News
Regional transportation news stories compiled by CommuterPage.com. Subscribe to a daily email with the most recent news, recent ACCS blog posts, and upcoming events. Every CommuterPage.com News email includes an "unsubscribe" link.
Several Metro stations closing this holiday weekend
Due to planned maintenance, parts of the Red Line will be closed, and shuttle buses will replace trains at certain stations. Additionally, Metro will operate on a holiday schedule on Monday for Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day.
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Samantha Gilstrap, October 11, 2024, WUSA9
Developing a common language for microtransit providers
Rural transit agencies could benefit from an emerging technology called Transactional Data Specification (TDS), which “establishes a common language allowing transportation providers to share data related to customers, their destinations or scheduling,” according to a report from the Shared-Use Mobility Center with AARP.
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Diana Ionescu, October 10, 2024, Planetizen
In observance of Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day, The Mobile Commuter Store will be closed on Monday 10/14/2024.
In observance of Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day, The Mobile Commuter Store will be closed on Monday 10/14/2024. Read more...
Metro moves forward with process to enable credit card tap-to-ride system
Although he couldn’t guarantee a date, GM Randy Clarke said Metro’s goal is to make fare gates accept credit cards and smartphones linked to credit cards before the big World Pride celebration next year.
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Tom Roussey, October 10, 2024, ABC7 News
WMATA takes fare evasion fight to Metrobus
While WMATA has implemented evasion safeguards on Metrorail through new faregates, more security officers and surveillance cameras, the scope of the problem is bigger for the bus network.
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Matt Pusatory, October 10, 2024, WUSA9
Bike-friendly campuses can inspire the rest of car-centric America
When campuses get bike-friendliness right, though, they can serve as prototypes for what every city could be if we treated our places like true communities for people.
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Kea Wilson, October 10, 2024, Streetsblog USA
Most Metrobus riders don't pay their fares. Will a local government incentive help?
Riders skipping out on fares has been a problem for Metro that surged after the pandemic. In September, Metro Transit Police reported writing more than 10,000 citations for fare evasion this year alone.
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Mike Murillo, October 11, 2024, WTOP
DC launches pilot to charge e-bikes with solar power
The initiative, which started last week, aims to “really make a difference in terms of our charging operations,” said Aaron Goldbeck, who manages the sustainable transportation programs team at D.C.’s Department of Transportation.
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Scott Gelman, October 10, 2024, WTOP
20 safest and most dangerous US cities for pedestrians
A new study by shoe company Kuru Footwear ranks 36 most populous U.S. cities according to how foot-friendly they are. The study used pedestrian death data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration combined with overall Walk Score to calculate its results.
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Mary Hammon, October 10, 2024, Planetizen
How the White House influences transportation grantmaking
Priorities vary among administrations, an Urban Institute report found. “The president actually has substantial discretion over a lot of these programs,” a researcher said.
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Dan Zukowski, October 9, 2024, Smart Cities Dive
DC Circulator employees continue to push for answers amid layoffs by: Mariel Carbone
Employees were originally told they’d work through March of 2025, but the city decided to end the service earlier, pushing the date to the end of 2024. The first round of layoffs began on Sept. 30.
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Mariel Carbone, October 9, 2024, DC News Now
Arlington County, Va., works to improve transit service
Arlington County notes it will take a holistic approach to addressing the needs of a multimodal network, including the many ways people get around within the physically constrained public right-of-way.
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October 9, 2024, Mass Transit Magazine
King Street Pedestrian Zone could move forward this fall
Hillary Orr, deputy director of Transportation Planning and Mobility, said the city worked with the fire department, police department, city attorney and traffic operations to review the proposal.
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Vernon Miles, October 9, 2024, ALXNow
Alexandria City Council approves bus lane and new bike path near Bradlee Shopping Center
The changes will take the access two-way road parallel to the Bradlee Shopping Center and turn it into a one-way westbound street with a dedicated bus lane and a two-way bicycle trail.
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Vernon Miles, October 9, 2024, ALXNow
Metro board to consider funding measure aimed at reducing fare evasion on bus, rail
It’s a proposal to make changes to what’s called the “funding formula” that Metro uses to determine how much tax money it requests from state and local governments in our area.
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Tom Roussey, October 8, 2024, ABC7 News
DC-area traffic now is just as bad as it was pre-pandemic, report finds
Not only that, congestion has actually gotten slightly (1.1%) worse as well, and while the increase in congestion is relatively small, it translates to real hours lost over the year, “especially in places where congestion is already high,” according to the report.
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Luke Lukert, October 9, 2024, WTOP
'Road map' for dedicated transit funding still work in progress, N. Va. officials say
Local leaders long have dreamed of the prospect of gaining a dedicated funding source — perhaps a sales, fuel or recording tax — to support the Metro system, local transit networks and Virginia Railway Express
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Scott McCaffrey, October 8, 2024, FFXNow
Weekend track work and service information for Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day
This weekend crews will work to replace switches, remove vegetation, maintain gates, and perform cable insulation testing. The repairs will require station closures at four Red Line stations: Shady Grove, Rockville, Twinbrook, and North Bethesda.
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October 8, 2024, WMATA
70% of bus riders in D.C. area don't pay. Here's what Metro is doing about it.
Research indicates that riders at all income levels are more interested in better service than eliminating fares, and that making buses free doesn’t reduce car use.
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Rachel Weiner, October 8, 2024, The Washington Post
FRA opens $1B intercity passenger rail grant funding round
The funding, part of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, is available through the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program.
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Dan Zukowski, October 7, 2024, Smart Cities Dive
October is Pedestrian Safety Month: Use crosswalks for safety
October is Pedestrian Safety Month, and the Prince William Police Department is urging both pedestrians and drivers to prioritize safety on the roads.
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Aya Karouane, October 7, 2024, Potomac Local News
Virginia Passenger Rail Authority speeds toward modernized, dedicated system
The rail authority's ambitious plans aim to make passenger rail a more attractive option for Virginians, with incremental improvements leading to a more comprehensive rail system by 2030.
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Trimmel Gomes, October 8, 2024, Public News Service
How AI is helping cities drive improvements in infrastructure and citizen satisfaction
Equipping vehicles to look for critical infrastructure and quality-of-life issues that can plague communities helps city partners deliver proactive government and equitable public service across all zip codes.
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October 7, 2024, Smart Cities Dive
Transforming mass transit with AI and advanced analytics
Video surveillance cameras coupled with new AI-enabled analytics can support the success of any enterprise operation, including mass transit systems, by going beyond security use cases.
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Anthony Incorvati, October 4, 2024, Metro Magazine
Franconia-Springfield escalator replacement
The five escalators will be replaced with brand-new ones that are more durable and reliable. The escalators are being installed as part of an ongoing effort to replace 139 escalators across the Metrorail system by 2028.
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October 7, 2024, WMATA
Checking in on Greater Washington's largest ongoing transportation projects
And these projects enhance public and private forms of transportation, from transit to roadways to airports, are touching nearly every corner of the region.
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Nate Doughty, October 4, 2024, Washington Business Journal
Some of the most sweltering DC neighborhoods lack bus shelters. Cooler spots have them
According to the DC Policy Center, the Northeast and Southeast quadrants of DC are not only the hottest, but are home to people most sensitive to high temperatures, because of age, underlying conditions, lack of health insurance, or low income.
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Madeleine Bartin, October 3, 2024, Greater Greater Washington
Work on pedestrian connection to Innovation Center Metro Station begins
In addition to a 10-foot-wide, 1,450-foot-long asphalt shared-use path, the project includes two 14-foot-wide pedestrian bridges over Horsepen Creek and the installation of trail lighting along both the path and bridges.
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Fatimah Waseem, October 3, 2024, FFXNow
Council passes emergency legislation to protect DC Circulator workers
Councilmembers Charles Allen and Brianne Nadeau are calling on the DC Department of Transportation and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to require a better plan for the transition, and support for workers.
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Matt Pusatory, October 12, 2024, WUSA9
Subway elevators are not just a nice lift, but a basic civil right
Unfortunately, the work of installing elevators in far more stations — and getting the elevators we already have working better — depends not only on surmounting legal obstacles but on getting over financial, logistical and bureaucratic hurdles that may be larger still.
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Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, October 3, 2024, Streetsblog
Micromobility on the rebound in 2024
2023 also set the stage for industry growth. Ridership of shared bikes and scooters grew last year; Lime’s global ridership set a new record for the company.
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Dan Zukowski, October 2, 2024, Smart Cities Dive
Time to reset the transportation funding equation
Transportation funding in the U.S. is facing an ever-growing imbalance between the needs of the nation’s road and bridge network and the funds available to satisfy them.
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Evan Burgstahler, October 2, 2024, Route Fifty
Arts Focus: Moving Words Student Contest — ten winners' poems on Arlington Transit Buses
Out of 415 submissions from 266 students, these standout poems will soon be seen by thousands of Arlington commuters as they grace ART buses across the county from October 2024 through March 2025.
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October 2, 2024, ARLNow
You might be able to tap your credit card to pay for Metro next year
Tapping in to ride Metro may get even easier next year. Metro may roll out the option to tap digital credit cards to pay fare, rather than tapping a SmarTrip card.
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Helen Carefoot, October 1, 2024, TimeOut
Circulator operators' union demands better transition
As of Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Rosslyn-Dupont Circle service route (RS-DP) has been terminated, and roughly 90 Circulator employees have lost their jobs.
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Liberty Simmons, October 1, 2024, DC News Now
USDOT issues $2.97 million in research funding to develop Mobility Equity Research Center
“Mobility and accessibility are at the core of good transportation—and the Biden-Harris Administration is making sure that’s true for people of every age, ability and location,” said USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
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October 1, 2024, Mass Transit Magazine
Public transit agencies eye service cuts as pandemic aid runs out
Among the trillions of dollars approved by Congress to keep the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic were about $70 billion for the country’s public transit systems.
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Henry Epp, September 30, 2024, Marketplace
With the end of the Circulator, Georgetown has even fewer public transit options
While students can still use Metrobus lines and the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle, the Circulator has been one of the more convenient options to access downtown D.C. and other parts of the District.
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Katie Doran/Samantha Monteiro, September 30, 2024, The Georgetown Voice
OmniRide plans new Front Royal commuter service on I-66 corridor, eliminating Gainesville-Reston route
This decision comes after thorough studies identified the need for expanded services and better resource utilization.
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Uriah Kiser, September 30, 2024, Potomac Local News
Union fights for DC Circulator staff as system phase out begins Tuesday
This is part of the city’s phase-out process to a bus system that has been around for two decades. Since 2005, it has had an attractive, popular bus system. The DC Circulator bus system had 1.9 million riders last year and nearly 300 employees.
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John Gonzalez, October 1, 2024, ABC7 News
Overdue Old Town bridge replacements could come with pedestrian improvements
At a City Council meeting last week, City Council member Sarah Bagley said the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is moving forward with the replacement of a pair of bridges that passes over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
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Vernon Miles, September 30, 2024, ALXNow
Can 'transit-oriented entertainment' help end the national ridership decline?
Cities across the U.S. continue experimenting with a variety of strategies to boost transit ridership. While these efforts are commendable and have achieved some modest successes, getting a meaningful number of Americans to try transit in the first place has proven a very thorny problem.
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Terenig Topjian, October 1, 2024, Streetsblog USA
Lime may get a lift from Lyft's DC departure
Lime is also vowing to rein in reckless riders and haphazard parking of its scooters and bikes, both communicating more frequently about the rules of the road with riders and dedicating more time and staff to rebalancing vehicles and replacing mis-parked ones throughout the District.
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Jeff Clabaugh, September 30, 2024, WTOP
Metro might finally get tap-and-pay next year
Metro general manager Randy Clarke wants an "open payment" fare system ahead of next year's World Pride 2025 event, he told the WMATA board during a meeting last week.
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Mimi Mongtomery, September 30, 2024, Axios
FMCSA's grant award season: Millions allocated to improve highway safety
Just as movies captivate audiences with gripping narratives and top-notch performances, FMCSA grants are awarded to projects that play a role in making our roads safer and our commercial drivers more prepared.
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September 30, 2024, Smart Cities Dive
Transit agencies, state DOT's come together to participate in See Tracks? Think Train® Week
The week was launched by OLI in 2017 to focus attention on the importance of making safe choices when driving or walking near railroad tracks and trains.
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Brandon Lewis, September 27, 2024, Mass Transit Magazine