Transportation

California

Unleash Private Sector to Repair 10 Freeway

Newsom should channel spirit of Northridge quake rebuild when repairing 10 Freeway

CalTrans veteran ​​Jerry B. Baxter said in November 1994 that repairing the battered freeway system “posed one of the greatest challenges to the California Department of Transportation in its nearly 100-year history.” But “it also proved to be one of its greatest triumphs, testing the mettle and ingenuity of Caltrans employees in ...
Blog

Read latest about road diets

Car-free cities about social engineering, not public demand

Scientific American insists that car-free cities are the future, because the data from facial analysis caught by surveillance cameras proves that “people do not like looking at cars.” Or maybe the trend is just another planning movement led by elitists who believe their vision of a city is the only ...
Blog

Post-COVID travel has recovered – except for urban transit

Highways, airlines, and Amtrak all carried more travel in August 2023 than the same month before the pandemic, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Urban transit, however, is languishing at less than 72%, and it would be even lower except that August had one more ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

Misusing ‘externality’ theories to bolster government power

In a recent article, economist Timothy D. Terrell pointed out problems in modern economic theory that deal with what economists call externalities, or spillover costs, noting that in a world in which value is subjective, attempts to find objective ways to allay costs are elusive and generally end in failure. ...
Blog

Read latest on California's failing transit systems

Transit systems battle crime to restore fallen ridership

Although I usually drive, sometimes I take the bus in Orange County, the last time a year ago. As you might expect in car-centric Southern California, almost all the other riders were poor people, some no doubt recent immigrants of unknown official status. I know many recent immigrants, and the ...
Blog

What California can learn from African buses

What California can learn from African buses While the Golden State splurges on infrastructure, African cities show the greater efficiency of decentralized private transit.  By Scott Beyer | July 20, 2023 California, faced with its long-infamous traffic problems, wants taxpayers to embrace transit. It has spent decades funding high-speed rail, ...
Blog

Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning

Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning By Steven Greenhut | June 29, 2023 It was inevitable that the California Legislature would bail out the state’s ailing public-transportation systems, which are facing dire fiscal crises as federal pandemic aid dries up. Although he had resisted a cash infusion ...
Blog

Read about CA's war on suburbs

To reduce costs, California also needs to build new suburbs

The three myths that have led to this predicament are the following: Nuclear power and natural gas power causes unacceptable harm to the environment; reservoirs and desalination plants cause unacceptable harm to the environment; and single-family homes nestled in sprawling suburbs cause unacceptable harm to the environment. These are myths. ...
Free Cities

Marc Joffe – How can California transportation policy better serve customers?

Transportation expert Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute joins Steven Greenhut of PRI’s Free Cities Center for a discussion of how to transform transportation policy in California to better serve customers and focus on transportation engineering rather than social engineering.  They also discuss the current state budget debate over a ...
Free Cities

Latest Free Cities Center video

Watch: How can California transportation policy better serve customers?

Watch transportation expert Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute tour the Walnut Creek BART station with Steven Greenhut of PRI’s Free Cities Center. They discuss how to transform transportation policy in California to better serve customers and focus on transportation engineering rather than social engineering.
California

Unleash Private Sector to Repair 10 Freeway

Newsom should channel spirit of Northridge quake rebuild when repairing 10 Freeway

CalTrans veteran ​​Jerry B. Baxter said in November 1994 that repairing the battered freeway system “posed one of the greatest challenges to the California Department of Transportation in its nearly 100-year history.” But “it also proved to be one of its greatest triumphs, testing the mettle and ingenuity of Caltrans employees in ...
Blog

Read latest about road diets

Car-free cities about social engineering, not public demand

Scientific American insists that car-free cities are the future, because the data from facial analysis caught by surveillance cameras proves that “people do not like looking at cars.” Or maybe the trend is just another planning movement led by elitists who believe their vision of a city is the only ...
Blog

Post-COVID travel has recovered – except for urban transit

Highways, airlines, and Amtrak all carried more travel in August 2023 than the same month before the pandemic, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Urban transit, however, is languishing at less than 72%, and it would be even lower except that August had one more ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

Misusing ‘externality’ theories to bolster government power

In a recent article, economist Timothy D. Terrell pointed out problems in modern economic theory that deal with what economists call externalities, or spillover costs, noting that in a world in which value is subjective, attempts to find objective ways to allay costs are elusive and generally end in failure. ...
Blog

Read latest on California's failing transit systems

Transit systems battle crime to restore fallen ridership

Although I usually drive, sometimes I take the bus in Orange County, the last time a year ago. As you might expect in car-centric Southern California, almost all the other riders were poor people, some no doubt recent immigrants of unknown official status. I know many recent immigrants, and the ...
Blog

What California can learn from African buses

What California can learn from African buses While the Golden State splurges on infrastructure, African cities show the greater efficiency of decentralized private transit.  By Scott Beyer | July 20, 2023 California, faced with its long-infamous traffic problems, wants taxpayers to embrace transit. It has spent decades funding high-speed rail, ...
Blog

Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning

Transit bailout will only delay the day of reckoning By Steven Greenhut | June 29, 2023 It was inevitable that the California Legislature would bail out the state’s ailing public-transportation systems, which are facing dire fiscal crises as federal pandemic aid dries up. Although he had resisted a cash infusion ...
Blog

Read about CA's war on suburbs

To reduce costs, California also needs to build new suburbs

The three myths that have led to this predicament are the following: Nuclear power and natural gas power causes unacceptable harm to the environment; reservoirs and desalination plants cause unacceptable harm to the environment; and single-family homes nestled in sprawling suburbs cause unacceptable harm to the environment. These are myths. ...
Free Cities

Marc Joffe – How can California transportation policy better serve customers?

Transportation expert Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute joins Steven Greenhut of PRI’s Free Cities Center for a discussion of how to transform transportation policy in California to better serve customers and focus on transportation engineering rather than social engineering.  They also discuss the current state budget debate over a ...
Free Cities

Latest Free Cities Center video

Watch: How can California transportation policy better serve customers?

Watch transportation expert Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute tour the Walnut Creek BART station with Steven Greenhut of PRI’s Free Cities Center. They discuss how to transform transportation policy in California to better serve customers and focus on transportation engineering rather than social engineering.
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