The shortcomings of American bus systems are not lost on transportation planners. The adage of "getting what you pay for" appears to be mostly true.
In Boise (Idaho), journalist Robert Ehlert writes about a recent experience riding Valley Transit, the local bus transit system. That experience illustrated the following observations:
If you look at the evolution of most big-city transportation systems, they started with buses — and still include them in the spoke-and-wheel infrastructure that allows them to deliver people to their destinations. Today, the [Treasure] Valley is operating with essentially the same bus system that served it in the 1990s — even though the places of growth and employment are more widely dispersed in many new directions. Before we aspire to ride anything else into the future, we had better learn to support and patronize the interim means: the bus.
FULL STORY: What would it take to get you to ride the bus?
Salt Lake City to Get Five New Bus Lines
The service improvements come after a year of strong ridership growth.
MARTA Adds Train Service for NYE Events
The Atlanta transit agency will run additional trains to accommodate traffic to sporting and cultural events downtown over the New Year’s holiday.
Atlanta City Leaders Call on MARTA to Expand Weekend Service
The city is set to host multiple major sporting events in the next several years, prompting calls for expanded transit service on weekends and to popular areas.
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.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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