Andrea Bernstein

(Dan Olson, Minnesota Public Radio) Bus ridership is higher than at any point since right after World War II in the Twin Cities   But car commuting still dwarfs transit.    More here.

Rendering Courtesy of NYC DOT

(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation) In announcing construction will get underway shortly on the First and Second Avenue Select Bus Service lanes, the city is acknowledging publicly that bike lanes, once planned to run from the Battery to Harlem, will now only go as far north as 34th Street. City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says it will be "impossible" to get the routes extended to Harlem in this year's construction season, but that she hopes to build the full bikeway in the future.

Even before the announcement was made public, it was causing consternation among city cycling advocates, who were once so thrilled with the designs for First and Second Avenue they were dubbed "bike rapid transit."

The name is a riff on Bus Rapid Transit, the technical forbear for the city's select bus service. The First and Second Avenue bus routes will include many of the features of Bus Rapid Transit: there will be dedicated lanes, fewer stops, and passengers will pay of- board. Officials say that will save passengers about twenty percent on their travel times.

But BRT experts are disappointed the city hasn't fully segregated the bus lanes, as cities like Milan, Bogota, and Mexico City have done, and won't build dedicated stations, which give BRT stops more of a "train-like" feel. Sadik-Khan has said those cities have the luxury of much wider boulevards than Manhattan.  (To listen to WNYC's full series on BRT, click here.)

Still, the city's plans are seen as significant advance over current buses, and are being cheered by transit advocates as relief for east side commuters, who have been waiting half a century for the Second Avenue subway. (With additional reporting by Matthew Schuerman)

(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation) SUV sales are up, as we reported below. Preliminary data shows some of the fastest car sale growth in May of 2010 over a year ago, May 2009, was in the light truck division.  Toyota reported a drop in May sales in its car division, but light trucks sales, driven by the RAV4 and Highlander SUVs, were up 14 percent. Unlike domestic automakers, Toyota's sales are more reliant on the consumer market than on the business, or fleet market, says analyst Bill Visnic.

Overall, according to data supplied to WNYC by Autodata Corportation, light trucks have 48 percent of the market share, up from 43 percent two years ago.

"This is absolute proof we have the shortest attention spans on the planet," says Bill Visnic, Senior Editor at Edmunds AutoObserver.com. "Just two summers ago, you couldn't give away an SUV."  Then, gasoline was approaching $5.00 a gallon.  The economy was tanking, and by the fall of 2008, a decades-long steep rise in vehicle miles traveled had screeched to a halt.

But now -- compared to a year ago, Visnic says, gas is a relatively cheap $3,00 a gallon, and even with the BP oil spill in thee gulf, consumers are still being signaled that prices will stay low over the summer.  Interest rates are low, there's pent up demand, and "people like big vehicles," Visnic says.  "Given the opportunity, they will buy them."

Visnic says there are other factors:  dealers have offered incentives for SUV purchases, as economic fears ease,  and many companies have added to their fleets after months or even years of putting off purchases.   And it's unclear whether this trend will continue. "A lot of things are swirling around to create this moment in time," Visnic says. "If one thing goes wrong in the formula, the bottom drops out."

(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation) As deep service cuts approach, the NYC MTA continues its charm offensive this week.  First smart cards, then an announcement of eco-friendly solar-powered subway train washing facilities.

Now they're relocating peregrine falcon chicks (once an endangered species) to the MTA-operated Verrazano Narrows bridge because, according to the press release "urban falcons like to nest atop bridges, church steeples and high-rise buildings because they provide an excellent vantage point for hunting prey."

(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation) For a long time, light truck sales, including SUV's, were about half the retail vehicle market share. In May of 2008, as gas approached $5.00 a gallon in some markets, sales plummeted to 43 percent. But now, according to figures provided to WNYC by Autodata Corporation, they're inching back up, to more than 48 percent of the market share, compared to 47.3 percent in May 2009.

Sales of the tiny Chevy Aveo were up 88 percent from May of 2009 to 2010. But the giant Suburban moved off the lot even faster - 100 percent faster. Sales of the Chevy Equinox were up even more -- from 3,689 in May of 2009 to 13,134 in May of 2010. That's a 256 percent increase.

Toyota didn't fare as well as American automakers, but its Prius sold well -- 41 percent better than this time a year ago. Sales of the The Toyota 4Runner, a large SUV, almost tripled.

Now these numbers are raw, and unadjusted. But they point to an interesting phenomenon. As WNYC Economics Editor Charles Herman reports, Americans are feeling a bit better now then they were in the spring of 2009. The pain of the recession is receding a bit. And so, apparently, is the memory of how much it can cost to fill up the tank of a large SUV.

We'll continue to digest these numbers over the next week.

DOT workers say it will be a month until work is complete.  Here are some photo's from this morning. (And here's the Marty Markowitz interview from earlier this spring.)

Cars were moved away from the lane next to the curb -- where the bike lane will be

View looking north

Flyers advise Brooklynites how to park with new bike lanes going in now (photo: Andrea Bernstein, WNYC)

(Brooklyn, NY - Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation)  "No parking Thursday.  Road repair" signs are appearing on Prospect Park West.  It's a sign of change in the balance of cars and bikes in Brooklyn.  Back in April, we reported on particularly loud skirmish in the bike lane wars here.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was vehemently objecting to construction of a bike lane along this street in lefty, tree-hugging Park Slope, because, he felt, it would create unacceptable congestion for cars.  New York City's DOT believes the two-way bike lane, and concurrent narrowing of the roadway from three lanes to two, will calm traffic on a pedestrian-heavy boulevard where forty percent of automobiles drive above the limit. Now, striping for the bike lane is getting underway.

WNYC would like photos if you live in the neighborhood.  Send them to newstips@wnyc.org.

UPTOWN: Columbus Avenue on the Upper West will get a bike lane this summer, from 96th to 77th Streets.  Plan is for a protected lane, with a barrier between cars and bikes.  (Westside Independent)

The Brownstoner Blog has photos of striping beginning for the Prospect Park bike lane. You may remember we covered this controversy back in April. Live near PPW? We'd like your photos....send them to newstips@wnyc.org.

And while we're at it, the Upper West Side also gets a ...

(Andrea Bernstein and Kate Hinds, Transportation Nation) Vice President Biden comes to New York Wednesday to tout the success of the stimulus program. He'll stand on the Brooklyn Bridge, a $508 million project using $30 million in stimulus funds, to tout an investment that "is creating jobs, generating local economic activity, and allowing New York City to address other critical infrastructure needs." But many questions about the scope of the project -- and who will benefit, remain unanswered.

NYC's Stimulus Tracker Shows 0.13 jobs created as of March

When President Barack Obama launched the stimulus bill, in February 2009, he promised America a new leaf in government, a new website called Recovery.gov, where Americans could track "every dime" spent under the $800 billion stimulus program.

Vice President Joe Biden has dutifully carried that message to the nation.

In Biden’s words, “We still need to know where every dollar went and to -- and every recipient that got a dollar.” But when it comes to tracking the Booklyn Bridge Project, the City of New York has been less than forthcoming.

Now that Biden is set to come to the Brooklyn Bridge to tout stimulus spending, we thought it would be an opportune time to recap our efforts to track "every dollar" of Brooklyn Bridge funding, and to find out who is getting those jobs.

(Matthew Schuerman, WNYC) The New York region's three transit agencies launched a "smartcard" pilot today, saying it would cut down on their operating costs and make commuting more convenient for riders.

If it works, the technology could lead to the demise of the MetroCard and the rise of an interstate system that would let commuters travel from Red Bank, New Jersey to Red Hook, Brooklyn, without buying a ticket--much less two or three tickets.

Over the next six months, people with certain types of credit or debit cards can tap them against specially designated fare boxes and turnstiles on parts of New York's and New Jersey's transit network. That means, instead of buying a MetroCard at a machine and then swiping it, the commuter only needs to dig out the right card from his or her wallet.

Vice President Biden comes to New York Wednesday to tout the success of the stimulus program. With Biden set to visit the Brooklyn Bridge, a project using $30 million in stimulus fund...

WNYC reporter and director of the Transportation Nation blog Andrea Bernstein and fellow WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly discuss the latest in New York state politics.

(Andrea Bernstein,  Transportation Nation) Vice President Joe Biden hosts a presser at the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow.  The Bridge is receiving some $30 million in stimulus funding toward a 4-year renovation.   WNYC has been chronicling the project here.

From the press release:

"New York City has received funding to repair and upgrade key components of the Brooklyn Bridge to improve its efficiency and extend its useful life. Part of this funding was awarded through a $30 million Recovery Act grant from the Department of Transportation. This investment is creating jobs, generating local economic activity, and allowing New York City to address other critical infrastructure needs. The Vice President will be joined by Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Voters in Denver and Charlotte -- even Republican ones -- have liked transit taxes.  Will they in Tampa?  Swing county referendum provides key test.  (Tampa Bay Online)

Midwestern Drivers are best (Omaha World-Herald), New Yorkers are worst (WNYC)

More transit cuts coming for East Bay (SF Gate)

Halt in off-shore drilling slashes Virginia's Rail and Road Budget. (Washington Post)

High Speed Rail inches forward in Midwest (Kansas City Tribune)

And, it's memorial day! Traffic! Summer Driving! Gas prices inch down, AAA predicting 3 percent increase in summer travel over last year.  (Everyone, here, here, and here)

At any given time, at any bus stop in any major city in America, you'll find riders leaning into the street, looking towards the horizon, straining to see if their bus is coming.   If you talk to riders, like librarian Carolyn MacIntosh, in Boston, they'll tell you, "If you want the bus, you just wait."

Transit agencies around the nation have coped with this in different ways, but mostly, they've tried to build systems, from the ground up, that capture the data, develop the technology, and post it all in an LED sign.  All at the transit agency's multi-million dollar expense, subject to the usual contracting issues and delays.   But Boston and a few other cities are turning that process on its head....For the rest of the story, listen here.

(David Shultz, WAMU) Metro board adopts major fare hike - 15 percent for rail, 20 percent for buses. Also adopts new "peak-of-the-peak" fare structure - a 20 cent surcharge on rail during the busiest 90 minutes of rush hour. Also adopts a larger than expected increase in para-transit fares.

(John Keefe, WNYC)

MPR Photo/Tom Weber

A new light rail line is in the works to connect Minneapolis to St. Paul, raising both hopes and concerns in neighborhoods along the way.

Today, a group of journalists visiting St. Paul's "Frogtown" neighborhood heard worries that the new tracks in their community will hurt firefighter response times by cutting off streets and changing traffic patterns.
As part of a citizen-sourcing project called Public Insight Journalism, the reporters are casting a net to urban planners, fire officials and traffic experts to help dig into this story. If you have information or knowledge that would help, they would love to hear from you.

Listen here to Minnesota Public Radio's terrific four-part series on the line.

(Andrea Bernstein, Transportation Nation)

(This post has been updated)  U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tells WNYC's Brian Lehrer the administration has not endorsed  is not endorsing Senator Christopher Dodd's Emergency Transit Aid Bill. "   In the interview, LaHood did not say whether he or the administration might support the bill or one like it in the future.  "We really need to look at how we pay for that," he said.

In an email exchange, LaHood's Press Secretary, Olivia Adair, went to pains to convey that LaHood's use of the present perfect tense does not imply anything as to to the future.  "He said we have not endorsed it because we're still looking at how to pay for it.  He never says we are not endorsing the transit bill."  When asked if that meant LaHood might endorse a bill in future, Adair would not go beyond his broadcast remarks.

There's room for interpretation of LaHood's statement -- politicians have been known to use the "looking at how to pay for it" explanation to avoid supporting a bill altogether.    "Looking at how to pay for it" can also signal  a yellow light -- Congress has certainly passed emergency aid provisions in the past without first figuring out a funding mechanism.  But it can also mean that, if and when  LaHood and President Obama are satisfied there is a funding mechanism for emergency transit aid, they'll support it.

Here's the full audio of the interview:

[MP3]http://audio.wnyc.org/news/news20100527_bl_lahoodcut.mp3 [/MP3]

Here's a partial transcript of the interview:

Brian Lehrer: We are happy to have with us the U. S Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, a former member of congress from Illinois, Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for coming on WNYC, Good Morning.

RL: Good Morning!

BL: As part of the fiscal crisis for state and local governments, as you know, there seems to be a mass transit bloodletting, underway, in my area the cuts to the MTA and NJ Transit are really bad for mass transit. I’ve heard about Atlanta, where 25 percent of the service could be threatened, there’s a possibility that Silicon Valley could be left without mass transit with CalTrain cut under consideration, imagine no mass transit to Apple and to Google Are you paying close attention to the shrinkage in mass transit taking place nationally right now?

RL: We sure are. We are in communication with our transit folks all over the country on a very regular basis and we know because the economy is lousy and the recession continues that ridership on every transit district around the country is down and has been for quite some time.

At the request of many transit groups, to Congress and to us, Congress was able to provide provisions that allowed transit districts to use some of their operating money so they can keep the buses running and keep the schedule in away that accommodates people that need to go to work early in the morning or come home late at night. And this is certainly true in cities like New York or Chicago or Atlanta or elsewhere in big cities. We’re very attuned to it and we’re trying to do everything we can to try and accommodate the downturn in ridership and the downturn in resources that the transit districts have.

Bl: Unfortunately I think the downturn in resources outpaces the downturn in ridership and that’s the problem but Senator Dodd has an emergency mass transit aid bill is it something you or the President has endorsed?

RL: We haven’t endorsed it because we really need to look at how we pay for that or how the Congress is going to pay for it. But we’re in discussion with Congress on a regular basis about these kinds of transit problems -- lower ridership and lower resources. It’s an issue. We’ve talked to Congress a lot about it, these things have to be paid for too, it’s one thing to say you’re going to appropriate x amount of dollars but we’ll continue to keep a watchful eye on it.

(David Schultz, WAMU) The Board of Directors of Metro, Washington D.C.'s transit system, was scheduled to vote on a package of historically large fare increases and services cuts late last month.

They did not.

Instead they delayed for two weeks a vote on the package, which was meant to close a nearly $200 million shortfall in Metro's budget.

Two weeks later, on May 13, the Metro Board met again. And again, they decided to delay the vote another two weeks to today.

Photo: DDOT

Takeaway Correspondent Todd Zwillich writes from Washington: "The DC City Council Budget Battle is killing streetcar program, at least for now." DCist has more details.