transportation

5 posts

Chicago Alderman Proposes $25 Annual Bike Tax

bikerChicago Alderman Pat Dowell has proposed a plan that bicyclists in the city should pay a $25 annual bike registration fee as a way to raise revenue for the city. Ms. Dowell is hoping this would be an alternative to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed cable television tax hike. She also thinks that all cyclists should be required to take a “rules of the road” safety class. The safety part I can get behind, the tax? Not so much.

As the fee is proposed as just a way of increasing revenue for the city of Chicago and does not directly benefit transportation let alone cycling, I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Even Emanuel doesn’t think so. Continue reading →

Tips and Tricks for New York City’s Citi Bike and Starting to Bike in Your City

As someone who has lived in NYC for most of her life, I never ever thought it possible that the city might start becoming friendlier towards bikers, nay, even promoting biking as a viable transportation option.

On May 27th, New York joined the ranks of many other biking cities in the world by initiating the largest bike share program in the nation, Citi Bike. A program which has been highly successful in Montreal, Washington DC, Boston, Melbourne, AU, and other cities with more soon to launch. Finally, this was a totalitarian overreach by Mayor Mike and the powerful bike lobby I could get behind. Or, you know, ride. And, since its inception, the biker population has really exploded, it seems, with Citi Bikers and non – a development I am very happy about if somehow eventually it means less cars. Continue reading →

American Households are Increasingly Going Car-free

NBC news reported on a study by CNW Marketing that found that the amount of car-free American households has doubled in the last two decades, meaning that nearly 10% of American households do not have a car.

There are several reasons that the number of car-free households are increasing, from the recession making it difficult for those who wish to own a car to do so, to environmentalism, to technology making shared or public transit more accessible. Increased urbanization (or gentrification) and the revitalization of urban neighborhoods, as well as investment in public transit and cycling infrastructure have made it easier for people to choose to live car-free. Continue reading →

Today in Wingnuttery: Get on the (Canadian) Bus

The Patriots© at Glenn Beck’s The Blaze have uncovered a grave scandal in the Obama administration. Actually, they copied a story word for word from The New York Post, but taking the time to write up your own summary is socialism, so what the hell. Anyway, Nobama has once again proven to be a treacherous enemy of America by purchasing a tour bus that was made in socialist Canada!

Actually,  The Post story admits that only the shell of the bus was manufactured in Canada. The interior was customized and the bus was sold to Secret Service in 2010 by Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, which is located in freedom-loving Tennessee. A (presumably) annoyed spokesperson for the Secret Service points out that the buses meet specific requirements to protect candidates and may even be used to transport the 2012 Republican nominee.
Continue reading →

F-bomb Gets Man Ejected from Plane

Robert Sayegh, an author of children’s literature and former Sesame Street writer, was booted from a Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight when he said ‘fuck‘ after hearing his flight was going to be further delayed. Sayegh is from Brooklyn where F-bombs are a part of the vernacular.

Sayegh apparently muttered the curse word to himself but a nearby flight attendant took offense and had him removed from the plane while on a layover in Detroit. Passengers around him were supposedly not offended, but the sky bitch/bastard flight attendant was. Continue reading →