Transit Unplugged Weekly News Minute with Julie Gates

🚆 Here’s what’s new in transportation this week with Transit Unplugged #NewsMinute and Julie Gates! 📢 Public Transit & the Economy: American Public Transportation Association leaders met with D.C. officials to highlight transit’s impact on jobs and investment. 🎓 LIT Leadership Academy: Congrats to the 42 new participants kicking off their leadership journey! 🌳 Montreal’s New Green Space: A...

Discover key updates in transit this week! From the U.S. Department of Transportation's oversight of daylight savings to DART's generous van awards for nonprofits and the APTA AdWheel winners, join us for the latest in public transportation news.

The Trump administration is rescinding an agreement for New York’s Congestion Pricing and intends to cancel the program that reduces congestion and air pollution by charging a toll for vehicles to drive through Manhattan’s Central Business District. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority filed papers against the motion in federal court, and Governor Kathy Hochul vowed to keep the program and ca...

 Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute. Former New York Congressman Marcus Molinaro has been tapped to become the next administrator of the Federal Transit Administration. He has served on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Source: Gothamist The FTA has released a Notice of Proposed Policy Statement, requiring transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft to co...

Sean Duffy has been sworn-in as the 20th Secretary of the US Department of Transportation. He said, “We're in a global race to out-innovate and out-compete the rest of the world. We will craft clear regulations which balance safety, innovation and cutting-edge technology.” Source: CBS News To increase safety and public confidence in New York, they have added a surge of 300 police officers to the s...

On inauguration day, Donald Trump released 26 executive orders. Orders that will impact transit are the ones that impose a regulatory freeze, streamline the environmental review process, and roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Source: APTA Early data is in from New York City’s congestion pricing where a toll has been implemented in a part of Manhattan to reduce gridlock. Accord...

 During his confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Sean Duffy said his priorities would be improving safety and building big infrastructure projects, if confirmed. Source: Mass Transit Magazine The American Public Transportation Association released a statement thanking outgoing DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg for his strong investment in public transp...

David Fink has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as the incoming Federal Railroad Administration administrator. He brings more than 45 years of experience, including with Pan Am Railway and General Motors. Source: Progressive Railroading In California, unprecedented wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties have burned roughly 40 thousand acres, forcing evacuations of hundred...

 After hurdles and delays, New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched congestion pricing on Sunday. Adding a $9 toll to motorists entering Manhattan below 60th Street. It is expected to bring 80,000 fewer vehicles a day to the area, while also providing $15 billion to the MTA. As we ring in the new year, 2025 brings the 200th year of railways. Source: MTA Last week, Amtrak join...

It can be a two-hour slog to drive by car around California and Nevada’s Lake Tahoe. But a proposed flying electric ferry, the first of its kind in the US, could take 30 passengers across the lake in under 30 minutes. The ferry will use hydrofoil technology to lift the hull above the waves, and the vision is to implement the service at the end of 2025.  Source: KTVU Utah Transit Authorit...

The American Public Transportation Association released its “Transit Wrapped 2024” report, listing the transit agencies with the largest ridership increases this year. The top of the list included the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Seattle’s King County Metro, and San Francisco Muni. Source APTA/Instagram Houston METRO has broken ground on its new, 30,000 square-foot Maintena...

AI is going to report you if you drive in Seattle's bus only lanes, APTA talks Trump Vance transit funding, and the TTC is turning a parking lot into over 1,400 homes. Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute. Seattle's AI-Powered Bus Lane Monitoring King County Metro in the Seattle area started a pilot project, installing cameras with artificial intelligence on buses to watch for drivers in...

Introduction and Headlines APTA is asking the government to approve emergency relief funding for hurricane victims. You can take a college course this summer in France and Spain to learn about high speed rail, and CUTA will be teaching riders about good manners. Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute. Emergency Relief Funding for Hurricane Victims The American Public Transportation Associat...

According to the Associated Press, President elect Donald Trump is naming former Wisconsin Representative Sean Duffy as his nominee to be Transportation Secretary. Duffy is co host of the "Bottom Line" on Fox Business and was featured on MTV's "Road Rules" and "The Real World." Source: AP Amtrak has successfully completed its track renewal work on the Harrisburg line between Lancaster and Harrisbu...

Congestion pricing came back from the dead in New York City, and it's CUTA conference time. Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute, where we cover the biggest stories in the transit industry. After being put on hold last summer, New York's congestion pricing just got the green light from the governor. The new $9 toll for the most gridlocked part of Manhattan will go into effect on January 5...

Transit won big in last week's United States elections, with 19 out of 25 communities approving transit measures on their ballots. According to the American Public Transportation Association, transit has seen an 86.67% win rate in 2024, with more than $25 billion going to fund public transit. Source: APTA On Remembrance Day, November 11th, Vancouver's TransLink is providing free transit to veteran...

Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute where we cover the biggest headlines in the public transit industry. It’s Election week in the United States, with 23 transit initiatives on the ballot in 9 states. On Thursday, The American Public Transportation Association will hold a post-election webinar to discuss how the results will impact the transit industry. Source: APTA You better behave if...

The State of New York's very first hydrogen fuel cell electric buses have arrived at Rochester's Regional Transit Service. The vehicles join the fleet that already has 20 battery electric buses. Source: RTS Trinity Metro in Fort Worth has brought some true Texas swagger to Cowtown with its new Orange Line service connecting downtown to the stockyards. The Texas themed buses feature Fort Worth's fa...

One of the biggest issues facing U.S. public transit is the bus manufacturing crisis. There aren’t enough manufacturers to make the number of zero-emission buses needed for agencies to reach their greenhouse gas reduction goals. One of the hurdles is too much customization. To help, the L.A. Metro Board of Directors adopted a new policy, which includes coordinating with the other Los Angeles Count...

We've all been monitoring the heartbreaking news coming out of the Southeastern United States that has been ravaged by back to back hurricanes. The American Public Transportation Association has issued a statement saying APTA stands ready to aid our members, their employees, families, and communities. Source: APTA This Wednesday, the Transit Unplugged Podcast will release a special episode featuri...

Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute, where we cover the biggest headlines in the transit industry. Good news for those who want to update their urban passenger rail systems. The U. S. Federal Railroad Association issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for more than $1 billion. This funding is for systems working to expand, modernize, and improve America's intercity passenger rail network...

If you're looking for a more sustainable way to travel, Google has teamed up with Amtrak to show train routes for people booking travel on the search engine. Each time travelers choose Amtrak instead of flying, they can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 72%. Source: Amtrak This week, the American Public Transportation Association hosts its annual APTA TRANSform Conference in Anaheim, Californ...

Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute, where we cover the biggest headlines in the transit industry. Ferry systems across the U.S. are about to get an upgrade. The Federal Transit Administration has awarded $300 million in grants to modernize ferry systems across 14 states. Source: FTA Vancouver's TransLink is one step closer to achieving its net zero emissions goals by converting the West...

Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute, where we cover the biggest headlines in the transit industry. Last week, the American Public Transportation Association held a fly-in in Washington D.C. where transit agency leaders and advocates met with over 75 members of Congress and staff, urging them to not cut the funding levels to public transit and passenger rail. Source: APTA The Univers...

Welcome to your Transit Unplugged News Minute, where we cover the biggest headlines in the transit industry. As we kick off the new school year, we are seeing a lot of transit agencies launching. Launching new vehicles, new services, and new programs. In Houston, Texas, they rolled out their first electric buses. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County introduced its first zero emissio...