Kate Hinds

A power outage stranded about 1,500 NJ Transit passengers in a tunnel outside of Penn Station for more than two hours during the morning commute Thursday.

New census data shows how the nation commutes to work -- and how New York is different. (Link)

High-speed rail got a last-minute reprieve -- sort of. (Link)

Chicago will roll out a bike share program next summer. (Link)

The interim chief of the Texas DOT wants more travel options -- not just lanes. (Link)

New York's comptroller: the MTA's plan to borrow billions is fraught with risk. (WNYC's Empire, NY1, Bloomberg, Streetsblog)

House Democrats flirt with shutdown to save the $1.5 billion government loan program that helps car companies build fuel-efficient vehicles. (Washington Post)

The UAW agreed to extend its existing labor contract with Chrysler until Oct. 19 and plans to target Ford for a new labor contract next. (Detroit Free Press)

Freakonomics radio: higher rates of driver's licenses and car ownership have all but killed hitchhiking. (Marketplace)

Norfolk's light rail -- which just opened last month -- is already so popular that officials are talking expansion. (WTKR)

Massachusetts needs $15 billion in transportation fixes, and the MBTA is looking at a fare hike. (Boston Globe)

"If you smell something, sign something:" NYC transit workers -- whose contract with the MTA is up in four months -- demonstrated in Queens to protest staff cuts and sanitation issues at stations. (NBC New York)

President Obama returns to Boehner country today to use a major bridge in need of repair as a prop for yet another sales pitch for his jobs plan. (Politico)

Orioles pitcher -- and bicycle enthusiast -- Jeremy Guthrie (whose Twitter location puts him on "a bike or the bump") explored Boston on a Hubway bike. (Link)

A bike lane being built in Chicago, June 2011 (photo courtesy of Chicago Bicycle Program)

UPDATED 4:37PM:   In an ambitious move, the Chicago Department of Transportation announced today it would have bike share up and running by next summer, with 3,000 bikes and 300 stations.  Another 2,000 bikes would be added in summer 2014.

In its  RFP, the city said initial funding for the program will come from federal grants, and the "program will be self-sustaining through member and user fees, as well as advertising and sponsorship." Responses to the RFP are due on October 25.

That's a furious pace compared to New York, which issued an RFP last November and announced the vendor last week. New York's program, with 10,000 bikes and 600 stations, will also be up and running next summer.

The Chicago story was first broken by the Chicago Sun-Times, which said,

“Chicago would have 3,000 bicycles to rent from 300 stations by next summer — with no charge for the first 30 minutes — under an ambitious plan, announced Wednesday, aimed at making cycling a “new transit option….Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Transportation Commissioner Gabe Klein are looking for an operator to offer 3,000 bikes at 300 stations by next summer and 5,000 bikes at 500 stations by 2014.”

Shortly afterwards, Klein tweeted out the response "Yes!!" to the tweets: "some big bike sharing news coming out of Chicago today," and then RT: Is that true?

These are heady days for urban bike share programs.  Boston's bike share, Hubway, launched in July.  On Tuesday, DC's Capital Bikeshare turned one year old -- and hit its one millionth ride.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel -- himself a bike rider and a transit-user -- has consistently said he wanted a bike share program.

Top stories on TN:

MTA unveils iPad-like informational kiosk at some subway stations. (Link)

Audi is using fraying infrastructure and stupid drivers to sell cars. (Link)

Some NYC parking meters are experiencing second lives as bike racks. (Link)

An aeroponic garden at Chicago's O'Hare Airport

A group of U.S. mayors met with congressional leaders and White House officials to push for a "comprehensive, fully-funded" transportation bill. (The Hill)

New York City's Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a transit-disrupting water main break on Manhattan's Upper West Side. (WNYC)

Bus vs. train: which system does more to help a city? The answer: it depends. (TheStreet)

After this weekend's toll hikes went into effect, Staten Islanders are lining up to buy E-ZPass. (Staten Island Advance)

The pedestrian safety officer program on three East River bridges is costing NYC $80,000 a month. (NY Daily News)

San Francisco BART protesters have gone from wild to mild. (SFist)

St. Paul (MN) businesses, which have been struggling during the Central Corridor light rail construction, may get a financial boost thanks to the project meeting a key deadline. (Minnesota Public Radio)

Chicago's O'Hare Airport now has a no-soil, vertical garden that grows everything from Swiss Chard to green beans, right between Terminals 2 and 3 on Concourse G. (Marketplace)

The Long Island town of Ronkonkoma is seeking a developer for a 50-acre mixed-use hub that would "create new businesses and jobs, expand the property tax base, keep young people from leaving Long Island, encourage the use of mass transit, and create a regional destination." (Newsday)

Free Sangria, apparently, for matadores in Soho.

New York City removed its last single-spaced parking meter this week.

But in some parts of the city, the bones of 160 old meters have been retrofitted to accommodate bike parking.

Formerly a parking meter, now a bike rack on Columbus Avenue (photo by Kate Hinds)

In addition to Manhattan's Upper West Side (see photo above) the NYC Department of Transportation has installed the parking meter bike racks along 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and on 37th Avenue in Flushing, Queens.

This isn't a new idea. Other cities do this as well, like Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Cambridge bike parking (photo by Kate Hinds)

It saves cities the trouble of digging the poles out of the foundation, and gives bikers a much-needed place to lock up. According to Transportation Alternatives, there's only one bike rack for every 31 cyclists in New York City.

Top stories on TN:

A new study says more pedestrians are hit by bicyclists than previously thought. (Link)

NYC reduced its carbon emissions in 2010. (Link)

Goodbye parking meter, hello Muni-Meter. (Link)

Police in a BART station during a protest (photo by Ryan Anderson via Flickr)

California lawmakers passed a bill that would give BART the authority to ban those who repeatedly break the law -- fare cheats, vandals or possibly protesters disrupting train service -- from entering its stations. (Contra Costa Times)

The Federal Highway Administration has given preliminary approval for Virginia to impose tolls on Interstate 95 to help fund transportation projects. (WAMU)

General Motors will help China develop electric vehicles -- but it wants to buy back majority control of a joint China - GM company. (Marketplace)

New York's East River bridges now have pedestrian safety managers to keep bikers and pedestrians in line -- and in their lane. (NY Daily News)

DC's Capital Bikeshare turns one today. (AP via WTOP)

The TSA fired 30 employees at Honolulu's airport for improperly screening luggage. (The Hill)

Chrysler and the UAW are close to a deal on a four-year labor contract. (Wall Street Journal)

Another aspect of the Port Authority of NY/NJ's bridge and tunnel toll hike: "peak" hours were extended. (The Star-Ledger)

Fast Company published a list of five transit technologies for a low-carbon economy.

Top stories on TN:

NY's MTA has a new weekend web page to clear up the service work information morass. (Link)

California upgraded its highway "mission control" traffic monitoring videos. (Link)

The new model parking meter (Kate Hinds)

Now that Los Angeles has killed its red light traffic camera program, the city is looking at lengthening yellow lights to improve safety. (Los Angeles Times)

New York City will remove its last single-space parking meter today. (New York Times)

Will New York's congestion pricing debate be revived? (NY Daily News)

San Francisco's Central Subway line -- which would finally bring service to its Chinatown neighborhood -- has become a key issue in that city's upcoming mayoral race. (NPR)

The MTA will unveil an iPad-like transit information device at a downtown station today. (New York Daily News)

Editorial: Atlanta can't improve transit by "winging it" -- the region must thoroughly vet its transit governance bill. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

DC's Metro has been trying to shorten station names. But one community wants the name of their stop to be longer. (WAMU)

Ray LaHood travels to St. Paul today to promote the president's jobs bill. (MPR)

Newark opened its first non-profit bike exchange shop. (Star-Ledger)

Top stories on TN:

An FAA shutdown was averted. (Link)

NYC's Taxi TV -- bane of drivers and passengers alike -- gets a second channel. (Link)

Construction begins on the next segment of Houston's Grand Parkway. (Link)

An example of a Parking Day spot installation from 2010 (Photo: Rebar)

AAA wants the government to block an upcoming NY-NJ bridge and tunnel toll hike. (Forbes)

New York City's MTA is unveiling "The Weekender," an interactive subway map that explains weekend service changes. (New York Times)

Some NYC cab drivers are rebelling against racy rooftop ads. (New York Times)

TN's Andrea Bernstein will be on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show this morning to talk about the city's upcoming bike share program.

Want to buy a 1968 San Francisco Muni bus? It's on eBay. (SFist)

The 'return trip effect', explained. (MSNBC)

Today is Parking Day.

Oh, if only. (Photo by Kate Hinds)

In the grand tradition of turning annoyance into art (remember Honku?), street signs -- bearing the imprimatur of the "Metropolitan Etiquette Authority" -- have begun appearing on some New York City corners.

The signs are the work of Jason Shelowitz -- also known as Jay Shells. He's also the designer behind last year's rogue subway etiquette campaign, in which official-looking posters appeared in subway stations, reminding  passengers to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing, and to be courteous when exiting and entering a subway car ("it's called being aware of your surroundings, try it out!")

The sign pictured above is currently (at least until a city agency removes it) on the corner of Varick Street and Van Dam Street, which is on the fringes of the heavily trafficked Soho neighborhood. (Yes, Soho, where the sidewalks creak with map-wielding, bag-encumbered tourists, and even the most tolerant New Yorker has entertained uncharitable thoughts about the behavior of our fellow walkers.)

Shelowitz has three other signs in addition to the one above. You can see the designs on his Etsy page -- where he sells them in order to fund his street etiquette campaign.

Top stories in TN:

NYC chooses Alta for its bike share system. (Story, photos)

Congressman John Mica -- chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee -- has a love/hate relationship with infrastructure. (Link)

A lone Republican senator is holding up transportation and FAA funding extensions, because he said they will fund things like a Corvette museum and an albino squirrel sanctuary. (Link)

A bike lane on Manhattan's Upper West Side (photo by Kate Hinds)

NYC bike share: coverage in Marketplace, New York Times, NY Daily News, NY Observer, DNA Info, Wall Street Journal.

NYC DOT head Janette Sadik-Khan's editorial in the New York Daily News: bike share is another option for New Yorkers.

Editorial in The Guardian: bike share is a "game-changer."

Auto workers and car manufacturers failed to reach a contract agreement by the deadline; GM and Chrysler agree to extend talks. (Detroit Free Press)

In Canada, a study found that new immigrants are twice as likely to use public transit when compared to Canadian-born workers. (Global News)

The Obama administration wants to ban electronic cigarettes on planes. (AP via AJC)

A Chicago official wants to crack down on distracted biking. (WBEZ)

Taking stock of technology in cars: we're not that far off from "partial autopilot." (Wall Street Journal)

As we reported earlier, New York City announced the vendor for its bike share program.

A bike share station (photo by Kate Hinds)

A close up of the handlebars of one of the sample bikes. Looks like a three speed.

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The formal announcement:

Dan Cantor (Working Families Party), Alison Cohen (President, Alta), Janette Sadik-Khan (NYC DOT Commissioner), Gale Brewer (NYC Council Member), Kathleen Wylde (Partnership for NYC), Paul Steely White (Transportation Alternatives) and Brad Lander (NYC Council Member)

Front view of a bike station:

(photo by Kate Hinds)

Musician -- and bike advocate -- David Byrne was on hand:

David Byrne (photo by Kate Hinds)

So were city politicians.

Gale Brewer, Janette Sadik-Khan, NYC Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, NYC Council Member Letitia James, and Colvin Grannum, president of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration (photo by Kate Hinds)

Eco-friendly parking stations:

The bike stations are solar powered (photo by Kate Hinds)

Docking instructions:

(photo by Kate Hinds)

A sample payment machine:

(photo by Kate Hinds)

And finally, a joy ride. NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and other city officials make a loop around the plaza in front of reporters.

 Janette Sadik-Khan test-driving one of the bikes (photo by Kate Hinds)

Top stories on TN:

New York's bike share announcement is imminent. (Link)

The House passed no-drama extensions for the FAA and transportation. (Link)

The MTA is preparing to spend millions to rebuild its Port Jervis line. (Link)

United Auto Workers in February, 2011 (photo by P.T. Manolakos via Flickr)

The National Transportation Safety Board wants to ban all cell phone use for all commercial drivers. (Washington Post)

Members of New York's transit workers union -- whose MTA contract expires in January -- staged a flash mob-like protest at MTA headquarters. (New York Daily News)

The labor contract between the United Auto Workers Union and the Big Three American automakers expires tonight at midnight. (Marketplace)

And: could the auto industry's two-tier wage system work elsewhere? Should it? (The Takeaway)

Metropolitan areas that manufacture durable goods grew faster in 2010 than those without. (Wall Street Journal)

Star-Ledger op-ed: Hurricane Irene is a wake up call, highlighting the need for more transit redundancy in New Jersey.

The TSA will change screening procedures for children going through airport security. Less pat-downs, more shoes. (Politico)

Tougher state licensing laws have led to fewer fatal car crashes for 16-year-olds...but there's a catch. (NPR)

The House of Representatives has approved a bill  that combines a four-month Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization with a six-month surface transportation re-up.   The Senate has yet to take action.

The bill, known as the Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011 (link), temporarily extends operating authority for the FAA through the end of January and federal highway programs through the end of March

The FAA's funding expires this Friday. Highway programs are due to expire on September 30. Long-term funding for the FAA ran out in 2007 and highway programs in 2009. Both programs have been continued through a series of short-term extensions.

Senate and House leaders reached an agreement last week to temporarily extend both programs. But at least one Republican senator, Oklahoma's Tom Coburn, says he objects to the bill and will move to block it.

More soon.

Top stories on TN:

New York City is expected to announce the selection of a vendor for its upcoming bike share program. (Link)

The president sent his jobs bill to Congress. (Link)

Congress has reached a deal on a funding extension for both the FAA and the highway bill, and it's expected to come to the floor today. (The Hill, Politico)

But: Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) says he'll try to block the agreement until states stop spending money on highway beautification and bicycle lanes. (Bloomberg)

Subsidies for rural airports have been a sticking point in the FAA reauthorization. Marketplace flies a rural route -- and talks about where the money really comes from.

Transit advocates in Vancouver want mayors to stand behind a property tax increase to fund transit improvements. (The Globe and Mail)

DC bicyclists are affixing video camera to their helmets to record rude, threatening and even violent drivers. (Washington Examiner)

After the deluge comes the flood: expect thousands of waterlogged cars to hit the used-car market. (The Star-Ledger)

A new study suggests that children may be safer in cars when their grandparents are driving than when their parents are behind the wheel. (New York Times)

A land-swap deal with the U.N. to facilitate the building of the East River greenway has upset some local residents. (DNA Info)

Top stories on TN:

President Obama's jobs plan includes a $10 billion infrastructure bank (link), but a key House Republican isn't interested. (Link)

Houston expands its electric vehicle fleet; will add dozens of charging stations. (Link)

Zipcar is increasing its presence on college campuses. (Link)

An unused air traffic control tower at LaGuardia Airport, being dismantled (photo by Alex Goldmark)

The House will vote on an FAA extension this week. (The Hill)

NYT columnist Frank Bruni calls NYC DOT head Janette Sadik-Khan a "bicycle visionary."  (Link)

A leaking pipeline exploded in Nairobi, killing dozens. (New York Times)

Bay Area Rapid Transit police eye media restrictions after the handcuffing and detention of at least six professional and student journalists at a protest. (AP via Mercury News)

Contract talks between auto workers and the Big Three manufacturers matter to the larger economy. (WBEZ)

Suzuki wants to end its partnership with Volkswagen. (Wall Street Journal)

Drunk driving arrests in Manhattan's East Village have tripled. (DNA Info)

There are so many cyclists in Copenhagen that congestion is becoming a problem. (The Guardian)

Top stories on TN:

A ratings agency downgraded the MTA's debt. (Link 1, Link 2)

NJ redirected money originally meant for the ARC Tunnel to the state DOT, where it will be spent on roads, bridges, and -- maybe -- NJ Transit. (Link)

What was Reagan National Airport like after 9/11? Abandoned. (Link)

President Barack Obama talks with Rep. Chris VanHollen, D-Md., before addressing a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 8, 2011. Pictured, from left, are: Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Obama's speech: "Building a world-class transportation system is part of what made us an economic superpower.  And now we’re going to sit back and watch China build newer airports and faster railroads?"

Where's the money going? $50 billion to transportation (Washington Post); $10 billion to an infrastructure bank (TN).

Analysis: WashPo, NYT, TN's Todd Zwillich on The Takeaway.

Authorities say there's a credible but unconfirmed terror threat aimed at bridges or tunnels in NY or DC. (Politico, NY1)

A highway spending bill extension cleared a Senate committee. (The Hill)

San Francisco's Clipper cards -- a universal fare card system -- are problematic (Bay Citizen via NYT).  So are DC's student transit cards (The Examiner).

There's a drop in parking tickets in Manhattan -- especially in the East Village. (DNA Info)

Transit eye candy: NY MTA workers pose for charity calendar. (NY Daily News)

The TSA is experimenting with a "no lie zone" -- a behavior detection program -- at Boston's Logan Airport. (Boston Globe)

Manhattan's High Line -- the park built on old elevated freight rail tracks -- is screening train-themed movies this month. (The High Line via DNA Info)

(Photo by William Hartz via Flickr)

Money that was supposed to go to New Jersey's canceled ARC trans-Hudson transit tunnel has officially been redirected to the state transportation trust fund.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority voted Wednesday to pay money -- initially promised to the ARC tunnel -- to the state Department of Transportation instead.

The specifics are laid out in a memo to NJTA executive director Veronica Hakim from Donna Manuelli, the state's chief financial officer. Manuelli wrote she wanted to "take all necessary steps to terminate the Authroity's agreement with New Jersey Transit regarding the canceled ARC Tunnel project." (Read the funding agreement memo; pdf.)

Governor Christie killed the ARC Tunnel project last year, saying it was too expensive and he feared costs would spiral out of control. He  said in January that he planned to put the NJTA's ARC money toward the state's ailing transportation trust fund, so yesterday's NJTA vote didn't come as a surprise.

The NJTA collects tolls on the NJ Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway ($952 million in 2010), and it had originally pledged $1.25 billion to the ARC tunnel project.

It's unknown at this time where that money will go. Tim Greeley, a spokesman for the NJ DOT, said the state legislature makes decisions about the capital transportation budget in the spring. New Jersey's capital construction budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011 has already been set.

Though not unexpected, NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg, long a proponent of a tunnel, was piqued by the move. “This toll revenue was supposed to be used to build a desperately needed trans-Hudson tunnel for New Jersey commuters,” he said in a statement.  “Using this money as a slush fund for other transportation projects is a disservice to New Jersey residents facing congestion on our roads and seeking access to more jobs and more trains in and out of New York.”

New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund finances the annual capital program of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ TRANSIT. The lion's share of its revenue comes from the state's gas tax, which is the third lowest in the nation. Governor Christie has said repeatedly he will not raise the gas tax.

Top stories on TN:

Fashionistas now can ride heel-friendly bikes: designers trick out public bikes for Fashion Week. (Link)

Air traffic controllers remember 9/11. (Link)

Toronto's pedestrian 'scramble' signal

President Obama's jobs speech tonight: infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. (Politico)

Number being thrown around for tonight's speech: $100 billion for infrastructure, state and local aid, and programs that target people who have been unemployed for more than six months. (Washington Post)

Maryland lawmakers were warned not to expect nearly as much help from Washington as in the past to pay for highways and transit. (Washington Post)

Toronto's "scramble" traffic signal -- a light that allows pedestrians to cross a busy intersection diagonally -- has come under scrutiny. (Globe and Mail)

Protected bike lanes are coming to East Harlem in the spring of 2012, a neighborhood with one of the highest rates of bicycle commuters in NYC. (DNA Info)

Gizmodo looks at the World Trade Center transit hub -- a $3.8 billion "mega-terminal."

Candidates complained about the TSA at last night's Republican debate. (The Hill)

A manual transmission with two pedals? (Wall Street Journal)