• Make buses better in Baltimore, Richmond, and Washington, says a regional business group

      By David Alpert     September 18th, 2018

      Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond should all make their bus service a priority with more lanes, faster boarding, better infromation, and much more. Those are recommendations from the Greater Washington Partnership, a super-regional business-led organization which just released a new issue brief on bus service.

    • Here’s where bus lanes may one day speed up your ride on 16th Street

      By David Alpert     July 13th, 2018

      Planners from the District Department of Transportation unveiled their design for bus lanes on 16th Street, the next step from a 2016 planning study which recommended a dedicated bus lane in the peak direction during the peak period, as well as a number of other changes to make the 16th Street buses faster and more reliable.

    • To make ride-hailing work for urbanism, here’s what needs to happen

      By David Alpert     June 25th, 2018

      Ride-hailing services like Uber, Lyft, and Via have grown meteorically since launching just a few years ago. Meanwhile, transit ridership nationwide is declining, and some studies posit a direct connection. As a result, many transit supporters have sharply criticized these services. Some fears are warranted, but ride-hailing is also offering people a valuable transportation service.

    • DC may require ride-hailing companies to share data, but won’t encourage pooling

      By David Alpert     May 15th, 2018

      Cities have required taxis to give logs of their rides to regulators for a long time. New York, Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, and others ask for taxi-like data from ride-hailing companies such as Uber, Lyft, and Via. Now, DC might join them. However, it won't follow through on an earlier proposal to encourage carpooling on these ride-hailing services.

    • To cut down on traffic, DC may encourage sharing Ubers, Lyfts, and Vias

      By David Alpert     May 10th, 2018

      Ride-hailing services like Uber, Lyft, and Via are growing rapidly. They are actually two kinds of service: private cars and shared, with shared cars much better for traffic, sustainability, and roadway efficiency. Now, the DC Council has taken a positive step to encourage sharing, relative to riding alone, in the tax code.

    • DC’s first dockless bikeshare, Mobike, has launched. I took a test ride.

      By     September 20th, 2017

      Dockless bikeshare has come to DC. On Wednesday morning, Mobike opened service to the public. At least two other companies, LimeBike and Spin, are not far behind. How's it working so far? I took a ride to the office to try it.

    • The Circulator could go to Congress Heights, L’Enfant Plaza, and U Street

      By David Alpert     September 6th, 2017

      Changes to DC Circulator could bring the DC-run bus service to Congress Heights, L'Enfant Plaza, U Street/Howard University, but remove it from Skyland, Wisconsin Avenue, and Potomac Avenue. What do you think?

    • DC Council Chairman Mendelson says he didn’t cut the Benning Road streetcar extension. DDOT says “that’s false.”

      By     June 8th, 2017

      When a final budget came out of the DC Council the night after Memorial Day, I reported that it cut $60 million from the DC Streetcar and that would significant delay, or permanently scuttle, extending the line to Benning Road Metro in Ward 7. Chairman Phil Mendelson is disputing that's the effect of his cuts, but transportation officials re-confirmed to me that is exactly what will happen if the cuts stay.

    • DC Council Chairman Mendelson’s budget slashes the streetcar to Benning Road

      By     May 30th, 2017

      Residents of DC's Ward 7, who have long awaited new investment in their community and support extending the H Street streetcar line to Benning Road, will have to wait six years or forever if the budget released last night by Chairman Phil Mendelson passes. That budget cuts about $97 million from transportation capital projects.