Urban Mobility: This week, Transport Expertise read…

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Matthieu Desiderio

Transport Expertise starts a new series of product called “This week, Transport Expertise read…”: a press review of articles selected by Transport Expertise members among their readings, to share with our visitors what we are interested in… Hereafter stands articles about Urban Mobility. We plan to provide a selection for every major topic we are working on: Rail, Roads & Logistics, Air, Urban Mobility, Maritime & Waterways.

“More U.S. airports add rail service to downtown” by Roger Yu, USA TODAY, May 25, 2009

Riding the rails between downtown and the airport is becoming a reality for more U.S. travelers. With their roadways jammed with cars and shuttles, a growing number of domestic airports are building or have plans for a rail link that will connect passengers from the terminals to regional metro-rail systems, allowing road warriors and vacationers to ditch their cars. [...]

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2009-05-25-rail-lines-airport-city-center_N.htm

“Transit Authority Feeling the Pain From a Crippled Advertising Market” by WILLIAM NEUMAN, New York Times, May 24, 2009

The worst advertising market in decades has had a devastating, and well-documented, effect on newspapers, magazines and television networks. But now another recipient of ad dollars is being hurt by the market slump at a time it can little afford it: mass transit. In recent months, a company that sells many of the ads that appear on buses and trains and in stations in New York, Boston, Minneapolis and other cities has come up short in its payments to transit agencies, citing a sharp drop in ad rates and sales. New York is among the hardest hit. [...]

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/nyregion/25ads.html?_r=1&sq=transit&st=cse&scp=3&pagewanted=all

“S.F. supes push to gain more power over Muni” by Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, May 27, 2009

San Francisco voters have made clear three times in the past decade that they want to limit political meddling when it comes to Muni. But a recent plan to cut bus service and raise fares has shown that City Hall influence is still very much part of the mix. The Board of Supervisors – using powers granted by the same voters who wanted to tame its influence – has been threatening for weeks to reject Muni’s unpopular $766 million budget plan approved last month by a mayoral panel. [...]

Link: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/27/BAR317PJ4U.DTL

“RTA looks into riders using cell phones instead of tickets or transit cards” by Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune, May 26, 2009

The day may be coming when Chicago-area transit riders will use their cell phones as a ticket to ride. With a wave of their phone over a sensor, riders could board buses or trains as quick as a beep while the fare is automatically deducted from their online account. No cash, paper ticket or pass would be needed. Such fare-phones are being considered by the Regional Transportation Authority, which is already developing a revamped fare system using “smart” credit cards that would work on the CTA, Metra and Pace. [...]

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