Somehow we survived 2017. For the second year in a row, here’s your look back at the most brilliant and baffling transportation developments:
1. Best Zeitgeist Tweet: microtransit and Silicon Valley hype – they’re here!
Every 2 or 3 weeks, a tech guy accidentally invents the concept of the city bus.
— Stefan Heck (@boring_as_heck) June 6, 2017
2. Far Worse Than You Even Imagined: NY Times “Systemic Failure” reporting on NYC subway.
3. Best Transit Music Video: Waiting for the Light dethrones the TARQ Bus Rack Rap.
(Video We’re Waiting For: YES FLEX ZONE).
5. Best Policy Development: LA, Denver and Nashville all start transit walkability programs
6. Best Inadvertent Ad for Transit: Uber’s “Let’s Unlock Cities.”
7. First U.S. President in Our Lifetimes That Couldn’t Be Bothered to Appoint Federal Highway and Transit Administrators.
Transportation Secretary as chart-holder
8. Most Quotable Mayor: Megan Barry of Nashville – “my top three priorities are transit, transit, transit.”
9. Mayor No One Can Figure Out.
(Also winner: One Day News Cycle award for his “Clear Lane” congestion plan).
10. Bad Motives, But a Pretty Decent Look Back at NYC’s Transit Summer of Hell.
11. Most Brutal Major Takeaway: D Magazine & University of Texas Arlington Institute of Urban Studies: “DART fails at its core function as a public transit agency.”
(The good news: DART also wins for Best Transit Agency Housecleaning.)
12. Hottest Trend Story: Governing’s look at redesigning bus networks.
13. Ill-Conceived Transit Omen of the Year: “ticket revenue doesn’t even cover the cost of selling tickets.”
14. You Knew it Was True, Now There’s Data: Uber is in fact clogging our streets.
15. Best Lede and Title: Joe Cortwright/City Observatory: “Pollyanna’s Ridesharing Breakthrough.”
16. Someone Actually Wrote This! But thanks for the reassurance that the idea could be changed and the fares are still up for debate.
17. Meanwhile, Back in the Real World: The Future of Fare Collection in Philly – There Will be Coins.
18.Tinnest Ear: Regional Plan Association plan for nighttime NYC subway closure panned by MTA chair, the Mayor, RPA’s own board chair and everyone else.
Shutting down certain subway lines for short periods of time may be necessary to modernize the system quickly – as proved to be so effective at Penn Station this summer.
However, New York City is, and always will be, the City that never sleeps, and that includes our subways.
— Scott Rechler (@ScottRechler) November 30, 2017
19. Best Leak – NYC City Hall memo says BQX unbuildable.
Standing still in Brooklyn.
20. One Way to do Transit Social Media.
It’s snowing, which means that traffic slows down quite a bit, along with our buses. Please don’t be mad at us for delays! Safety first! pic.twitter.com/UijDdBJKTV
— Blacksburg Transit (@Ride_BT) January 6, 2017
21. Best Tweet About TransitCenter:
There are no sacred cows when @TransitCenter‘s in the room. Alt title: Oh snap! https://t.co/ptJkIPk0qq
— Jessica Roberts (@jessicaroberts) November 10, 2017
22. Not Talking About Transit Award: SEPTA general manager’s page.
23. Good News Beyond the (Q-Line) Headlines – Detroit’s bus turnaround.
24. Tale of Two High-Rise Cities (one’s transit system somehow manages to build and run elevators).
25. Evergreen 🌲🌲🌲🌲: donate to your local transit advocacy org.
On the Brink: Will WMATA’s Progress Be Erased by 2024?
The experience of being a WMATA rider has substantially improved over the last 18 months, thanks to changes the agency has made like adding off-peak service and simplifying fares. Things are about to get even better with the launch of all-door boarding later this fall, overnight bus service on some lines starting in December, and an ambitious plan to redesign the Metrobus network. But all of this could go away by July 1, 2024.
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A Bus Agenda for New York City Mayor Eric Adams
To create the “state-of-the-art bus transit system” of his campaign platform, Mayor Adams will have to both expand the quantity and improve the quality of bus lanes. We recommend these strategies to get it done.
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