The MT Position

Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit magazine

As the year winds down, it’s hard not to reflect on what has happened this year in transit: the terrible Metrolink tragedy; the various work stoppages and promised strikes; and the budget crunches. Boy sounds pretty bad doesn’t it? Of course, that’s just a pessimistic view. Through it all transit kept going, moving more people than ever before. And that’s the key — keep it moving.

Transit wasn’t without its positive stories this year. Expo was a big hit. Ridership hit records in cities across the United States. Systems were expanded and new technologies unveiled.

So what does 2009 look like? To be honest, the next few months are going to be scary for a lot of places. It’s always darkest before the dawn they say, and that is likely the case with transit going into 2009. More and more agencies are facing serious funding crises as they are faced with the untenable decision of raising fares and cutting services while business is booming just to make budget. That’s the dark part. We have a new era dawning with a president-elect who is pledging an unprecedented investment in the nation’s infrastructure and the reauthorization of the transit funding bill, both promising to give transit the boost it so desperately requires.

And those riders that came during last summer’s skyrocketing gas prices? They’re sticking around even while gas prices drop to levels we haven’t seen in years. It seems they liked transit enough that once they got a taste they made the switch permanent.

2009 is looking up for us. Keep your heads up folks, the road may be rough, but the destination looks great!

Now some housekeeping stuff.

What have you been reading this year? Here are a couple lists I compiled of what you’ve been reading on our site:

Top Blogs

1. Etiquette Rules for the Transit Savvy
2. Enough Boondoggles
3. Little Things
4. Transit Safety
5. 22 Seconds

Top Articles

1. Commuters VS. Vacationers
2. BRT Update
3. Beyond ‘Light Rail Lite’
4. Mixed-Use Rail
5. CNG Hybrid-Electric Buses

Top News Stories

1. Federal Rules Prefer Buses over Streetcar Expansion
2. San Francisco Mayor Ousts Three of Seven Members of Public Transportation Board
3. Vandals Force Muni to Pull Hybrid Buses
4. Exit of DART Chair Doesn’t End Scrutiny
5. Taxpayers Fund $45M Empire, Art Collection
6. Downtown L.A. Rail Battle a Street Fight
7. Hacker Trio Finds a Way to Crack Popular Smartcard in Minutes
8. New Rules Stop Madison Metro’s ‘Bucky’ Bus
9. Efficient Disney Shows it’s High Time to Privatize Mass Transportation
10. Runaway Freight Car Hits MBTA Commuter Train

Top Industry Announcements

1. Nova Bus Unveils its Nova LFS Artic Articulated Bus
2. HC Bridge Company Completes First Composite Railroad Bridge
3. BART Needs to Replace its Fleet
4. Veolia Transportation acquires Professional Transit Management
5. MTA New York City Transit to Run Special Vintage Buses in December
6. President’s Spending Plan Recommends $1.62 Billion for Transit Construction
7. Veolia Transportation Adds 29 Dodge Sprinter Shuttle Buses
8. Houston Metro Places Order For 48 Orion VII Next Generation Diesel-Electric Hybrid Transit Buses
9. DaimlerChrysler Unveils the Next Generation of Transit Buses
10. MV Transportation Inc. Announces Contracts

With the impending holidays we’re taking a little break. This will be the last blog of 2008, there won’t be newsletters on December 24th or December 31st, and while we will keep updating the news, it won’t be as regular as normal. Keep an eye on MassTransitmag.com next year, though, as we continue to bring you daily transit industry coverage.

Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,

Fred
fred.jandt@cygnusb2b.com
Check out our LinkedIn page!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 2:55 pm and is filed under MT Position. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.