mass transit

19 Stories

The Hyperloop 'Dream' Is Officially Over
A 'Dream Too Impossible for
This World' Is Now Dead
in case you missed it
Dec 24, 2023 10:35 AM CST

A 'Dream Too Impossible for This World' Is Now Dead

Hyperloop One, the futuristic mass-transit firm promising speedy travel, is shuttering

(Newser) - The Hyperloop dream is no more—at least for now. Sources tell Bloomberg that Hyperloop One, the once much-ballyhooed startup building high-speed freight trains, is shuttering and will spend its final days trying to sell its assets, including a small test track in Nevada. Most of the company's workers...

LA, Get Ready for a Gnarly Commute
LA's Gnarly Commute
Just Got Worse
Nov 13, 2023 7:26 AM CST

LA's Gnarly Commute Just Got Worse

Fire causes damage to Los Angeles interstate, drivers are urged to take mass transit on Monday

(Newser) - Los Angeles motorists should expect traffic snarls during the Monday commute as crews assess how much damage was caused by a raging fire over the weekend that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown, officials said. Hazardous materials teams were clearing burned material from underneath Interstate 10 to make way...

Musk Tunnel Dream Could Become Reality in Vegas

System could debut 2 years from now

(Newser) - Elon Musk's dream of an express tunnel transit system could finally become a reality in Las Vegas after major setbacks in other cities. Las Vegas' tourism agency announced Wednesday it is recommending that an enterprise backed by the divisive billionaire receive a contract to build and operate an underground...

Crack in Beam Shuts Down New $2B Transit Terminal

The 'Grand Central of the West' opened in SF last month

(Newser) - San Francisco officials shut down the city's celebrated new $2.2 billion transit terminal Tuesday after discovering a crack in a support beam under the center's public roof garden. Coined the "Grand Central of the West," the Salesforce Transit Center opened in August near the heart...

NYC Subway Line Envisioned in 1919 Finally Opens

Ground was broken for 2nd Avenue Subway in 1972

(Newser) - New Yorkers' 98-year wait to take a subway under Manhattan's far Upper East Side ended Sunday when three new stations on the Second Avenue line opened to the public. The first train left the station at East 96th Street at noon after a speech by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who...

DC Metro Might Shut Down for a Very Long Time

Commuters are calling possible closures 'insane'

(Newser) - If commuters who ride DC's faltering Metrorail were peeved at the system's 29-hour shutdown in mid-March, they're not going to like the news out of the Metro transit system Wednesday. Per Fox5 , a review is underway to determine how badly repairs are needed on the troubled railway,...

SF Commuters Get WiFi, Coffee, Pressed Juices —on the Bus

Leap luxury service features app that tracks available seats

(Newser) - WiFi. USB plugs. Bluetooth check-in. Pressed juices and Blue Bottle Coffee. A hipster café? Nope, it's just a commute to work for riders of San Francisco's new Leap bus, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. An app keeps riders updated as to where the bus is and how...

Why Politicians Don't Get Mass Transit
 Why Politicians 
 Don't Get Mass Transit 
OPINION
Dec 2, 2013 1:58 PM CST

Why Politicians Don't Get Mass Transit

Ray LaHood wants better infrastructure after crash, but it'll never happen

(Newser) - In the wake of the train disaster in the Bronx , Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood took to MSNBC and called on lawmakers to invest in America's "50-year-old transit systems." But when it comes to public transit, that plea will probably fall on deaf ears. "Mass transit is...

Dear City Planners, Stop Ignoring Buses
How the 'Humble Bus'
Can Save Transportation
OPINION
Aug 7, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

How the 'Humble Bus' Can Save Transportation

A modern system could move the masses: Matthew Yglesias

(Newser) - Light rail is the darling of city planners everywhere, but more cities should take a closer look at the "humble bus," writes Matthew Yglesias in Slate . A modern Bus Rapid Transit system could be a much cheaper and more efficient way of moving the masses, he argues. Lots...

Americans' Growing Ride of Choice: Public Transit
Americans' Growing Ride
of Choice: Public Transit
new report
Mar 12, 2012 7:30 AM CDT

Americans' Growing Ride of Choice: Public Transit

Ridership was up 2.3% from 2010

(Newser) - If you think the subway has felt extra crowded lately, you likely aren't imagining things: Americans are hopping on public transportation more often, according to a new report out today, with the number of bus and train passengers last year reaching its second highest level since 1957. Nationwide, transit...

Cop Shoots NYC Subway Groper

Suspect shot as he grappled with cop on platform

(Newser) - A New York City subway rider accused of groping the buttocks of two teens ended up with a bullet in the lower back after grappling with an off-duty cop. The officer confronted the man at a Harlem station after two young women, a 13-year-old and an 18-year-old, said they had...

America Will Grow by 100M —and High-Speed Rail Is Bad?

Blogger: We're going to need to build some kind of new infrastructure anyway

(Newser) - Economics blogger Ryan Avent picks apart the arguments against high-speed rail, including the fact that opponents don't seem to take into account the costs of accommodating America's population growth in coming years. We're going to have to build some kind of infrastructure so people can get around, whether it's highways...

YouTube Fight Vid Sparks New Safety Fears

Racial row on Oakland bus erupts into violence

(Newser) - A disturbing racial confrontation on an Oakland bus is raising renewed fears about the safety of public transportation. Like a scene straight from the racial conflict movie Crash, a heated exchange between a young black man and 67-year-old white passenger quickly devolves into blows as passengers scream. "He hit...

Washington Plows to a Halt
 Washington Plows to a Halt 
SNOWPOCALYPSE NOW
Feb 5, 2010 10:22 PM CST

Washington Plows to a Halt

Public transit mostly shut; residents advised to stay inside

(Newser) - Much of Washington is at a halt tonight, with snow falling at the rate of up to 3 inches an hour from the fearsome storm—perhaps the worst in modern history—working its way toward the capital. Above-ground portions of the city’s Metro system are closed, and expected to...

DC Launches Mass Transit Terror Drill

Metro will be scene of simulated mass-casualty attacks

(Newser) - Commuters at one of Washington Metro's busiest stations are being met today by dozens of transit police officers and bomb specialists as part of the system's biggest-ever security drill. "There is no immediate or credible threat" to the Metro, a spokeswoman tells the Washington Post. "We want to...

Dubai's New Metro a Surprise Social Leveler

Rigid stratification breaks down underground, to delight of some

(Newser) - It may or may not alleviate massive traffic jams of Mercedes and Hummers, but Dubai's new metro system is definitely loosening up the Emirate's rigidly stratified society. “No velvet rope or electrified security gate to keep out the masses,” Tom Hundley writes. “Privileged Emiratis suddenly find themselves...

Dubai Unveils Gulf's First Metro

Sheikhdom aims to get drivers onto public transport despite rock-bottom fuel prices

(Newser) - Dubai yesterday opened its gleaming new $7.6 billion metro rail system, the first on the Arabian peninsula, AP reports. The sheikhdom's leaders hope the system will help clear Dubai's chronically traffic-clogged streets and provide some good press for the downturn-battered emirate.  Each 5-car train on the driverless system...

US Man Charged in Afghanistan Rocket Attack

Long Islander also gave al-Qaeda info on NYC mass transit: feds

(Newser) - An American arrested in Pakistan last fall faces charges for firing rockets at a US military base in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. Bryant Neal Vinas, 26, also allegedly gave al-Qaeda detailed information about the New York City transit system and Long Island Railroad in return for military training.

Death Toll in DC Crash Reduced to 7
 Death Toll in 
 DC Crash 
 Reduced to 7 
UPDATED
Jun 23, 2009 8:01 AM CDT

Death Toll in DC Crash Reduced to 7

(Newser) - Washington, DC, officials have reduced the fatalities in yesterday's Metro crash to seven from the nine previously reported, reports AP. Mayor Adrian Fenty said officials are "going to let the investigation run its course" and that hopefully the number will not exceed seven by the end of the day....

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