As he hastily threw on his shoes and poured a travel mug full of coffee, Scott checked traffic. Of course, it was already backed up, even though it was only 7:30 in the morning. He sighed, knowing that he was going to be late to work for the second time this week. Scott rushed out to his car, and barely missed the cat as he sped out of the driveway. As he approached the highway, Scott swore under his breath. Even the on ramp was backed up! He swerved, trying to get ahead of at least a few people, and narrowly missed a bus in the process. Scott angrily waved an apology as the bus driver honked at him, and he watched the bus pull away. The people on the bus seemed so indifferent to the near accident. Many of them had their noses buried in books, or were chatting with the person next to them. He wistfully watched the bus drive away, and was abruptly brought back to reality by an angry call from his boss. Every weekday in America, 35 million people will board public transportation. (American Public Transportation Association, 2014, para 1). However, it still is not enough. Increasing the availability and amount of public transit will benefit the community in many ways. Not only will the quality of roads improve, people will also save money, and the amount of pollution will greatly diminish.
According to Robert Noland of Rutgers University, solid facts were used in determining the substantial impact of implementing large public transportation systems within cities. His research claims that the hidden economic value could boost the city’s yearly assets upwards of nearly $1.5 million to $1.8 billion (Jaffe, 2013, para 3). This also largely plays a role in the size of the city. The larger the city, according to research...
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Jaffe, E. (2013, August 14). Public Transit is Worth Way More to a City Than You Might Think. The Atlantic Cities. Retrieved from http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/08/public-transit-worth-way-more-city-you-think/6532/
Mickey, J. (2013, June 25). 6 Health Benefits Of Public Transportation. Retrieved from http://transloc.com/6-health-benefits-of-public-transportation/
Need for Investment. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.publictransportation.org/benefits/needforinvestment/Pages/default.aspx
Werbach, A. (2013, February 6). The American commuter spends 38 hours a year stuck in traffic. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/the-american-commuter-spends-38-hours-a-year-stuck-in-traffic/272905/
Since the beginning of the United States the American people have been on the move. Public transportation has played a major role in the development of this nation and in bringing its citizens together. In the book “Divided Highways”, author Tom Lewis takes the reader on a journey of the building of the Interstates and the consequences(good and bad) that came from them. Lewis believes that the Interstates are a physical characteristic of America and that it shows “all our glory and our meanness; all our vision and our shortsightedness”(xiv).
Since the early 1990s, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) had been exploring public transit resolutions that would improve access to Cleveland’s two largest employment hubs, downtown Cleveland and University Circle. During this examination period, GCRTA’s discussions with the local communities and local business leaders specified that there was a major need for improved public transit mobility along the Euclid Avenue Corridor. These discussions led to the development and evaluation of alternatives to the current bus route that served this area, the local bus route #6. By coordinating with Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, and by hosting a series of public meetings, GCRTA had more than enough input and assistance in the final determination of alternatives to meet the transportation needs of the community and the Euclid ...
In the city of Philadelphia the act of getting around is very hard to do, so the tactic of public transportation was created. People use public transportation to cease the vast amounts of traffic that would otherwise be created. Trains and subways running under the city made for a minuscule change of infrastructure while still getting the job done. This tactic was innovative and created a speedy technique to get in and out of the city. Public transportation was also effective because the price of a train ticket or a bus token is so much less than that of a parking spot in downtown Philadelphia. Consumers were outraged by the traffic and the prices of having their own car in the city so they took to another route, public transportation. Tactics are used by individuals (consumers) to challenge those set by higher
A good chunk of people in the Big Apple (New York City) feels that the MTA makes their ride efficient, cheap, easy, and convenient way of getting around town. On a scale of 1-10, N...
The Taxicab industry plays a vital and large role in the U.S. urban transportation system, employing 233,000 drivers (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics) and providing transportation to millions of Americans each day. Taxicabs differ most substantially from alternative urban transportation systems, like busses and subways, as customers select the final destination, opposed to adhering to a predefined route. This flexibility is reflected in the higher price of taxicabs (Moore and Balaker) compared to other public transit services. Substitutes for taxicabs include busses, subways, trains, limousines, private drivers, car ownership and rental cars, among others (Brennan).
The city of Virginia recently put a tax on the Elizabeth River Tunnel. The tunnel connects Norfolk and Portsmouth and didn’t develop tolls until February 2014 (Kelly 2014). This new toll forces residents, commuters, and visitors to pay a tax starting from one dollar to four dollars. The recent tunnel tolls added to the mid-town and downtown tunnels in Hampton roads are causing commuters and citizens to make some drastic lifestyle changes. Students and employees are considering changes to their employment and the universities they attend to save time and money as a result of the cost of commuting. If the average toll is two dollars a day, then people are spending about 60 dollars a month. What was once a relatively easy trip for many has become costly in both time and money. Because the addition of the tolls have divided the population into those who agree, and those who disagree; the media has played a large role in promoting the argument against the addition of the tolls. The 60 dollars people spend every month can go towards more than a toll; especially if a person is having very hard times. The tunnel tolls have caus...
There are many ways people in Arizona get from place to place, especially using public transportation. One specific use is the light rail that serves in Arizona that combines certain cities including Mesa, Tempe, and Phoenix. Looking at history that has taken place we look at how we have grown and how far we have come to help better advance the light rail. We look at how great it is to include the light rail into cities and how impactful it has been in other cities such as Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Oregon (Figure 1). I found that businesses did improve their profit and really benefitted from the light rail, along with the increasing positive environmental impacts. Although we only look at the positive impacts, negative
Los Angeles, California is known worldwide to be a city designed specifically for the use of automobiles. Since Los Angeles County is so expansive, is considered to be one of the largest cities in the U.S and the World. The Government decided to accommodate its landscape very efficiently through the use of freeways by connecting each other from far distances into one by the use of intersections. On the other hand, since the landscape of Los Angeles was made specifically for cars, it has a horrible public transportation that people see car as a necessity rather than luxury. The government has done a magnificent job keeping
The core cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have stronger systems emerging in the Blue and Green Light Rail lines, however the southern suburb located Red BRT line is struggling with ridership. The proposed Orange BRT line to Burnsville will continue to have similar ridership problems if the transit engineers do not balance efficiency and speed to encourage riders to step out of their cars and onto the bus. Finally, without the extension of the Orange BRT line to Lakeville, the community will be restricted to the 467 Express Bus during rush hour, be forced to drive to at least Burnsville to other options, or continue to drive themselves and add to the
Transit users’ perceptions are a very important aspect in the study of transit ridership. Perceptions about travel time, distance to bus stops, wait times at stops, etc. are all factors that contribute to people’s willingness to take transit. Transit operators use this information to make improvements to their systems. It is also important to determine perceptions in order to determine future transit ridership, es...
For New Yorkers, The MTA is deeply embedded in our culture whether for better, or for the worst. One thing that is obvious is that our subway system is indeed breaking down and is in need of some serious reform. “The Subway” an art piece created by George Tooker in 1950 depicts, that’s right, you guessed it, the subway system circa the mid 20th century. In this painting I noticed some differences, as well as some similarities. Depending on how you interpret it, or from your own personal frame of reference, this panting might have different perspectives, or point of views. However, discussing this in class with some of my classmates, I soon learned that many of us had made similar observations. There are three main observations
In this essay, I will discuss the topic of urban public transportation and how it relates to the Church and Wellesley BIA. The nature of transportation in Toronto is a highly complex topic. As discussed in the article Transportation: The Bottleneck of Regional Competitiveness in Toronto, there are many concerns with transportation in regards to international transport, roads, highways, rails, bike lanes, buses etc. (Keil, Roger, Young, 2008). These transportation variables all have a greater economic, health, and environmental impact. The article goes on to describe that mobility in Toronto suffers because its management is uncoordinated, and there is a gap in regional interaction (Keil, Roger, Young 2008). The scope of this essay will be to
Public transportation is an essential part of a city. A good public transit can encourage a city’s economic activities and can provide its citizen a convenient life. Does our Phoenix public transit work well? Does it provide sufficient service to the citizen? From my experience, the answer is no. This November I tried to attend the popular State Fair in Phoenix. However, I found that there were not any buses or metros could take me to the fair directly. It means I need 2 hours or more spend on the public transits. As the sixth most populous city nationwide (“Phoenix Quick Fact” 1), compared with Los Angeles and other big cities in America, Phoenix’s public transportation is indeed subpar. Due to Los Angeles has 154 bus lines and 30 metros (“Schedule”), New York has 316 bus lines and 28 subways(“Maps & Timetables”), while Phoenix only has 98 bus lines, and the number of metro line is only one! (“Route Schedules & Maps”) The problem is
Most people take the urban public transportation system for granted. It is used in every aspect of our daily lives: work, education, medical necessities, recreation, etc. It is also important for the transportation of goods and services, which aids the growth and maintenance of our economy. Urban public transportation is the critical component of our quality of life and economic stability. The MBTA, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, is Boston and Eastern Massachusetts’s major transportation service. The MBTA has played a central role in the development of Boston and surrounding cities and towns for more than a century; providing service from 175 cities and towns into Boston. On an average weekday over 1.2 million trips are made on the subway, buses, commuter lines and other services in the mass transit system. With an international airport, a ship port, the highways, and the rail lines to connect regional cities and towns to national and international destinations and markets, Boston’s urban public transportation system has made the region’s growing role in the global economy possible.
Should students take advantage of the public transportation more seriously than owning a car? The public transportation can solves to numerous problems; the bus transportation can be a universal antidote for bigger issues such as global warming. By taking the bus can save students’ time and money, rather than students who have a car have deal with traffic and expensive parking fee. Students who own a car might experience sitting in such a long traffic, where during the traffic cars may produce noxious gases relieving particle of air that can contribute the affect to human health. The public transportation is the best solution for an enormous population of students, so students’ needs to get on the transit a try. The transition system in the