component indexes: a freight index, a passenger index, and a combined (or total) index. Figure 1 shows the freight and passenger indexes as recently displayed on the BTS website. The TSI is the broadest monthly measure of U.S. domestic transportation services and, as such, provides the best current measure available of these services. As an index, the TSI reflects real monthly changes in freight and passenger services in the United States. After development of the TSI, followed by additional research, it became clear the TSI moved in conjunction with other indicators of the national economy. Cycles of various kinds, depths, and durations occur frequently in the U.S. economy. Of these, the business cycles of recession and expansion, and the growth cycle are of particular interest to economists. The TSI, as presently published on the BTS website, spans the time period from 1990 to the present and covers two recessions. But, extending the TSI back to 1979 allows coverage of four recessions2 and numerous growth cycles. By comparing the turning points in the extended TSI with other economic data series, it is possible to ascertain whether and how transportation services relate to movement in the overall economy. Quantitatively exploring the relationships between the turning points of the TSI and measures of the broader economy reveal some interesting results. One finding is that the freight component of the TSI, which encompasses five modes of transportation, shows a strong leading relationship to the economy. When the accelerations and

In San Francisco, All-Door Boarding Catches On Yonah Freemark August 1st, 2011 | 30 Comments » San Francisco fights to speed up buses and trains by encouraging customers not to buy their tickets up front. Unlike underground metros or elevated trains, road-running streetcars and buses suffer from a significant slow-down: The time wasted waiting for people to board. The process is dreadfully sluggish in cities with well-used transit systems as large numbers of customers at popular stops are forced to line up at the front door and swipe their tickets or pay their fares in cash. In most cases, customers are forbidden from entering the bus at the rear door, even if they have unlimited ride cards. In dense cities, the result of these boarding difficulties are buses and trains that practically crawl down the street, even on corridors without much competing automobile traffic. In San Francisco at least, a solution is being studied: Allowing passengers to board at all doors, starting with a pilot program on the Muni Metro J-Church light rail line, which runs from downtown south into the Noe Valley and Balboa Park neighborhoods. There's nothing particularly controversial or revolutionary about San Francisco's proposal. Indeed, the concept of allowing people to get on a transit vehicle at any entryway is is not only standard on most rail networks and a basic component of most bus rapid transit investments, but it is also already in place for some customers on San Francisco's Muni Metro lines, which operate in a tunnel under Market Street downtown but for much of the remainder of their routes operate in shared lanes like streetcars. What's different here is the goal to extend the process to all customers on all services. San Francisco has some of the slowest transit speeds in the U.S., with the average Muni train or bus moving from place to place at a measly eight mph. Those slow speeds are an impediment to easy mobility throughout the city and discourage peop

Publications Note: Several of these documents contain draft versions of published work (or in different stages of being published). For citations and quotations please refer to the officially published version. The contents of this site can be freely used for personal use ONLY. Although the material contained in this web site is freely available, it is not public domain. Its contents, in whole or in part (including graphics and datasets), cannot be copied and published in ANY form (printed or electronic) without consent. Permission to use any graphic material herein in any form of publication, such as an article, a book or a conference presentation, on any media must be requested prior to use. Books | Book Chapters | Articles in Preparation | Refereed Articles | Special Issues | Reviews & Reports Books Rodrigue, J-P, T. Notteboom and J. Shaw (2012) (eds) The Sage Handbook of Transport Studies, London: Sage. Forthcoming. Rodrigue, J-P, C. Comtois and B. Slack (2009) The Geography of Transport Systems, Second Edition, London: Routledge, 352 pages. ISBN: 9780415483247. Rodrigue, J-P, C. Comtois and B. Slack (2006) The Geography of Transport Systems, London: Routledge, 296 pages, ISBN: 0415354412. Rodrigue, J-P (2000) L'espace économique mondial: les économies avancées et la mondialisation, (The Global Economic Space : Advanced Economies and Globalization), Collection géographie contemporaine, Sainte Foy : Presses de l'Université du Québec, 534 pages. ISBN 2760510379. PricewaterhouseCoopers Best Business Book Award. Book Chapters (2012) "Commercial Goods Transport" in UN-HABITAT, 2013 Global Report on Human Settlements: Sustainable Urban Transport, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, London: Earthscan. In preparation. (2012) "Transport, Flows and Globalization", in J-P Rodrigue, T. Notteboom and J. Shaw (eds) The Sage Handbook of Transport Studies, London: Sage. In preparation. Rodrigue, J-P, B. Slack and C. Comtois (2012) "Green Supply Cha

Capital Cost Elements for Light-Rail Transit University Transportation Research Center (UTRC2), City College of City University New York iStockphoto.com/LaneFTA incorporated recommendations from City University's UTC study of capital cost elements for light-rail transit into its capital construction application guidelines.The apparent increase in capital costs for light-rail transit is a significant concern. While unit costs have not changed, individual agencies are experiencing unexpectedly high project costs and could use guidance in reducing present costs and anticipating future ones. This project examines three distinct types of cost growth: cost overruns, unit cost escalation, and project escalation. During the study period, a time of generally stable prices economy-wide, U.S. transit properties experienced no statistically significant increase in prices for capital investment in light rail projects, either overall or in any individual asset category. However, there were significant differences in unit costs among projects in all three types of cost growth. Ongoing problems with cost containment affect the ability of FTA and its partner agencies to keep up with demand for funding light-rail transit capital projects. Researchers noted that, while prices had been stable over the preceding decade, there was anecdotal evidence of rising commodity prices driving up the cost of newly bid contracts, and that the overall picture of cost escalation could change. They identified several areas in which guidance or policy development would help agencies to better contain costs over the long term, including technical and institutional capacity, regulatory reform, competition, accounting for lifecycle costs, and broader use of standards. FTA incorporated these recommendations into its capital construction application guidelines. Additional funding for this project was provided by FTA. UTC Website: http://www.utrc2.org/ Impacts of Employer-

SFMTA Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin told the agency's board of directors yesterday that the earliest Muni could implement a system wide all-door boarding system would be sometime in the first half of next year. For years, transit advocates have been encouraging the agency to extend its all-door boarding policy on the city's light-rail fleet to all Muni buses to speed up service and save the agency money. It's one of the many relatively simple solutions that have been talked about to make Muni faster and more reliable. "Muni spends a whopping 20 percent of its time simply boarding passengers," said Mario Tanev of the San Francisco Transit Riders Union (TRU). "If riders could legally board at all doors, travel times would be shorter." At the request of SFMTA Director Joél Ramos, Transit Director John Haley presented this report on all-door boarding [pdf] at the SFMTA Board meeting. It points out the benefits, including reduced travel times across the system, a more convenient boarding experience for the rider and it would help prevent fare conflicts between operators and riders. "Most importantly for riders, it's quicker trips. We can all shorten those travel times. That's really important," said Robert Boden of the TRU. "It saves dollars. When a bus is waiting in traffic, that is not only lost money for the agency, it is also poor service for the customers. It's amazing that you can actually speed up service with quicker trips and also save the agency money." To implement the policy successfully, Haley said the agency would need to figure out the initial capital and operating costs, make sure the system has enough ticket machines, fare inspectors and reliable Clipper card readers. The agency would also launch a "comprehensive public campaign" to inform riders of the new policy. One thing the agency wants to make sure it doesn't do "is send the message that Muni is free now," Reiskin told the directors. "The iss

For more than a decade, Atlanta has been among the fastest-growing regions in the country, but the road and rail system in a state that ranks 49th in per capita transportation spending just could not keep up. Hourlong commutes are common, and more than 80 percent of commuters drive alone. Only 5 percent make use of the region's limited train and bus systems, according to research by the Brookings Institution. This month, Atlanta-area voters are being asked to approve an ambitious fix that would ultimately raise $8.5 billion by adding a penny to the sales tax for 10 years. The proposal, which bundles 157 projects in 10 counties, is part of a July 31 referendum that will allow voters across the state to decide if they want a new tax for transportation specific to their region. Voters in the Savannah area, for example, will decide on a $229 million package of road and transit improvements. The complex regional voting scheme could bring in more than $18 billion in new tax money, plus additional federal money, making it the largest package of its kind in the country, transportation experts said. The approach is also an attempt to thread the political needle in an era when the recession and smaller government sentiment have made any effort at new public spending, especially one with the word "tax" attached, a Sisyphean task. "It's not a good time to be asking people for money," said Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, which is at the forefront of the campaign to promote the tax. Brent Buice, executive director of Georgia Bikes!, said, "A lot of states are looking at it very carefully to see what happens because it's a politically safe way to get transportation funding." "Essentially, this is a way to make people tax themselves," added Mr. Buice, who will be voting for a package of projects in the Athens area. "It's a way for the Georgia legislature to kick the can down the road and not have to rai

Muni: All-Door Boarding Coming in 2012 New policy could improve on-time performance, but increase fare evasion TEXT SIZE A A A By ZUSHA ELINSON on September 6, 2011 - 5:31 p.m. PDT 6 Comments Zusha Elinson/The Bay Citizen Though a clipper card reader beckons, signs tell Muni riders not to board the backdoor. Muni officials said Tuesday that passengers will be able to board at any door on any bus line as soon as next year. Opening all the doors will speed up boarding at bus stops, and by extension, the often-late buses, said John Haley, director of operations. Muni's on-time performance sunk to 72.9 percent last quarter, well below the voter mandated 85 percent mark. Haley said that one study showed that boarding time was responsible for half of all bus delays on Market Street. Of course, anyone who rides Muni knows that bus drivers already allow all-door boarding at crowded bus stops. But technically, a rider could get a ticket for not getting on through the front door, and bus drivers don't open the back door at every stop. Under the all-door boarding plan, riders will need to use their Clipper card or have other proof of payment to board at the back door. Clipper card readers have already been installed at each bus door, but right now signs on bus windows declare: "STOP: Enter Through Front Door Only." Muni Chief Ed Reiskin said he favored the new boarding plan, but cautioned that the agency would have to plan for the possibility of more fare evasion through the back door. "The issue of how to do this with the right level of education and enforcement is the difficult part," said Reiskin. "What we don't want to do is spread the message that Muni is free now." Muni loses about $19 million each year to fare evasion. RELATED NoneMuni's Still Running Late and Shows No Improvement None'Poo Taboo': The Difficulty of Discussing Public Restrooms NoneSan Francisco Imposes 15 Mile Per Hour Speed Zone Around Schools Reiskin said the program could be impl

Urban rail transit (URT) is one of the major passenger transport modes which can ease and improve the situation of urban traffic jam, but its environment pollution on urban has get an increasing concern. The article analyzes the negative influences of the URT operation on the urban environment on the view of ecological environment pollution, including water pollution, noise pollution, air pollution, vibration pollution, traffic disruption and so on, and the positive impacts of the URT operation on the urban environment on the view of improving traffic jam and urban environment quality. Taking NJ Metro line 1 as an example to analyze empirical data, the paper evaluates comprehensively the impact of URT operation on urban environment. The results show that the URT construction plays a positive effect on urban environment, at the same time, a scientific basis has been provided for planning design and management of environmental issues of the URT project.

"Donald Shoup Takes San Francisco Solving the vexing parking problem. Posted March 20, 2012 Print This Post * 3 comments Every so often during his tenure as mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg has tried to push through congestion pricing, in which drivers would have to pay to use city streets in Midtown and Lower Manhattan. That's a popular solution to chronic overcrowding but, like drinking coffee to try to cure a hang over, it doesn't really get to the heart of the matter. More intervention usually doesn't solve the problems that were themselves the result of a prior intervention. Let me explain. Last year I had the opportunity to participate in an online discussion over at Cato Unbound. It focused on Donald Shoup's book The High Cost of Free Parking, which looks at the consequences of not charging for curbside parking. If you've ever tried to find a parking spot on the street in a big city, especially on weekdays, you know how irritating and time-consuming it can be. It may not top your list of major social problems, except perhaps when you're actually trying to do it. In fact, according to Shoup about 30 percent of all cars in congested traffic are just looking for a place to park. The problem though is not so much that there are too many cars, but that street parking is "free." Except, of course, it isn't free. What people mean when they say that some scarce commodity is free is that it's priced at zero. Some cities, such as London, Mayor Bloomberg's inspiration, charge for entering certain zones during business hours - with some success. (As well as unintended consequences: People living in priced zones pay much less for parking and higher demand has driven central London's real-estate prices, already sky high, even higher). But this doesn't really address what may be the main source of the problem: the price doesn't reflect supply and demand. The same kind of chronic congestion will occur with any fixed resource in high d

Transporte Ativo  As laranjinhas estão tomando a cidadePosted: 29 Nov 2011 10:23 AM PST As bicicletas do BikeRio já estão há um mês circulando nas ruas do Rio e já são sucesso absoluto. A cada nova estação inaugurada mais "laranjinhas" passam a ser vistas na cidade. Atualmente são 35 estações e até o fim de 2011 serão 60 com um total de 600 bicicletas. Certamente os preços convidativos tem sido um atrativo a mais. Dez reais por mês ou um passe de R$ 5,00 por dia dão acesso ao sistema. Meio de transporte ideal para as pequenas viagens as laranjinhas são usadas integradas ao transporte público mas também em passeios no fim de semana. O BikeRio tem tudo para ser mais um componente da nova mobilidade que se deseja no Rio de Janeiro. Indicador claro de que algo está mudando para melhor, são as estações instaladas em locais antes ocupados pelo estacionamento de automóveis particulares, um exemplo de que é possível com pequenas iniciativas valorizar a bicicleta e difundir o conceito de que o espaço urbano pertence à todos. Para fazer o cadastro ou mais informações, basta visitar o movesamba.com.br.