Free Republic

Crime on the subways has become significantly more violent since the pandemic with the number of felony assaults soaring when compared to pre-pandemic levels, an analysis by The Post revealed. The number of attacks on trains that left victims injured jumped 53% from 2023’s 570 felony assaults to the 373 reported in 2019, according to stats. Those 200 extra felony assaults meant that attacks resulting in substantial injury accounted for 25% of 2,285 major crimes reported on trains and in stations in 2023, compared to just 15% of the 2,499 major crimes in 2019, the data

Only days after one passenger shot and killed another aboard a West Side bus filled with other riders, Chicago Transit Authority union leader Keith Hill says he’s now open to seeing the Illinois National Guard provide security for the long-troubled system. “Since 2017, my call has been for extra security, a presence on the transit system,” Hill told The Center Square. “From a worker standpoint, the workers need to feel safe. When a person rides the system, they should feel safe getting from point A to point B.” Late Tuesday night, a 53-year-old man began waving a knife around while...

A serial transit offender that cops say should be in the subway crimes “Hall of Fame” was arrested for 171st time – but wasn’t prosecuted, according to police officials and sources. Michael Wilson, 37, was nabbed illegally selling MetroCard swipes in his 27th arrest in the past eight months alone but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office let him off without prosecution “in the interest of justice,” according to sources. “If there was a hall of fame for Subway offenders — this guy would be a first ballot inductee,” NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper wrote in a scathing X...

NJ Transit wants to hike fares an eye-popping 15% but may still face a massive budget hole in a year – a dire situation that has the head of the MTA mocking the Garden State’s governor. MTA chairman Janno Lieber roasted New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday over his transit budgeting chaos, taking a dig at one of the most vocal critics of the planned congestion toll in Manhattan. “Phil Murphy said he was gonna fix New Jersey Transit if it kills him,” Lieber told New York state lawmakers during a budget hearing in Albany. “I’m not sure. He’s...

The rush to replace diesel buses with electric buses is not faring well in colder climates. The city of Skellefteå in Sweden has had to drastically cut short its electric bus service due to sub-zero temperatures. Marie Larsson, chief of the city's bus operations, explained, "at minus 40 degrees it is too cold for the electric buses. In hindsight its seems like we should've taken this factor into consideration before we invested so much time and money converting from diesel buses." In Minnesota, the cities of Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul are having similar problems. Metro Transit spokesperson Drew Kerr...

everal cities in Minnesota, including Duluth and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, are facing challenges in transitioning their public transit systems to zero-emission electric buses due to operational difficulties in subzero temperatures, which significantly reduce the buses’ range. The efficiency of lithium-ion batteries decreases in cold weather, impacting the buses’ ability to hold a charge and provide adequate warmth for passengers during winter. Other factors such as increased rolling resistance and less effective regenerative braking system in cold temperatures also affect the buses’ performance. Metro Transit spokesperson, Drew Kerr, said, “Using garage chargers alone, electric buses can...

Proterra, which President Joe Biden once said was "making me look good," sold hundreds of electric buses to municipalities across North America. Every transit district Just The News spoke with, except one, has inoperable buses awaiting repairs. Across the country, towns and cities of various sizes envisioned an electrified public transit system that could shuttle residents with vehicles that produced no carbon-filled exhaust. Many of those communities purchased buses from Silicon Valley-based Proterra, which was able to produce 550 buses over its 19-year existence before it went bankrupt in August. The company announced last month it had concluded auctions as...

Here’s something coming without delays. New research warns that rapidly rising underground heat in subway stations is well on its way to becoming a “silent hazard” that will wreck transit systems and cause health issues for straphangers in the not-so-distant future. “Subsurface temperature rises can also cause transportation infrastructure and public health issues, such as overheated subway rails that force trains to slow down or stop to avoid incidents with significant economic costs associated with the delay of public transportation services,” warns Northwestern engineering professor Alessandro Rotta Loria in a study released Tuesday. Making matters worse, the hellishly hot platform...

In an effort to foster “support and belonging,” Pierce Transit leadership expects employees to use pro-nouns selected by coworkers, including “ze/zir/zirs” and “they/them/theirs.” If you don’t, you may be subject to discipline. Amy Cleveland, the Executive Director of Administration, distributed a memo titled “Pronoun Use in the Workplace” on March 8. It read that the agency, “recognizes the importance of using an individual’s preferred pronouns at work as a form of respect and courtesy.” The memo outlined employer expectations. In addition to using a person’s name or requested pro-noun, it says if you mistakenly use the incorrect pronoun, you should...

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare for the District of Columbia and other major cities that public transit was a lifeline for essential workers and that even modest fares could be a burden to them. So the nation’s capital is introducing a groundbreaking plan: It will begin offering free bus fares to residents next summer. Other cities, including Los Angeles and Kansas City, Missouri, suspended fare collection during the height of the pandemic to minimize human contact and ensure that residents with no other travel options could reach jobs and services at hospitals, grocery stores and offices. But D.C.‘s permanent free...

Bright orange scooters now share — and sometimes command — Pittsburgh’s sidewalks. They’re an integral part of the Move PGH pilot project, the city’s plan to bundle transit options to help residents get around without owning a car, whether by bus, bike, scooter, zip car or more. Statistics reported by Move PGH, a year into its two-year pilot, are encouraging: People have taken more than 576,000 scooter trips for a total of hundreds of thousands of miles. They have biked tens of thousands of miles, and ridden Scoobi mopeds for more than 14,000 miles. Experience has dispelled Initial fears about...

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said on Thursday that the county will continue to require masking on public transportation systems, breaking with a recent ruling by a federal judge in Florida, which struck down the federal mask mandate on transportation systems. The department noted it is issuing a health order to say that masking will continue to be required in indoor transportation hubs such as bus and airport terminals and on all public transportation — including ride-shares, trains and buses — within Los Angeles County.

The chair of the House Democrats' campaign arm and some of the vulnerable members he's charged with re-electing are voicing support for a Republican-led mask mandate repeal bill. Why it matters: This would set up a potential showdown with the White House, which recently issued a one-month extension on the federal mask mandate for public transit and airplanes. The backing also illustrates how Democrats — especially those facing tough re-election fights — are trying to distance themselves from the pro-mask policies that defined their party for the past two years. "I'm completely over mask mandates," Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.),...

On two successive days, I traveled on the London Underground and the Paris Métro. One contrast between the passengers struck me very forcibly. On the London Underground, not more than 5 percent of the passengers wore face masks. On the Paris Métro, not more than 1 percent did not. The contrast was all the more startling because the wearing of masks was equally obligatory on both systems. On the London Underground there were many notices saying so, and occasional public address announcements to that effect. On the Parisian Métro, there were likewise public address announcements, though pronounced much more clearly...

DENVER — Trash, drug use and violence out in the open at Union Station’s RTD train and bus stops have employees demanding something be done about it. The union representing 2,000 workers for RTD and First Transit, RTD’s largest fixed-route contractor, alerted the community of the conditions in a Wednesday press release, calling Union Station a “lawless hellhole.” “It’s not safe to come to work when you have to inhale smoke from drug pipes,” the union said. They join riders and even some who are homeless in calling for action. ‘They have no respect’.. Union Station is a staple of...

The great global supply chain crisis of 2021 — which has ensnared groceries, holiday shopping and everything in between — has bottlenecked West Coast ports, and drawn the involvement of the White House to address it. As the disruption reaches a boiling point and adds to rising price pressures, longshoremen, union representatives and truck drivers have pointed fingers over which party is best positioned to alleviate some of the strains.... ...While the pandemic has exacerbated strains in the economy amid an unprecedented demand surge, a 2019 study published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics probed the dearth of truckers....

Brooklyn, we have a problem. The MTA spent $86 million on a state-of-the-art, NASA-like “bus command center” that has gone unused for more than two years because it’s already falling apart, The Post has learned. Transit officials have said the eastern Brooklyn command center, which replaces a smaller facility across the street, will serve as a “war room” for bus dispatchers. But the building has sat empty since former Transit President Andy Byford and other big-wigs held a celebratory ribbon cutting there in June 2019. With the building at Jamaica Avenue and Fanchon Place having suffered leaks, faulty heating and...

An updated financial plan for the Hudson Tunnel Project, a cornerstone of the Gateway Program, has been developed with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and was submitted to FTA on Aug. 27. The plan includes a price increase of nearly $700 million from the 2020 financial plan, but project partners point out their commitment to managing costs and schedule is also reflected in the new financial plan. “The Hudson Tunnel Project is of the utmost importance to the economic well-being of New Jersey, our region and our country,” said New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “The updated financial plan that is...

The city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) said today it will begin work this weekend along the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE), in an effort to extend the life of the triple-cantilever roadway that runs underneath the Brooklyn Promenade. Crews will begin work Friday evening, but the real impact on traffic will be felt Monday, when DOT plans to reduce the number of lanes on the portion of the expressway from Atlantic Avenue to the Brooklyn Bridge from three to two in both directions. The agency warned drivers to expect construction-induced traffic jams, and suggested they take public transit instead. Trucks and...

The first director of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure will be leaving her job in the city for a role in President Joe Biden’s administration, Mayor Bill Peduto announced Friday. Karina Ricks, who took the reins of the newly created DOMI in February 2017, will join the Federal Transit Administration as associate administrator for research, innovation and demonstration. The Peduto administration said the department was formed to promote safety, accessibility and sustainable transit in the city. Under her leadership, DOMI developed a plan early on to improve safety on Liberty Avenue in the Strip District, which is set to...