Kate Hinds

(photo by Andrea Bernstein/WNYC)

The Brooklyn Bridge promenade is getting a fresh coat of paint.

(photo by Andrea Bernstein/WNYC)

Workers were spotted Wednesday morning refreshing the bike and pedestrian markings.

(photo by Andrea Bernstein/WNYC)

The NYC Department of Transportation says work will be finished by the end of the week.

US Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is inviting questions from TN readers. Want to know how the nation's transportation priorities are shifting? Wondering about the future of high-speed rail? Or how he decides where to spend the DOT's $70 billion budget? Or do you just want to know if he really does honk at drivers he sees texting behind the wheel?

For the next episode of his Q&A video series called “On the Go," Secretary LaHood is inviting questions from Transportation Nation readers. To ask him a question, you can:

Post questions on the Secretary’s Facebook page

Tweet using the #q4ray hashtag

Leave a comment on the Secretary’s blog, or

Leave a comment on this page

He will choose three or four to respond to. Let him know we sent you – write ‘TN’ at the end of your question.  We’ll post his video when it’s available.

Want to see what "On the Go" is like? Watch Secretary LaHood field questions from TN readers in 2011!

(photo by Caitlyn Kim/WNYC)

The winter holidays are less than six months away, but one San Francisco bicyclist is apparently ready.

Thanks to WNYC's Caitlyn Kim for the picture!

Top stories on TN:
Orlando International Airport Could Link with Private Intercity Rail (link)
Court Upholds EPA’s Emissions Rules (link)
Heads Up, New Yorkers: If You Text and Walk, A New York Knick Will Hurl a Basketball At Your Midsection (link)
Free Wi-Fi Goes Underground as NYC Subway Stations Get Connected (link)

MTA Countdown Clock Photo (Kate Hinds)

Senate majority leader Harry Reid is pegging the chances of the transportation bill at better than 50-50. (The Hill)

NY Governor Cuomo on building a new Tappan Zee Bridge: "I will prevail in the end, but I’m sure it’s going to be a long and difficult journey." (New York Times)

Countdown clocks are coming to some of New York City's lettered-line subways (namely: the N and R trains) in a pilot program. (Capital New York)

California Democrats have a "plan B" for high-speed rail, but it's not clear if it has a real chance of being substituted for the governor's proposal. (Fresno Bee)

Boston's transit agency presented a plan to to begin selling naming rights for 11 subway stations, including Downtown Crossing, Park Street, and Back Bay. "No contracts have been signed yet, but JetBlue and Emerson have expressed interest." (Boston Globe)

Meanwhile, the renaming of a Brooklyn subway stop to include the new Barclays Center arena has inspired a protest shirt. (DNA Info)

Philadelphia's transit agency is retiring its two oldest rail cars this week. One of them, a Silverliner II, was built in 1963. (Mass Transit)

Nearly four in five drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike pay their tolls with E-ZPass. (Star Ledger)

Meanwhile, some Garden State Parkway drivers will see new language as part of a pilot program to speed up the exact change lanes.  In other words: "pay toll go." (Asbury Park Press)

DC is considering privatizing its yet-to-be-opened streetcar system. (Washington Post)

A private company wants to build a 15-mile, $315.2 million magnetic-levitation commuter rail system in Central Florida. (Orlando Business Journal)

A British team is developing a car capable of reaching 1,000 mph. (BBC)

(photo by Josh Koonce via flickr)

A federal appeals court Tuesday said the Environmental Protection Agency was "unambiguously correct" in using existing federal law to limit greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

Several industry groups -- as well as the state of Texas -- had argued that the science behind climate change was uncertain, and that the EPA lacked the legal authority to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from factories, power plants, and automobile tailpipes.

But the court unanimously rejected that view. "This is how science works," the judges wrote in the 82-page decision (pdf). "EPA is not required to re-prove the existence of the atom every time it approaches a scientific question."

The opinion cites not only a previous Supreme Court ruling but also Schoolhouse Rock.  (“As a generation of schoolchildren knows, 'by that time, it’s very unlikely that [a bill will] become a law. It’s not easy to become a law.'")

Read the decision here.

To ensure compliance with the rules of the road, the New York City Department of Transportation is mounting a public safety campaign to make sure New Yorkers are displaying situationa...

To ensure compliance with the rules of the road, the New York City Department of Transportation is mounting a public safety campaign to make sure New Yorkers are displaying situational awareness.

Or as Baron Davis puts it in a video released Tuesday: "Hey, heads up! Come on man, pay attention!" before before nailing a phone-hypnotized pedestrian with a basketball.

Also at the receiving end of Davis's scorn: a salmoning biker and a driver who aggressively enters a crosswalk thronged with pedestrians.

Davis is a point guard with the New York Knicks. He's  currently recovering from surgery for a knee injury.

In an emailed statement, DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said the point is to raise awareness. “Whether it’s driving to the hoop or driving down the block, the cardinal rule of the road is to keep your eyes and ears open and your head up."

In addition to the video, the DOT is placing posters like the one below in bus shelters, and has distributed 250,000 coffee cup sleeves for delis and coffee shops around the city.

(image courtesy of NYC DOT)

 

Top stories on TN:
NY MTA Losing $100 Million Annually To Fare Evasion (link)

Traffic in Bangalore (photo by Knetgel via flickr)

A temporary extension may be necessary even if lawmakers reach a deal on the transportation bill, because "you have to write everything up," says Senator Jay Rockefeller. (The Hill)

And yes, the deadline for federal transportation funding is this Saturday. (Marketplace)

What happens if Loudon County drops out of the Silver Line Metro project? (GGW)

Fare increases for four Bay Area transit agencies (Muni, BART, Caltrain and Golden Gate Transit) are going into effect this weekend. (SF Examiner)

Louisiana drivers will soon be able to show proof of insurance electronically on cellphones or other devices if their insurers send the data that way. (Times Picayune)

During the BART shutdown earlier this month -- as thousands of frustrated commuters waited hours for a ride across San Francisco Bay -- 17% of AC Transit buses were in the yard, empty, for "mechanical reasons. (California Watch)

One Vermonter's taxi business model: do away with the meter and let the passenger set the price. (NPR)

Traffic jams in the Indian city of Bangalore are costing jobs and slowing its tech boom. The population has jumped 50% in one year, leading one planner to point out: “You have to create infrastructure ahead of the need.” (Bloomberg)

While building a subway in Greece’s second-largest city, workers uncovered a section of an ancient road built by the Romans that was the city’s main travel artery nearly 2,000 years ago. (Washington Post via AP)

How twitter found one Brooklyn man's stolen bicycle, leading to a "#crowdsourcesleuthing triumph!" (Slate)

A huge chunk of Queens lacks bike lanes. (DNA Info)

How to combat distracted driving: carrot -- or stick? Many states are raising fines, but some say "it's more productive to treat distracted driving as a driver education problem." (USA Today)

Shanghai's subway system tells female riders: if you wear suggestive clothing, "then no wonder you will be sexually harassed!" (Tea Leaf Nation; h/t @e_jaffe)

Fare beaters cost New York City $100 million a year – and it’s worse on buses than on subways, MTA officials say.

NY MTA chairman Joe Lhota, at Monday's committee meetings  (photo by Kate Hinds)

Fare evasion costs New York City $100 million a year. And it's worse on buses than subways.

Putting an exact number on the city's problem is difficult, officials said at Monday's New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee meeting. Thomas Prendergast, the president of New York City Transit, said "I believe the number is between $50 and $75 million (annually)."

But later that morning, an MTA official said internal estimates put that number closer to $100 million a year -- with fare evasion on buses alone accounting for over $50 million a year.

MTA head Joe Lhota said he met last month with NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly. The result: police are stepping up enforcement and spot checks on buses -- and the effort involves both uniform and undercover officers.

"This new effort has just started," said Lhota, "and I think we'll see the fruit of this relatively soon."

So far this year (as of 6/24), police have made 1,228 "theft of service" arrests on city buses. That's up 72% compared to the same period last year.

Thomas Prendergast said he found some of the fare evasion numbers surprising. "We have the higher end of the rates in Staten Island," he said, "where there's a lot of school service and a lot of the fare evasion may be students."

So far this year there have been 60 arrests for fare evasion in that borough.

Prendergast said he wanted to produce a thorough report on the problem, "rather than just making anecdotal comments."

One board member asked Prendergast why fare evasion occurs more often on buses. "At the front end of my career," said Prendergast, "I drove a bus for 30 days and qualified as a bus operator in Chicago. And let me tell you, it's one of the most difficult jobs."

He then painted a stark picture of a situation drivers could find themselves in. "If you want to work midnight to eight, by yourself on a bus, and challenge somebody for a fare -- we require people to challenge once for a fare -- versus sitting in a booth and calling someone if someone doesn't pay a fare -- it's a very, very complicated issue."

And not a financially insignificant one. "Every dollar we can save from fare evasion is a dollar we can spend for other things," he said.

To give that $100 million figure some context: in 2010, the MTA cut 38 bus lines -- and reduced service on 76 more -- to save $93 million a year.

Top stories on TN:
Mermaids, Mermen Ride The NYC Subway (link)
US DOT Doles Out $500 Million to Transportation Projects Around U.S. (link)

According to a new study, owners of cars this color can expect extra bird...attention. (photo by SoulRider.222 via flickr)

Bike rental businesses in New York City are retooling to survive the upcoming bike share program -- but they're not that worried, because it's "the tide that lifts all boats." (Crain's NY)

New York Post columnist Nicole Gelinas: Just how is New York State going to come up with the money to pay for the new Tappan Zee Bridge? "The summer surprise could be for Cuomo to do what lots of people do when confronted with the impossible: Find a quick and dirty solution." (Bonus: walk down memory lane to revisit Governor Pataki's MTA capital plan.) (link)

Five towns in the Boston suburbs are outfitting their public transportation vehicles with GPS devices to gather information on routes and riders -- with the goal of using the data to merge services next year. (Boston Globe)

The Chicago Tribune analyses hot spots for transit crimes, and finds that it is "highly concentrated in the downtown area, where dozens of bus routes converge and Loop trains operate, as well as on the entire Red Line." (link)

A container terminal in Bayonne, NJ, received $11 million from the federal government to make it possible to unload cargo directly onto rail, rather than rely on trucks. (WNYC)

Washington Post opinion: Congress should focus on funding the transportation bill, not keeping the rates for student loans extra low. (link)

Cash-strapped cities are selling naming rights and sponsorships to raise money -- and transit agencies are being particularly aggressive. "Straphangers in Philadelphia buy fare cards blazoned with ads for McDonald’s and ride the Broad Street Line to AT&T Station (formerly Pattison Station), where the turnstiles bear the company’s familiar blue and white globe." (New York Times)

NJ Spotlight analysis: if Governor Christie's budget is approved now, New Jersey will face a fiscal crisis next spring.

The TSA is making it easier for kids to clear airport security. (NPR)

Red cars are more likely to be hit by bird droppings than other colors, according to a British study; green cars are the most ignored. (USA Today via Detroit Free Press)

London bus workers will stage further strikes unless there is a deal over bonuses for Olympic working, a union leader has warned. (BBC)

The New York Bicycle Film Festival opens this week, and a documentary about illegal bike messenger races is making waves. (New York Daily News)

Top stories on TN:
Progress? Transportation Bill Shows a Pulse (link)
California High Speed Rail Aiming to Take Its Message Viral (link)
MWAA to Loudoun County: No Extension on Silver Line Deadline (link)
After Double Hit & Run, Commerce Secretary Resigns (link)

(image courtesy NY MTA)

As the number of straphangers hit by subway trains continues to rise, New York's MTA rolled out a campaign warning subway riders to stay away from the tracks. (New York Daily News)

Imperial Oil Ltd formally withdrew a highly contested plan to truck huge loads of equipment over a mountain pass on the Idaho/Montana border -- having already moved them to its Alberta oil sands project via alternative routes. (Reuters, Missoulian)

Neither party liked Governor Christie's bill to raise the borrowing cap for transportation projects, but the New Jersey State Assembly Budget Committee approved it anyway. (Star-Ledger)

And: In the latest effort by NJ lawmakers to crack down on perks at the Port Authority, the Assembly approved a bill to restrict the use of company cars and drivers, overnight travel, housing allowances, personal expense accounts and toll passes for agency officials and employees. (Star-Ledger)

Tesla's new electric sedan: five passengers, 89 MPG, and no engine. (NPR)

How many jobs will California's high-speed rail program bring? Perhaps not as much as originally thought. (LA Weekly)

Britain's traffic jams are the worst in Europe -- and they're particularly bad on Fridays. (Daily Mail)

The helmet law debate is heating up in British Columbia as Vancouver negotiates for a bike share program. (Vancouver Sun)

BART police are trying to reunite riders with stolen bikes. (Mercury News)

JetBlue has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to use a new navigation system to save time and fuel in its New York landings. (Crain's New York Business)

Opinion: Republican-led austerity is pushing public transit into severe fiscal and physical crisis. (Guardian; h/t @MattSeaton)

The Mermaid Parade is tomorrow -- so it's a good time to check out some 2011 MTA-curated photos of straphangers in costume en route to Coney Island.  (h/t @AdamLisberg)

John Bryson (photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Commerce)

Nearly two weeks after a double hit-and-run in California, U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson resigned his post.

Bryson, who was found unconscious after the incident, said a seizure was responsible. He has been on medical leave since then.

In a letter to President Obama, Bryson wrote: "I have concluded that the seizure I suffered on June 9th could be a distraction from my performance as Secretary and that our country would be better served by a change in leadership of the Department."

President Obama accepted his resignation. In a statement, the president said Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank would continue to serve as Acting Secretary.

 

Top stories on TN:
It’s A Heatwave But Don’t Expect Cooling On NYC Subway Platforms (link)
SF Bicyclist Pleads Not Guilty in Pedestrian Death (link)
State Money Will Widen, Improve One Of Houston’s Most Crowded Freeways (link)
Boston T Exec: I Was Surprised Apple Dropped Transit Directions (link)
40% of Traffic in Williston is Semi-Truck (link)

A 2009 image from one of Newark's "Project Red Light" traffic cameras (photo by City of Newark via flickr)

Gov. Jerry Brown backed away from a fight with environmentalists and abandoned a plan to exempt the $68 billion California bullet train project from environmental laws. (California Watch via Sacramento Bee)

New Jersey has suspended its red-light camera program over questions about the accuracy of the devices; the state DOT says 63 of the 85 red-light cameras in New Jersey — including all 19 in Newark — have not been tested to ensure yellow lights were timed in accordance with the statute that created the pilot program. (Star-Ledger)

And: legislation permitting NYC to use speed cameras looks unlikely to clear the state Assembly. (Streetsblog)

One way to combat speeding, according to a new study: incentivize driving the speed limit. (NPR)

Money to construct the so-called NAFTA Superhighway -- a road that passes through eight states between Canada and Mexico -- is running out. (WFIU via NPR)

Port Authority police have stopped ticketing motorists in New Jersey who pick up pedestrians before crossing the George Washington Bridge into New York City. (AP via Wall Street Journal)

If New York's bike share program is a success, it could spark "a brand-new industry in the U.S.," according to Alta's Alison Cohen. (Fast Company)

New York's MTA may install video cameras on buses to record drivers behind the wheel — but the union vowed to fight such a move. (NY Daily News)

For the first time in his long-running dispute with Houston Metro, Rep. John Culberson (R-Houston) has managed to insert language into a $51.6 billion spending package that could block federal funding to expand the light rail system along Richmond and Post Oak. (Houston Chronicle)

Opinion: stuffy dress codes at federal offices in DC hamper healthy urban commuting choices. "How is anyone supposed to ride a bike to work in a tailored skirt or a starched dress shirt?" (GGW)

Legislators are expected to vote today on a $20.2 billion budget that restores funding for Charlotte’s $1 billion Lynx Blue Line extension to University City. (Charlotte Observer)

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell continue to battle over who represents Virginia on the MWAA board -- the body that oversees area airports and the multibillion-dollar Silver Line Metrorail project. (Washington Post)

The Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board voted to send state funds directly to cities and counties, rather than through the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, a change that local governments had fought. (Washington Post)

Police in Italy discovered 2 million Chinese-made counterfeit train tickets stashed in 28 cardboard boxes at the back of a container meant to be carrying office furniture and postcards. (ABC News)

Happy 7th annual Dump the Pump Day! (APTA)

(image courtesy of the American Public Transport Association)

Top stories on TN:
Leaders to Negotiators: Make One Last Push on Transportation Bill (link)
MTA: Bronx Reverse Commute On The Rise (link)
NYC Mayor Bloomberg: Cities Are Ahead Of Nations In Reducing Greenhouse Gases (link)
Lawmaker: Highway Conference Dead, It’s an Extension (link)
Loudoun Leaders Leaning “No” on Silver Line to Dulles Airport (link)

London's new cable car across the Thames, set to open June 28 (image courtesy of Transport for London)

New York's MTA loses about $50 million in revenue each year to bus farebeaters — more than triple what it previously estimated. (New York Daily News)

A bill allowing NYC to install 40 speed cameras is expected to clear the state senate this week. (New York Times)

Salt Lake City will get a bikeshare program in 2013. (Salt Lake Tribune)

More and more states are repealing and relaxing helmet laws -- even as the death toll continues to rise from motorcycle accidents. (PBS NewsHour)

D.C. Council member (and former mayor) Marion Barry has launched a last ditch effort to slow or derail the city’s planned street car line on H Street, arguing it’s not been well-thought out and is too expensive for the number of riders it will serve. (Washington Post)

Word of TIGER grants is leaking out in advance of the official DOT announcement; here's a sample: New York City is getting $10 million for the Hunts Point market in the Bronx (Crain's), Tampa is getting $10.9 for its Riverwalk (Tampa Bay Times), Chicago won $20 million to expand its 95th Street Terminal (NBC), and Memphis will receive $15 million to build a bicycle/pedestrian boardwalk next to a bridge across the Mississippi River (Memphis Daily News). For a fuller list, check out Transportation Issues Daily.

In London for the Olympics? Ride a bike to get around. (ESPN)

And: take the new cable car across the Thames, set to open next week. (Telegraph)

A plan that could dramatically remake the Hollywood skyline and form the blueprint for denser development around the city's growing rail network has won unanimous approval from the Los Angeles City Council. (Los Angeles Times)

Tens of thousands of taxi drivers in South Korea are striking for the first time ever over rising fuel prices. (BBC; video)

Following a plea from residents, the Spokane City Council asked officials to study the environmental effects of significantly increasing the amount of coal traveling by train through the city. (The Spokesman-Review)

The cost of an airport taxi ride varies widely from city to city, with a ride in Dubai taking 10 minutes and costing $13.60, while the fare from Narita to Tokyo will run you $300. (Los Angeles Times)

Bike New York, which produces the annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour may be slapped with a $930,000 fee by the New York Police Department for police coverage during next year's event. (Crain's New York Business)

Apple's new operating system for iPhones and iPads has drawn plenty of praise. But one group that is not so happy, as TN readers know: public transit riders. Andrea Bernstein reports for Marketplace.

But wait: maybe it's actually good for transit? (Open Plans; h/t Transit Wire)

New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik will explore the highs and lows of NYC's A train on BBC Radio 4.

The No. 1 reverse-commute market in the U.S. is in the Bronx, an MTA official said Tuesday.

A Metro-North station in the Bronx (photo by dpriddy via flickr)

More Bronx residents are commuting to northern suburbs for work -- and the health care industry is what's drawing them.

William Wheeler, the director of special project development and planning at the New York MTA, said 235 trains serve the Bronx's 13 Metro-North stations each weekday -- and more are needed.

"Approximately 8.1 million rides were taken to and from Bronx stations last year," said Wheeler. "That’s a threefold increase since 1985."  About two-thirds of these riders start their rides in the Bronx and travel to points north: places like White Plains, Stamford, and Greenwich.

"This is the largest reverse commute market that we know of in the United States," he said, "and it’s grown 150% since 1990."

Wheeler made the comments Tuesday morning at a New York City Council hearing on transportation in the outer boroughs. (A video of the hearing is available here.)

"One of the major factors that generates a lot of that travel is health care employment," he said. "And I'm not just talking about hospital complexes and medical facilities, but elder care and other services that are directly related to health care."

The MTA is studying adding four Metro-North stations in the Bronx, at Co-op City, Morris Park, Parkchester and Hunts Point. But capacity for that service likely won't be possible until East Side Access is completed, bringing some Long Island Rail Road trains to Grand Central -- theoretically freeing up space at Penn Station for Bronx-bound trains.

Top stories on TN:
Bicyclist Faces Six-Year Sentence in SF Pedestrian Death (link)
Photo Essay: Montana & ND Oil Boom Leads to Acute Housing Shortage (link)
Survey: Capital Bike Share Saved 5 Million Driving Miles (link)

The Tappan Zee Bridge (photo by Joseph A. via Flickr)

Congressional leaders need to make a decision by about Wednesday on whether to continue to try to pass a comprehensive transportation bill, or whether seek another temporary extension.  (AP via Washington Post)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo struck a deal with unions on the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge that guarantees no strikes and allows for a four-day workweek and 10-hour days; Cuomo says it will save $452 million in construction costs. (Bloomberg)

The administration of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has suddenly decided to revamp the way it handles transportation funding, sending Northern Virginia cities and counties into a last-minute and potentially expensive scramble. (GGW)

Random political fact of the day, courtesy of @azipaybarah: New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat "refuses to get an EZ Pass." (New York Times)

Orange County (CA) commuters are getting more space to park their cars so they can hop on trains or buses -- hopefully reducing the county's freeway congestion. (KPCC)

Metro plans to rely on its existing rail fleet when the planned Silver Line opens because of delays with the production of new rail cars and a new facility designed to test them. (Examiner)

More quiet cars are coming to Long Island Rail Road trains. (NY1)

Every single one of the cycling deaths in Ontario between 2006 and 2010 was preventable, according to a report from the office of the chief coroner. Another finding: only 27% of the killed cyclists were wearing helmets. (CBC)

A Washington State town rescinded its helmet laws because its police force was diverted by combating a crime wave. "And an inability to enforce a law on the books... posed a liability risk that could bankrupt the community with one swipe from a punitive-minded jury." (New York Times)

A new Houston-Istanbul direct flight is expected to lower travel times -- and boost Houston’s trade and investment ties with Turkey. (KUHF)

The Port Authority turned down the Staten Island Advance's Freedom of Information request for a copy of a study which examines the impact of toll increases on the New York Container Terminal. Local congressman "Michael Grimm this month declared "all-out war" on the P.A., demanding immediate release of the study and threatening to block a federal effort to raise the Bayonne Bridge by 2014."

A professional cricketer was killed in the London Underground after being struck by a train. (BBC)

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency unveiled its new logo, a four-color design of curved parallel lines that is supposed to help rebrand the agency as it moves into its second century. The tag line: “Moving Forward Together.” (San Francisco Chronicle; h/t Transit Wire)

New SFMTA logo

 

Top stories on TN:
Apple Keeps Mum on Dropping Transit Directions from Maps (link)
Council on Foreign Relations Also Doesn’t Like US Infrastructure (link)
Report: SF Bicyclist Charged in Pedestrian Death (link)
More Texans Are Traveling This Summer — But They’re Staying Close To Home (link)
When Bike Parking Goes Wrong (link)

Reading "Cosmos" on the subway (photo by Underground NY Public Library)

Ah, summer travel in the U.S.: high plane fares, a stalled highway bill, and slow trains. (NPR)

Since we mentioned it: highway bill talks are stalled, leaving observers to wonder if a deal is possible before the 6/30 deadline. (The Hill)

The New York State DOT is terminating its decade-long study of the Sheridan Expressway. "Due to budget issues, the DOT will now focus on repairs to the Bruckner Expressway rather than modifications to the Sheridan." The news follows on the heels of NYC's announcement that it would no longer consider removing the expressway. (New York Daily News)

A newly released mobile application, Seetra.in, shows the location of NYC subway cars in real time. (Fast Company)

Seventy percent of Capital Bikeshare users ride without a helmet, versus 30 percent of commuters who ride their own bikes. (Washington Post)

A 14-year old in Michigan built her own Pontiac Fiero. (NPR)

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg built the revenue from his new taxi street hail plan into his budget -- but a judge's ruling blocking the plan's implementation has put that $1 billion into jeopardy. (New York Times)

While the battle over how the region would spend $6.14 billion to fix metro Atlanta’s transportation quagmire is in full roar, the $1.08 billion in tax revenue that would go directly to local government, as part of the $7.2 billion expected from the proposed 1 percent sales tax, is not getting a lot of notice. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Underground New York Public Library: whatcha reading on the NYC subway? One photographer wanted to know -- and turned it into a "visual library featuring the Reading-Riders of the NYC subways." (link; h/t Gothamist)

India is building the highest railway bridge in the world -- 1,180 feet tall (35 metres taller than Eiffel Tower) -- and expects to open it in 2015. (Times of India)

New Jersey legislators are considering tougher penalties for talking or texting while driving. (AP via NJ.com)

DC 's Metro is rolling out a new rush-hour schedule today, and the transit agency hopes "Rush Plus" will lead to less crowding and quicker commutes. (WAMU)

Please turn off your eyeglasses as we prepare for takeoff: new gadgets are upsetting FAA rules on devices. (New York Times)

VIDEO: watch Chicago rail cars being built at the Bombardier plant in Plattsburgh, New York. Bonus: explanation of the defective steel parts that brought production to a halt last year. (Chicago Tribune)

PHOTOS: Car poolers in Mexico, by Alejandro Cartagena.

Bike traffic jam (photo by Collin Campbell/WNYC)

Car alarm going off? Someone park too close to you? Putting notes on car windshields is a time-honored New York City way of conveying annoyance. Now that's expanding to another form of transportation.

Friend to TN (heck, he's TN spawn) Collin Campbell sent us this picture, describing it as "a (loud, argumentative) traffic jam on a bike rack." It was taken right around the corner from WNYC near the intersection of Varick and Charlton Streets -- a place where bike parking is indeed at a premium. But that's no excuse to lock your bike to another one. If you're the owner of a brown Upland Beach Cruiser, please report to the corner.