Transit

We all know that you don't have to go far from Bay Area cities to find some of the most beautiful mountains and epic beaches in the country, but you might be surprised how easy it is to get to those hikes and natural wonders without a car. Thanks to a beta website called Transit and Trails, hosted by the Bay Area Open Space Council, you can ditch your ride and plan your next adventure taking public transportation to Mt. Tam or Stinson Beach or Briones.

One day after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tooted his own horn on climate change and carbon reductions mandated under AB 32, another California transit operator is taking drastic steps to stop the hemorrhaging of its operations budget by cutting back on future innovation, in no small part due to the fact that the governor and the state legislature zeroed out the State Transit Assistance (STA) fund.

A 10 percent annual increase in U.S. transit ridership would reduce CO2 emissions by 180 million tons each year, taking the nation halfway to the target set by the House climate change bill within three years, according to a report [PDF] released today by Environment America and the Coalition for Smarter Growth.

The U.S. DOT announced today that 43 local transit agencies from more than two dozen states would share the $100 million in competitive clean-transport grants included in this winter's $787 billion economic stimulus law.

Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of irony, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) has drafted an angry letter to the chief of Washington D.C.'s Metro, complaining that protesters at last weekend's 9/12 "tea party" had difficulty traveling by transit -- the very transit system that Brady voted against aiding, and the epitome of government spending that the tea partiers claim to oppose.

For a second straight MTA board meeting, changes to the 2-Clement dominated both the board's discussion and public comment. Funston Avenue residents and Congregation Beth Shalom members showed up in force to voice safety and noise concerns about a new bus terminus at either location. MTA directors expressed reservations about both options, acknowledging the community concerns and beseeching Transit Effectiveness Program project manager Julie Kirschbaum to offer an alternative that avoids either scenario.

As Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered amendments striking money for more than 20 transit projects from the bill that funds the U.S. DOT next year. 

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors is expected to vote tomorrow to approve up to $217,634 to repair two damaged Muni Metro light rail vehicles. Muni currently has ten LRVs that are out of service due to damage from crashes, roughly one-fifteenth of its 151-vehicle light rail fleet.

Transit and bike commuters in many cities are able to rush home quickly if an emergency strikes -- but for commuters looking to give up their cars in less dense areas, an emergency often means a pricey cab ride. One California county that falls in the latter camp, Santa Cruz, has come up with a unique solution: "ride insurance."