by | June 2, 2014 · 12:18 pm

A Personal View Of ‘Megalopolis’ Transportation

While going through the transportation options of the dozen U.S. “megalopolises” in Richard Florida’s article in the Atlantic’s City Lab, I realized how many of these various systems I’ve actually experienced myself.mega regions population

I’ve always felt that I’ve lacked experience when it comes to seeing much of the United States, but researching the transportation options in these mega-regions  jogged my memory quite a bit.

I grew up in southern California, where I can remember taking Metrolink’s $7 round-trip train ride to baseball games at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, and hopping between Metrolink and Amtrak trains in Los Angeles to get to my very first radio interview at Los Angeles’ KFI AM640.

When I lived in Seattle for a period between 2008 and 2009, I took a bus across the border into Canada to visit Vancouver. I also remember taking the BART to Oakland Coliseum to watch an A’s game.

Beside these places, I’ve ridden the subway and ferries of New York, and I also often take the light rail between Tempe, Ariz. and Phoenix.

When I lived in Seattle, or rode the BART in San Francisco, it had never crossed my mind that I would write transportation stories sometime in the future.

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by | June 1, 2014 · 8:59 am

A Last Look At Public Transit And America’s Mega-Regions

Today, we finish our look into how the country’s “Megalopolises” are connected. An Atlantic City Lab article by Richard Florida in March defined a dozen areas in the United States as economic hubs that contain more 70 percent of the U.S. population and produce more than $13 trillion in economic output.

Over the past two days, we’ve looked at the eight largest regions and how they are connected (view our first post here, and post two here).

Hou-Orleans: This megalopolis spreads from Houston, Texas through New Orleans all the way to Mobile, Ala. Florida writes that this area houses 10 million people who produce $750 billion dollars in economic output. Travel options between this southern region include Amtrak’s Sunset Limited line, and Megabus that began service in the region in 2012.

Courtesy of Amtrak.com

Courtesy of Amtrak.com

The Cascadia: A megalopolis that stretches as far south as Portland, Ore. and as far north as Vancouver, Canada. More than 10 million people live in this region, which also includes the Seattle metro and is responsible for $600 billion in output, according to Florida.

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by | May 31, 2014 · 6:00 am

Public Transportation And America’s “Megalopolises” (Continued)

We continue our look into the country’s “Megalopolises” and what kind of transportation they provide. The Atlantic’s City Lab posted an article by Richard Florida in March defining these economic hubs of the United States, which combined create more than $13 trillion in economic output.

Yesterday, we looked at the four largest regions and how they are connected (view that post here.)

So-Flo: Home to 15 million people in the Miami, Orlando and Tampa regions of Florida, public transit riders have a brand new option of travel as Megabus began service there on May 15, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Service now runs daily between Miami and Orlando, and Miami and Tampa. Travelers can also use Amtrak, which according to the company had more than 400,000 boardings in Miami, Orlando and Tampa in 2012. Riders can use the Silver Star or Silver Meteor lines.

megabus orlando

Courtesy of @BenKennedyTV

Nor-Cal:  A very densely populated part of the country , this megalopolis combines San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland for a total of 13 million people and $900 billion in economic output, according to Florida. Much like the Bos-Wash region, travelers have a plethora options at their disposal. The BART system covers much of bay area, offering lines from the east bay in Richmond, Calif. south to San Francisco International Airport.

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by | May 30, 2014 · 6:00 am

Public Transportation And America’s “Megalopolises”

In March, The Atlantic‘s City Lab, took a look into the power house economies of the so-called “megalopolises” of the United States. Author Richard Florida found that there were a dozen of the world’s 40 “mega-regions” here in America.

From the contiguous stretch of urban sprawl in New England, Florida named the Bos-Wash region, to the Pacific Northwest he called “Cascadia,” these dozen areas are the economic and population hubs of the country. According to Florida, “these dozen regions have a combined population of more than 230 million people, including 215 million from the United States, or 70 percent of the U.S. population.”

mega regions population

Courtesy of City Lab

Many of these areas have various forms of public transportation, some well known and extremely popular, while others are continuing to face the needs and challenges associated with creating a successful network of transportation.

Beginning today, and over the weekend,  we’ll take a look at how each of these regions are connected.

Bos-Wash: By far the largest population and economic output region on Florida’s list, Bos-Wash “stretches from Boston through New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore to Washington, D.C.” and is home to 56.5 million people. This densely populated part of the country has long had public transportation systems and in all shapes and sizes. Continue reading →

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by | May 29, 2014 · 6:00 am

Welcome To Our New Intern, Mark Remillard

For the past year, Curbing Cars has been delighted to showcase the talents of young journalists, like Matt Varcak and Adam Rubenfire. Now, we welcome our first summer intern, Mark Remillard. mark-remillard

Mark isn’t your typical intern. He’s already a familiar voice in Phoenix, where he’s a full-time reporter at KTAR, the premier news radio station. Mark just graduated from Arizona State University, where he was a student in one of my business journalism classes.

Look for regular posts from Mark over the summer. But first, let’s hear from him.

“Hello everyone! My name is Mark Remillard and I’ll be this summer’s intern here at Curbing Cars and since I’ll be writing a lot of this website, I wanted to make a quick post to introduce myself. Continue reading →

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by | May 28, 2014 · 6:00 am

USDOT Reports High Demand For TIGER Funding

ARRA_sign_Baker_CAThe U.S. Department of Transportation says that the amount of stimulus money requested for transportation projects in 2014 far exceeded what the department has to give.

Applications for the sixth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program totaled $9.5 billion. That is 15 times more than the $600 million that has been allocated for grants.

The DOT received 797 applications — 36 percent more than officials received in 2013.

The TIGER program was launched in 2009, which is the same year Congress voted to bail out the auto industry. Funded granted by the program are generally used for road, rail, transit or port projects. As we explain in the Curbing Cars e-book, new streetcar systems have been a very visible benefactor of TIGER funding. Continue reading →

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by | May 21, 2014 · 11:35 pm

In Detroit, An Entrepreneurial Company Takes on Transit

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“Lochness” is DBC’s 24-passenger school bus. (Courtesy of DBC)

When you think of transit, you probably think of public transportation, subsidized by the government in some way or another. The Detroit Bus Company is a little different.

The city of Detroit has a public bus system, but it’s not in the best shape. It also has an automated people mover system, but it only goes in one direction around a portion of downtown.

 

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“Silver Bullet” is the company’s largest bus. (Courtesy of DBC)

That’s where the Detroit Bus Company comes in. Andy Didorosi, the company’s president and founder, wants to fill
the holes that exist in the city’s transit services while also working to bring more people into the city. And he’s doing that using tricked-out, bio-fuled buses. Continue reading →

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by | May 15, 2014 · 11:43 am

Beyond The Bar Car: 5 Ideas In Themed Rail Cars

The Metro-North Bar Car

The Metro-North Bar Car (Taken by Twitter user @jzaslav)

There’s been a lot of buzz about the end of bar cars on the New Haven line of New York’s Metro-North railroad. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs NYC’s public transit systems, discontinued the booze cruisers last week to make way for newer trains.

Though the idea of the bar car may seem novel, it’s not the first time a train has been re-purposed for commuter activities. Here are five other ways riders and transit operators have switched up their commute:

1. The Singles-Only Car

In hopes of helping Czechs find love in the big city, Prague transportation officials announced a program last summer that would dedicate one car per train for singles in hopes of facilitating some mass transit matchmaking, according to The Atlantic Cities. A spokesman told a reporter that the program would give commuters the time and place to find love amid their busy careers. Continue reading →

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by | May 7, 2014 · 6:00 am

A Present From Dad Spurs A Young Couple’s Decision To Live Car-Free

Couple Curbs Car

When her car broke down this past March, Kayla Crawford took the advice of her boyfriend, Matt Carter, and decided to go car-free.

The dead battery on her 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora was the final straw in a long line of car problems.

“Having a car is insanely expensive,”said  Crawford, who lives with Carter in Mount Pleasant, Mich., home to Central Michigan University and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

With poor gas mileage and a high insurance rate ($180 per month, driving became more of a hassle than a convenience.

Two months ago, the couple received a pair of bikes from Crawford’s father, and they have not looked back.

“It is really exciting to me that I have no other option but to go out and ride my bike,” Crawford said. “It is so much healthier for me and the environment.” Continue reading →

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by | April 20, 2014 · 1:27 pm

Thanks For Making Our EBook Number One!

Curbing Cars (Cover)We’re kicking off the week with some splendid news from Amazon.com. Over the weekend, Curbing Cars: America’s Independence From The Auto Industry ranked as the number one ebook in the Automotive category.

We appreciate your support, and look forward to discussing all our findings with you. We’re fascinated by the drop in driving, and why Americans are turning to a broad spectrum of transportation rather than just rely on cars.

You can find the book here on Amazon and on Apple iTunes.

Meanwhile, here’s the column that Robert Trigaux wrote about the book in Friday’s edition of the Tampa Bay Times. The debate over roads versus light rail is a vivid one in Tampa, the biggest American city without a significant public transportation system.

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