We are happy to report that an op-ed submitted by some of our members was recently published! The article covers “on-demand transit,” its limitations, and the need to think about broader and more effective reforms to our transit system that allow us to bring back and expand ridership post-COVID.
And read more about some of the concepts we discuss:
Induced Demand: despite what city planners and developers say, adding lanes to a road does not reduce car congestion. Rather, studies show the new space is back to being clogged with traffic in a few years. Cities should reallocate the millions of dollars in their road widening budgets to support and expand transit, instead of carbon intensive infrastructure like roads.
Dedicated Bus Lanes: also called “bus-only lanes” these are a simple and cheap way to enhance service reliability. Giving more space to buses and exempting them from car traffic means trips are about 20-28% faster and thereby more reliable. This can entice people to ditch their cars for the bus, curbing pollution without depriving people of viable transportation. These lanes have also been associated with fewer traffic collisions.