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Mass Transit

Voters still like public transportation so they gave it close to $200 billion

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Millions of Americans just voted in favor of ballot proposals to improve and expand public transportation in their communities, a silver lining in a mostly miserable election cycle. There were a record 48 ballot proposals across the country that...

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Don't vote against mass transit just because Uber is so cheap

by Andrew J . Hawkins

It’s Election Day, and there are dozens of ballot proposals across the country that could potentially raise up to $200 billion for public transportation. But some opponents are using the rising popularity of ride-sharing services like Uber and...

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Make the most of this garbage election by voting for better trains and buses

by Andrew J . Hawkins

This election has been an exhausting slog, winding down to the final days of anxiety and apocalyptic fears. If I had to judge the current mood of the electorate, I’d say it resembles the look on Harvey Firestein’s face in Independence Day right...

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China is building a magnetic levitation train that can go an insane 373 mph

by Andrew J . Hawkins

The China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), one of the world’s largest train manufacturers, recently announced that it had begun work on a new type of magnetic levitation train that will able to achieve a top speed of 373 mph (600 km/hr),...

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Toyota’s new hydrogen-powered bus also doubles as a powerful emergency generator

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Toyota announced today that it will start selling buses that run on hydrogen fuel-cells in Tokyo next year in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics. That news (first reported by Endgadget) in-and-of-itself isn’t that interesting — many cities across...

New Jersey town decides to pay Uber instead of building a parking lot

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Lately, Uber has been positioning itself as the ultimate solution to the eternal challenge of shuttling people between transit hubs and their homes, also known as the “last mile challenge.” To that end, the ride-hail giant announced today that it...

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Yellow taxis have a new weapon in their war against Uber: gadgets

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Riding in a yellow taxi used to be a miserable experience, which helps explain why Uber and Lyft were able to swoop in and so thoroughly disrupt the industry. Fed up with unreliable and dirty taxi rides, passengers migrated en masse to ride-hail...

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These transformable train seats could make your commute 30 percent less awful

by Andrew J . Hawkins

PriestmanGoode, the design shop behind the new London Tube and this insane luxury space capsule, has released a pair of adjustable seat designs that aim to tackle overcrowding on commuter trains. The seats are adjustable to accommodate 15–30...

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The world's first hydrogen-powered passenger train is coming to Germany

by Andrew J . Hawkins

This week, French transit company Alstom unveiled the world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger train, which will begin making trips in Germany at the end of the 2017. The news was first reported by German newspaper Die Welt. The super-quiet...

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Flywheel, the app that makes taxis act like Uber, is coming to New York City

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Flywheel, a Bay Area-based e-hail app company, announced Thursday that its “TaxiOS” technology was approved by New York City regulators for use in the city’s iconic yellow taxis. Flywheel offers two main products: an e-hail app for riders, and...

Ford is getting into buses and bike-sharing, because cars aren’t cutting it anymore

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Ford, purveyors of Built Ford Tough Ford trucks, announced today it was doing more things designed to appeal to people who aren’t interested in owning cars (or Built Ford Tough Ford trucks, for that matter). The company is acquiring Chariot, a...

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Uber wants to bury the hatchet with NYC and help with its looming subway crisis

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Uber sees an opportunity in the looming transit disruption in New York City, nicknamed the L Train Apocalypse. But the ride-hailing giant will have to navigate a political minefield if it hopes to get its way. Starting in 2019, the L train...

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You can now use pretax dollars to pay for UberPool, which is huge

by Andrew J . Hawkins

On Tuesday, Uber announced a “first-of-a-kind” partnership with WageWorks, a major administrator of employee benefits, that will allow commuters in New York City to use pretax dollars to pay for UberPool. It’s a major step for the ride-hailing...

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The NYC subway may have limited mobile ticketing as soon as next year

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it hoped to have its new mobile, high-tech fare payment system for the New York City subway installed by 2020. But e-ticketing may be coming to the nation’s largest rapid transit...

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The MTA’s mobile ticketing app is almost done rolling out

by Matthew Davis

This week, the MTA completed the launch of its Metro North eTix app, which lets commuters in Connecticut, Long Island, and upstate New York purchase train tickets directly on their phones. The initial release of the app came earlier this summer...

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Train to Nowhere

by Andrew J . Hawkins

How Cincinnati tried, and failed, to build one of America’s first subways

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China finally built an elevated bus that straddles traffic and it's totally bizarre

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Last May, pictures of a weird, elevated bus that glides above traffic began circulating on the internet. Predictably, everyone freaked out. The so-called “straddling bus” was held up as a solution to China’s notorious traffic problems, but all...

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The Hyperloop is bringing some of its futuristic tech to Europe’s biggest railway

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) announced today that it will build an “innovation train” for Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, the largest railway operator in Europe. The train will not be a super-fast hyperloop, in which pods are propelled...

NYC subway tunnel used by 225,000 people a day will shut down for 18 months

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Starting in 2019, the L train between Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City will be completely shut down for 18 months in order to repair the extensive damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy. It is the longest and most painful service disruption in...

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I can't wait to fight hundreds of people to get to these subway USB charging ports

by Ashley Carman

New York is planning to upgrade its subway cars to include free Wi-Fi and USB ports for charging. I won’t tell you how to feel about that decision. We knew about the plans months ago, and now we have a better idea of what the new cars might look...

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Mercedes-Benz's semi-autonomous bus just passed its first major test

by James Vincent

Some people have theorized that self-driving cars and ride-hailing apps will lead to the end of public transport, but really, you still can't beat the efficiency of cramming a load of people into a single bus. Combine that with autonomous driving...

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The Lowline, the world’s first underground park, just cleared a huge hurdle

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Good news for fans of subterranean flora: New York City officials just gave the green thumbs-up to build the Lowline, the world’s first underground park in an abandoned trolley terminal in Manhattan. The project, which is meant to be the converse...

London Underground wants to sell its mobile ticketing technology abroad

by Andrew J . Hawkins

The London Underground, famous for its iconic subway maps and stations, now wants to share its peerless fare payment system with the rest of the world. The Transport for London (TfL), which runs the Tube, signed an agreement with Cubic, a defense...

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This awesome plane-train hybrid could revolutionize transportation, but not for another 50 years

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Imagine a future where a plane lands at an airfield that doubles as a rail yard. The cabin — one of three that cling to the underbelly of the aircraft like a baby possum to its mother — detaches, is seamlessly transferred to a nearby train, and...

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New York transit is finally getting mobile ticketing — but only for commuter rail

by Andrew J . Hawkins

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled its first mobile ticketing app Tuesday, which will riders on Metro North and Long Island Rail Road to purchase tickets using their smartphones by the end of summer 2016. The MTA eTix app is...

Twitter will slide into your DMs when London's Tube stops working

by James Vincent

Twitter has teamed up Transport for London (the organization that looks after the city's tubes and buses) to create a new alert system for disruptions on the London Underground. TfL has long provided travel alerts via Twitter accounts for...

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The MTA is testing Wi-Fi inside its subway cars

by Andrew J . Hawkins

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is racing to install wireless internet throughout its entire system by the end of the year, is now testing Wi-Fi on its subway cars too, according to NY1. The test is still in very early...

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Happy birthday to NYC’s awesome, overlooked aerial tram

by Andrew J . Hawkins

The Roosevelt Island Tram, which connects the Upper East Side of Manhattan to Roosevelt Island in the East River, turned 40 this week, which means that for 40 years it has operated as New York City's most overlooked, most unique, and most...

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Uber and a Bay Area landlord will pay new tenants $100 a month to go car-free

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Uber is teaming up with the owners of a massive real estate development in San Francisco to offer new tenants a monthly $100 transportation stipend if they agree to go car-free. The money can be used for public transit, taxis, and car-sharing, as...

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Kansas City just installed free public Wi-Fi and dozens of 'smart' streetlights

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Kansas City, a place long known for jazz and barbecue, now wants to be known as one of the most futuristic cities in America. Last week, the city announced plans to install free public Wi-Fi covering 50 blocks of its downtown, 125 "smart"...

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Uber is now offering flat fee $5 carpool rides in Manhattan during peak hours

by Andrew J . Hawkins

Good news for New Yorkers who like deals and don’t mind sharing a cab ride with a complete stranger or two: Uber is sending out notices on Monday that its carpool service will now be a flat $5, but only in Manhattan below 110th Street and only...

Deutsche Bahn looking at adding autonomous cars to its mass transit network

by Jordan Golson

German railway giant Deutsche Bahn is working on adding autonomous cars to its transport network as a way of getting riders to and from the train station — the last mile, so to speak. It's even looking at competing with companies like Uber in...

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