LA Metro unveils plan to make free public transit a reality
The Los Angeles Metro is considering a proposed pilot program that would allow a majority of the public transit agency’s riders to take the system free of charge. The two-phase pilot would offer free trips for low-income bus and rail riders starting January 2022. In August 2022, fareless travel would extend to all K-12 students in L.A. County. Metro reported that 70% of its riders make less than $35,000 a year and would qualify for free trips under the current pilot proposal. The pilot would run to June 2023, then Metro’s leaders could decide to continue or expand free transit to more riders and services. [laist.com]
South Floridians are halfway to Orlando according to Brightline Florida
Brightline Florida’s rail line between Orlando and South Florida is halfway complete. South Florida and its many visitors will have three different stations to choose from, in Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, when it comes to getting to Orlando and the Walt Disney World Resort. Disney Springs will be the home of one station, while Orlando International Airport will house another. Brightline officials have not announced a timeline for the Disney Springs station yet. The route connecting South Florida stations to Orlando is set to be completed by 2022. [local10.com]
Does New York really need an all-night subway?
Among New Yorkers, the fact that the city’s trains run all night, every day, is an oft-invoked point of pride. But when the Covid-19 pandemic led New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to stop serving passengers overnight in May, Gotham’s turnstiles went silent. MTA officials have said that the break was needed to give crews time to disinfect each train and station, and they fully intend to restore 24/7 service once the pandemic “is over.” But critics of the closure have been skeptical, and some fear that this short-term Covid adaptation could wind up becoming permanent. [bloomberg.com]
How much service are transit agencies running during the pandemic?
Last spring, the onset of Covid-19 roiled transit agencies. Falling revenues posed an existential threat to many. Thousands of transit workers fell ill or were forced to quarantine, and more than a hundred lost their lives. For transit riders, the pandemic brought about sudden and severe cutbacks in service. Nearly all transit agencies have restored some service since then, but a TransitCenter analysis shows wide variation. Of the 150 largest transit agencies, about one in six were providing less than 75% of their pre-pandemic service hours in December 2020. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter were running between 90 and 100% of pre-pandemic service, and 27 agencies were running more service than they were before the pandemic as part of providing socially distanced transit. [transitcenter.org]
Russian diplomat uses hand-pushed rail trolley to travel home from North Korea
With pandemic restrictions hindering cross-border travel all around the world, one group of Russian diplomats has found a unique way to return home. Eight employees of the Russian embassy in North Korea and their families, including a three-year-old child, were pictured travelling on a hand-pushed rail trolley. Photos posted on Facebook show the trolley, loaded with suitcases, as it makes its way through the North Korean countryside. Pyongyang claims, despite international scepticism, to be coronavirus-free, even though the country sealed its borders in January 2020 and has halted passenger traffic. [euronews.com]
