transit

18 Stories

The Hyperloop 'Dream' Is Officially Over
A 'Dream Too Impossible for
This World' Is Now Dead
in case you missed it
Dec 24, 2023 10:35 AM CST

A 'Dream Too Impossible for This World' Is Now Dead

Hyperloop One, the futuristic mass-transit firm promising speedy travel, is shuttering

(Newser) - The Hyperloop dream is no more—at least for now. Sources tell Bloomberg that Hyperloop One, the once much-ballyhooed startup building high-speed freight trains, is shuttering and will spend its final days trying to sell its assets, including a small test track in Nevada. Most of the company's workers...

Careless Whiskers: Commuter Caught Shaving on Train
This Commuter Video
Takes the Cake
Sep 16, 2018 12:44 PM CDT

This Commuter Video Takes the Cake

"Somebody donate this man an electric razor!"

(Newser) - A man caught on video lathering up and giving himself a shave while riding on a New Jersey train was violating the agency's rules, the AP reports. A fellow rider on the Northeast Corridor line of New Jersey Transit took the video Thursday night and tweeted it . Some commenters...

Can You Spot the Error in This St. Paddy's Day Ad?

From Guinness, no less

(Newser) - Four-leaf clovers are supposed to bring good luck, but not so much for Guinness. The Irish beer company found itself apologizing to Canadians this week after the St. Patrick's Day ads it put up around the Toronto subway system's St. Patrick Station used the wrong green symbol to...

Under Shadow of 2 Deaths, BART Goes Back to Work

'This has got to be the last time that this happens,' says Gavin Newsom

(Newser) - After four days of massive traffic jams and overcrowded buses and ferries, Bay Area Rapid Transit and its two biggest unions have reached a deal that will bring the rail strike to an end, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . "This offer is more than we wanted to pay, but...

Americans' Growing Ride of Choice: Public Transit
Americans' Growing Ride
of Choice: Public Transit
new report
Mar 12, 2012 7:30 AM CDT

Americans' Growing Ride of Choice: Public Transit

Ridership was up 2.3% from 2010

(Newser) - If you think the subway has felt extra crowded lately, you likely aren't imagining things: Americans are hopping on public transportation more often, according to a new report out today, with the number of bus and train passengers last year reaching its second highest level since 1957. Nationwide, transit...

Obama Gets Rail Rolling With $8B Stimulus

Prez plots $8b high-speed train network

(Newser) - America's railways are about to get a huge handout: At today's signing of the stimulus package, $8 billion will be allocated to high-speed rail. Though the money will be divvied up according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's master plan, the expansion is truly President Obama's pet project, reports Politico. "...

Is Metrolink Up to the Job? Train Crash Raises Doubts

AWOL execs slammed in aftermath of worst crash in decades

(Newser) - The country's deadliest train crash in decades has focused attention on mass transit carrier Metrolink, which operates on a shoestring budget and has many wondering whether it's up to the job, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five Southern California counties chip in to run the system, set up with relatively...

States Consider Leasing Roads as Upkeep Takes Toll

$12.8B deal could make Penn. Turnpike largest such public-private partnership

(Newser) - With Pennsylvania legislators set to vote next month on a $12.8 billion deal that would put the 537-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike under private operation, such public-private partnerships are accelerating across the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Often bankrolled by infrastructure funds—which have $160 billion under management—the projects...

Desire Named Streetcar Grips Cities

40 cities considering resurrecting the humble streetcar

(Newser) - Most American cities dismantled their streetcar lines over 50 years ago but a major comeback is gathering speed, the New York Times reports. Cincinnati, Houston, Denver, Salt Lake City and Charlotte have streetcar systems in the works to revive sagging downtown areas. A dozen cities already have streetcars and at...

Washington Wants You to Guzzle Gas
Washington Wants You to Guzzle Gas
Opinion
Aug 3, 2008 3:28 PM CDT

Washington Wants You to Guzzle Gas

Tax dollars should subsidize mass transit, not cars

(Newser) - As gas prices rise, Americans are driving less—and fewer dollars are flowing into the gas-tax-fueled Federal Highway Trust Fund. President Bush’s illogical response? To take money out of public transportation and put it in the highway fund—the latest bizarre example of officials intent on promoting and subsidizing...

High Gas Prices Fuel Transit Boom

Mass transit winning converts across the country as gas price soars

(Newser) - The soaring price of gas is driving people across America out of their cars and onto mass transit, the New York Times reports. Buses and trains are up 5% or more in cities like Boston and New York, where mass transit is already a popular alternative, but the biggest leap...

$4 Gas Driving San Franciscans From Cars

Sky-high milestone boosts mass transit numbers

(Newser) - The Bay Area is used to being on the cutting edge, but becoming the first to pay $4 for a gallon of gas is a milestone San Francisco could do without, the Chronicle reports. Prices are expected to nudge past the mark next week—but many Bay Area residents have...

Bullet Train to Take On the Plane in Spain

Reclining swivel seats, video players, and speeds up to 220mph

(Newser) - An ambitious plan to make Spain the leader in high-speed train travel could provide a model for the rest of Europe, offering a greener, more relaxing alternative to short-haul flights. A major link between Madrid and Barcelona is slated to open this month with trains described in the Guardian as...

NYC Cabbies Begin Strike
NYC Cabbies Begin Strike
Sep 5, 2007 1:40 PM CDT

NYC Cabbies Begin Strike

Level of participation unclear; new technology at issue in labor dispute

(Newser) - A 2-day strike by New York taxi drivers protesting an order to install new technology began today, with the union claiming up to 95% participation by the city's estimated 20,000 cabbies, to the mayor's prestrike estimate of 30%. The city instituted an emergency fare structure to encourage cab sharing...

Gov. Blames Poor Drainage for NYC Mess

Torrential rains led to 'total outage' of transit system, Spitzer says

(Newser) - An inadequate drainage system and little advance warning left New York City transit vulnerable to this morning's powerful storm, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said. The New York Times reports that today's transit meltdown, which disabled or delayed every city subway line and snarled the morning commute, was the third such debilitating...

Flooding Halts NYC Mass Transit
Flooding Halts NYC Mass Transit
Aug 8, 2007 11:01 AM CDT

Flooding Halts NYC Mass Transit

(Newser) - New York City public transportation ground to a standstill early this morning after violent thunderstorms tore up trees, damaged cars, and flooded underground train tracks, halting or delaying every single subway line, reports the New York Times. Flights at all three major airports in the metropolitan area were pushed back...

London Security Crackdown Targets Transit

Travelers in for increased delays

(Newser) - British police are cracking down on security at rail services and airports to thwart terror attacks in the wake of a trio of car bomb attempts over the weekend. No specific intelligence warns of an attack on the subway system or the rail network, but the increased patrols and security...

Charges Filed in London Bombings
Charges Filed in London Bombings
Apr 6, 2007 8:02 AM CDT

Charges Filed in London Bombings

Three men charged with conspiracy in 2005 tube and bus attacks

(Newser) - Three men have been charged in the July 7, 2005 bombings of the London mass-transit system. The suspects, Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem, and Mohammed Shakil, are accused of conspiring with the terrorists who blew themselves up in the tube and on a bus, killing 52. Surveillance cameras recorded the men...

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