Every day we find transit news that is relevant and useful to you. But if you missed these daily posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Linkedin, you can find them all here in one place each week!
Here’s what happened in the transit world last week:
BUSES & SCHOOL BUSES:
Retiree’s Last Bus Ride Home Leads to a Sweet Surprise
Angelo Fracassa has taken the bus to work for 60 years. On his last day, his family and friends surprised him by joining him on the bus and taking him to a retirement party.
Franchised Bus Routes Could Reap $1Billion
The Tourism and Transport Forum Australia reports that franchising bus routes in certain cities could add $1billion to government revenue over 5 years.
Big Brother Buses? Union, Bus Agency in Eavesdropping Fight
A legal battle is underway about whether surveillance of bus passengers can include audio recording.
Is Your Bus Company Ready for Mothering Sunday?
Mothering Sunday was on March 6th in the UK, and we provided some ideas for bus companies to make sure they’re ready for the increased traffic, have their schedules online, and are showing appreciation to the hard working mothers on their teams.
Making School Bus Time Fun and Safe
Ideas from the school bus safety program.
Kiss-Blowing Grandma Receives Birthday Surprise from Kids on School Bus
Doris Vehar greets the kids on the school bus every day when they come by her house. This year, they surprised her on her birthday.
EPA Helps Schools Get Cleaner-Burning Buses
The US Environmental Protection Agency is granting funds to schools bus providers to help them replace or retrofit old diesel buses with greener models.
READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY
Puttin’ On the Push for Read Across America Day
James Ojeda is a bus driver who’s been reading Dr. Suess books to kids for almost 20 years on Read Across America Day.
Reading Celebration Tried and True in Truro
Among some other tried and true ideas to make Read Across America Day a success, the Truro Public Library has had Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Suess’s famous book The Cat in the Hat meet kids at the bus.
TRAINS
Here’s How to Connect to Mumbai Central’s Free Public WiFi
Google is providing free public WiFi to the Mumbai Central train station, and they will roll out WiFi to 100 more rail stations this year.
A Brief Overview of Rail History in the Foothills Cities
Watch an interesting video about rail in the San Gabriel Valley.
TRANSIT TECHNOLOGY
Startup Makes Sense of Transit Data
The new company Urban Engines helps transit companies take the massive amounts of data from transit research and turn it into actionable plans.
Zonar Announces Key Leadership Changes to Support Rapid Growth and Business Development
Zonar is a leading transportation technology company, and they just brought on four new executives to support their growth.
PUBLIC TRANSIT
How San Francisco Got Its New Rider Friendly Transport Map
This new transit map is nice, but we think having an app on your phone is easier to read and more convenient. What do you think?
The Astonishing Human Potential Wasted on Commutes
It takes the average commuter 26 minutes to get to work. That adds up to 1.8 trillion minutes that Americans spend getting to and from work! This includes both time spent in the car and on public transit, but we know from other research that taking the bus or train can often be faster than driving. It’s also cheaper and more environmentally sustainable, and you can work, sleep or read while you commute. So if you have to commute, take transit, and don’t let that time be wasted.
Commuters Could Save 1000 Pounds Per Year by Choosing Bus Over Car, Research Shows
Commuting by bus is 55% cheaper than by car. That’s a lot of savings!
The Best Cities for Public Transportation
Cities in the US were ranked according to the commute time, the percentage of commuters who use transit, and the median income of transit users. 10 cities came out on top. Check them out!
Take Transit to See Mum for Mothering Sunday
The UK has a lot of transit options for visiting Mum on Mothering Sunday or on any other day. Whether you took the ferry, coach, undersea train, bus or rail, we hope you utilized the money saving option of traveling by transit this week. If not, go see Mum today! And take her for a train ride- she’ll love it!
The Car Century was a Mistake. It’s Time to Move On.
Some cities are exploring the benefits of making certain areas car-free. With exceptions for moving freight, this article explores the option of using streets as social spaces and providing good public transit.
Making Public Transportation Part of the Elections
With the US elections coming up, the APTA encourages voters to make their wishes known about public transit to their representatives by writing letters to the editor, using social media and contacting politicians directly.
Everything’s Riding on Forecasts for Transit Plans
City Councillors in Toronto are trying to decide which transit projects to fund.
HYPERLOOP
Students from MUN are just one of many teams who are working on developing the hyperloop.
Simulation Driven Design Fast Tracks Hyperloop Development
Design teams are getting ready for the hyperloop race by testing parameters and designs virtually.
Hyperloop is the Perfect Way to Move Goods, Not People
While the hyperloop is undeniably a really awesome concept, some people think that it might be better for transporting freight. What do you think?
Trial Bringing Into Open New Datasets for Smarter Travel in Home Counties
This project will make multi-modal transportation information available so app developers can make better transit apps.
What do you think about any of the articles or topics? We’d love to hear from you!
