Intercity Buses: The Fastest-Growing Mode
Tomorrow, the Cato Institute will release a new report on intercity buses that Antiplanner readers can preview here. This is an expansion and update from an Antiplanner article posted almost exactly two years ago. For that post, I reviewed schedules for about a dozen different bus companies in the Boston-to-Washington corridor and calculated that they […]
Driverless Nevada, Here We Come!
The Nevada legislature has passed a law allowing driverless cars in the Silver State. The law directs the state’s Department of Transportation to “adopt regulations authorizing the operation of autonomous vehicles.” Meanwhile, Volkswagen has announced that it has developed a car that incorporates a “temporary auto pilot” (TAP) that can drive at up to 80 […]
Commuter Rail 1, Archeological Heritage 0
Utah is so intent on building rail transit that it is willing to cook the books and systematically overestimate ridership in order to support its ridiculously expensive rail projects. One commuter-rail line, for example, is expected to attract a 6,100 new transit riders a day, or 3,050 new round trips, for a mere $612 million. […]
Good to See Douglas County Leaders Stand Up Against Shameful Anti-Choice Lawsuit
This week the Douglas County School District completed its second round of applications and filled the last of 500 Choice Scholarships enabling students to attend a private school. It’s a shame to see so-called civil liberties groups working to deprive Douglas County families of educational opportunity. But it’s good to see the school board and district officials press forward with their thoughtful vision to expand school choice in their community.
Why Rail?
After nearly 50 percent cost overruns, eighteen months of delays, and a scandal that cost top transit agency officials their jobs, Norfolk, Virginia plans to open its first light-rail line for business in August, 2011. This fabulous 7.4-mil line expected to carry an average of 2,900 riders per day in its first year, increasing to […]
Damn the Deficits! Full Speed Ahead!
Washington Metro doesn’t have enough money to maintain its rail system, and the region doesn’t have enough money to build the Silver line to Dulles Airport, which is already under construction. So what should the region do? Plan more rail lines, of course! Because, when it comes to rail transit, no amount of money is […]
NC Says No More High-Speed Rail
The North Carolina legislature has forbidden the state’s transportation department from applying for more high-speed rail funds from the federal government. Before the department can apply for any grants that would obligate the state to pay $5 million or more in operating costs–which any high-speed rail project would do–it must receive approval from the state […]
California Almost Eliminates TIF Agencies
As a part of the annual budget package, the California legislature approved a bill that would have required city and county redevelopment agencies to either shut down or start making large payments to local school districts. However, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the budget package, saying it doesn’t go far enough in closing the state’s budget […]
The Myth of the Senior Transit Rider
According to Transportation for America–which is largely a shill for the transit and high-speed rail industry–the nation about to face a new crisis: a shortage of mobility “options” for retiring baby boomers. According to a report published by the group on June 14, “By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans 65 and older will live […]
The History of Home Ownership
An earlier series of Antiplanner posts looked at the recent financial crisis and the role the housing market played in that crisis. This has led the Antiplanner to look deeper into the history of housing and home ownership. The Census Bureau began tallying homeownership rates in the 1890 census; before that, American homeownership rates can […]
Do What First?
The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that commuters wasted $115 billion sitting in traffic in 2009–up from just $24 billion in 1982. But Smart Growth America is still promoting its idiotic “fix-it first” policy. Federal Highway Administration data show that the number of bridges that are “structurally deficient” has steadily declined from 79,000 in 1992 to […]
Cars: Necessity or Luxury?
Some people are chortling over a recent Pew survey that finds the share of Americans who think that cars are a “necessity” is the lowest since pollsters started asking the question in 1973. Perhaps, some are suggesting, that’s because young people aren’t driving as much as older Americans, so we shouldn’t invest much more in […]
