Public Transportation 
The Urban Edge - August 7, 2017
For those who walk to or from bus stops, the study found that first or last mile could add an average of 12 minutes to the trip. The study also found that the area with the lowest number of jobs available via a 30-minute car commute still had more job opportunities than the area with the highest number of jobs available via a 30-minute transit commute.
Currently in the United States, there are 1.9 vehicles per household and 87% of households own at least one vehicle, which is far higher than this analysis indicates is affordable. A lack of affordable transportation options forces many households to spend more on vehicles than is rational, reducing their economic freedom, opportunity, and security.
Metro Magazine - August 2, 2017
On a per-mile, capital cost basis, streetcar systems typically cost more than bus systems, but less than light rail (LRT). One of the biggest contributors to this difference is right-of-way: streetcars and buses typically run within an existing roadway and thus require minimal property acquisition.
City Lab - August 4, 2017
A new report by TransitCenter makes the case that healthy aging hinges on better mass transportation. No surprise, there's a lot agencies can do to step up service. 
Transit System/Partners
The Washington Post - August 4, 2017
The federally-mandated safety body is expected to conduct inspections on Metro, investigate safety concerns and ensure that the transit agency comports with national regulations - part of an effort to improve safety and reliability on the subway system.
City Lab - August 3, 2017
But there's another, largely overlooked element that is worth paying attention to, some operators and analysts say. Even in the absence of signal failures, door-holding, and sick passengers creating delays, drivers are struggling more than ever to stick to the scheduled running times on the busiest lines. Not only do timetables measure delays (i.e., whether trains are arriving "on time"), they may also be causing them-because people are not machines.
TransitCenter - August 8, 2017
Since acknowledging that plunging bus ridership is a problem in Los Angeles, the agency is moving on several fronts to try to stabilize and recover bus patronage. The urgency the agency is demonstrating should be noted in places like New York and Washington DC, where buses are also suffering a deep decline in service quality and usage, but where response to the problem has been sluggish and inadequate.
RT&S - August 7, 2017
CMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is using its increase in capital spending on system-wide upgrades and repairs. Following a 40-percent increase from last year, MBTA says it's kicking its infrastructure improvements into high gear.
Oakland Magazine - July 12, 2017
In recent years, advocates have come to see building around BART stations as a way to alleviate some of the community's most intractable issues, from the regional housing crisis to global climate change. For BART, it's a philosophical shift that's been a long time coming.
Economic Issues 
The New York Times - August 6, 2017
Mr. de Blasio will announce a so-called millionaires tax on Monday for wealthy New York City residents to pay for subway and bus upgrades and for reduced fares for more riders, an idea that has been successful in Seattle.
The Kansas City Star - August 4, 2017
This vote establishes the transportation development district boundaries to help pay for streetcar expansion. Two more elections are required: to elect a streetcar district board and to approve the specific local sales and property taxes needed to help fund the expansion, which is estimated to cost about $227 million.
Building Transportation Infrastructure
InsideSources - July 31, 2107
Contrary to what Wall Street and some Trump administration officials are peddling, the answer cannot solely lie with upfront investments from private companies. Meeting our massive infrastructure needs will take a multipronged financial approach. Private financing can and does have a role in rebuilding our transportation system, but relying on it and using it as a substitute for robust federal investment will not meet our needs. That's because private financing is costlier than traditional public funding and is not suitable for the vast majority of our infrastructure needs.
Reuters - August 6, 2017
That is discouraging news for commuters, travelers and the transportation industry that must contend with yawning gap of new projects and maintenance across the country. The American Society of Civil Engineers this year assigned a D+ grade to U.S. infrastructure.
Wired - August 4, 2017
Hosting the Olympics could hasten LA's transformation from a congested, car-crazy city to a mass-transit wonderland by creating a deadline for getting everything built.
Next City - August 7, 2107
It takes a little more than one hour for an express bus to travel 20 miles along the busway stretching down south Miami-Dade County. Politicians representing cities along that route want transit trips to speed up. Specifically, they want a light-rail line that would cost an estimated $1.5 billion to build.
Next City - August 2, 2017
When completed in 2021, the electrification project will cut travel times on the Caltrain corridor and increase the number of trains to six per hour at peak times. A Caltrain fact sheet states that the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 176,000 metric tons, increase daily Caltrain ridership by 21 percent, and produce $2.5 billion in economic benefits for the San Francisco Peninsula.
Safety
The Washington Post - August 8, 2017
"Sleep apnea has been in the probable cause of 10 highway and rail accidents investigated by the NTSB in the past 17 years, and obstructive sleep apnea is an issue being examined in several ongoing NTSB rail and highway investigations," [NTSB spokesman, Christopher] O'Neil said. "The need for this rulemaking is well documented in the safety recommendations issued to both the [Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration] and [the Federal Railroad Administration], regarding obstructive sleep apnea."
International Transportation News
China News Service - August 1, 2017
The world-famous Badaling Great Wall in northern Beijing will meet a 350-kilometer-an-hour super railway more than 100 meters underground.
Greater Greater Washington - August 2, 2017
The signs are on Thameslink's newest trains [in London], and work via a "load weigh system" that estimates crowding based on the weight load inside each railcar.
The Washington Post - August 7, 2017
Canada and the United States face some of the same problems, and one of the most pressing is senescent infrastructure that is failing to keep pace with each country's growing economy and expanding population.
Green News 
StreetsBlog USA - August 3, 2017
Information is what's at stake with this rule, which requires agencies receiving federal transportation funding to measure their projects' impact on carbon emissions. Environmental advocates hope that analysis and public disclosure of these climate impacts will lead to more public pressure for transportation policies that reduce carbon. 
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