[Graeme]

A Different Model: How Public Transit Should Work!

North American cities are primarily designed for automotive traffic. There has been more attention to bicycles, buses, and trains, but most people still look upon them as a poor person’s transportation. Traveling in Germany I found a different model: how public transit should work!

“If I want to drive a car, I rent one,” a young Berlin based executive told me.

The same sentiment was echoed by an executive in Hamburg.

Though getting from one place to another can involve one or two transfers, buses and trains run like clockwork. Waiting times are generally less than five minutes. The empty platform at the bottom of this page was probably crowded only minutes before.

As there is no gridlock on the U-Bahn or S-Bahn, they often move through Berlin faster than automotive traffic.

For those who prefer exercise, bicycle lanes run along the sidewalks of most cities. My Berlin contact usually pedals to work.

The Deutsche Bahn offers an InterCity Express (ICE) connecting most of Germany’s major cities with Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. The “slow” ICE, connecting Berlin and Hamburg, travels at up to 230 km/per hour. Faster trains can go as much as 320km/per hour.

“Why would I want to buy a car?” my Berlin contact asked.

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[Graeme]

2.7 Billion+ Trips Taken On Public Transportation In 2nd Quarter

US public transportation ridership increased yet again in the second quarter of 2014. A press release report released by the American Public Transportation Association showed urban mobility increasing to over 2.7 billion trips on US public transportation in the second quarter. Urban travelers are making commonsense choices for their pockets and the environment, effecting a 1.1% increase in ridership over the same quarter last year, an increase of 30 million more trips.

This trend is stable and growing, as in five of the last eight quarters ridership on US public transportation improved, and in the second quarter it actually “outpaced urban vehicle miles traveled (VMT) which grew at 0.97 percent for this quarter.” Record ridership increased on the expanded and new lines opened in the past five years, proving that the investments are paying off. With better options, people will choose public transportation.

Ridership on MetroRail, a commuter rail line in Austin, Texas, rapidly increased in the second quarter and has quadrupled since it began only a short four years ago in 2010. Denver, Colorado, also had a ridership increase of 8.1% in the second quarter, topping previous records. Seattle is at another high point, with more people choosing the five-year-old light rail line and ridership increasing 17% in the quarter. This triumph marks 20 consecutive quarters of significant growth.

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[Graeme]

Atlanta’s New Bike Network Takes Shape

The Green Lane Project promotes freedom of choice in mobility for urban environments across the US. The Green Lane Project recently selected Atlanta as one of six cities to activate more development of protected bike lanes and increase safe biking. It focused on expansion of bicycling facilities in the core of the city of Atlanta.

The Beltline trail is full of life and community with a vast grid of protected lanes. Presently, the Beltline trail already has 7,000 daily users on a 2.5-mile section of trail a day. The plans for expansion of the Beltline are more than rails to trails — they include light rail, bus transit, affordable housing, parks, and greenways.

Atlanta plans to expand the Beltline and connect the trail system to key urban destinations. But this is simultaneously a redevelopment project. The project is poised to remake the face of Atlanta as it remakes transportation in the city. With the increases of low-stress connected networks through the Beltline, the city wants to double the percentage of people biking to work and double the miles of bike lanes.

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[Graeme]

650,000 Jobs In Europe’s Growing Bicycling Economy

Bicycling is splendid for the health. It is emits zero emissions. It increases economic activity and local jobs… particularly in Europe. Employment in Europe’s cycling industry is up and is reportedly outdoing other major industries.

It follows that, as people explore Europe, they do as the natives do — they bicycle. European bicycle tourism has also been growing, and the industry now employs 524,000 people. This, bike manufacturing, bike retail, bike infrastructure, and bike services together provide jobs for 655,000 people.

In the Netherlands, it is commonplace for moms and dads to take their children to school on bicycles. Many also commute to work on bike. The post comes by bicycle. Businesses use bicycles for deliveries. The Netherlands leads the way, along with Copenhagen, Denmark, in all things bicycle, but Europe as a whole is a league (or more) above North America.

The Guardian reports on a comprehensive study, Jobs and job creation in the European cycling sector, on the matter of the European bicycle economy. The study was commissioned by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and will be published next month. “Some 655,000 people work in the cycling economy – which includes bicycle production, tourism, retail, infrastructure and services – compared to 615,000 people in mining and quarrying, and just 350,000 workers directly employed in the steel sector,” the Guardian writes.

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[Graeme]

Annual Transit Savings = $9,569 In US (On Average)

How we move about — to work, to play, for health needs, etc. — contributes to economic well-being as well as personal health (or lack thereof). People in record numbers are now choosing public transit services. Health as a way of life — instead of something we work on once in a while — is important. This is one thing probably driving the growth, and is combined with the more efficient and cost-conservative nature of public transit, and the growing multi-modal choices available in cities across the US. (Check out the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “NewPublicHealth” website for more on how public transportation coincides with healthier behaviors.)

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has just released its December Transit Savings Report, which shows that “individuals who ride public transportation instead of driving can also save, on average, more than $797 per month. This month the average annual savings for public transit riders is $9,569.”

Another thing public transit saves is the stress of being stuck in traffic, lines of cars fighting for a parking spot at the mall parking lot (that is moving slow as molasses and even thicker to navigate through).

The trend of increasing ridership is stable and growing. As US public transportation improves, it is outpacing urban vehicle miles traveled (VMT) at times. Record ridership has increased on the expanded and new lines opened in the past five years, proving that the investments are paying off. With better options, people will choose public transportation.

“Access to public transportation matters,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy, “Community leaders know that public transportation investment drives community growth and economic revitalization.”

Here’s a table from the APTA December Transit Savings Report, followed by two charts of the findings that we created here at CleanTechnica:

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