The latest contract agreement for NY-MTA once again prohibits one-man train operation. This one simple work rule, used by transit agencies worldwide, could have doubled labor productivity of the subway.
BART sets a goal of having 91% of its trains on time, with just 74% actually running on-time. By comparison, Ukrainian Railways reports 95% of trains depart on schedule — despite constant shelling and missile attacks: Ukrainian rail has become a figurehead of the staunch resilience in the country since the outbreak of the war […]
It’s the zombie idea that never dies. Once again a mandatory helmet bill is being considered that would apply to all adult cyclists. This time it is happening in New Jersey: A new bill introduced by Assemblyman Reginald Atkins would make New Jersey the first state in the nation to require everyone, including adults, to wear a […]
During the latter days of the Obama Administration, the FRA proposed a new two-man crew mandate. It would have required all trains — including passenger trains — to have both a train driver and conductor. The effort was widely seen as a gift to railroad unions. The Trump Administration quickly cancelled the rule-making effort — […]
BUSD is going ahead with plans to construct a $27.5 million parking garage at Berkeley High School. The school is one block from a BART station, and directly served by the Milvia cycletrack. The garage will replace an existing surface lot, with a net increase of around 120 spaces. That comes to around $230k per […]
Hard to believe, but its has been a decade since the FRA gave the Ok for transit agencies to use modern, lightweight trains. And yet hardly any rail operators have taken advantage of the technology. But perhaps that is starting to change, with the announcement that California will be trading in its antiquated tank-trains for […]
The FTA has an innovative program to locate childcare facilities near transit stations. The idea is to make it easier for parents to pick-up and drop-off their kids from daycare as part of the commute. But the Riverside School Board apparently didn’t get that memo. They are freaking out over plans to build a new […]
One-man operation is the industry standard practice for regional and commuter services. However that isn’t the case for Denver RTD — which still uses both a driver and conductor: Recent staffing issues for the Regional Transportation District’s (RTD) University of Colorado A-Line have caused cancellations of trips, leaving travelers waiting at Denver International Airport (DIA) for hours. Since…
June 7th was the ribbon-cutting for new platforms at the Ashland (VA) Amtrak station. Built at a cost of $10 million, the purpose of the project was to improve ADA accessibility and safety: A quick glance in the image above begs the question of what exactly was done to improve accessibility? There is obviously no […]