Monthly Archives: August 2011

Pedestrian Observations from Barbados: Followup to Caribbean Car Ownership

Posted on 2011/08/31 by

The biggest criticism I’ve gotten in comments to Matt Yglesias’s link to my previous post was about my comparison of Puerto Rico’s car ownership with that of neighboring middle-income Caribbean nations. Multiple people claimed that Puerto Rico is much larger … Continue reading →

Posted in Cars, Pedestrian Observations, Transportation, Urbanism | 13 Comments

Special Interests and the General Interest

Posted on 2011/08/30 by

Via Market Urbanism, I learn that the Obama administration’s latest push for jobs is to subsidize manufacturing batteries for electric cars. The New York Times article about it lets us know that manufacturing in America is bleeding and needs this … Continue reading →

Posted in Cars, Politics and Society, Transportation | 3 Comments

California High-Speed Rail Alignment Questions

Posted on 2011/08/29 by

The most contentious technical issue about the California High-Speed Rail project is which alignment to use to get from the Central Valley to the Bay Area. The two options are Altamont Pass, roughly paralleling 580, and Pacheco Pass, much farther … Continue reading →

Posted in High-Speed Rail, Incompetence, Transportation | 30 Comments

Amtrak’s Role in Regulatory Reform

Posted on 2011/08/26 by

In my previous post, I focused on the FRA’s self-justifying bureaucratic approach to regulation. However, the other main institute of intercity rail in America, Amtrak, too doesn’t come out of the comments looking very well. Unlike the FRA, Amtrak is … Continue reading →

Posted in Amtrak, FRA, Incompetence, Transportation | 8 Comments

The FRA Doesn’t Need Reform – It Needs A Revolution

Posted on 2011/08/25 by

Via Systemic Failure, I’ve learned that the federal government is implementing regulatory reform, including some cosmetic changes to railroad regulations; for details, go to this file and see pages 30-41, 54-61, 105-106, 108-109, 112-113, and 115-127. Drunk Engineer already rightly … Continue reading →

Posted in FRA, Incompetence, Transportation | 31 Comments

Blackstone River Regional Rail

Posted on 2011/08/24 by

Following up on my proposal for improving regional and intercity rail service between Providence and Boston, let me propose a line from Providence to Woonsocket, acting as an initial line of a Providence S-Bahn. The basic ideas for how to … Continue reading →

Posted in Providence, Regional Rail, Transportation | 28 Comments

Quick Note: Zombie Myths About Amtrak And Profitability

Posted on 2011/08/23 by

Greater Greater Washington has a post up invoking almost every myth Amtrak and its backers use to argue that the National Railroad Passenger Corporation is actually doing okay. Of those, the single worst is about finances: “Amtrak nevertheless covers over … Continue reading →

Posted in Amtrak, Incompetence, Transportation | 8 Comments

Construction Costs, Third World Edition

Posted on 2011/08/22 by

It’s a commonplace that building things is cheap in third-world countries, with low wages, few labor and environmental controls, and lax regulations. The reality is quite different. The difference disappears once one makes sure to do a PPP adjustment; poor … Continue reading →

Posted in Construction Costs, High-Speed Rail, Transportation, Urban Transit | 15 Comments

MBTA-HSR Compatibility

Posted on 2011/08/19 by

There is going to be major investment in the Northeast Corridor, and several possibilities, including Amtrak’s NEC Master Plan, call for running trains at higher frequency and somewhat higher speeds than today on the Providence Line, and assumes electrification of … Continue reading →

Posted in Good Transit, High-Speed Rail, Incompetence, Providence, Regional Rail, Transportation | 30 Comments

Why Smartphones’ Effect On Transit Is Overrated

Posted on 2011/08/17 by

The spread of smartphones, with their apps for maps and transit schedules, is leading the usual tech boosters to claim that the world is on the cusp of revolution and transit and urbanism must change to accommodate. This video by … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Society, Transportation | 32 Comments