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(1) TCRP Synthesis 62. Integration of Bicycles and Transit. 2005,
Transportation Research Board.
http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_syn_62.pdf

The purpose of this report is to share information about how bicycles are integrated with public transportation by many different types of transit agencies in the United States and Canada. The information in this synthesis can be used to improve existing bicycle services and to assist other communities with developing new bicycle and transit services. This report is an update of TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice 4.

Click here for online version.

FROM VELONEWS

Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: Doored v. Nailed
By Robert Mionske, JD
This report filed March 16, 2006
Dear Bob,
I love your column, even if it does point out I am often wrong in my mistaken beliefs. What is the legality of when a cyclist swerves to avoid a car door opening and is hit from behind by a car? It has not happened yet, but oh so many close calls!
D. D.

Dear D.D.
Wow, talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Okay, so theoretically speaking, you swerve to avoid getting doored, and you get nailed instead from behind. Who's at fault here? Well, there are about 50 answers to that question, depending on the state you live in, but we can narrow that down to four different auto liability systems in the U.S. But first, let's talk about getting doored vs. getting nailed.

Click here for the original article from New York's Villiage Voice.

Ever wonder why, in such a crowded place as New York City, it can be so hard to find a mate?

Here's a novel excuse: traffic.

According to a new study by the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, people who live on highly trafficked streets tend to go out less and have fewer friends and acquaintances than people who live in less congested parts of the city.

Click here for a printable PDF version of this article

by Pete Stidman
March 30, 2005

This article first appeared online at the Boston Independent Media Center.

Chris Grealish’s first thoughts of leaving Boston were inspired by bone-crushing accidents. In his three years riding as a courier he received a broken collar bone, a demobilizing blow to the hip, stitches on a gruesomely torn upper lip, lost skin on his hands, legs and arms, and a knee swelled up to the size of a grapefruit. Instead of vacations, Grealish was often forced to take unpaid downtime to heal his wounds. He claims he averaged one accident or serious altercation with a cabdriver every three months.

Yet he loved the job.

National Academies News: Fuel Taxes and Future of Highway Funding
From: The National Academies
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 10:13:47 -0500

Date: Jan. 23, 2006
Contacts: Patrice Pages, Media Relations Officer
Chris Dobbins, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fuel Tax Is a Sound Way to Fund Highways in the Short Term,
But Different Long-Term Revenue Sources Are Needed

WASHINGTON -- Fuel taxes can remain the primary funding source for the nation's highways for at least another decade, but eventually replacing them with a system that meters road use and charges drivers accordingly could benefit travelers and the public, says a new report from the National Academies' Transportation Research Board. Although the current funding system helps build and maintain highways and ensures that users pay most of these costs, it does not help transportation agencies alleviate congestion or target investment to the most valuable projects.

Valley Metro Recognized Nationally for Two Transit Programs:

Bus Bike Racks and Online Commute Cost Calculator

PHOENIX (Oct. 14, 2005) –Valley Metro accepted three awards for its agency partners, including the City of Phoenix, for the Sportsworks 2005 Transit Challenge awards for overall bike rack usage. Valley Metro/Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) Chairwoman and Peoria Vice Mayor Pat Dennis accepted the awards at the 2005 APTA Conference in Dallas on Sept. 27.

Between May and August, North American transit agencies competed against each other in a contest to find out which agency encouraged the most riders to incorporate bicycle and bus transit into their daily travel.

Click here for the entire article.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/29/ap_takes_a_backroads_us_bicycle_journey/

AP takes a backroads U.S. bicycle journey
By Calvin Woodward, Associated Press Writer | December 29, 2005

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. --When you bicycle across the country, people tell you their dreams, because they see you are living yours.

"I've always wanted to ..." they say. "Someday, I'll ..."

Integration of Bicycles and Transit: A Synthesis of Transit Practice
2005, TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD

During the past decade, there has been significant growth in bicycle and transit integration.
Transit agencies are increasingly mounting bicycle racks on buses, allowing bicycles to be
brought on board trains, installing bicycle racks and lockers at transit stations, providing
staffed bicycle parking facilities (also referred to as bike stations) at major transit hubs, and
offering other bicycle services. Forty-five (80%) of the 56 North American transit agencies
that responded to a survey for this report started at least one of their bicycle services after
1994, when TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice 4: Integration of Bicycles and Transit was
published.

High Cost or High Opportunity Cost? Transportation and Family Economic Success
Margy Waller
Center on Children and Families Working Paper

Abstract: Research evidence suggests that having a car is a worthwhile investment in better outcomes for low-income families. Recent reports quantify the additional money required to own and operate personal vehicles, as compared to the lower cost of traveling on public transit. However, this method of accounting fails to consider the fact that poor workers without a car may not be able to search for or accept a better-paying job because public transit doesn’t go there, causing these workers to lose lost income or benefits as a result. This report outlines opportunity costs experienced by transit-dependent poor households, and concludes that when all costs are considered along with benefits of private vehicles, it makes sense to press for more assistance and policies that reduce car ownership costs for poor workers.