The city is doubling down on its efforts to boost bus ridership as part of its climate action plan.
Tucson, Arizona is offering free bus rides for at least another year as part of the city’s effort to expand public transit ridership, according to a piece in Yale Climate Connections. The city began offering free transit during the Covid-19 pandemic and has repeatedly renewed the program.
But fare cost isn’t the only challenge to boosting ridership, Fátima Luna, Tucson’s Chief Resilience Officer, acknowledges. A lack of shade at nearly half of the city’s bus stops is another factor that prevents people from safely and comfortably riding buses. “So as part of a pilot project, the city will install shade structures and plant trees and other vegetation at a handful of stops. They’ll measure how these changes affect temperature — and plan to implement the most effective strategies more widely.”
Last year, Tucson began implementing a climate action plan to address extreme heat and provide cooling centers and other mitigation measures.
FULL STORY: Tucson, Arizona, bets on buses
LA Begins Adding New Bus Shelters
The program, years in the works, pledges to add 3,000 new bus shelters and 450 shade structures to protect riders from extreme heat and weather.
Gas Too Expensive? Cincinnati Metro Has You Covered With Free Rides
Cincinnati residents and visitors will have access to free transit for a week as the agency aims to boost ridership.
Phoenix Shade Plan Focuses on Bus Stops
The city’s updated Shade Master Plan calls for trees and built structures at bus stops to protect residents from heat.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research