The European Commission has fined the Czech and Austrian national train operators a total of €48·7m for colluding to prevent new entrant RegioJet from acquiring second-hand rolling stock to support its growth in the Czech Republic and …
Continue readingCategory: Policy
E-bikes now outsell pedal-only ones across several European countries: Lessons for US Cities (CityLab)
If you think electric bicycles are a hit in the US, check out what’s happening across the Atlantic. Battery-boosted models now comprise a majority of bike sales in several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, and they’re …
Continue readingReport into ScotRail peak fare removal published (RailTechnology)
Transport Scotland has announced that it has published analysis into its pilot to remove ScotRail Peak Fares. The year-long pilot saw the Scottish Government subsidising the removal of the fares, as part of a drive to …
Continue readingWhat If Non-Drivers Helped Plan Our Transportation Systems? (NextCity)
One-third of Americans don’t have a driver’s license. Anna Zivarts says it’s time for transportation planners to include them in decision-making. In the fall of 2021, I was invited by Roger Millar, the head of …
Continue readingUS Justice Department lawsuit necessary to get freight trains out of Amtrak’s way (Trains)
The Justice Department needed to file a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern for its poor handling of Amtrak’s Crescent because Class I railroads routinely ignore the law that gives passenger trains preference over freight traffic, Transportation Secretary Pete …
Continue readingTraffic engineers build unsafe roads because they rely on outdated research & faulty data (TheConversation)
“Can you name the truck with four-wheel drive, smells like a steak, and seats 35?”. Back in 1998, “The Simpsons” joked about the Canyonero, an SUV so big that they were obviously kidding. At that …
Continue readingLabour’s railway renationalisation should be directed at ROSCOs: Opinion (RailwayTechnology)
Labour’s push for renationalisation should focus on rolling stock companies, which continue to profit from taxpayer subsidies and send profits abroad. The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament has signalled a significant shift …
Continue readingThe governing realities for Labour in power, & what it means for planning and transport
“I wanna be the leader, I wanna be the leader.Can I be the leader? Can I? I can?Promise? Promise?Yippee I’m the leader, I’m the leader.OK what shall we do?” Roger McGough Any Colour You Like …
Continue readingIntegrating walking and public transport (UITP)
Most public transport journeys start and end with a walk. In fact, walking can constitute half the time spent on multimodal trips and can be the main element of what people remember afterwards. Despite this …
Continue readingTaxes on US shared scooters & bikes average 70¢/mile, much more than on private vehicles (SmartCitiesDive)
Micromobility taxes, fees are often out of sync with city policy goals: study – The taxes and fees are 23 times higher, on average, than those on private vehicles, according to researchers at Lime and …
Continue readingNorth American Cities Join the Fare Zone Club: Finally Integrating Intermodal Fares
For most of the history of public transport, integrated tickets and fare zones were largely unheard of. Passengers would generally pay the ticket clerk or conductor a distance-based fare for each leg of their journey, …
Continue readingDockless shared micromobility taxed 23 times more than cars (Zag)
Dockless shared micromobility faces 23 times more taxes and fees per mile than personal cars. The finding comes from a report co-authored by Lime, Portland State University, and Sonoma State University, which examines tax and fee structures across 120 cities …
Continue readingWhy is it so difficult & expensive to take the train across Europe vs low-cost airlines? (EnergyInDemand)
Travelling by train across European countries is hard. High costs, delays, cumbersome booking systems, “temporary” border checks and other impediments to smooth journeys are widespread. This comes with an increasing need and demand for train travel because …
Continue readingPassenger Rights in Multimodal Journeys: Position Paper (UITP)
In its new position paper, UITP presents the views of EU public transport sector on the proposed regulation on passenger rights in multimodal journeys. The proposed regulation, by defining new rules to protect passengers using …
Continue readingZurich car ban on street sees 17,310 drivers fined in 1 month to make space for cycles (CitiesToday)
A trial that aims to discourage car use on one of Zurich’s busiest streets has raked in CHF1.3 million (US$1.44 million) in fines in just one month. Sixty metres of the busy Langstrasse street have …
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