U.S. PIRG

Highway Construction

Highway Boondoggles Continue as the Pandemic Stresses Budgets at Every Level of Government

U.S. PIRG has released the latest edition of the Highway Boondoggles report, the sixth edition of the report published since 2014.

December 10, 2020 - U.S. Pirg

Coronavirus Social Distancing

Campaign Launched to Halt State Reopenings and Start Over

During March and April, most states shut down all but essential services in order to "flatten the curve," and it largely worked. What happened afterward didn't. U.S. PIRG has organized a campaign to start the process over and do it right.

July 30, 2020 - CNN

Marquam Bridge

The Biggest Highway Boondoggles in the United States

Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG have released the fifth edition of its Highway Boondoggles report.

June 18, 2019 - U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Freewways

Nine Highway Expansions Identified as Worst Boondoggles of 2018

In a new report, U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group describe nine costly highway projects amounting to $30 billion in their fourth annual "Highway Boondoggles" report. All share the theme of induced travel demand.

July 2, 2018 - Frontier Group

School Buses

Campaign Launched to Electrify School Buses

U.S. PIRG wants states to use funding from multi-billion dollar Volkswagen settlements to convert the nation's school bus fleet, 95% of which is diesel-powered, to zero-emission buses to reduce children's exposure to toxic air pollution.

May 13, 2018 - U.S. Pirg

Freeway Construction

PIRG Releases Third Highway Boondoggles Report

A new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Frontier Group indicates that highway boondoggles have been getting bigger, more costly, with the benefits more limited. Nine projects are analyzed in "Highway Boondoggles 3."

April 20, 2017 - Illinois PIRG

Report Identifies 12 'Highway Boondoggles'

A new report by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group identifies the highway projects most likely to break the transportation funding bank.

January 19, 2016 - Frontier Group

Opponents to California High-Speed Rail Board: Show Us the Money!

Bereft of private investment, how can the $68 billion project proceed? That's the question about 20 members of the public repeated in their public comments at Tuesday's High-Speed Rail Authority meeting in Fresno. To their surprise, it was answered.

November 20, 2015 - Fresno Bee

Young Driver

Yes, Urban Millennials Do Drive Less

Proof from the Census Bureau's latest American Community Survey on commuting by auto shows that millennials, if they live in cities, do indeed drive less. Census researcher Brian McKenzie describes the finding in the bureau's blog, Random Samplings.

August 18, 2015 - Random Samplings

Car Commuting Rates Decline in 99% of America's Large Metros

A new report by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group gives further credence to, and provides a more complete picture of, America's driving decline.

December 4, 2013 - DC.Streetsblog

Car Dasboard at Night

What's Causing The Decline In Driving?

U.S. Public Interest Research Group does a state-by-state analysis of the decline in driving in an attempt to determine it's chief causes.

September 5, 2013 - Governing

Redesigning American Cities for Less Driving

This 16-minute radio interview of Forbes writer Micheline Maynard and Cornell urban planning professor Michael Manville explores how and why to redesign cities to make them less auto-dependent to match reduced driving.

August 1, 2013 - Here & Now

Car Graveyard

The ‘Driving Boom’ is Over: What Does That Mean for Communities and Transportation?

The trend toward less driving received national attention in May with the release of a report by US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), and the news has profound implications for both urbanism and transportation.

June 23, 2013 - Better! Cities & Towns

New Report Says Roads Don’t Pay For Themselves

A new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group PIRG's report estimates that road construction has cost the American public $600 billion since the highway system began.

January 4, 2011 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

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