Transportation

America 2050: Forget about the Forgotten Mode 0
- August 1, 2011
Half truths, innuendo, and pseudo-science form the basis of a recent response to the Antiplanner’s recent paper, Intercity Buses: The Forgotten Mode. The basic thesis of the response is that intercity buses have a role to play in a “balanced transportation system,” but they are “no replacement for high-speed rail.” Of course, the Antiplanner never […]
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Biketopia Is Mantopia 0
- July 27, 2011
Cyclists want to spend millions of dollars out of highway user fees to build new bicycle infrastructure, including bike paths and lanes. But a recent survey by a bicycle advocacy group found that the most important reason women don’t bike is not lack of infrastructure, but because it is not convenient for them to do […]
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Senate Bill DOA 0
- July 27, 2011
Continue spending money at current levels that are far greater than revenues. Drain the Highway Trust Fund. Make a few token changes in the law to make it look like you are doing something. Then revisit all the issues in just two years because you are too chicken to make the hard decisions today. That’s […]
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Henry J. Is Spinning in His Grave 0
- July 26, 2011
To find everything that is wrong with American transportation, you only need to look at the process for replacing the Interstate 5 crossing of the Columbia River. Planning for a new bridge or bridges between Portland and Vancouver began at least six years ago, and planners have so far spent well over $130 million without […]
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The China Mystique Breaks Down 0
- July 25, 2011
At least 35 people killed in a Chinese high-speed rail crash–caused by lightning? This doesn’t make any sense at all. Electric rail technology is more than a hundred years old; how could China’s trains not be safeguarded against this common phenomenon? Plus, the second train ran into the first train simply because the first train […]
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American Know-How: Get Less for More 0
- July 22, 2011
Three years ago, Oregon politicians managed to get an earmark for an Oregon company to manufacture streetcars. Now it turns out those streetcars are–surprise!–more expensive than anticipated as well as delayed by at least five months. For the original price of six cars, the company will make just five. Not to worry, says company president […]
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