Kate Hinds

Top stories on TN:
Pols Tiptoe Around New Congestion Pricing Plan -- What Does Cuomo Think? (link)
New York Governor Cuomo Touting Infra Bank in Election Email (link)
New Amtrak Line for Northeast Texas? (link)
Andrea Bernstein To Lead Transit Museum Panel on Climate Change (link)

(photo from http://occupywallst.org/)

Chicago is embarking on a $7 billion public-private plan to transform the city’s infrastructure. Mayor Emanuel: “I will not tie this city’s future to the dysfunction in Washington and Springfield.” (New York Times)

Occupy Wall Street chained open gates to eight subways, giving riders a free ride. (New York Daily News)

Although Boston's transit system will see a roughly 23% fare hike and some cuts in service, most bus lines survived. (Boston Globe)

Meanwhile, Detroit plans another round of trims to the city's bus service in April. (Detroit Free Press)

A Senate committee is holding a hearing on gas prices today. (U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources)

In a gesture of reform, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to eliminate millions of dollars' worth of bonuses and other benefits for its nonunion employees. (Wall Street Journal)

So what will happen if the House and Senate can't reach an agreement, and transportation funding expires on Sunday? "The Highway Trust Fund — the place where federal gas taxes are deposited — will start incurring losses to the tune of $110 million each day the law is lapsed." (Politico)

Meaning: Construction on roads and bridges around the country could grind to a halt this weekend. (Marketplace)

Police in southwest England have asked gas stations to close temporarily after panic-buying saw a near doubling in gasoline sales. (AP)

A Jet Blue co-pilot is providing more details of the captain's mid-air freakout. (Los Angeles Times)

Mitt Romney's joke about displaced autoworkers is producing a backlash. (National Journal)

Screen shot of Senate Democrat Highway Funding Countdown Clock -- actual time will vary

Senate Democrats, already on full boil over the highway funding standoff, are turning the heat up even higher: they've launched a countdown clock to tick down the minutes until the federal road funding authorization expires on March 31.

House Republicans have tried this week for both a 90-day and a 60-day extension of current funding levels, but both efforts were blocked by Democrats who want to see the Senate's two-year, $109 billion bill come to the floor. It remains unclear whether a vote on an extension will come on Wednesday.

If no agreement is reached by March 31, the government's authority to collect the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax that funds federal transportation programs expires.

Earlier Wednesday, New York Senator Charles Schumer tweeted: "W/only 3 days til deadline, @SpeakerBoehner still hasn’t acted on highway bill. Senate bill has the votes to pass. Bring it up now."

To read TN's coverage of the highway funding standoff, go here.

Top stories on TN:
Dems Trip Up GOP on Highway Extension Again (link)
Ode to Poetry's Comeback in the NYC Subways (link)
Port Authority: Turn Off That Electronic Device Or Pay the Price (link)
PHOTOS: Transit Superhero Protesters Take Over Massachusetts DOT Meeting (link)

 

The Shweeb (image by Shweeb Holdings via Atlantic Cities)

The mayor of Washington DC plans to “cover the entire city” with speed and other traffic cameras to make the District safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. (Washington Post)

California will hold a public hearing into an oversight panel that reviewed the new Bay Bridge. The panel was supposed to be independent, but members have ties to contractors and Caltrans. (Sacramento Bee)

President Obama appointed interim Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Huerta to a full five-year term atop the aviation agency. (The Hill)

Two New York City Council members say the Council's override of the mayor's veto on their parking sticker ban will "make life a little easier for drivers in all five boroughs." (opinion; New York Daily News)

France is in talks with the United States and Britain on a possible release of strategic oil stocks to push fuel prices lower. (Reuters)

The EPA said it wants to put the first ever federal limits on how much carbon dioxide can come from new power plants. (Marketplace)

Rising car sales will spur an increase in ad spending. (Crain's New York Business)

Bus drivers in some of Iowa's largest school districts face charges or have been convicted in the past decade of offenses including drunken driving, operating a vehicle with a suspended license and careless driving. (AP via NECN)

In the Parisian suburbs, "employment and growth depend on improved access to public transit." (New York Times)

Tweet from NYT architecture critic Michael Kimmelman: "Incredible architecture in some of the worst slums in Bogota. But famous rapid transit bus service has become a complete disaster."

Atlantic Cities asks the critical question: whatever happened to the Shweeb? (link)

(photo by Kenneth Gaerlan via flickr)

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wants to fine passengers who disobey the FAA's ban on portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing.

"In (certain) cases, where passengers disrupt flights on a regular basis --  or have such an egregious case that it becomes overwhelming --  then we will consider filing civil action against them," said Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesperson.

The Port Authority operates the three major airports in the New York City area: JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty. Coleman said in 2011, there were 400 incidents at those airports in which a plane had to turn back to the gate -- and Port Authority police had to respond -- because a passenger refused to shut off a device.

Meanwhile, the FAA said last week it was taking "a fresh look" at the ban.

The Port Authority also recently announced it's suing dozens of drivers who habitually evade tolls at the bridges and tunnels it operates.

 

The Fast Five sitting in board members' seats after taking over a Mass DOT/ MBTA meeting (photo by @AceEJ via twitpic)

A Massachusetts DOT meeting took a turn for the surreal Tuesday when caped protesters took over the room.

The "Fast Five," which are part of the T Riders Union, say the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) can stave off fare hikes and service cuts by following its five suggestions to save money.

Prior to the takeover, the joint meeting of the finance and audit committees had planned to talk about the upcoming budget. The conversation would probably not have been cheery: the MBTA  is facing a $159 million budget gap for fiscal year 2013.

Joe Pesaturo, the director of communications for the MBTA, said it was a routine subcommittee meeting and no major votes were scheduled. "They were there to discuss business, they were prevented from doing so," he said, "so the chairman of the finance committee adjourned the meeting."

After board members walked out, the Fast Five gaveled in and tweeted: This #MBTA mtg is now being run by the People's Board.

The MBTA said police were not called.

(photo by @ACEEJ via twitpic)

 

Top stories on TN:
House GOP Scraps Vote on 90-Day Highway Bill Extension (link)
NY MTA: Capital Plan Will Not Go Broke, Platforms with Glass Walls Could Be Coming (link)
Hundreds of EV Chargers Coming to Calif in Legal Settlement (link)
Taxis Are So Hot: Nissan Uses NYC Cab as Ad Model (link)

Bayonne Bridge (photo by Atomische/Tom Giebel via flickr)

The House meets at noon for legislative work, and will try again to pass a bill authorizing the short-term extension of federal highway programs. (The Hill)

Southwest raised airfares in what it says is an effort to offset rising fuel costs; other major carriers soon followed. (USA Today)

The Port Authority wants the Obama Administration to expedite raising the roadbed of the Bayonne Bridge. (Star-Ledger) (To read why the Port wants to raise the bridge, read TN's coverage here.)

Maryland's transit system set a ridership record. (Washington Post)

Federal safety regulators have begun investigating buses made by Motor Coach Industries Inc. over the past 20 years because the drive shafts can fall out and cause drivers to lose control. (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

The federal government wants U.S. companies to invest in India's plans to spend $1 trillion in five years on infrastructure. (Reuters)

A Jeff Koons-designed train may dangle over NYC's High Line Park. (New York Times)

Gadget thieves are targeting sleepy passengers on NYC subways. (New York Daily News)

One man is on a quest to reverse the decline of the stick shift. (NPR)

A new study out from the Treasury Department says Americans collectively waste $7.5 billion worth of gas just sitting in traffic every year. (Marketplace)

The NYC DOT wants to connect a series of little-known public plazas in Midtown by creating mid-block crosswalks. (DNA Info)

New York's aging C train may get new subway cars. Well, newish. (Wall Street Journal)

Top stories on TN:
Manhattan is Number One Extreme Commuting Destination (link)
NY MTA’s BusTime Off To Fast Start (link)
Mexico City’s BRT Rolls on Through Earthquake, Subway Not So Much (link)
LaHood’s Latest Web Video Has Gentler Words on House Transpo Bill (link)
In San Francisco, Funding Cuts Mean It’s Not Always Easy (Or Safe) to Get to School (link)

Mumbai traffic (photo by Patrick N via flickr)

New York Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders finalized a $13.1 billion deal to fund the final three years of the MTA’s five-year capital program. (New York Daily News)

Female-sized crash test dummies are making their mark on government auto safety ratings -- and now some top-selling vehicles are receiving subpar performance rankings. (Washington Post)

A series of concessions over the last year to quiet opposition to the California bullet train has created a big problem: the revised blueprint for the system may violate requirements locked into state law when voters approved funding for the project in 2008. (Los Angeles Times)

Meanwhile, that just-announced pact to put $1.5 billion in high-speed rail money into electrifying Caltrain comes with some major side deals - including a pledge by Bay Area leaders to build a 1.2-mile tunnel through downtown San Francisco to connect the line to the new Transbay Terminal. (San Francisco Chronicle)

GM is giving Volt owners new charging cords. (USA Today)

Does the new Tappan Zee Bridge -- with its $400 million bike/pedestrian lane  -- need to cost so much? (Felix Salmon/Reuters)

Mumbai drivers honk about as much in a day as Germans do in a year -- and now Audi is making special horns for cars sold there. "You take a European horn and it will be gone in a week or two," said the director of Audi India. (Straits Times)

These are hard times for the electric car, which is "the victim of hyped expectations, technological flops, high costs and a hostile political climate." (New York Times)

Few U.S. cities are ready for an aging baby boomer population -- and transportation is one of the biggest unmet needs. (AP via USA Today)

Oil has been discovered in Kenya. (BBC)

Cities need to be better acoustically designed to be less noisy. (Atlantic Avenue)

Minnesotans are driving less. (MinnPost)

American Airlines says it's going to court to void employee contracts if it can't get more concessions from labor unions. (Marketplace)

New York State is investigating an owner of multiple New York City car washes for wage-and-hour violations. (New York Daily News) (For TN's coverage of car wash workers, go here.)

New York Times op-ed: parking lots can -- and should -- be so much more.  "They are public spaces that have major impacts on the design of our cities and suburbs, on the natural environment and on the rhythms of daily life." (Link)

A new rail line opened in Pittsburgh. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Washington D.C. may be famous for its cherry blossom trees — but Branch Brook Park in Newark, N.J. has more of the flowering pink trees that are the harbingers of spring. Check out ...

Top stories on TN:
NYC Taxi Industry Squirms At Prospect of New Rules (link)
New East-West Bike Lane Coming to Central Park (link)
Spokies: Oklahoma City Gets Bike Share (link)
Turkeys: They’re Pedestrians, Too — In Montana’s Largest City (link)
House Republicans Officially Introduce Surface Transpo Extension (link)

Bikeshare users in Washington, DC (Photo: Tara Bahrampour)

Twenty-somethings aren't that interested in car ownership. "They think of a car as a giant bummer," says an MTV VP. (New York Times)

Real estate is appreciating faster around New Jersey's transit hubs. (New York Times)

DC struggles to keep pace as bike commuting rises. (Washington Post)

President Obama spent the past two days traveling the country, touting his all-of-the-above energy strategy. (NPR)

Sam Schwartz is shopping his NYC bridge tolling plan to politicians -- but so far Albany's big three have eluded him. (Wall Street Journal)

Seattle city planners want the city to eliminate parking requirements for new developments within a quarter-mile of frequent transit. (Seattle Times)

Portugal's high speed rail program has been 'definitively abandoned'. (Railway Gazette)

Meanwhile, workers striking to protest Portugal's austerity measures brought public transit in that country to a halt. (AP via Bloomberg)

Toronto's City Council killed the mayor's subway plan and voted in favor of light rail instead. (Toronto Star)

Domestic oil production is up, consumption is down; does this mean the U.S. is moving toward energy independence? (The Takeaway)

Can you spot the "OKC?"

UPDATED:  Spokies gets Council Approval.

Add Oklahoma City to the list of American cities getting bike share programs this spring.

Spokies -- as the program is being called --  will launch on May 18th. It will start with 95 bicycles and six stations, all located near central Oklahoma City landmarks  like the downtown library, the Oklahoma City National Memorial, and the Deep Deuce/Bricktown entertainment district. The program is being operated by Downtown OKC, a local nonprofit that manages the downtown business improvement district.

While this is OKC's first foray into bike share, there is regional precedent. "There is a local university in Edmond, which is just north of Oklahoma City, which has a bike share program," says Jennifer Gooden, the director of the Oklahoma City Office of Sustainability.  "(But) It's not an automated system, it's more like a bike library."

What a Spokies bike will look like -- (photo courtesy of Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc.)

Oklahoma's City Council has approved the program, including  fee structure, station locations, and Downtown OKC's contract. The fee structure is $5 for a day, $20 for the month, and $75 for a year-long membership.

One thing that's not yet known: whether the program will run all year long. Gooden says because recent winters have been unpredictable, the city hasn't made a decision yet. "We're in new territory here in figuring out how it's going to work, so we've left that open ended."

Gooden says the city estimates the program will cost $112,000 to operate annually, "but we're expecting zero net cost to the city, because ...we'll have membership fees and user fees coming in, and then sponsorships to supplement that."

The city is using an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to get the program off the ground.

 

 

This just in: House Republicans introduced a three-month extension to avoid a shutdown of transportation programs after March 31.

From the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure:

"In order to ensure continuity of current surface transportation programs while the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and House Republicans continue to work toward a responsible transportation bill that provides long-term certainty, reduces the size of government, eliminates earmarks, and is fully paid for, Chairman Mica, Chairman Duncan and Chairman Camp introduced a three-month extension of transportation programs today.  This legislation, the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 (H.R. 4239), will extend current programs through June 30, 2012."

Top stories on TN:
Manhattan is Number One Extreme Commuting Destination (link)
U.S. DOT Bus Safety App Is As Clear As A Blind Curve In A Fogbank (link)
Postage Stamps Promote Green Transportation. Who Knew? (link)
BREAKING: GOP to Push 3-Month Transpo Bill Extension (link)
Former Daily News Bureau Chief Adam Lisberg is New NY MTA Chief Spox (link)

Manhattan pedestrians, stepping peppily (photo by Kate Hinds)

The price of gasoline keeps rising for Americans, but it's not because of rising demand from consumers: one expert says gasoline demand peaked in 2007 and has fallen each year since.  (NPR)

House Republicans rejected the Senate's transportation bill with a procedural vote and say they'll introduce a funding extension today. (Washington Post)

Private equity groups are interested in the Tappan Zee Bridge, but New York needs legislation that would allow private companies to help finance construction of public-works projects. (Bloomberg News)

The success of NYU's bike share program bodes well for New York City's. (New York Times)

And details about the Bay Area's bike share -- coming this August -- are beginning to emerge. (NPR/KQED)

Beijing's latest Five-Year Plan for transportation involves building 10 major east-west and north-south transport links called the “Five Verticals and Five Horizontals.” (Wall Street Journal)

After a 12 hour meeting yesterday, the debate over light rail vs. subway continues in Toronto today. (The Canadian Press)

The owner of a SoHo bike store is unimpressed by his famous clientele (think Lady Gaga and David Byrne). (New York Times)

Manhattan residents gave the speeded-up Select Bus Service along First and Second Aves. an overall B grade, but some don’t like the way they pay, a new survey shows. (New York Daily News)

In bigger cities, people walk faster. (Atlantic Cities)

The fight to save the paper dollar has been taken to DC's Metro in a new ad campaign. (Mother Jones)

Is a Pentagon plan for a spaceship travel outside our solar system a crackpot idea, or a visionary blueprint for reaching the stars? (BBC)

Not to mention car pooling, biking, and walking.

TN's Jackie Yamanaka received a letter with the above stamp, leading us to immediately research its provenance.

It turns out the U.S. Postal Service has produced a series of stamps with eco-friendly messages. One of them encourages the use of public transit. The others exhort recipients to "choose to walk,"  "share a ride," "maintain tire pressure," and "ride a bike."

It's also possible to purchase a stamp celebrating American infrastructure -- like Florida's Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Just a tip in case you want to send some snail mail TN's way we haven't seen these in person yet:

]

 

 

Top stories on TN:
Air Commuters Growing in Number (link)
Roads Killed: Texas Adds Up Damages from Oil Drilling (link)
BREAKING: Highway Bill Could Be Headed for a Standoff (link)
Only Underwater Traffic Tunnel in Texas Closes for Repairs Two Years After Accident (link)
House GOP Opts for Short-Term Transpo Extension (link)

Today's headlines:
A plan to speed San Francisco's buses will bring all-door boarding this summer, synchronized traffic lights within two years and specially colored bus lanes and relocated stops by 2017. (San Francisco Chronicle)

John Mica on the Senate transpo bill: "The Senate bill is not going to pass the House," Mica said. "No way.” (Washington Post)

Capital Bikeshare is piloting a low-cost membership program for the homeless. (Washington City Paper)

Austin police are going undercover as pedestrians to target motorists who illegally encroach upon crosswalks. (The Statesman)

Among the options Google and Mountain View are considering to reduce congestion: building a rail system that transports individual commuters around town in little capsules. (California Planning and Development Report)

Is the Boeing 737 plagued with structural problems? (The Takeaway)

Despite a policy decision to rein in unused sick and vacation time payments for nonunion workers, NJ Transit spent $4.112 million last year in payouts. (Asbury Park Press)

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are supporting privately-financed expedition to search for the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's plane. (Wall Street Journal, Washington Post)

Worried about discount bus safety? There's an U.S. government-approved app for that. (ABC News)

Remember Datsun? It's ba-ack: Nissan is reviving the brand -- but for India, Indonesia, and Russia, not developed markets like the U.S. (Forbes)

And take a drive down Datsun memory lane with this commercial for the 280-ZX -- piloted by none other than Steve Wozniak. (h/t Forbes)

 

A Colorado man's bike was stolen, then returned it with a note: "Sorry I stole this bike....Drunk."(NPR)

The video Bending Sounds was "shot within a couple hours on a sunny Saturday afternoon...to capture the inspirational sounds and visuals of the NYC subway." Favorite moment: at about 1:30 in, a steel drum player riffs on the big band classic "In the Mood."

 

Top stories on TN:
LaHood: America is “One Big Pothole” (link)
Montana To Add More CDL Examiners To Meet Bakken Oil Boom Demand (link)
Biking Big Snaps Senator Schumer on Disputed Bike Lane (link)
Auto Bailout Becomes a Central Meme for Obama 2012 Campaign (link)

(photo by Wayan Vota via flickr)

The Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing its rules about electronics on planes. (Wall Street Journal)

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey filed civil lawsuits against 14 alleged toll scofflaws on its "Wall of Shame," bringing the total number of people its suing to 34. (Star-Ledger)

Some Republicans want the federal government out of the road-building and gas tax business -- and they're getting votes to devolve the federal program back to the states. (Politico)

Almost $78 million was embezzled from the Beijing-to-Shanghai high-speed rail project. (BBC)

Plans to build Indonesia's first bullet train are closer to becoming a reality after the Japanese government offered to foot part of the bill. (Jakarta Globe)

Hydrogen-powered cars are coming...but you'll have to wait a while. (Marketplace)

How safe are school buses? "School bus crash fatalities are relatively rare when compared to traffic fatalities as a whole...Still, questions remain about why there aren’t safety belts on school buses." (CNN)

DC's Metro debuted its new map. (Washington Post)

Vancouver may impose a vehicle registration fee to generate revenue to fund transit projects. (Vancouver Sun)

The Mayor-Bloomberg-Speaking Spanish twitter parody feed, El Bloombito, is noting the unseasonably warm weather in its latest tweet:  Go ridero un bicycleo (pero only on el patho del bikero y el streeto. No el sidewalk!)

Top stories on TN:
Airlines Can be Deadly for Pets: 35 Died in 2011 (Link)
Two New Bike Share Stations Open on National Mall (Link)
Maryland Governor Gets An Earful on Gas Tax (Link)
High Speed Rail Funds Aiding Local Transit in CA (Link)

A highway in England (photo by BjornFranTjorn via flickr)

Because the House probably won't move on transportation legislation before a March 31 deadline, transportation watchers are expecting a short-term funding extension. (The Hill)

British prime minister David Cameron wants to semi-privatize that country's roads. (BBC, Guardian)

A rival bike share firm is trying to put the brakes on Alta's contract to launch Chicago's bike share program by claiming the path was greased for the Oregon company where transportation commissioner Gabe Klein once worked.  (Chicago Sun-Times)

High levels of silica, a carcinogen, were found at the Second Avenue Subway construction site during a federal safety inspection last November. (New York Post)

As cars are kept longer, 200,000 is the new 100,000. (New York Times)

U.S. automakers are hungrily eyeing India as a growth opportunity. (Washington Post)

A transportation company responsible for installing defective parts on Chicago's subway cars is the leading candidate to build BART’s $3.4 billion fleet of new train cars. (The Bay Citizen)

Residents love a recently installed pedestrian plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens; local business owners, not so much. (New York Times)

The high cost of gas is challenging for rural transportation systems in Vermont. (VPR)

Atlanta's transit system (MARTA) "has long served as the unfortunate battleground on which unrelated conflicts — urban vs. suburban and rural, Democratic vs. Republican, black vs. white, rich vs. poor, traditional vs. modern — have been fought out." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog post)

 Top stories on TN:
An App For Finding NYC Subway Art (Link)
January 2012: Most On Time January in 18 Years (Link)
LaHood: Gateway Tunnel “Absolutely Critical” To NY/NJ Region (Link)
In Houston, Transportation Costs Can Outpace Housing Costs (Link)

San Francisco parking meter -- old school version (photo by Albert Huynh via flickr)

The House will not take up the Senate’s transportation bill and its own version won’t hit the floor until mid-April at the earliest. (Politico)

A New Jersey Assembly committee now has subpoena power to investigate the Port Authority's finances. (Star-Ledger)

San Francisco's parking experiment -- raising the price of meters on the city’s most crowded blocks and lowering them on its emptiest block -- are having the desired effect in some areas. (New York Times)

But the mayor of that city has a message for high school teens: don't get a car yet, "because there ain’t no parking.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

The cost of the new Tappan Zee Bridge and how much travelers might have to pay to cross it won’t be known until this summer at the earliest. (Journal News)

NJ Transit will seek federal funds to help improve its aging infrastructure and "crippling delays." (Wall Street Journal)

Revenue from speed cameras in Maryland's Prince Georges County has outpaced the county's expectations. (Washington Examiner)

In the 39 years since the first of the 1970s oil shocks, "it still looks like the 1970s out there. The transportation sector of the economy remains almost entirely beholden to petroleum, much of it imported from unfriendly countries." (Washington Post)

The New York State Senate's majority leader sent a letter to the head of the NY MTA telling him that the Senate's move to reduce the authority's budget is rooted in concern about the M.T.A.'s "staggering" debt-load. (Capital NY)

Researchers are trying to determine how to build a safer intersection. Issue #1: how to handle the "dilemma zone" -- the moment when the light turns yellow and drivers must decide whether to stop or not.  (Atlantic Cities)

 

Robert Wilson's "My Coney Island Baby" at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station (photo by Rob Wilson, courtesy of NY MTA)

To get from Coney Island to Times Square, you can take the N train from Stillwell Avenue to 42nd Street. Or to put it another way: get on the subway at the Robert Wilson glass brick installation and exit at the Roy Lichtenstein mural.

A Roy Lichtenstein artwork in the Times Square subway station (photo by Kate Hinds)

"When you have a museum as large as ours -- we believe it's geographically the largest museum in the world -- a couple of labels isn't going to do it," said Sandra Bloodworth, the head of the MTA's Arts for Transit program. She was in Grand Central Station on Thursday with Howard Permut, the president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, and Jeff Hardison, a VP for software company Meridian, for the official launch of the Arts for Transit app.

Jeff Hardison, Sandra Bloodworth, and Howard Permut at the MTA's app launch in Grand Central (photo by Kate Hinds)

The free app, which went live Thursday at noon, has information on each one of the 236 (and counting!) permanent artworks in the New York City transit system. It was built for the MTA by Meridian, and it includes background information and photos about each art installation. It's searchable by line and artist, and the app also offers turn-by-turn directions about precisely where to see art in selected stations. Some artworks have videos, as well as audio podcasts, detailing the work.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Sandra Bloodworth said many subway riders just see the same few pieces of art on their daily commute and the app will help expand their horizons. "Now it's clear that each artwork is part of a larger collection -- and it's a collection that fits in your pocket."

Jeff Hardison echoed that sentiment. "You might pass an artwork and not know much about it," he said. "Now you can look it up."

Jeff Hardison and Sandra Bloodworth test-driving the app in the Times Square subway station (photo by Kate Hinds)

Bloodworth said the Arts for Transit program "think(s) about how the artwork will change the station." The app lifts the veil on that creative process and helps locate the artworks--figuratively and literally -- in the neighborhood in which they are installed. The entry detailing Romare Bearden's stained glass windows at the Westchester Avenue/East Tremont Avenue station says they "weave(s) together the spirit found in his beloved music, social concerns and interest in trains."

Romare Bearden's City of Glass, located at the  Westchester Avenue/East Tremont Avenue #6 station (photo by Rob Wilson, courtesy of NY MTA)

When asked to name her favorite piece of art in the collection, Bloodworth protested. (One reporter sympathetically compared her reaction to being forced to choose a favorite child.)  "Each artwork is created for the particular place that it exists...it's for that place!" she said. "So you only compare it to itself. And if you must measure it, measure it 'does it speak to you? Does it move you in some way? Does it create and add to your experience?' We believe the artworks do that. "

But when pressed, she admitted to a special fondness for a couple of pieces. "There's so many artists I would love to share them all..but if I had just five minutes today, I sure would not want you to miss the Sol LeWitt at Columbus Circle, or the Elizabeth Murray underneath Bloomingdales." Bloodworth said the LeWitt  "captures, in an abstract way, the movement, the energy of this place."

Whirls and Twirls by Sol LeWitt, located at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle Station (photo by Rob Wilson, courtesy of NY MTA)

It's hard not to love the Arts for Transit program. But let's play devil's advocate for a moment: when subway crime is up -- fueled in large part by thefts of smartphones -- is it a good idea to encourage people to whip out their iPhones underground?

Howard Permut, the president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, was pragmatic.  "The fact is there has been some increase (in crime), it's not been a huge increase, and I think that quite frankly that's just a trade off in life and in our society...when people have devices that make their life easier there are others looking to take them, that's always going to be a tradeoff that we have."

"We really feel we've had a mission to create art," said Bloodworth. "And now we're working with Meridian to really let our customers know about that art. It's their collection, they own it. They customer, the public owns this collection. Now they have the guide."

The app is available for Apple and Android phones. A slideshow of more art on the subway can be found at WNYC.

A Jacob Lawrence mosaic mural in the Times Square subway station (photo by Kate Hinds)

DOT head Ray LaHood threw in a plug for a trans-Hudson rail crossing known as the Gateway Tunnel.

Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) -- a longtime booster of a new trans-Hudson rail crossing between New Jersey and New York City -- was questioning the secretary at Thursday's Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Department of Transportation's budget. Lautenberg asked LaHood:  "You've looked at this proposal many times. What impact might the Gateway Tunnel project have on mobility and the economy of the Northeast Corridor?"

LaHood's response:  “We are working with both New Jersey and New York. We know this tunnel is absolutely critical and we will continue our work. Look, if this is the priority for the region, then it becomes a priority for us.”

The Gateway Tunnel, which would boost capacity for both Amtrak and NJ Transit, was proposed last year as an alternative to the ARC tunnel -- which NJ Governor Christie cancelled in October 2010.  In November 2011, the Senate approved $15 million for Amtrak to begin design and engineering work on the Gateway project.

You can watch the video of Thursday''s exchange below.

 

 

 

 

Top stories on TN:
Senate Passes Transportation Bill, 74-22 (Link)
Mica Takes Aim at “Bloated” TSA (Link)
From the NYS Archives: 1955 Promotional Film of Tappan Zee Bridge (Link)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, one of 530 million boardings the CTA clocked last year (photo -- taken on Halloween -- is courtesy of Chicago Mayor's Office Facebook page)

Transpo bill:
TN's Todd Zwillich talks transportation bill politics on this morning's The Takeaway. (Read Todd's coverage of the bill here.)

The Senate's transportation bill prevents the slashing of $1 billion in New York City metro-transit money, and would even result in a 13 percent increase. (NY Post)

New York Times op-ed: "Getting the House to move in a similar direction will be harder....(but) accepting the Senate bill would be exactly the right thing to do."

Safety provisions in the just-passed Senate transportation bill include stricter federal oversight of the long-distance and tour bus industries. (AP)

In other news...
Boston T riders want the MBTA to raise fares before cutting service. (WBUR)

A protest by frustrated commuters in Bogota turned into a free-for-all that nearly paralyzed Colombia's capital. (AP)

2011 ridership on Chicago's transit (CTA) reached its highest level in 20 years. (WBEZ)

Meanwhile, the CTA has decided to end a 15-year ban on alcohol advertising. (Chicago Tribune)

NJ Transit just had the best three-month stretch of train on-time performance in the history of the agency -- but NJT officials know that for riders, "we're only as good as their last commute." (Star-Ledger)

The TSA will start letting passengers who are at least 75 years old keep their shoes on at security checkpoints at four airports. (USA Today)

Tom Madison, the head of the NYS Thruway Authority, writes in a NY Post op-ed: "We’re on schedule to start building a new Tappan Zee Bridge this year — despite unaffordable and impractical demands from mass-transit advocates."

London's Underground will get free wi-fi in time for the summer Olympics. (Guardian)

A group of Missouri bicyclists known as "rot riders" are collecting compostable food waste on a weekly basis. (Good)

Fact check: does your car really need premium gas? Marketplace investigates.

All aboard the BQDEGA train -- a subway car/bodega combo. (Curbed)