Stories worth reading – September 10, 2015
Good afternoon. Here are a few curated stories we’re reading and talking about this week.
Members-only stories
Using performance measurement to chase the right goal: Performance measures for members, part III
If states and metro areas merely take up conventional measures without question, they may move in the wrong direction toward the wrong outcomes in the end. Instead, start from your ideal goal and work backwards to choose the appropriate measure to get you there.
From the T4A blog
What if we labeled unwalkable neighborhoods like we do cigarettes?
What if we labeled unwalkable neighborhoods like we do cigarettes? A similar call from the Surgeon General in 1964 was the watershed event that kicked off a decades-long decline in cigarette use. Could today’s Call to Action do the same for communities without safe places to walk?
Headlines
Don’t Railroad Amtrak
The American Conservative
These trains represent one of the good things from the past conservatives should work to conserve and expand: at present, passenger rail service in most of the country is a fraction of what it was 50 years ago. All of which makes it passing strange that congressional Republicans are doing their utmost to kill Amtrak.
BRT Hits 400 Corridors and Systems Worldwide
The City Fix
BRTData’s most recent update shows that there are now 402 mapped BRT corridors and bus lanes, stretching over 5229 kilometers worldwide. The significance of this figure is twofold: first, it shows that many cities worldwide are becoming increasingly interested in sustainable modes of transport; secondly, the figure is a reflection of the vast amount of free and accessible data that exists online to support the case for BRT.
If Congestion Is Getting Worse, Why Are We Spending Less Time Traveling?
Planetizen
“The main implications of the present results are that the total travel time per person decreased substantially from 2004 to 2014,” [researcher Michael] Sivak concludes. However, he adds, “that this decrease is due to a decrease in the proportion of persons engaged in the trips, and not an overall reduction of the duration of the trips.”
Your Cheap Uber Rides May Be Going Away. And That’s a Good Thing.
Mother Jones
Last Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco awarded class-action status to a lawsuit in which three Uber drivers contend they are employees, not independent contractors. If they win the lawsuit, the drivers must be reimbursed by the company for gas, workers compensation, and other benefits. Uber has said losing the suit, which could involve 15,000 of its former drivers, might force it to fundamentally rethink its business model. And maybe that’s exactly what needs to happen.
Intelligent technology will change how we use mass transit
Miami Herald
Mobile apps and wayside signage now provide real-time data on the location and progress of buses, trains, trolleys and street cars. Passengers have access to real-time information on usage and delays and up-to-the-minute details on the best routes on their smart phones and tablets. They make public transportation more user friendly, predictable and efficient.