Andrea Bernstein

Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari

Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari lowballed the numbers for transit in the American Jobs Act in his conference call earlier this week.

The actual numbers, the D.O.T says are:

$27 billion for rebuilding roads and bridges

$9 billion for repairing bus and rail transit systems (not $2 billion, as the Deputy Secretary said)

$5 billion on projects selected through a competitive grant program (these tend to be local projects of national significance, like Bus Rapid Transit systems)

$4 billion on high-speed rail construction

$2 billion on airport improvements

$2 billion on Amtrak upgrades

$1 billion on NextGen air traffic control

This spending, by the way, would be  far more focused on getting money out into the economy quickly -- through the unglamorous mechanism of maintenance and repair -- than was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka, "the stimulus").  That bill favored "shovel-ready" projects, which still often needed final stages of approval before they could start.

Now, we know, right now, that the American Jobs Act is given about a zero chance of passing the GOP-controlled House.  But the President is stumping hard for it or it in the key swing states of Ohio, North Carolina, and most recently, Colorado.

 

Flooding and other hurricane damage on the Port Jervis train line.

The New York MTA says it will cost $50 million to repair a rail line in Rockland and Orange counties that was badly damaged by Tropical Storm Irene.

2,300 riders a day use the line, making it one of the mostly lightly used rail lines in the network.  (For our previous reporting on the decision-making that went into the decision to rebuild the line, click here.)

Train service on the Port Jervis line will resume in peak periods and many off-peak periods in December.

Engineers say flooding from the storm washed away thousands of tons of ballast and earth that supported the tracks along one 14-mile stretch in particular, where the rails are badly twisted and suspended in mid-air.

Trains on the line have been largely replaced by buses. The MTA says the replacement bus service will add another 10 million dollars to the tab by the time all service is restored to normal next fall.

The signals will cover platforms and mezzanines but will extend only a short distance into tunnels.

Contractor Transit Wireless has five years to set up service at the other 271 stations, and only AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers will initially be able to use the service. Other cell phone carriers are expected to participate soon.

Read more over at wnyc.org.

Despite unhopeful signs from Congress, the Obama administration is continuing its drumbeat of support for the American Jobs Act.  Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari will be in New York Tuesday at a conference on transit and jobs. Today Pocari held a conference call with BlueGreen Alliance Senior Policy Analyst Brian J. Lombardozzi to push the idea that transit creates jobs.

"Transit is literally connecting people with opportunities," Pocari said,  "It's connecting people to jobs, to school, to the grocery story. It's an economic lifeline to the American poulation."

Pocari said, "If you are honest with yourself, you'll realize any transit system was built and paid for by our parents and grandparents."

Pocari said the American Jobs Act would spend $2 billion on maintaining a state of good repair.  Update from the DOT. The American Jobs Act has $9 billion for repairing roads and bridges.  That money, Porcari said, could quickly and easily into the economy, creating jobs.

Earlier this year, the Federal Transit Administration, Peter Rogoff, said $78 billion is needed to bring the nation's seven largest transit systems into a state of good repair.

But even that $2 billion looks like an uphill battle. When an Associated Press reporter asked Pocari about Congressional proposals for "big cuts in transit," and about the politics of getting the jobs act passed, he didn't answer directly saying, "We want to make sure local leaders have the flexibility to determine what's appropriate.  We would not try and dictate what's best."

 

 

 

The train tracks under the East River that support hundreds of Long Island Railroad cars daily will be replaced during a $48 million job that begins next month as the result of what officials said were "significant water drainage issues."

UPDATED WITH CLARIFICATION ON FUNDING OF STUDY Nothing sets off a noisier debate in pro- and anti-cycling circles than a set of data.

So when two Hunter College professors, William Milzcarski and Peter Tuckel, on Monday released a study saying injuries of pedestrians by cyclists were higher than previously believed, both sides rushed to the battlements.

Biking advocates point out  that it was the same team who did the earlier study (Milczarski says the earlier report was based on a sampling of data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, not an actual count by hospitals).   The advocates said the study failed to point out that overall, biking has shot up in New York, but streets have gotten safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

For its part, the New York Post was ready with an editorial arguing that New York's bike share system will soon lead to carnage, and the study provided a ready supply of ammo for that argument.

Now the researchers' own colleagues are jumping into the fray, as the New York Times' City Room blog reports, arguing the study is "skimpy" and "an unfinished document."

What the study does do:  it counts injuries caused to pedestrians by cyclists, based on actual data from hospitals.

What it does not do:  say who caused the crashes, how serious the injuries were, or compare the figures to injuries of cyclists by motor vehicle drivers, or injuries of pedestrians by motor vehicles.

And though the study shows there's been a decline in injuries over four years, it doesn't highlight that in its summary.

By the way, Milczarski doesn't dispute that his study had a singular focus. He acknowledges the Stuart Gruskin foundation funded asked him and his colleague look into a particular line of inquiry (Gruskin was a pedestrian killed by a cyclist), and that the study analyzed the data on a specific question: how many pedestrians are injured by cyclists.

Milczarski says he'd thought it would be an easy question to answer, and that, unlike pedestrian-motorist crashes, it hadn't been studied.  "This was something no one knew about, he said in an interview.  It was like a mystery waiting to be uncovered."

(Editor's note:  The initial press release said the study had been done "on behalf of the Stuart Gruskin foundation." )

And, FWIW, Milczarki says he's pro-bike share, and intends to use the system when its up and running next summer.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (photo courtesy of Gov. Cuomo's flickr page)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo met repeatedly in the first eight months of the year on marriage equality, the property tax cap, and even farmer’s markets. But his schedule from January 1- August 31, made available online Thursday, shows no meetings or phone calls with Port Authority chief Chris Ward or Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Jay Walder.

The two men run powerful, multi-billion dollars transportation authorities, and are appointed by the Governor.

The Governor did meet with Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald on more than one occasion on the Tappan Zee Bridge, which is in need of replacement. He held a meeting in March on unspecified “Transportation and Infrastructure” issues, and had several appointments and public events surrounding an initiative to crack down on texting while driving.

The New York Times reported last month on how Walder and Cuomo only met once – but the schedules reveal in fresh detail a governor consumed with issues other than transit and transportation. He held dozens of meeting on marriage equality, the budget, and ethics reform. His public schedule lists in detail attendees at meetings on economic development, and Medicaid reform. When he meets with local legislators, religious leaders, or union brass, every name is detailed.

To be sure, the Governor’s schedule does not indicate every individual staffer he met with or every issue he discussed. There are numerous entries that just say, for example, “conference call with staff.” But a read through the documents (which show his prepared schedule, and are not a complete record of actual events) shows issues that have held his sustained attention, including the budget, property tax caps, and especially, marriage equality. There are no entries that say “transit,” and just one that says MTA – a call on August 26 on preparations for hurricane Irene.

An MTA spokesman referred questions on the schedule to the Governor’s office. The Governor’s spokesman, Joshua Vlasto, would only say, “the Governor and his administration spoke with officials at the MTA and the Port Authority frequently.” Vlasto did not respond to a follow-up question of how frequently the Governor personally spoke or met with MTA or PA officials.

The schedules include the period when MTA chairman Jay Walder announced he was leaving for a job in Hong Kong and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey raised tolls for Hudson River bridges and fares for the PATH train. They show a dinner with NJ Governor Chris Christie at Beacon Restaurant on July 29, two weeks before the toll proposal was announced.

Both governors initially denounced the proposal, then came around to supporting it in modified form. Tolls were raised last weekend.

Cuomo has appointed a wide-ranging search committee to replace Walder, who is leaving next month. The Governor has kept thoughts about the replacement to himself, saying only he’d like to announce a replacement before Walder leaves on October 21. He has appointed a real estate executive, Howard Millstein, to head the NY Thruway Authority, and has appointed two real estate executives, Scott Rechler and Jeffrey Lynford to the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Cuomo appointed the former Bronx Borough President and democratic mayoral nominee, Fernando Ferrer, to the MTA board earlier this year.

 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo met repeatedly in the first eight months of the year on marriage equality, the property tax cap and even farmer’s markets.  But his schedule from January 1- August 31, made available online Thursday, showed no meetings or phone calls with Port Authority chief Chris Ward or Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Jay Walder.

UPDATED WITH TRANSCRIPT In a speech heavy with both passion and symbolism, President Barack Obama made an impassioned pitch for infrastructure spending, arguing both immediate jobs and the nation's future depend on it.  The President traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Brent Spence bridge, connecting Speaker John Boehner's district in Ohio to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's district in Kentucky.

The President was in full campaign mode as he dropped the final "g"s in his words (as in, I'm askin' you), veered off script, and even let his audience boo his political opponents without shushing them.

"The thing is there are bridges and roads and highways like [the Brent Spence Bridge] throughout the region" the President said. "A major bridge that connects Kentucky and Indiana just closed down for safety reasons.  Another aging bridge that crosses over the Ohio River in Ironton could be replaced right now.  There are rail stations in Cleveland and Toledo in desperate need of repair.  And the same is true in cities and towns all across America.  It makes your commute longer.  It costs our businesses billions of dollars -- they could be moving products faster if they had better transportation routes.  And in some cases, it’s not safe.

Now, we used to have the best infrastructure in the world here in America.  We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad, the Interstate Highway System.  (Applause.)  We built the Hoover Dam.  We built the Grand Central Station.  (Applause.)  So how can we now sit back and let China build the best railroads?  And let Europe build the best highways?  And have Singapore build a nicer airport?  At a time when we've got millions of unemployed construction workers out there just ready to get on the job, ready to do the work to rebuilding America.  (Applause.)"

The full text follows:

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Cincinnati!  (Applause.)

Well, it is good to see all of you.  It is good to be back in Cincinnati.  (Applause.)  I have to say I drove by the Bengals’ practice -- (laughter.)  And I was scouting out some plays in case they play the Bears -- (laughter.)  Did I hear somebody boo the Bears?

AUDIENCE:  Booo!  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  We've got some folks I just want to make sure are acknowledged here today.  First of all, the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, is in the house.  Give him a round of applause.  (Applause.)  We've got the mayor of the great city of Cincinnati -- Mark Mallory is here.  (Applause.)  We've got the mayor of Covington, Mayor Denny Bowman.  (Applause.)  Senator Rand Paul is here.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Rand is going to be supporting bridges, so we've got to -- (applause.)  And we've got Congressman John Yarmuth in the house.  (Applause.)

Now, it is good to be back.  I was just in Columbus a little while ago, and I figured I couldn't get away with not giving     Cincinnati a little bit of love.  (Applause.)

I want to thank the good folks at Hilltop Concrete for having us here today.  I especially want to thank Ron for his introduction.

Companies like Hilltop, construction companies, have been hit harder by this economic crisis than almost any other industry in America.  And there are millions of construction workers who are still out there looking for a job.  They're ready to work, but things have been a little tough.  That doesn’t mean that there is not plenty of construction waiting to get done in this country.

Behind us stands the Brent Spence Bridge.  It’s located on one of the busiest trucking routes in North America.  It sees about 150,000 vehicles every single day.  And it’s in such poor condition that it's been labeled "functionally obsolete."  Think about that -- functionally obsolete.  That doesn’t sound good, does it?

AUDIENCE:  Nooo!

THE PRESIDENT:  It’s safe to --

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Kind of like John Boehner.  (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT:  It's safe to drive on, but it was not designed to accommodate today’s traffic, which can stretch out for a mile.  Shipping companies try to have their trucks avoid the bridge.  Of course, that only ends up costing them more money as well.

The thing is there are bridges and roads and highways like that throughout the region.  A major bridge that connects Kentucky and Indiana just closed down for safety reasons.  Another aging bridge that crosses over the Ohio River in Ironton could be replaced right now.  There are rail stations in Cleveland and Toledo in desperate need of repair.  And the same is true in cities and towns all across America.  It makes your commute longer.  It costs our businesses billions of dollars -- they could be moving products faster if they had better transportation routes.  And in some cases, it’s not safe.

Now, we used to have the best infrastructure in the world here in America.  We’re the country that built the Intercontinental Railroad, the Interstate Highway System.  (Applause.)  We built the Hoover Dam.  We built the Grand Central Station.  (Applause.)  So how can we now sit back and let China build the best railroads?  And let Europe build the best highways?  And have Singapore build a nicer airport?  At a time when we've got millions of unemployed construction workers out there just ready to get on the job, ready to do the work to rebuilding America.  (Applause.)

So, Cincinnati, we are better than that.  We're smarter than that.  And that’s why I sent Congress the American Jobs Act 10 days ago.  (Applause.)  This bill is not that complicated.  It's a bill that would put people back to work rebuilding America -- repairing our roads, repairing our bridges, repairing our schools.  It would lead to jobs for concrete workers like the ones here at Hilltop; jobs for construction workers and masons, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, architects, engineers, ironworkers -- put folks back to work.  (Applause.)

There is work to be done, and there are workers ready to do it.  So let’s tell Congress to pass this jobs bill right away.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  Pass this bill!  (Laughter.)  Pass the bill!

Tell them to pass the jobs bill, and not only will we start rebuilding America, but we can also put thousands of teachers back to work.  (Applause.)

I was with the President of South Korea -- I was up at the United Nations.  We were doing a bunch of stuff.  And he's told me in the past -- I've asked him, I said, what's your biggest challenge?  He says, oh, education.  I said, well, what are you dealing with?  He said, well, you know what, we're hiring so many teachers we can barely keep up, because we know that if we're going to compete in the future we've got to have the best teachers.  (Applause.)  And we've got to have our kids in school longer.  And we've got to make sure that they're learning math and science.

Well, while they're hiring teachers in droves, what are we doing?  We're laying off teachers.  It makes no sense in this new global economy where our young people's success is going to depend on the kind of education that they get.  So for us to be laying off teachers doesn’t make sense for our kids, it doesn’t make sense for us, it doesn’t make sense for our economy.

Pass this jobs bill and put teachers back in the classroom where they belong.  (Applause.)

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  They need to go and pass it.

Tell Congress to pass this jobs bill, and companies will get tax credit for hiring America’s veterans.  (Applause.)  We've been through a decade of war now.  Almost 2 million people have served.  And think about it.  They're suspending their careers; they're leaving their families; they're putting themselves in harm way -- all to protect us.  The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.  (Applause.)  And if we pass this jobs bill it makes it easier for employers to hire those veterans.  That’s why we need to tell Congress to do what?  To pass the bill.

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  The American Jobs Act will cut taxes for the typical working family by $1,500 next year.  It will cut taxes for every small business in America.  It will give an extra tax cut to every small business owner who either hires more workers or raises those workers’ wages.  How many people here would like a raise?  (Applause.)

And we know that most small businesses are the creators of new jobs.  We’ve got a lot of folks in Congress who love to say how they’re behind America’s job creators.  Well, if that’s the case, then you should be passing this bill, because that’s what this bill is all about, is helping small businesses all across America.

Everything in this jobs bill has been supported in the past by Republicans and Democrats.  Everything in this jobs bill is paid for.  The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by the AFL-CIO, but it’s also supported by the Chamber of Commerce.  Those two don't get along on much, but they agree we should rebuild America.  (Applause.)

And, by the way, thanks to the reforms that we’ve put into place, when we start rebuilding America we’re going to change how business is done.  No more earmarks.  No more boondoggles.  No more bridges to nowhere.  We’re going to cut the red tape that prevents some of these construction projects from getting started as quickly as possible.  And we’ll set up an independent fund to attract private dollars and issue loans based on two criteria:  how badly is a construction project needed, and how much good will it do for the community.  Those are the only things we should be thinking about.  Not politics.  (Applause.)  And, by the way, that’s an idea that’s supported by a Massachusetts Democrat and a Texas Republican.  It’s a good idea.

So my question is, what's Congress waiting for?  Why is it taking so long?  Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House --

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  -- with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, that’s just a coincidence.  (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened.  (Laughter.)  But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government.  They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill.  (Applause.)  And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here.  I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard -- one in four.  I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.”  That’s great.  I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that "you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs."  That's what he said.

Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects.  There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs.

Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge.  (Applause.)  Help us rebuild America.  Help us put construction workers back to work.  (Applause.)  Pass this bill.

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  Let’s pass the bill.

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, some folks in Congress, they say, well, we don’t like how it’s paid for.  Well, it’s paid for as part of my larger plan to pay down our debt.  And that's why I make some additional cuts in spending.  We already cut a trillion dollars in spending.  This makes an additional hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts in spending, but it also asks the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.  (Applause.)

Now, that should not be too much to ask.  And by the way, it wouldn’t kick in until 2013.  So when you hear folks say, oh, we shouldn’t be raising taxes right now -- nobody is talking about raising taxes right now.  We’re talking about cutting taxes right now.  But it does mean that there’s a long-term plan, and part of it involves everybody doing their fair share.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, this isn’t to punish success.  What’s great about this country is our belief that anybody can make it. If you’re willing to put in the sweat, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, if you’re willing to work hard, you’ve got a good idea, you’re out there taking a risk -- God bless you.  You can make millions, you can make billions of dollars in America.  This is the land of opportunity.  (Applause.)  That’s great.  All I’m saying is, if you’ve done well -- I’ve done well -- then you should do a little something to give something back.  (Applause.) You should want to see the country that provided you with this opportunity to be successful, and be able to provide opportunity for the young people who are going to be coming up behind you.  (Applause.)

And all I’m saying is that everything should be fair.  You know, you learn the idea of fairness when you’re two, three years old.  Right?  You’re in the sandbox and you don’t want to let somebody play with your truck -- (laughter) -- and your mom or your daddy go up and they say, “No, hon, that’s not fair, you’ve got to share.”  Isn’t that what they say?  Things have to be fair.  So all I’m saying is that Warren Buffett’s secretary should not be paying a lower [sic] tax rate on her income than Warren Buffett.  (Applause.)  That doesn’t make any sense.  A construction worker who’s making 50 or 60 grand a year shouldn’t be paying higher tax rates than the guy who’s making $50 million a year.  (Applause.)  And that’s how it’s working right now.  Because they get all these loopholes and tax breaks that you don’t get.

So for me to say, let’s close those loopholes, let’s eliminate those tax breaks, and let’s make sure that everybody is paying their fair share -- there’s nothing wrong with that.  (Applause.)

Now, this is about priorities.  It’s about making choices.  If we just had all kinds of money and everybody was working, and we hadn’t gone through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, then maybe we wouldn’t have to make choices.  But right now we’ve got to make some choices.  We’ve got to decide what our priorities are.  If we want to pay for this jobs plan, and close the deficit, and invest in our infrastructure, and make sure we’ve got the best education system in the world, the money has got to come from some place.  Would you rather that the oil companies get to keep their tax loopholes?

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  Or would you rather make sure that we’re hiring thousands of construction workers to rebuild America?  (Applause.)  Would you rather keep in place special tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  Or would you say, let’s get teachers back in the classroom so our children can learn?  (Applause.)

Now, the Republicans, when I talked about this earlier in the week, they said, well, this is class warfare.  You know what, if asking a billionaire to pay their fair share of taxes, to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare, then you know what, I’m a warrior for the middle class.  (Applause.)  I’m happy to fight for the middle class.  I’m happy to fight for working people.  (Applause.)  Because the only warfare I've seen is the battle against the middle class over the last 10, 15 years.

It’s time to build an economy that creates good, middle-class jobs in this country.  It’s time to build an economy that honors the values of hard work and responsibility.  It’s time to build an economy that lasts.  And, Cincinnati, that starts right now.  That starts with your help.  (Applause.)  Maybe some of the people in Congress would rather settle their differences at the ballot box than work together right now.  In fact, a while back, Senator McConnell said that his “top priority” -- number-one priority -- was “to defeat the President.”  That was his top priority.

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Not jobs, not putting people back to work, not rebuilding America.  Beating me.  Well, I’ve got news for him, and every other member of Congress who feels the same way.  The next election is 14 months away, and I’ll be happy to tangle sometime down the road.  But the American people right now don’t have the luxury of waiting to solve our problems for another 14 months.  (Applause.)  A lot of folks are living paycheck to paycheck.  A lot of folks are just barely getting by.  They need us to get to work right now.  They need us to pass this bill.  (Applause.)

So I’m asking all of you -- I need everybody here to lift your voices -- not just in Cincinnati, but anybody who's watching TV, or anybody who's within the range of my voice -- I want everybody to lift up their voices.  I want you to call.  I want you to email.  I want you to tweet.  I want you to fax.  I want you to visit.  If you want, write a letter -- it’s been a while. (Laughter.)  I want you to tell your congressperson that the time for gridlock and games-playing is over.  Tell them you want to create jobs, so pass this bill.  (Applause.)

If you want construction workers rebuilding America -- pass this bill.  (Applause.)  If you want teachers back in the classrooms -- pass this bill.

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  If you want to cut taxes for middle-class families -- pass this bill.

AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  If you want to help small businesses, what do you do?

THE AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  If you want veterans to share in the opportunities of this country, what should you do?

THE AUDIENCE:  Pass this bill!

THE PRESIDENT:  Now is the time to act.  Because we are not a people that just sit back and wait for things to happen.  We go ahead and make things happen.  We’re tougher than the times we live in.  We are bigger than the politics that we’ve been seeing these last few months.  Let’s meet this moment.  Let’s get back to work.  Let’s show the world once again why America is the greatest nation on Earth.

God bless you.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END                                                         3:12 P.M. EDT

We'll post the text of the speech soon (the President veered off script a number of times, getting all folksy, dropping the final "g's off words), and have more details on the President's trip in a bit.  Meantime, you can listen to the live stream here.

Transit use is down. Carpooling is down. And driving to work alone is up. That’s according to data just out this morning from the American Community Survey.

The U.S. Census Bureau released detailed survey data showing how commuting habits have changed in recent years. As we begin to parse the numbers, here's an initial look at how Americans are getting to work, and how New Yorkers are different from the rest of the country when it comes to rush hour habits.

Between 2006 and 2010, the data show, the percentage of Americans driving to work alone rose from 76.0 percent to 76.6 percent. During the same period, the number of Americans taking public transportation rose just a tenth of a percentage point – but declined last year to 4.9 percent, down from 5.0 percent in 2009.

The U.S. Census says those number are statistically significant.

Carpooling nationally dropped more dramatically from 2006, down from 10.7 percent to 9.7 percent. Meanwhile, walking to work has hovered around 2.8 or 2.9 percent. And people getting to work by other means, including bike or motorcycle, has remained steady at 1.7 percent.

The American Community Survey measures the primary way of getting to work not combinations of different modes.

The data also show what an outlier New York City is -- more than eleven times as many New Yorkers take public transportation to work as do their counterparts nationwide. Click around on the map above for a sampling of the numbers by neighborhood.

New Yorkers by and large take transit or walk to work, with the notable exceptions of Eastern Queens and the entire borough of Staten Island.

A big chunk of Lower Manhattan residents -- more than a third in some census districts -- walk to work. No other neighborhood in the five boroughs fields close to that number of walkers.

Bucking the national trend, transit use in New York City has been steadily rising since 2006 -- from 54.2 percent of New Yorkers in the five boroughs in 2006 to 55.7 percent in 2010. In some neighborhoods, more than 70 percent of people commute by transit. New York City had previously estimated that 76.7 percent of people commute without the use of a private car.

These new ACS figures show the figure is even higher. Just 22.7 percent of New Yorkers drive to work, down from 23.6 percent in 2006.

Despite the changes in how New Yorkers get to work, commute times have held more or less steady over this period. The median commute nationally is about 25 minutes -- and 40 minutes in the New York area. All the more time to read the paper on the subway.

New Yorkers fret about finding parking spots and traffic congestion, but it turns New Yorkers are most likely griping about this while they’re getting to work on a train or bus. You...

(Photo (cc) by Flickr user .Timbo)

High speed rail got a last minute reprieve today, with a vote by a Senate committee to restore $100 million in spending on the program, a day after a subcommittee had zeroed out funding for bullet train projects.

But even with the Senate vote, future funding of America's high speed rail program remains in doubt as Congress shaves all government spending closer and closer to the bone.

It is a precipitous decline in fortunes for the high speed rail program, once a signature initiative of President Barack Obama. As recently as January -- just eight months ago -- the President expressed his intention to connect 80 percent of Americans to high speed rail by 2036.

Beginning in 2008, under the Passenger Rail Investment Act, or PRIA, Congress spent about $2 billion a year on the high speed rail program. But last year, Congress stopped appropriating money for high speed rail. It looked like a repeat was in the works this year after both the House of Representatives and a Senate Subcommittee, which appropriates  the US DOT's budget, voted to spend nothing on the program in the fiscal year beginning October 1.

The spending at issue doesn't include $8 billion in grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, aka the stimulus bill.

The amendment to restore $100 million in  funding, sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ),  Mary Landrieu, (D-LA)and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), passed by voice vote Wednesday.

"This is a rail-unfriendly congress," said Petra Todorovich, of America 2050. "Inserting $100 million, that's just a gesture to keep the program alive -- which is good."

And Senator Frank Lautenberg, who had expressed pessimism after Tuesday's subcommittee vote, put a happy face on the full Senate's committee's voice vote to restore funding. “These high speed rail grants will help the United States create a 21st century transportation system," Lautenberg said in a statement. "We must make smart investments to expand high-speed rail in New Jersey and throughout the nation."

But Kerry O'Hare, Policy Director of the group Building America's Future, was less sanguine. "In my opinion, this could mean the end of the program."  She added, "it's just the slow chipping away of funding."

President Barack Obama also inserted $4 billion for high speed rail into the American Jobs Act. He's been stumping in swing counties for the bill, but there's no evidence yet Congress will pass the legislation, and in fact, it seems inclined to keep cutting away at programs like U.S. high speed rail.

Several governors, including the governors of Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio, sent back their high speed rail-related stimulus grants, causing the U.S. DOT to redistribute much of that money to other projects, including a Northeast corridor high-speed rail project.

The stimulus money already in the pipeline will still be spent.

The full senate now votes on transportation spending for 2012, including high speed rail. After that, it goes to a conference committee, where it could still be eliminated entirely.

What are you used to seeing in car ads? The beautiful Pacific Coast Highway. Relieved parents driving minivans while their kids are safe, and entertained. The desert.

To this list,  Audi adds dystopia.

To the backdrop of a dilapidated ribbon of highway, a scrunched-up guardrail, and a broken-up bridge, an announcer intones over a Philip Glass-esque soundtrack: "The road is not exactly a place of intelligence.  Highway maintenance is underfunded, costing drivers $65 billion a year, and countless tires, which drivers never actually check, because they're busy, checking email.

This is why we engineered a car that makes 2,000 decisions every second..."

The ad ran during the high-profile broadcast of the Emmy awards.

The bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge. (Photo (cc) by Flickr user Rikomatic)

A new study finds more pedestrians are injured by cyclists than previously thought. According to research by Hunter College Professors Peter Tuckel and William Milczarski there have been about 1,000 injuries per year of pedestrians in New York State caused by cyclists.  Milczarski says previous estimates, put the figure at about 1,000 a year nationwide.

The study analyzed hospital data from all New York hospitals, which code their injuries.   About half the injuries were within the five boroughs of New York City. Residents of East Harlem and Bedford Stuyvestant were treated the most often by hospitals.  The study did not look at injuries caused to bicyclists by motor vehicles, or injuries to cyclists caused during bike-pedestrian crashes.

The study was supported by the Stuart  C. Gruskin foundation, set up by Nancy Gruskin after her husband, Stuart, was killed by bicylist.

New York City's Department of Transportation has said that overall, traffic injuries are down, and it says as cycling goes up, injuries and fatalities do not.

The Hunter study found a decline in injuries as well, from 1,097 in 2007 to 927 in 2010.

Milczarski says his study is not meant to be anti-cyclist; he tells Transportation Nation he himself is in favor of the city's planned bike-share program.

UPDATED --Just took the MTA's new weekender map, which is now live, for a test ride. Instead of a confusing array of notices, now, if you go on the website, you're treated to a cool graphic with flashing lights that immediately tells you what's up with YOUR subway.

NYC MTA Chief Jay Walder made no bones when he took over the nation's largest transit authority that the old weekend service announcements were completely confusing. You had to scan your way through reams of papers, find your line, check your blackberry to figure what what dates were coming, and stand there scratching your head. While your train passed you by because you were spending so much time figuring it all out. So one of Walder's relatively early acts was to overhaul the signage.

But it turns out the notices are still totally confusing. You still have to scan through reams of paper and to figure out which lines are out on the weekends. (Answer: many. Expect to be disrupted.)

Bewildering Wall of Service Changes at the Spring Street stop of the C/E train.

Now, the MTA is tacitly acknowledging it can do better. Beginning this afternoon, its website, mta.info will display a pretty, interactive subway map with flashing feature alerts. Users, the MTA promises, will able to click on stops and lines for more information.

Information on service disruptions is particularly important for weekend users, who, because many are not commuting to work, are more likely to be choosing between transit and other options. Some percentage, if it's too confusing, will just give up and take a car or a cab.

The map (photo at top of post) is based on the old, 1970's Massimo Vignelli subway map -- which hangs in the Museum of Modern Art.

The new map is literally, a work of art.

 

 

 

 

WNYC reporter and director of the Transportation Nation blog, Andrea Bernstein, talks about the launch of the city's first bike share program and how it will work.

Suggest a spot for a rental station on the NYC DOT map.

The city has chosen Alta Bike Share to run a 10,000-bike network of one-way, short-term rentals that it says will augment the transit system.

What a bike share station might look like in NYC (image courtesy of NYC DOT)

New York City has chosen Alta Bicycle Share, which runs systems in Washington, DC, Boston, and Melbourne, Australia, to run its bike share program, officials say.

With 10,000 bikes, the New York system will be the largest system in the world, save for Paris, with 28,000 bikes, and some systems in China. It will also be the first U.S. city to run without government subsidies. Alta Bicycle Share, which says it will raise a $50 million investment from private sponsors and will assume all the financial risk of running New York's system. It will share any revenue it earns with New York. The city estimates the plan will create 200 jobs.

New York's system will be more far-reaching than some planners had initially envisioned, stretching from Manhattan below 79th street to Bedford-Stuyvesant, with stations in Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Fort Greene, Park Slope, downtown Brooklyn, and areas in between.

The system will cost $100 a year to join, and members will be able to use bikes for the first 30 minutes of a trip for free. Alta hasn't said how much bikes will cost after that, but in Washington, users pay $1.50 for 30-60 minutes, $3.00 for up to 90 minutes, and $6.00 for every 90 minutes after that. There will also be daily and short-term memberships available.

In Washington, some 70,000 casual or daily members had signed up as of July, compared to about 15,000 annual users. (Excellent website with DC data here.)

In a time when most transit systems are facing big cuts, NYC transportation chief Janette Sadik-Khan says bike share will fill in the gaps. "There are times when you can't find a cab, or you can't find the bus, or the subway is not going to work. So it's perfect for those short trips from point A to point B." The NYC DOT says 54 percent of all trips by New Yorkers are under two miles.

The location of bike docking stations is yet to be worked out, but Sadik-Khan promises the DOT -- which has been subject to searing scrutiny for not seeking enough community input on bicycling issues -- will get input from communities. Sadik-Khan says locations could include plazas, edges of parks, and parking garages.

The city did not mention sidewalks or car parking spaces, both both have been used in other cities.

"The adage with bike share is go big or go home," said Transportation Alternatives Paul Steely White. "You really need to reach a critical level of station coverage and saturation so that it becomes an easy transport option. It doesn't work if the station's aren't three blocks or closer."

 

The city has launched a website to solicit suggestions for bike share stations; it's already of sea of flags.

Alison Cohen, President of Alta Bike Share, is moving to New York to shepherd what will no doubt be a furious year for the company.    "There are two things New Yorkers love to talk about, real estate, and how to get from point A to point B."

"Boy does she understand us," commented councilmember Gail Brewer of the Upper West Side.

Sadik-Khan says she's not worried about theft, with the exception of Paris' Velib, which had problems early on with its locking system. "That was bike share 1.0," she said.

Nor does Sadik-Khan seemed to be particularly concerned about cyclists breaking traffic laws, referring to her "Don't Be A Jerk" campaign and other outreach efforts. She also noted that bike share users will be encouraged to carry helmets, but none will be available for rental.

Transportation Nation first broke the New York bike share story last November.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sadik-Khan have taken some heat over their forceful backing of bike lanes, but the Mayor has received a PR boost of late.

See lots of photos here.

Here's the promotional video from the NYC DOT.

 

Bikeshare users in Washington, DC (Photo: Tara Bahrampour)

New York City's transportation chief, Janette Sadik-Khan, will announce the selection of a vendor to run its 10,000-bike bike share system today. The city has been promising it would make the announcement in  summer, 2011 -- which, by the calendar, if not convention, ends next week.

A pair of articles in this weekend's NY Times signal the impending announcement will arrive under the most favorable PR conditions possible, a stark change from previous press coverage of bike share.

Saturday's Times reported that the city council -- which has no official role in the selection process or approval of the selection -- would be holding city-sanctioned hearings on bike share. And on Sunday, columnist Frank Bruni penned a front-page Sunday Review article titled "Bicycle Visionary" with a huge graphic that said "thank you," and went on to detail all the ways in which he thought transportation chief Janette Sadik-Khan, backed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had made life better in New York City.

You cannot make this stuff up.

(For more on the goddess/zealot split in thinking about Sadik-Khan, see my Marketplace story from last winter here)

Both Sadik-Khan and the Mayor were roiled by several tough profiles last spring, and a lawsuit with some juice behind it asking for the removal of a bike lane along Brooklyn's Prospect West.  New York Magazine wrote a lengthy feature giving significant voice to bike lane critics, and a Times profile in March led with an anecdote in which former Rep. Anthony Weiner promised to rip out all the big lanes when he was elected Mayor.

(Did I just tell you, you cannot make this stuff up?)

But the lawsuit was dismissed, bike lanes' popularity continues to rise to landslide levels, a relatively mild summer has fueled an increase in bike riding, and now Frank Bruni goes for a spin with Sadik-Khan and it seems nothing could be more fun than a ride with the transpo commish on one of the city's new bike lanes.

Not only that, but Boston's launch of its Hubway bike share  seems to have gone off without a hitch, and Capitol Bikeshare in Washington is already looking to expand because of demand.

Officials confirm an announcement for New York City is coming very, very soon.   The bike share itself is expected to launch mid-2012.  Keep an eye on this space.

 

I would hope that if 9/11 does anything, it gives us a new global literacy. We had a blind spot on September 11th through which those planes flew. The best deterrent is to have a kind...