Kate Hinds

Top stories on TN:
Big Plans for Public Transportation in Virginia. It’s called Super NoVa. (link)
Montana Highway Opening Delayed By Snow and Ice (link)
NY To Get Bigger East River Ferries for Weekend Travel (link)
Crowds Flock to NY’s Penn Station for Memorial Day Weekend Travel (link)

A rail locomotive rendered in sand (photo courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Transportation's Facebook page)

Gas prices fell going into the holiday weekend -- and this summer are likely to remain well below the $4 or $5 per gallon that some had feared. (Wall Street Journal)

Musician David Byrne: NYC's bike share program is a game-changer that will "make New Yorkers rethink their city and rewrite the mental maps we use to decide what is convenient, what is possible." (New York Times)

Today's most valuable real estate can be found in walkable urban locations. (New York Times; opinion) And you can hear Andrea Bernstein talking to Chris Leinberger about this issue in our 2011 documentary:  Back Of the Bus: Mass Transit, Race, and Inequality.

A convoy of self-driven cars completed a 125-mile test drive on a Spanish highway -- the European Commission's first public test of its research project known as SARTE - Safe Road Trains for the Environment. (BBC)

Enacting a new surface transportation bill did not make it onto the list of summer legislative priorities announced last Friday by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. (Transportation Issues Daily)

Although state officials say traffic impacts for the the still-to-be-completed American Dream Meadowlands mall/entertainment center will be "minimal," some New Jerseyans doubt it -- like one local mayor, who calls it "outright misinformation, and an attempt to create a project without having to do the proper infrastructure work.” (The Record)

Sacramento Regional Transit has broken ground on one of its most ambitious projects ever, a $270 million southern rail extension that aims to give commuters an alternative to Highway 99, the most congested freeway in the region. (Sacramento Bee)

The Department of Homeland Security has asked technology companies to come up with a hand-held scanner that could replace the airport pat-down. (Marketplace)

Roanoke's rail history, rendered in sand sculptures. (WSLS)

BYD Co., the Chinese auto maker backed by Warren Buffett, faces a setback after one of its e6 vehicles caught fire in a collision that killed three people in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. (Wall Street Journal)

New York City is unveiling an interactive online map that allows drivers to find up-to-date parking regulations for any given street. (New York Post)

To promote the Leaf's Australian launch, Nissan transformed 37 gas pumps into creative pieces, including a jukebox, a gumball machine, a birdcage, and a fish tank. (PSFK)

Top stories on TN:
Crowding Projected For All Forms of Memorial Day Weekend Travel (link)
Teen Drivers Learn Dangers of Texting Behind the Wheel Through Simulation Exercise (link)
Southwest’s Airport Plan Wins Houston Officials’ Support — Despite United’s Outcry (link)

Detroit's Eastern Market (photo by Roche Photo via Flickr)

NJ Governor Christie wants to take $260 million from the NJ Turnpike Authority to balance the state budget -- then borrow to fund transportation projects. (NJ Spotlight)

SpaceX's Dragon capsule is on track to dock at the International Space Station this morning, and @NASA and @SpaceX are live tweeting updates.

When NYC announces a new transit project, expect delays. (New York Times)

As Detroit shrinks, city officials are trying to nudge remaining residents into a smaller living space by eliminating streetlights in "distressed" areas. (Bloomberg)

Portland's bicycling boom has spawned some interesting business models, including a bar where "people can turn their valuable beer calories into electricity.” (Bloomberg)

Despite vociferous objections and legal threats, Los Angeles County transportation officials approved a plan to tunnel beneath Beverly Hills High School as part of its Westside subway extension. (Los Angeles Times)

The Bronx could become home to the first median bus lanes and bus stops in the city. (New York Daily News)

Russia has signed a deal with Exxon to tap the country's vast oil reserves in the Arctic. (NPR)

The honor system (or proof of payment, depending on your take) is ending on Los Angeles's subway system, as officials voted to begin locking gates at Red Line and Purple Line stations this summer. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)

Long Island Rail Road is putting its taxi stands up for bid, expects to make 75% more revenue. (Newsday; subscription)

A bill requiring the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to hold 10 or more public hearings at least 30 days before future toll or fare hikes is now on Governor Christie's desk. But to have any effect, identical legislation would have to be approved in New York. (The Record)

Ford's non-car market -- Hot Wheels, T-shirts, video games -- earns the company $1.5 billion a year. (Marketplace)

Police in Oakland, California, uncovered a cache of 100+ stolen bicycles. (SFist)

This year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair features a bike rack parking bench. (PSFK)

One woman's video portrait of an East Village intersection recently premiered at the 14th Street Y's LABA festival.

Traffic started backing up on Thursday afternoon along the blocks approaching the entrance to the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan. (Photo by Kate Hinds.)

The American Automobile Association projects 34.8 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend, an increase of 1.2 percent - or 500,000 travelers - from the 34.3 million people who traveled one year ago.  That's despite relatively high gas prices (though they're a bit lower than they were last year at this time.)

In the New York-NJ-PA region, some 3.7 million Americans are expected to drive to their Memorial Day weekend destinations, the AAA says.

NY-NJ Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman says that bi-state authority is "expecting about 5 million people to travel either by air or car thru our facilities, either the crossings over the Hudson River, or through any of our major airports." He said that's about a three percent increase over 2011 numbers.

Travelers will no doubt be fleeing New York by every mechanized means possible. If you live in the New York region, below is a handy guide for planning your escape.

If you're driving, the NYC DOT will show you just how agonizing your trip will be via its live traffic cams.

(While we're at, California readers can check here. )

The NY MTA will be adding extra trains for the Memorial Day weekend. For details, go here.  You can also subscribe to the authority's free email or text message alerts, or use Tripplanner+ (see top right hand column) to plan your ride ahead of time.

New York City Subway

Subway customers are reminded to use the A, C, D or Q instead of the B. They should also take the J instead of the Z.   Passengers can bring bikes on the subway, 24-7.

Metro-North Railroad

Beginning at noon on Friday, Metro-North will offer extra early afternoon departures from Grand Central Terminal on all three lines – Hudson, Harlem and New Haven.  No bikes on trains scheduled to depart Grand Central Terminal between 12 Noon and 8:30 PM on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels

MTA Bridges and Tunnels will suspend all routine maintenance work beginning 1 p.m. on Friday through the end of the morning rush on Tuesday. Reminder: speed up your trip by using E-ZPass.

Long Island Rail Road

The LIRR will be adding extra trains on Friday.  No bikes on many LIRR trains this weekend (regulations here.)  Monday's train operate on a Sunday schedule.

Staten Island Railway

MTA Staten Island Railway will add extra trains on Friday beginning at 2:30 p.m. from the St. George Ferry Terminal. There will be one express train and one local train awaiting every boat until 7:50 p.m.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will be suspending all routine maintenance work on its bridges and tunnels, and all of its toll booths will be at "full staff." Go here to sign up for travel alerts about traffic conditions at Port Authority crossings.

The agency’s airports are expected to carry 1.53 million passengers. New customer service representatives will be deployed at airports to help passengers navigate terminals and find things like rest rooms, bus stops and taxi stands.

Sign up here for Airport Alerts that send info about weather delays, parking lot capacity, and AirTrain service delays. 

The PATH train will run extra trains as necessary on Friday. On Monday, trains will run on a Sunday schedule. Travelers can also text their origin and destination on the PATH system to 266266, and receive up-to-date service information.

New Jersey Transit will suspend all construction on state highways from 6 a.m. Friday until noon Tuesday.

 

Top stories on TN:
Heat From Climate Change Will Kill More Americans This Century: Report (link)
Sen. Boxer Shines Sun on Transportation Bill Talks (link)
Parties Jostle for Bragging Rights on Oil Drilling (link)
Washington Hits Top-Ten Bicycling Ranking — Big Cities Climb on List (link)
Parking Slashed By Half In Plan For Barclays Center In Downtown Brooklyn (link)

(photo courtesy of downtownfrombehind.tumblr.com)

More drivers run red lights on Memorial Day Weekend than any other time of year, says a new study. (USA Today)

Highway and bridge tolls are higher for out-of-towners than locals -- even those using EZPass. (AP via Boston Globe)

And: with Congress unwilling to contemplate an increase in the federal gas tax, many states and communities are raising tolls to pay for infrastructure projects. (AP via Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

What will NYC's bike share mean for rider safety? "There may be some relative safety in numbers." (Atlantic Cities)

Land use rules and "NIMBY thinking" are preventing Silicon Valley's growth. (Slate)

NJ Governor Christie said if his $1.6 billion transportation capital plan isn't passed within 40 days, transportation projects will grind to a halt. (Star Ledger)

SpaceX has flown by the International Space Station. (Los Angeles Times)

The lobbying group for auto dealers is complaining that new emissions standards will lower car sales. (The Hill)

A Boston transit rider used the MBTA's new "See Say" app to snap a picture of a sleeping transit officer. (BostInno; h/t Transit Wire)

Subway workers went on strike in Sao Paolo, Brazil, but ended it five hours later after halting a system used daily by more than 4 million people and snarling the city's already difficult traffic. (AP)

Go ahead, kids, text and drive: Minnesota police set up a driving course on a go-cart racetrack where they encourage teens to text behind the wheel so they can experience distracted driving. (KSAX)

64 high school seniors in Michigan were suspended for biking to school (Grist) -- but unhappy parents convinced the school board to reverse that decision. (WTVB)

One Australian photographer has made a name for herself by shooting people on bicycles -- mostly from the rear. (Global Mail; video below)

(photo by Lori Greig via flickr)

150,000 Americans will die from excessive heat by the end of this century if carbon pollution continues unabated.

That's according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which released a report (pdf) Wednesday projecting future heat-related mortality in the U.S.'s 40 largest cities.

"We think, if anything, (those estimates) are low," said the NRDC's Dan Lashof, explaining during a conference call with reporters that researchers didn't adjust for expected increases in population. But, he said, these stark numbers show "climate change has real life and death consequences -- one of which is that carbon pollution, which is continuing to increase our atmosphere, is going to continue to make climate change worse and increase the number of dangerously hot days each summer."

Thirty seven of the 40 cities studied would see increases in deaths. Larry Kalkstein, a professor of geography and regional studies at the University of Miami and co-author of the research, said they found a "regional coherence" in the heatwave effect. And perhaps counterintuitively, cities in the South appear to be spared the worst.

According to the NRDC, the three cities with the highest number of total estimated heat-related deaths through 2099 are Louisville, Kentucky (19,000 deaths); Detroit (17,900); and Cleveland (16,600).

"The Midwest is particularly hard hit," Kalkstein said, explaining that cities that experience sharp temperature fluctuations are more at risk than those cities with more constant temperatures, even if they're hot.

"Take a typical day in Washington or Philadelphia or New York, where most of the summer days are in the eighties," he said. "And then all of a sudden you get a hot streak, where the temperature goes up to a hundred degrees plus for a week -- and that is what causes the problem. The fact that people are not used to this high variable climate, that all of a sudden you have a 20-degree rise in maximum temperature...for this reason, many less people die of the heat in cities in the deep South."

But just pinning down how many heat-related deaths there are each year is more of an art than a science. "People tend to understate the threat of heat, and the medical examiners tend to under-report the number of people that die from heat," said Kalkstein.

The NRDC praised cities like Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, which it said have upped their game in responding to heat-related emergencies and have adopted strategies like cooling centers, "heatlines", and organized programs where neighbors look in on local at-risk residents. Some cities also won't cut off power to residents who have failed to pay an electric bill during a heat-related emergency.

Case in point: New York City, with its eight million residents, sees an average of 184 heat-related deaths each summer. But just across the Hudson River in Newark, New Jersey -- population 280,000 -- that number is 56.  "New York has one of the most aggressive local health departments in the country," Kalkstein said. "They're one of the few cities in the country where the Health Department calls the heat emergency, rather than the National Weather Service...they are doubling down on every effort to deal with heat."

 

 

Top stories on TN:
Parking Slashed By Half In Plan For Barclays Center In Downtown Brooklyn (link)
New York Senate Votes to Close Drunk Driving Loophole (link)
Transpo Big Slings Life Lessons At New Grads (link)
SpaceX Successfully Launches Historic Flight in Florida (link)
Amnesty for LIRR Workers Who Faked Disabilities (link)
United Fights to Quash Uppity Southwest in Houston (link)
Grueling Commutes Hamper Employment for Thousands in DC Area (link)

The bicycle "parking squid" by artist Susan Robb (photo via Columbus Rides Bikes/Seattle Center)

Montgomery County (MD) unveiled plans for a 160-mile "gold standard" bus rapid transit system. (Greater Greater Washington)

And: a county task force  will recommend raising property taxes to fund the BRT project. (Washington Post)

San Francisco will close or re-route key transit lines for ten days for track work -- and officials are asking people to bike instead. (NBC Bay Area)

A strike at Canadian Pacific has halted its freight rail shipments in that country, but a deal was reached to keep commuter trains running in Ontario. (Toronto Star)

Opponents of a transit tax ballot proposal are getting louder -- and more organized -- in Cobb County, Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

A birds-eye view of some of the most congested traffic corridors in the U.S. (Atlantic Cities)

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivers the keynote address at the NJ Alliance for Action's transportation conference in Trenton this morning. (AP via Star Ledger)

Ford Motor Company got a credit ratings boost; now it can reclaim its blue oval logo and factories that it put up as collateral for a 2006 loan. And: the company no longer as to pay higher junk bond interest rates. (AP, Detroit Free Press)

The history of the Harold Interlocking, the busy rail junction in Queens blamed for everything from LIRR delays to rising East Side Access costs. (New York Times)

Transportation taxes have become a big issue in Washington's gubernatorial race. (Seattle Times)

Transport for London's plan to introduce contactless ticketing (aka "wave and pay") across the whole of its transit network is behind schedule. (The Guardian)

After aiding Egypt's revolution, social media is taking on Cairo's traffic. (Good)

The new Volvo V40 is fitted with the world's first pedestrian airbag. (Car Buyer)

Photos of 25 awesome and unusual bike racks. Our favorite: Seattle's giant squid bike rack (see above). (Flavorwire)

 

Using an ignition interlock device (image courtesy of Minnesota Department of Public Safety video)

The New York Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that would strengthen a drunk driving penalty routinely flouted by offenders.

Leandra's Law, which became state law in 2009, mandated that all convicted DWI offenders in the state must install and use an ignition interlock in the vehicles they own or operate for at least six months after their conviction. These are breath test devices linked to a vehicle’s ignition system that prevent the car from starting if alcohol is detected in the driver’s breath.

But according to New York State statistics, only 31 percent of the state's convicted DWI offenders actually comply.

According to a press release from State Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. (R-Merrick), chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, "many drunk drivers try to avoid the ignition interlock requirement by claiming they do not own or operate a vehicle, waiting for the interlock period to run out, and then reapplying for a license without ever having to use the interlock.  Some of these drivers temporarily transfer ownership of the car to a relative or friend, who then allows that person to drive it without an interlock."

The legislation would prohibit convicted DWI offenders from driving any vehicle that doesn't have an ignition interlock. Drivers suspected of avoiding that requirement must instead wear a "transdermal alcohol monitoring device," such as an ankle bracelet.

The Senate voted 58-1 in favor of the legislation, with two absences. The bill now heads to the state Assembly.

Top stories on TN:
Freaky Info-Spewing Avatars Coming To NYC Area Airports (link)
NY Taxi Rates Expected To Rise by Summer’s End (link)
NY to Offer $2000 Award to Witnesses of Assaults on Transit Workers (link)
Staten Island To Get Faster Bus Service (link)
Historian David McCullough on What the Brooklyn Bridge Says About Politics Today (link)

In today's news:
Connecticut officials will break ground today on a half-billion-dollar Hartford-to-New Britain bus-only corridor, the only one in Connecticut. (NECN)

Creating a Long Island Rail Road link to Manhattan's East Side will take six years longer to accomplish than originally expected -- and will cost $2 billion more than the initial estimate. (New York Times)

SpaceX -- a rocket designed and built by a privately-owned company -- launched successfully. (Los Angeles Times)

Negotiations in Congress about a new federal transportation bill are moving into their third week. (The Hill)

The US Chamber of Commerce to Congress on transportation bill: you're doing it wrong. "They’re afraid to face the fundamental issues of where we get the revenue," the Chamber president said. "We haven’t had an increase in the federal fuel tax in 18 years.”(Christian Science Monitor)

California's high-speed rail authority is coming under fire for a new policy that would purge 90-day-old emails--a policy being enacted while the authority is under investigation. (Bay Citizen)

Boston school leaders are will unveil measures intended to avoid the widespread, prolonged bus delays that marred the first months of this school year. (Boston Globe)

The new Barclays Center will unveil its game plan today for how the 18,000-seat Brooklyn Nets arena will handle parking and traffic when it opens this fall. (DNA Info)

Nissan is aiming for 10% of China's luxury car market. (Reuters)

What drivers really think about bikers: the psychology of sharing the road. (Good)

Top stories on TN:

How DC's Transportation Network compares to the world (link)
Failure to Launch for First Privately Owned Space Shuttle (link)
INTERACTIVE MAP: Who Super-Commutes by Plane in the U.S. (link)
Private Rail Company Says Orlando to Miami Service Possible in Two Years (link)
D.C. Subway Doors Open While Train Is in Motion (link)
VIDEO Belgian Organization Tells Teens to Text While Driving (So They Won’t) (link)
Driver In Fatal Bronx Tour Bus Crash Was Briefly A City Bus Driver (link)

San Francisco (photo by Shanestar via flickr)

Bay Area cities and counties are mulling over a proposal that would use "transportation money to help steer growth...into already developed areas, around existing transit hubs, highways and transit lines." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Maryland's Silver Spring Transit Center -- described as a "mini-Union Station" -- is twelve years late and its budget has tripled. "The county has issued news releases to 'celebrate' the start of the center three times in nine years." (Washington Post)

Bicycling in Los Angeles: not just a"renegade subculture" anymore. (New York Times)

A pair of New Jersey commuters make their cross-Hudson trip by kayak (Star-Ledger). (Note: which reminded us of another, similar commute in the Bay Area.)

If voters say yes to the July 31 sales tax referendum, they will trigger the biggest single transportation investment the Atlanta region has seen in generations. But how much will commutes really change? (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Experience and smooth planning means Chicago's transportation system is handling the NATO summit well so far. But some out-of-towners are confused: "I'm kind of lost," one protestor said,  holding his shoes and a sign that read "Obama's drones kill babies" and "Eat the rich." (Chicago Tribune)

Beverly Hills is threatening legal action over Los Angeles's subway expansion plan. (Los Angeles Times)

Investor T. Boone Pickens: "Natural gas has been a disaster...(and) We have no energy plan for the country. It's pitiful; we're using 25 percent of all the oil produced in the world every day." (Marketplace)

WNYC's Anna Sale walked over the Brooklyn Bridge with historian David McCullough. (The Takeaway)

If you see something, text something: Boston's transit system launched an iPhone app to facilitate reporting suspicious activity. (WCVB)

And: all underground portions of Boston's subway will be wired for cell phone service by the end of the year. (Boston Globe)

A Wall Street Journal editorial refers to California's high-speed rail project as the "Kafka Express" and "Jerry Brown's train to nowhere."

A swarm of bees trapped a family in their Volvo at a parking lot on Manhattan's West Side. (DNA Info)

How do you convince drivers not to text while driving? FORCE them to text while driving.

That's the reverse psychology applied by a Belgian organization called Responsible Young Drivers (RYD). The group has produced a video in which an actor, playing a driving instructor, told actual test takers that a new government regulation says they must demonstrate the ability to successfully text while driving to receive a license.

"Plenty of people will crash, I'm telling you!" says one would-be driver. Others scream, curse, swerve wildly and plow into traffic cones while trying to text instructor-dictated messages. (To up the difficulty level, the instructor criticizes their spelling.)

The end of the film provides the message that RYD wants to hammer home -- a frazzled teen saying "I can't do both!"

"Worldwide, vehicle crashes are the biggest cause of mortality of youngsters between 15 and 24 years of age," Axel Druart, RYD's European Project Director, told the BBC. "We have to do something about it."

Watch the video below.

 

 

 

 

 

Top stories on TN:
Another White House Press Release Pushing Oil Drilling (link)
Atlantic Avenue Station in Brooklyn Renamed “Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center” as New Arena Nears Completion (link)
Feds: Airlines Collect $1.4 Billion in Baggage and Reservation Change Fees (link)
New York City Adding On-Street Bike Parking (link)

Capital Bikeshare (photo by afagen via flickr)

San Francisco transit officials have redefined time, fudging their statistics to make it look like buses and trains arrive on schedule. (Bay Citizen)

DC's Capital Bikeshare will get its 2 millionth rider any second now. (WTOP)

The Maryland Transportation Authority ran afoul of open meeting laws. (Baltimore Sun)

A perfect storm of events --including the hockey playoffs and two music festivals -- could make this weekend the busiest in NJ Transit's history. (Star-Ledger)

Residents near the new Tappan Zee Bridge site are worried about construction noise -- but they don't want to vote on sound barriers until they see the design. (Journal News)

A software glitch will briefly derail the launch of Chattanooga's bike share program. (The Chattanoogan)

Are the exurbs dying? Minnesota Public Radio will hash this topic over on their airwaves at 9:06 am.

A bus accident in Vietnam killed 34 people. (AP)

People in Rotterdam are building a pedestrian bridge over a busy highway -- and they're crowdfunding the cost. (Atlantic Cities)

Everyone driving on Interstate 15 in southwest Utah may soon have their license plate scanned by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (Salt Lake Tribune)

To make some hay out of the hockey playoffs, Delta is running a promotion on flights from LaGuardia Airport in Queens to Newark Airport in New Jersey -- a distance of 20 miles. (Yahoo Sports)

How do you know DOT head Ray LaHood has arrived? He's the subject of an Onion story entitled "Secretary Of Transportation Flips Out On Pothole In Baltimore." Come for the title, stay for the photoshopping. (link)

And happy Bike to Work day! Tweet photos of your commute to us at @TransportNation

 

 

Atlantic Avenue gets some new signs (photo taken on 5/17/12 by Kamicia Bass/WNYC)

Opening season for the Brooklyn Nets is four months away, but signs are already going up in the Atlantic Avenue station to reflect its new name: Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center.

The MTA has also updated the subway map on its  website to reflect the change. An MTA spokesman said the new name will appear on printed maps this summer.

Forest City Ratner, the developer of the site the stadium sits on in downtown Brooklyn, is paying the MTA $200,000 for 20 years for the naming rights to the station.

Top stories on TN:
Union Says NY Subway Inspection Fraud Arrests Miss the Mark, Big Perpetrators Are Getting Off (link)
Your Top 12 Abandoned Bike Photos: Saran Wrapped, Crumpled, Stacked Six High and Sad Sad Sad (link)
Washington-DC Area Planning Board Approves Complete Streets Policy (link)
Would-Be Subway Musicians Vie For Right To Be Legit (link)
New York City Settles Stop and Frisk Lawsuit by Livery Cab Passengers (link)

A natural gas processing plant in Parachute, Colorado (photo by Energy Tomorrow via flickr)

The government doesn't really know how much air pollution comes from natural gas production. (NPR)

NYC's revenues from traffic and parking violations could come in under last year’s eight-year low because cops are on track to write nearly 270,000 fewer moving violations. (New York Post)

South Korea unveiled a prototype of its newest bullet train -- which, according to the Wall Street Journal, "resembles a killer whale or a giant bug or, from certain angles, Darth Vader."

Congress is considering legislation that would require every car to have a "black box" -- a device that would record events related to actual collisions. (Marketplace)

Republicans hint they might be willing to part with the Keystone XL pipeline to get the highway bill past the finish line. (The Hill)

Your neighborhood affects how much you walk and bike, confirms a new survey: DC planners say they have the first real-world, neighborhood-level data that show how people travel in different kinds of communities. (Washington Post)

The regional authority overseeing the $6 billion Dulles Metrorail project will not discuss -- or possibly vote on -- a labor provision threatening to derail the second leg of the Silver Line until next month. (Washington Times)

The U.K. will pilot its first "tram-train" service in South Yorkshire, beginning in 2015. These run on street tracks or rail lines, but are "lighter, more energy efficient and have faster acceleration and deceleration than conventional trains." (BBC)

Berlin's new airport -- which was to have opened next month -- now won't open until March 2013. (Reuters)

What's killing the electric car? The price of batteries. (Good)

Meanwhile: the charging and driving habits of EV drivers in Los Angeles are different from the rest of the nation. (Los Angeles Times)

New York's MTA says it's installing a $500,000 air filtration system to solve the dust problem at the Second Avenue Subway construction site. (NY1)

A visiting urban planner says he's found the world's fastest pedestrian signal on a recent visit to Muncie, Indiana. "That light gives you five seconds to cross that six-lane road...This should be in the Guinness Book of World Records. I have never seen in 30 years of working in cities a light that gives you give five seconds." (Star Press)

Jay-Z says old New York City subway signs helped inspire the new Brooklyn Nets logo. (MTV)

A New York City brewery owner warns fracking could affect the city's water -- and his beer. (Grist; video)

 

Each act had five minutes to convince the judges it merited the right to legitimately perform in the subway system under an MTA-approved banner. Help us discover the city's best und...

The Belle Tones, following their audition for the Music Under New York program (photo by Kate Hinds)

Seventy musicians lined up in Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday to audition for the New York MTA's "Music Under New York" (MUNY) program. Each act had five minutes to sell themselves to the judges. (According to MTA rules, performers are welcomed on subway platforms, but must audition in order to be under the literal banner of the MUNY program.)

(Listen to WNYC's All Things Considered this evening for an audio tour of the auditions. And to contribute photos of your own favorite subway musicians, visit WNYC's culture page.)

Steel drum player Caesar Passée (photo by Kate Hinds)

While many talked about how important it is to bring music to the masses, 14-year old Queens resident (and classical pianist) Jason Cordero was more pragmatic when asked why he wants to play Mozart on a subway platform. "I practice at home. When I practice in the subway, I ... get donations."

Shae Fiol, a musician with the all-female group Mariachi Flor de Toloache, said MUNY is "a great program." Plus, she said, since they're already playing in the subway, they might as well make it official. "We want to have our own banner that says our name on it and be able to call up and schedule a location and a time and be legit."

Members of the Mariachi Flor de Toloache, prior to performing (photo by Kate Hinds)

Musicians in the MUNY program don't get paid, but they are allowed to solicit donations from their underground audience.

Joe D's Glamma Twins (photo by Kate Hinds)

One of the judges is David Spelman. His day job is as the director of the New York Guitar Festival. But as a judge, he’s listening with the perspective of a subway commuter – not a music professional. "This may not be what I want to hear at 7:30 in the morning," he says of one steel drummer performer, "but I could definitely handle this after work."

Fourteen year old pianist Jason Cordero talking with Bob Holman, the audition's MC (photo by Kate Hinds)

The MTA holds auditions for the MUNY program annually. There are currently about 350 individual performers and groups taking part; Wednesday's auditions were expected to add another 20 names to the pool.The MTA said it will announce the names of the new musicians who have been accepted into the program after Memorial Day.

Top stories on TN:
Optimism on Transpo Conference, Sweating the Easy Stuff (link)
Maryland Metro Stop Gets System’s First Bike & Ride (link)
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About NYC’s Bike Share Program (link)
Report: 70 Percent of Offshore Oilfields Unused (link)
Former PA Gov Rendell: Best Transpo Bill Would “Do No Harm” (link)

Dulles Airport (photo courtesy of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority)

A federal audit of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority  -- which operates Dulles and Reagan National Airports and is building the Metrorail Silver Line --  found faults in agency's policies and practices on financial disclosures, contracting, travel and transparency. Example: board members spent $238 on two bottles of wine and $9,200 on one plane ticket to Prague. And awarded $6 million worth of contracts without board approval. (Washington Post)

But: US DOT head Ray LaHood says he has confidence in the new MWAA leadership. (The Hill)

Now that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's transit agenda has been repudiated, "he has been freed to turn the rest of his term into an extended campaign about...an inanely simplistic choice: subways versus streetcars." (Toronto Life)

San Francisco's transit agency has given the green light to bus rapid transit on Van Ness Avenue. (San Francisco Examiner)

Felix Salmon: I've taken another look at the numbers, and I still think NYC's bike share is really expensive. (Reuters)

Atlanta's airport is opening its new international terminal today -- six years behind schedule and twice the price cited in preliminary plans. (Marketplace)

The city of Moscow plans to spend over a trillion rubles (some $33 billion) by 2020, adding 90 more miles and 67 more stations to its city subway system. (RIA Novosti)

A plane carrying France's new president, François Hollande, was struck by lightning en route to Germany. (Christian Science Monitor)

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway now owns 10,000,000 shares of General Motors stock. (Bloomberg)

Meanwhile, GM stopped buying ads on Facebook. (Wall Street Journal)

After decades of urban evolution, the world’s major subway systems appear to be converging on an ideal form.  (Wired)

London aims to open its new cable car across the Thames in time for the summer Olympics. (video at BBC)

Training wheels don't work. What does? Balance bikes. So "skip the training wheels and get rid of the pedals instead." (Slate)

Why do terrorists go for planes when there are easier targets? (NPR)

Delaware's House passed a bill that would penalize drivers going below the speed limit in the left lane of a Delaware highway. (News Journal)

Cheaper gas prices aren't enough to get many more Americans on the road this summer. (AP)

The mild winter means states like West Virginia are sitting on a surplus of road salt -- and now have to figure out how to store it until next winter. (Daily Mail)

(Photo Andrea Bernstein)

WNYC listeners had questions about New York City's impending bike share program -- and TN's Andrea Bernstein had answers. Cost? Liability? Docking station locations? Length of ride? She fielded phone calls on Tuesday's Brian Lehrer Show on all of these topics.

And want to hear her response to Miriam in Greenwich Village, who complained that "bicycle riders are not very good about following traffic rules -- they don't stop for red lights"? Listen to the segment below.

And go to the Brian Lehrer Show web page as well to read the healthy conversation in the comments section.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Transit backers have given up on a comprehensive highway bill this go-around, hoping instead that whatever passes Congress this year lays the table for 2013. And, they say, whatever comes in 2013 must put public transportation on equal footing with roads.

That was the message today on a conference call given by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), which released a report predicting that volatility in gas prices would spur an additional 290 million passenger trips on public transportation this year.

APTA says transit systems nationwide are groaning under the weight of additional passengers and less funding. "More than 80% of our members have had to either raise fares, cut service, or do both as a way to manage their economic challenges," Michael Melaniphy, APTA's president, said. "At the same time, we had our second-highest ridership since 1957 last year."

Ed Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania and a co-chair of the infrastructure group Building America's Future (which co-sponsored the report), was asked about the likelihood of transportation funding reform in the current political climate.

"I don't think we're going to get a five or a six-year bill. I think we'll get something that will carry us into 2013, and I think the best that we can hope for at this point is to do no harm," Rendell said. "But in 2013, it seems to me that Congress and the administration have to come to grips with the problems facing not only our transportation infrastructure, but our entire infrastructure."

Which, he said, "is in desperate shape," adding that he's hoping for "a ten year, long-term infrastructure revitalization program."

Rendell said he had been “horrified by the original proposal floated by the House” that would have stopped gas-tax revenues from being used to fund transit systems. Republicans had said instead that transit funding should come out of a general fund. But that provision was not included in the extension passed in March, which kept things more or less status quo.

Curtis Stitt, the president of the Central Ohio Transit Authority, offered a cautionary tale about general revenue funding -- which, he said, is how public transit is funded in Ohio. "Ten years ago," he said, "the entire state got -- for about 42 transit agencies in the state -- we got about $43 million." In the aftermath of the financial crisis, he said, "this year we're getting $7 million."

APTA officials urged Congress to look at the transportation system holistically -- because that's how Americans see it. Gary Thomas, who runs Dallas' transit system and is also APTA's chairman, said "they view our transportation network as one system. Which is why both public transportation and the road network should continue to receive funding from the highway trust fund."

 

Top stories on TN:
Poor Pedestrians More Likely To Be Struck by Cars (link)
MTA Fastrack To Expand To Beyond Manhattan (link)
As Cities Compete to Be More Bike-Friendly, List of Bike Towns Grows (link)
Shuster: President Will Sign Transpo Bill In the Fall (link)
Will Citibank’s $41 Million Bike Share Bet Pay Off? (link)
DOT Selects Four More Cities to Get Nonstop Service from D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (link)
Soda Ad Fight Bubbles Up On NYC Transit (link)

Toronto GO train (photo by hypatiadotca via flickr)

The largest cause of fatalities in the oil and gas industry: highway crashes. (New York Times)

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on TSA security breaches in Washington this week. (Star Ledger)

To save $3 million annually, NJ Transit wants to cut five bus lines serving Newark. (Asbury Park Press)

Opponents of a future subway tunnel under Beverly Hills High School have made a video warning that the city's plans could "turn...the school into a megadisaster." (Time)

The vast majority of airlines have conformed with European Union rules on reporting carbon dioxide emissions. (BBC News)

A Clipper Card glitch means that an untold number of East Bay transit riders were overcharged. (San Francisco Examiner)

Starting this fall, if a Toronto train is more than 15 minutes late, commuters will be eligible for a refund on their fare. But: the government has built in some loopholes. (Toronto Star)

The Virginia House of Delegates shot down the governor's attempt to force the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to immediately accept two additional Virginia appointees to its board or risk losing the state's contribution to the Dulles Metrorail line the authority is building. (Washington Examiner)

Duluth has the money in place to begin work on a new multimodal transit center. (Duluth News Tribune)

Editorial: NY MTA must taken on the "fare-evasion epidemic," which costs the system $328 million a year in lost revenue. (Staten Island Advance)

DC's Metro will open its first secure Bike & Ride facility this week. (TBD)

In Newark, roughly 500 pedestrians are struck by cars each year. It’s one of just two dozen cities across the country singled out by the federal government as a pedestrian safety fo...