Transportation
Public transportation key to keeping drunks off the roads
Anyone who’s ever been egged on by friends to do shots might know this instinctively, but science is now backing it up: just the presence of super-intoxicated friends may encourage clubgoers to get drunker than they normally would. Not only that, but knowing they won’t be getting behind the wheel also encourages partiers to imbibe more. […]
Are toll roads the answer?
The debate over toll roads, which is making headlines and begging questions over who is financially responsible for maintenance and construction, may seem a recent one. But the concept actually has a storied past in the U.S.: with origins in colonial America’s turnpikes, tolls were banned in 1921 from being implemented on federally-funded highways, and, […]
Self-braking cars reduce rear-end accidents by 38%
Self-driving cars, long hailed for their safety benefits, are on the horizon consider the Cadillac, for one). But one new study claims that just a single driver-free feature could reduce accidents by a staggering 38%. Recent research from the European road safety research organization Euro NCAP concludes that self-braking cars (which automatically hit the brakes to […]
Study: Companies near highways should pay for employees’ driving
Just how much can a highway impact the local economy? A new study, “Infrastructure and the shaping of American urban geography,” from Yonn Dierwechter and Ali Modarres aims to find out to what degree businesses benefit from their proximity to the national highway system by studying Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. Given nearly 60 years of investment […]
L.A. strives for sustainability
Smog, traffic, countless cars: Los Angeles strives to re-frame itself as a sustainable city. As Slate recently reported, L.A. has a bad rap for being environmentally-unfriendly. In early April, the governor announced California’s first mandatory restrictions on water use, and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s new sustainability “pLAn” outlines a number of goals, including removing coal from the city’s energy portfolio and […]
Mobility, transportation, and inequality
Planes, trains, automobiles… and camels? John Candy’s favorite transport options are far from the only ways people of this planet get around, and moving from place to place isn’t the only definition of mobility. In a globalizing world where transportation access is unequal (and, for some, flat-out unavailable), mobility can also mean the difference between […]
Dynamic ridesharing users will pay less per ride
Ridesharing can help combat congestion woes by pairing up people with similar travel plans: Called “dynamic ridesharing,” this alternative doesn’t require new infrastructure, is more convenient than public transport, and can cut pollution produced by people taking multiple vehicles to the same destination. But what about those riders, especially in regions where ridesharing is just taking […]
Kids and the ride sharing industry
Uber, Lyft and other ride sharing apps were designed with busy adults in mind, but, lately, kids and teens are using the apps for both school-time and playtime. Busy parents are organizing rides using the apps for their young kids, while teens, who have become increasingly disenchanted with getting behind the wheel themselves, are shying […]
On the impact of complete streets
Following a recent report hailing the benefits of “complete streets,” two projects that embrace the concept are garnering attention — and even applause. Miami, Florida’s Department of Transportation just approved the city’s plan to revamp Biscayne Boulevard, expanding pedestrian and biking areas and limiting vehicle lanes, while Normal, Illinois’ project, which reworked its neighborhood with […]
Urban density not denting CO2 emissions, sadly
You’ve heard it before: The U.S. is urbanizing, and younger generations are becoming less and less car-reliant. It’s logical that CO2 emissions would drop as people move into the cities and, presumably, opt for less environmentally-damaging transportation. So why are CO2 emissions still climbing? A Boston University paper authored by Conor K. Gately, Lucy R. […]
Ford calls EVs the perfect second cars
Electric vehicles may be the perfect car… second car, that is. A major barrier to using EVs is inconvenience (or, at least, perceived inconvenience): drivers face the occasional dilemma of finding alternative transportation for longer trips than their EVs can make. Electric Vehicles in Multi-Vehicle Households, a recent study from Michael A. Tamor and Miloš […]