Kate Hinds

The feds rejected Arlington's application for a streetcar -- but the city says it will go ahead anyway. The president of Alta Bike Share resigned. The FAA says furloughs delayed 1,200...

New Yorkers will soon be able to lift their smartphones instead of their arms when they want to hail a yellow cab.

A bike share docking station came to Soho on Tuesday. Camera in hand, we went to check it out.

The FAA is postponing its decision to allow small knives on planes. As the furlough-induced flight delays pile up, so does the political finger-pointing. Foiled: a plot to carry out a...

NJ needs to spend a staggering $70 billion to fix its infrastructure. NYC is experimenting with electric taxis. FAA furloughs are now in effect -- which could lead to flight delays. And: happy Earth Day!

How will Super Bowl XLVIII be different from all other Super Bowls? Hint: it's not just the likelihood of freezing weather.

Boston has shut down all transit as law enforcement moves to apprehend a bombing suspect. A powerful House Republican wants to take "baby steps" towards privatizing Amtrak. And: the H...

Car sales in Europe fell for the 18th consecutive month. Yesterday's computer glitch may cause delays for today's air traveler. LAX is using therapy dogs to calm stressed travelers. A...

(UPDATED) The strained relationship between Ray LaHood and House Republican leadership was on full display Tuesday morning, when the transportation secretary sparred with members of a House subcommittee at a hearing about the Department of Transportation's budget request.

Top stories on TN:
Thousands Sign Up for New York City Bike Share in First Hours of Registration (link)
New York City Bike Share Registration is Now Open (link)

Contractors Vying For Silver Line Phase II Have History Of Busting Budgets (link)
Transport Workers, Needing to Bargain With NY MTA Chair Prendergast, Open With Praise (link)
Prendergast to Be Chief of Nation’s Largest Transit System (link)

Low-Bid Process For Silver Line’s Phase II May Foster Hidden Costs (link)
Quinn’s Transit Vision: Long on Buses, Ferries, Short on Bike Share (link)
VIDEO: Will Metro Do Away with its Mood Lighting? (link)

Depending on your take, the lighting in D.C.'s Metro stations is either insufficient, charmingly subdued, or designed by someone scarred by the energy crisis of the 1970s.

NJ Transit: We’re Being More Transparent About Sandy Recovery (link)
Revived: Idea To Send NYC Subway Line To New Jersey (link)
San Francisco Airport Bans Rideshare App Companies from Taxi Line (link)
Contractors To Pay For Repairs To Beleaguered Maryland Transit Hub (link)

NJ Transit's board meetings will now be videotaped, and the agency is expanding the information on its Sandy recovery website.

It's part of an agency attempt to provide more transparency to the riding public -- many of whom have showed up at NJ Transit board meetings since Sandy to complain about confusing schedule changes, last-minute service outages, and a general lack of effective communication.

Jim Simpson, the state's transportation commissioner and NJ Transit chairman, said Wednesday at a board meeting that the videos of each board meeting will be available on the agency's website within 48 hours "to increase transparency on the board. We think it's really a good thing for everybody."

Executive director Jim Weinstein also said the NJ Transit website will now "include a listing of contracts associated with the Sandy recovery, as well as background on all projects." And the site now offers details on agency efforts to repair and replace trains damaged by Sandy.

NJ Transit has been under scrutiny for its decision to store rail stock in flood-prone areas during the storm, which caused nearly a quarter of its fleet to suffer damage.

The board also approved paying another $28.5 million to Canadian rail company Bombardier, which is repairing train cars damaged by Sandy. NJ Transit says it will reimbursed for storm expenses through a  combination of federal aid and insurance money.

Related: NJ Transit Chief: Our Trains, Equipment, Suffered $100 Million In Sandy Damage

Following the meeting, Weinstein less enthusiastic about a different subject: a recent study endorsing a proposal to extend the #7 subway to Secaucus. "It’s not a New Jersey project," he said. "It emanated from the mayor’s office in New York and it clearly has some different points of view in New York, from the MTA." Weinstein sounded lukewarm about the project.  "We'll see where it goes," he said.

One recent bright spot for the agency: Weinstein said NJ Transit got a ridership boost during last week's Wrestlemania, when the agency provided more than 35,000 bus and rail trips to the Meadowlands.  The agency views the event as a dress rehearsal for next year's Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium, where the Jets and Giants play. Weinstein, who was on site for much of the event, described Wrestlemania as "quite an enlightening experience."

 

 

Top stories on TN:
Does Classical Music at Train Stations Really Deter Crime? (link)
Pay-By-Phone Parking — And Real-Time Space Availability — Being Tested in the Bronx (link)
Ostriches, Brownies, and Childbirth: Memories of a Golden Gate Bridge Toll Taker (link)
Amtrak Ridership Continues to Set Records — Despite Sandy Damage (link)

An 18-block stretch in the Bronx will be the first in New York City to test pay-by-phone parking.

An 18-block stretch in the Bronx will be the first in New York City to test pay-by-phone parking.

The pilot program will allow people to use phone, internet or smartphone app to pay for 264 metered parking spaces along or adjacent to Arthur Avenue  -- as well as spots in the city's Belmont Municipal Parking Field. To participate, motorists must sign up in advance on the Pay-By-Phone website. Each Muni-Meter in the pilot program has a QR code and a seven-digit number; the motorist must use either to confirm payment.

Users will receive a text or email when their meter is about to expire, and they will have the option of extending their time without having to return to their cars. According to the mayor's press release, traffic enforcement agents will use new hand-held scanners to cross-check the PayByPhone's data to ensure compliance.

"New York City parking has come a long way since we had to put a roll of quarters in our pocket," said city transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, making the announcement Tuesday in the Bronx with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

A side view of the Muni-Meter in the Bronx. Note QR code and 7-digit ID. (Photo by Christine Streich)

Related: Good Bye, Parking Meter; Hello, Muni-Meter

The pay-by-phone pilot will be tested for three months; it could then expand citywide.

Potentially more interesting than the ability to feed the meter remotely is the second half of Tuesday's announcement: a real-time parking availability map, seeded by information transmitted from roadbed sensors.

A sensor embedded in the roadway detects whether a parking space is free or not. (Photo by Christine Streich)

"Green indicates the greatest likelihood of a spot; yellow, the chances aren't so good, and red, well, you get the idea--" said Sadik-Khan. "Forget about it, as Marty [Markowitz] would say," interjected Bloomberg, referring to Brooklyn's Borough President.

Sadik-Khan added the map would cut down on the pollution created by cruising around and looking for a spot. "Knowing where to go, and to concentrate your search on where it's going to have the biggest value and the biggest payoff, is half the battle," she said.

In addition to being available online, the map is also available as a smartphone app. Bloomberg batted away suggestions that the app could encourage distracted driving.  Bloomberg reasoned passengers could check the map -- or drivers could check it before they leave "or pull over. I mean, a lot of things are meant for you, you can't do it while you're --" here the mayor paused -- "in the shower, for example."

This cracked up the crowd. "I'm just trying to think of some other place you shouldn't," Bloomberg said, moving along to the next question.

Real-time parking conditions in the Belmont section of the Bronx (click for interactive map)

Other cities around the world -- San Francisco, London, Vancouver, Miami -- use similar technology. Monica Hernandez, a spokesperson for the District Department of Transportation, said all 17,500 meters in Washington D.C. can be paid for via phone, and that the program had been in place for almost two years. "It's serving its purpose," she said. "It provides one more option for people looking to park."

With reporting from Christine Streich/WNYC.

 

 

 

Top stories on TN:
NYC Starts Placing Bike Share Docks (link)
US Navy Could Use Blimps to Track Drug Submarines (link)

Top stories on TN:
World’s Worst Airship Disaster Wasn’t the Hindenburg: Remembering the USS Akron (link)
BART, Unions Begin Contract Negotiations as Agency Emerges from Deficit (link)
Why Tolls Will Be Waived On One Virginia Highway This Weekend (link)

Madison Square Garden (photo by Flodigrip's World via flickr)

The renewal of Madison Square Garden's lease is no longer a sure thing. (Crain's New York Business)

Remember how the FAA was going to shut down 149 air traffic control towers this month? Now that's delayed until June. (The Hill)

Passenger complaints about airlines are up 20% -- even though airlines are doing a better job with on-time performance and luggage. (AP)

Car sharing reflects a cultural shift: "People of my generation believed that our private automobile said a lot about who we are, that [it] defined our power and our status. The younger generations don't seem to be buying into that anymore, and they are seeing automobiles as simply a tool." (NPR)

New Jersey is synchronizing traffic lights on one highway. (Star-Ledger)

The jihad ad war is paying off for New York's MTA. (New York Times)

Michigan's first BRT line is shaping up. (MLive)

HopStop is crowdsourcing transit information. "We can't afford to wait years for transit agencies to slowly make this information available," says the company's CEO. "We should rely on our user base, the largest transit user base out there." (The Verge)

A public health message for Shanghai straphangers: don't bring your pet birds on the subway during an avian flu outbreak. (Shanghaiist)

Follow TN on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr.