Each week, dozens of people ride Metro-North for the first time. This week's column is to let both new and veteran commuters in on the secrets of a successful rail commute. PARKING: You can't take the train if you can't get to the station, so invest in your commuting future by getting your name on your town's (and neighboring towns') waiting lists for annual parking … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: The Secrets of Riding Metro-North
Talking Transportation
Talking Transportation: ‘Don’t Blame The Trucks’
Driving to Hartford the other day (no, you cannot really get there by train) I saw a beautiful sight: hundreds of trucks! Yet, motorists hate trucks and mistakenly blame them for traffic congestion and accidents that cause hours of delays. Readers of this column know I’m a “rail guy” and would love to see freight trains replace trucks, but that ain’t gonna happen anytime … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: ‘Don’t Blame The Trucks’
Talking Transportation: Speed Limits, Safety and Fuel Efficiency
Crawling along I-95 the other day in the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic, I snickered when I noticed the “Speed Limit 55” sign alongside the highway. I wish … Of course, when the highway is not jammed, speeds are more like 70 mph with the legal limit, unfortunately, rarely being enforced. Which got me thinking: who sets speed limits on our highways and by what … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Speed Limits, Safety and Fuel Efficiency
Talking Transportation: Predictions for 2016
Everybody writes “Year in Review” stories. But rather than dwell on the past, I’ve got the guts to predict the future! Here’s what will happen in 2016 in the transportation world. METRO-NORTH: Slowly but surely, the railroad will drag itself out of the quagmire it’s been in since the Bridgeport, Spuyten Duyvil and Valhalla crashes. On time performance will hold strong even … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Predictions for 2016
Talking Transportation: Saving Money on Metro North
With the holidays upon us, let’s review some money-saving tips for riding Metro-North into the city for commuters and day-trippers alike: TRANSITCHEK: See if your employer subscribes to this great service, which allows workers to buy up to $130 per month in transit using pre-tax dollars. If you’re in the upper tax brackets, that’s a huge savings on commutation. A recent … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Saving Money on Metro North
Talking Transportation: Traveling by Tube
Will the train of the future be a high-speed tube, not a railroad? That’s inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk’s and others’ vision. And Musk, the man who brought us the Tesla (all-electric car) and SpaceX (for-profit space rocket company) is putting his own money behind a proof-of-concept project for what he calls Hyperloop. The concept sound simple: move passengers in a … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Traveling by Tube
Talking Transportation: Good News — and Bad — for Metro-North
It’s been a rough few years for Metro-North what with derailments, crashes and commuter deaths. But it finally seems like service and safety are coming back. The best metric of that is the recent surge in ridership, up 1.7 percent compared to last year. That works out to more than 3,000 additional riders every day. Certainly this ridership gain is a sign of more people … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Good News — and Bad — for Metro-North
Talking Transportation: Happy 75th Birthday to The Merritt: Queen of the Parkways
A century ago the only way to drive between New York and Boston was on Rte. 1, The Post Rd. If you think traffic is bad today, imagine that journey! So in 1936, 2,000 men began work on the state’s largest public works project, the $21 million four-lane- parkway starting in Greenwich and running to the Housatonic River in Stratford. The adjoining Wilbur Cross Parkway didn’t open … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Happy 75th Birthday to The Merritt: Queen of the Parkways
Talking Transportation: Sound Barriers: A Waste of Money?
One and a half million dollars a mile. The cost of building a new lane on I-95? Hardly! That’s more like $20 million. No, “$1.5 million dollars a mile” would be the cost of building new sound barriers on that crowded highway, according to testimony by the Connecticut Department of Transportation's Commissioner. This won’t win me many friends among my neighbors in Darien, … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Sound Barriers: A Waste of Money?
Talking Transportation: The Fairest (and Least Popular) Way To Pay for Roads
Back in April, I wrote about the challenge we face to pay for Gov. Malloy’s $100 billion transportation plan. And I expressed sympathy for his bipartisan, blue-ribbon panel tasked with coming up with funding alternatives, the Transportation Finance Panel. To be honest, I think that panel may be on a fool’s errand. They’re trying to pay for a wish list of projects not of … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: The Fairest (and Least Popular) Way To Pay for Roads
Talking Transportation: PT Barnum and Metro-North
What do Connecticut’s own PT Barnum and I have in common? No, not just a love of circuses. We are both “rail advocates” fighting for the interests of commuters. This amazing piece of news about Barnum, a man better known for his showmanship and menageries, came to me while watching a speech at the Old State House in Hartford broadcast on CT-N (every policy wonk’s favorite … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: PT Barnum and Metro-North
Talking Transportation: Transportation News Updates
It’s time to update you on some of the hot topics we’ve discussed in recent weeks: MALLOY’S TRANSIT LAND GRAB: Remember the Governor’s stealth proposal for a “Transit Corridor Development Authority,” described by some as “eminent domain on steroids”? Well, the initial idea to allow the state to acquire any land within a half-mile of train stations was modified, then killed … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Transportation News Updates
Talking Transportation: The End Did Not Justify the Means
As someone who has battled two decades for more spending on transportation, you’d think I would be happy with the state’s new biennial budget. But when you drill down into the details, there’s reason for concern. Governor Malloy promised a down-payment on his $100 billion transportation dreams. And he did get one-half of one percent of the state sales tax repurposed for … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: The End Did Not Justify the Means
Talking Transportation: Collecting Fares Using the Honor System
Connecticut’s newest mass transit system, CTfastrak, is off to a great start. The bus rapid transit system running from New Britain to Hartford is carrying up to 10,000 passengers daily. Mind you, that’s coming off of its debut week when all rides were free. In fact, it’s the fare collection process on CTfastrak that makes it innovative: it’s on the honor … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Collecting Fares Using the Honor System
Talking Transportation: Personalized Airfares
Last time we were talking about mass transit systems collecting fares on the honor system. This time, something completely different. But to understand it, consider this analogy: Let’s say you’re in a store shopping for a commodity. You and another shopper each select one of the same items at the same time and head for the cashier. But before you can pay, the cashier … [Read more...] about Talking Transportation: Personalized Airfares