Transit: Innovating to serve changing needs

As Lane Transit District works to help everyone get around better, BEST offers this roundup of public transit stories from around the country

UPDATED 10/19/24: Added more stories.

Lane Transit District is holding its first ever State of the District event. Like transit agencies across the country, it is facing challenges and opportunities as new transportation technologies disrupt travel patterns, the pandemic has changed the way people work, and declining revenues threaten some public transit services.

Following are recent stories we’re reading about changes to public transit around the country.

• The Key to Increasing Customer Satisfaction? Just Listen (Metro Magazine, 11/14/23)
  We have the pleasure of working with public transportation agencies across the country in both measuring and managing customer satisfaction. We have long believed the industry should have an answer as to which community has focused on delivering the highest level of customer experience.

• Moving from Traditional to Modernized Transit (Metro Magazine, 3/19/24)
  The decades-old public transit performance playbook was designed to celebrate more ridership. However, elected officials invested in public transit at a record level during 2019-2021 when ridership was at its lowest level in 70 years because of the value transit services bring to communities. Highlighting “more and better aren’t the same…”

• U.S. cities are clamoring for electric buses. Why can’t manufacturers keep up? (Fast Company, 3/28/24)
  Over the past two decades, U.S. bus manufacturers have dramatically shrunk. That poses a real problem as public transit agencies try to green their fleets.

• Has remote work changed how people travel in the US? (MIT News, 4/9/24)
  A new study finds sustained pattern changes—with a lot of regional variation.

• How one city pulled public transit from the brink — and what the rest of the country can learn from it (Vox, 4/10/24)
  There’s no substitute for better service.

• To increase job access, try dedicated bus lanes, this study says (Smart Cities Dive, 4/25/24)
  Urban Institute researchers found that well-enforced bus lanes could reduce costs for transit agencies and help provide equitable access to employment opportunities.

• Buses Should Matter to City Planners: Here’s the Tool They Need (Jarrett Walker, Human Transit, 4/29/24)
  All decisions about how to lay out an area or design a road are decisions about public transport. In fact, they are collectively as powerful as any routing or service decisions made by a public transit agency.

• Why The Future of Post-Pandemic Transit is Post-Commuter (The New Urban Order, 4/23/24)
  London has some lessons for us all.

• What’s the Right Way to Fund Struggling Transit Systems? (Governing, 5/2/24)
  They’ll need a lot more federal help to stay afloat.

• The False Promise of Microtransit (Amalgamated Transit Union, 5/9/24)
  Transit union sounds alarm on shortcomings of app-based, on-demand service.

• Forward Together changes boosting TriMet bus ridership (Portland Tribune, 5/14/24)
  TriMet ridership is rebounding from the depths of the COVID-19 crash, thanks in large part to regional bus line realignments based on the agency’s Forward Together community planning process.

• Talking Headways Podcast: An Update to Human Transit (Streetsblog USA, 5/16/24)
  Jarrett Walker on the release of the revised edition of his influential book Human Transit.

• Federal Spending Rescued Mass Transit During Covid. What Happens Now? (New York Times, 5/22/24)
  The government provided $69.5 billion in relief funds to help keep transit on track during Covid-19. But many rail and bus systems are now facing layoffs and cutbacks.

• Is public mobility the next public transport revolution? (World Economic Forum, 5/30/24)
  Public transit authorities are evolving into public mobility authorities by integrating and subsidizing shared mobility options, including bike-sharing, carpooling and micromobility services. Successful examples demonstrate the potential of subsidies and incentives to promote shared mobility. Governments, municipalities and private shared mobility operators must collaborate to offer passengers more flexibility and choice, leading to less congested and less polluted urban areas.

• Public transit in the post-pandemic world: Views diverge at congressional hearing (Smart Cities Dive, 6/17/24)
  Some described transit as “essential” and needing stronger federal support, while others focused on the impact of higher costs and reduced ridership.

• Why Cities Need Public Transport To Be Well-Funded, Equitable, and Resilient (Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, 6/18/24)
  Over the course of a year, the MOBILIZE Learning Lab convened by ITDP and VREF brought together a number of global transport researchers, experts, and advocates to discuss the future of public transport.

• To make housing more affordable and accessible, start with better bus systems (Heather Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, El País, 7/9/24)
  The U.S. government recently committed $18 million in 16 states to help communities plan for housing and neighborhoods built around public transit. But that’s just a drop in the bucket—much more commitment and funding is needed.

• What US transit agencies worry most about right now (Smart Cities Dive, 7/11/24)
  Ridership, traffic congestion, finances, safety and transitioning bus fleets to cleaner fuels were top of mind for transit agency leaders in a Keolis survey released today.

• Our Cities Need More People Near Frequent and Rapid Public Transport (Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, 7/24/24)
  Traditionally, the quality and reach of a city’s public transport system is measured in number of kilometers, number of stops, ridership, or speed. These metrics can certainly show planners and policymakers a lot about the progress of their urban infrastructure.

• What a Beautiful Bus Stop Can Do (Bloomberg CityLab, 8/2/24)
  Stations and shelters for bus riders don’t get much design attention from architects. A new study argues that quality aesthetics and amenities pay off for transit operators.

• The Present and Future of Public Transit with Jannet Walker-Ford and David Scorey (Metro Magazine, 8/6/24)
  Today, Jannet Walker-Ford,Lead, Advisory and Planning business, at WSP and David Scorey, CEO of Keolis North America, join METRO’s Executive Editor Alex Roman.

• Expand — Yes, Expand — Public Transit (Philadelphia Citizen, 9/18/24)
  New York City, Seattle and Sydney are doubling down on public transportation amid the ongoing work-from-home trend. Why this counterintuitive move is an idea Philly should steal.

• ‘Doom Loop’ Alert: Transit Systems are Suffering — And Too Many Are Cutting Service (Streetsblog USA, 9/20/24)
  Ridership is still down, inflation, labor costs, pensions, and other operating costs are up, and many systems are slashing service. This is bad.

• Covid walloped mass transit. Have cities learned to adjust? (E&E News, 9/24/24)
  Bus and train ridership has not returned to pre-pandemic levels—and it may never get there.

• Public transit agencies eye service cuts as pandemic aid runs out (Marketplace, 9/30/24)
  Among the trillions of dollars approved by Congress to keep the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic were about $70 billion for the country’s public transit systems. That money kept transit agencies alive as they lost most of their riders (and the fares that they pay). But now, most agencies are finally using up the last of those federal funds. And while ridership has improved, in many places, it’s still not back to pre-pandemic levels. That’s leading some agencies—big and small—to consider service cuts, which could strand some riders and hurt transit agencies in the long run.

• Can ‘Transit-Oriented Entertainment’ Help End the National Ridership Decline? (Streetsblog USA, 10/1/24)
  An award-winning user experience designer tackles one of America’s greatest challenges: getting people back on transit.

• Public Transit is Essential — We Need to Fund It Now (Jessica Dauphin. President and CEO of Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee, OtherWords, 10/2/24)
  As our country comes to grips with the climate crisis, transit is how we fight back and improve our quality of life at the same time.

• Can Microtransit and Regular Buses Live in Harmony? (Bloomberg CityLab, 10/3/24)
  In Sioux Falls, the mobility company Via is betting that on-demand vans can complement fixed-route bus service across a sprawling and fast-growing South Dakota city.