New Year resolution? Study says #publictransit means weight loss

Public transit systems contribute to weight loss and improved health, study finds: "In a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and the RAND Corporation found that construction of a light-rail system (LRT) resulted in increased physical activity (walking) and subsequent weight loss by people served by the LRT. These findings suggest that improving neighborhood environments and increasing the public's use of LRT systems could improve health outcomes and potentially impact millions of individuals."

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Drexel professor details massive secret investment to oppose #climate awareness

theguardian.com: "The anti-climate effort has been largely underwritten by conservative billionaires, often working through secretive funding networks. They have displaced corporations as the prime supporters of 91 think tanks, advocacy groups and industry associations which have worked to block action on climate change. Such financial support has hardened conservative opposition to climate policy, ultimately dooming any chances of action from Congress to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet, the study found.

“I call it the climate-change counter movement,” said the author of the study, Drexel University sociologist Robert Brulle. “It is not just a couple of rogue individuals doing this. This is a large-scale political effort.”"

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Enormous sprawl bill comes due in PA

Main Line Media News: "Over the next 10 years, there will be 77 bridge projects, 52 maintenance projects, 26 highway-improvement projects, six intersection projects, 10 signal projects, 14 public transportation assistance projects and 16 studies in Montgomery County."

Not investing in transportation costs more than investing

Pennsylvanians will see up front benefits from transportation funding law: William Adolph | PennLive.com: "Data also shows that doing nothing is a greater cost to residents. According to a May 2013 report by TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research group, Pennsylvania’s failing transportation infrastructure costs Pennsylvania motorists $20.60 a week. TRIP reports that Pennsylvania’s 8.79 million drivers pay an additional $9.4 billion annually in the form of additional vehicle operating costs, the cost of lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion and traffic crashes."

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Celebrating all things bicycle

philly.com : ""My only mode of transportation is the bike or public transit," said Schaheen, a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry who lives in Washington Square West."

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Pennsylvania: State Dirty Energy Money Analysis

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Oil Change International: "In recent years, the oil and gas industry has been on the march in Pennsylvania. Home of the Marcellus Shale formation and a historically productive coal state, Pennsylvania is a true battleground in the expansion of the fossil fuel industry."

Officials believe Paoli economic future hinges on state transport bill

dailylocal : "Judy Huey, an association board member and owner of the Paoli Village Shoppes, also believes much is at stake in the upcoming vote on the transportation bill. “I look around and I see a falling-down train station, nightly traffic jams on Route 30, people who can’t cross the road safely and empty buildings in the center of town,” Huey said. “This could all be improved. This transportation project could change the whole area. I’m not sure Paoli can continue to exist a decade from now without the improvements this bill can bring.”"

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Pennsylvania starving #publictransit against the trends

Why Trains Shouldn't Be Better Than Buses: "But despite the relative decline of driving, public transit is in trouble in America. Since the beginning of the recession, 85 percent of American transit systems have been forced to cut services or raise fares. Pittsburgh was forced to eliminate a third of its bus routes, while Detroit has lost half of its bus lines since 2005. Now it looks as though Philadelphia will be next."

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Casey: Congress needs plan to fund public transportation agencies

delcotimes: "“We have some people in Washington who need to get on a bus every once in a while.”"

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Most working in Center City rely on public transportation

Philadelphia Business Journal: "In fact, about 62 percent of Center City workers take public transportation, walk or bike to work, according to data from the Center City District and reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer."

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Lehigh Valley needs more low-cost public transportation

mcall.com: "The Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority bus system has flaws. Its limited routes require thousands of Valley residents to rely on cars. LANTA can't handle high volume. In today's economy, businesses operate 24/7. Public transit should reflect that demand."

Pennsylvanians are driving less

Timesonline.com: "“In Pennsylvania, driving miles are down, just as they are in almost every state — only more,” said Ashley Afranie-Sakyi of PennPIRG. “It’s time for policy makers to wake up and realize the driving boom is over. We need to reconsider expensive highway expansions and focus on alternatives such as public transit and biking, which people increasingly use to get around.”"

Want to live #carfree? Try Philadelphia

Credit: Kyle Gradinger on Flickr

Next City: "Philly has the highest rate of bike commuting of the 10 largest U.S. cities, with bicycle mode share twice as high as that of the next-best city, Chicago. Neighborhoods in Center City and South Philly are in the same league as all-stars like Portland and Minneapolis for bicycle ridership. With bike share allegedly rolling out next year, and car share networks gaining popularity, it’s only going to get easier and more convenient to live car-free."

Bucks county free connection to Septa trains with employer membership

Information: "The fare is $1.00 per trip.  SEPTA Trail and Trans passes are also valid on rushbus shuttles.  Additionally, if your employer is a member of TMA Bucks, you are entitled to ride the rushbus that services your employer FREE of charge.  Ask your supervisor or human resources department if you aren't sure whether or not your company is a member of TMA Bucks."

Pennsylvania being bankrupted by private auto costs, GOP solution? Cut #publictransit

Pa. GOP to propose another transportation-funding plan: "An advisory panel Corbett created in 2011 reported that transportation needs outstripped available funding in Pennsylvania by more than $3.5 billion a year."

#Climatechange interferes with golf. Oh my!

Tornado watch, more heavy rain in Philly area today: "The tornado watch comes after downpours today have snarled traffic, disrupted public transit, caused airport delays and halted practice rounds at the U.S. Open. The tornado and flood alerts are also just days after Tropical Storm Andrea brought record rainfall to the Philadelphia region."

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They have stopped ignoring and ridiculing #freetransit, now they are fighting it. Here's their latest.

With 19,000 readers a month, the U.S. based #freetransit blog network is making great progress in getting out the word. What is the word? Free. Free is cheaper than charging fares.

The case has been made thoroughly by many people and we have tried to link to them all. Here is the argument in a nutshell. If you look at the big, real, economic picture, there are so many deferred costs, direct subsidies, and damages done by the autosprawl system, that the pitiable few coins in the farebox are negligible compared to the benefits of breaking the critical mass the of the auto-system, something only free buses (or mother nature) can accomplish.

So how are the oil-auto-and-sprawl profiteers responding to the message of "free is cheaper?" They are framing the discussion in accounting terms. They write longs posts comparing things like price of fare and elasticity to sound like economics. But they want to lock us into accounting thinking. Don't fall for it.

Oh, and in case they claim microeconomics? Public investment is not a business. But some principles apply. Charging fares reduces return on investment by raising variable unit costs against fixed. 

Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. parklet. Awesome. 很好

Cars choking Philadelphia

Will I-95 always be a rush-hour highway to hell? - Philly.com: "The annual cost to the region from rush-hour traffic jams is more than $3 billion, according to a 2012 report by the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute, which has measured congestion impact nationally since 1982.

The rush-hour jams cost individual commuters more than $1,000 a year, and cause the release of 1.5 billion pounds of excess carbon dioxide and the consumption of more than 75 million gallons of fuel, the report said.

...Completion of the current interchange reconstruction is expected in 2015, but additional phases of the I-95 rebuild, which will end up costing a total of $1 billion, will continue into 2020."

In Tallinn, Estonia, #freetransit is as much about freedom as money

Chambersburg Public Opinion: ""It gives you freedom," said Tulp, as she boarded a bus on her way home to a suburb of Tallinn. "It's not just money.""

SEPTA invests millions to continue rationing service

SEPTA riders face big changes starting July 1: "More than 200 high-tech vending machines will be installed in subway stations and bus terminals to sell the new smart cards, as well as one-day magnetic-strip tickets for occasional riders.

"We will have to do a huge outreach on all this," acknowledged chief financial officer Richard Burnfield. "It's going to take a lot of education, marketing, and information about the new changes that are coming.""

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Groundbreaking set for $26M transit center | Lehigh Valley Business

Groundbreaking set for $26M transit center | Lehigh Valley Business: "After more than a decade of speculation, actual construction for Easton’s $26 million transportation center project starts next month, with a groundbreaking ceremony near the end of March, according to the city’s mayor."

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Lebanon, Pa, free transit Tuesdays

Lebanon Transit encourages residents to 'Break up with your car' - abc27 WHTM: "Lebanon Transit is offering an incentive for new riders -- a free round trip ticket for any route, any Tuesday, between now and the end of June. There is an also an incentive for current riders.

"For the commuters that are already using us and are encouraging their friends to get on the bus, they can also go online at and register for a $100 Visa gift card," said Giurintano.

It will give new riders a chance to experience the benefits of public transportation, in hopes that they will become regular riders."

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Direct Action Under Way Protesting Fracking Pipeline – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement

Direct Action Under Way Protesting Fracking Pipeline – EcoWatch: Uniting the Voice of the Grassroots Environmental Movement: "Allison Petryk, of Vernon, NJ, and Alex Lotorto, of Milford, PA, plan to remain locked to the gate at the end of Schocopee Road in Milford, PA, all day to prevent access to the tree clearing crews. Tree clearing began on Friday within 24 hours of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Notice to Proceed."

New Year's Day in Chinatown - Imagine no cars!

Philadelphia to close 37 schools, but there is a simple way to attract people back from the suburbs

Teachers, Students And Parents Gather To Protest Closing Of 37 Philadelphia Schools « CBS Philly: "PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The School District of Philadelphia held its latest public meeting at South Philadelphia High School on Tuesday night, and those attending were greeted by protestors fighting the impending closure of 37 schools."

Degrowth is not a policy, it is a physical reality. There is no more cheap oil. Even if we clawed all the money back from the billionaires, we could not make sprawl sustainable. Transit-riding, low-paid urbanites have subsidized the suburbs for a hundred years. It is time to turn this around. Make public transit fare-free. This will save millions of dollars and reduce the congestion, expense, and noise of urban traffic. The city will become more attractive and we can gradually deconstruct the sprawl nightmare.

Free Public Transportation as a Poverty-Fighting Tool - Keystone Politics

Free Public Transportation as a Poverty-Fighting Tool - Keystone Politics: "AxisPhilly is asking for big ideas, so here’s my favorite: make the public transportation system free to riders."

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Transit group: Large majorities support public transportation - The Hill's Transportation Report

Transit group: Large majorities support public transportation - The Hill's Transportation Report: "More than three-fourths of Americans support increasing funding for public transportation systems, the American Public Transportation Association said Monday. "

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We need to decide soon between cars and #transit

PlanPhilly | SEPTA to shrink without additional funding: "For years, SEPTA has been focusing on its state of good repair projects – maintenance and replacement projects necessary to keep equipment, infrastructure and facilities safe and running - but with a capital funding budget of $303 million and a $4.7 billion backlog of necessary state of good repair projects, SEPTA simply does not have enough money to keep the entire system running. "

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18,000 people save 70,000,000 dollars by not driving alone

Pa. report finds transit use up - News - METRO Magazine: "All database members who use all forms of transportation other than driving along take approximately 1,511,609 million miles off the road one way to work per week, which translates into 139,068,028 million miles roundtrip for the year or $70,924,694.28 saved (based on $0.51 per mile)."

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New Year starts off with car death

New Year Ushered In With Deadly Hit-Run on City Avenue Near Presidential Blvd. « CBS Philly: "PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia’s first homicide happened shortly after midnight this New Year’s Day.  And it was just one of many incidents keeping police busy this morning."

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