Applaud Free Public Transit Program for Children

ForceChange: "Free Muni for Youth is the result of a two-year long challenge to find funding for the program. But thanks to a million dollar grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 40,000 children now have free passage to ride the city’s public transportation system. Please thank Muni for sticking by their commitment to make investments in the community’s youth."

'via Blog this'

Wildfire enters Yosemite, threatens San Francisco water, power

REUTERS/Max Whittaker

Reuters: "The so-called Rim Fire, which had grown to just over 125,000 acres as of early Saturday, remained largely unchecked with extreme terrain hampering efforts at containment.

"We are making progress but unfortunately the steep terrain definitely has posed a major challenge," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"Today we're continuing to see warm weather that could allow this fire to continue to grow very rapidly as it has over the last several days," Berlant said."

Subways, Strikes, and Slowdowns: The Impacts of Public Transit on Traffic Congestion

owenzidar: "Contrary to the conclusions in the existing transportation and urban economics literature, the congestion relief benefits alone may justify transit infrastructure investments. "

The future is now for #climatechange

Effects of climate change in California are 'significant and growing' - latimes.com: "California is feeling the effects of climate change far and wide, as heat-trapping greenhouse gases reduce spring runoff from the Sierra Nevada, make the waters of Monterey Bay more acidic and shorten winter chill periods required to grow fruit and nuts in the Central Valley, a new report says."

'via Blog this'

Free private transit is a pain in the neck

Proposed Shuttle Bus Plan to Solve San Francisco's Public Transportation Woes | Complex: "The private buses service companies such as Yahoo!, Google, Facebook, Apple, eBay and Genentech. Complete with air conditioning and Wi-Fi, these buses regularly stop and public bus stops and block intersections, creating a nightmare for everyone except their passengers and the companies who charter them. So far, the MTA's method of dealing with the problem has been to not deal with the problem."

'via Blog this'

Car culture a financial burden on working people

Give up driving, take public transit and save money, a new report says - Vallejo Times Herald: "Goodwin said he agrees with the NRDC report. He cited a 2010 agency report indicating that Bay Area residents who fall into low- and lower middle-income categories spend 72 percent of their income on housing and transportation.

Those who earn more money spend less than half their income, or 41 percent, on those items, he added.

Another Bay Area look at the issue shows people who live in neighborhoods near public transit also spend far less on transportation, said Shannon Tracey, communications director for TransForm, an Oakland-based policy group.

"If you live in a neighborhood with the least amount of access to public transportation you are spending $5,400 more per year than someone in a household with the best transportation access," Tracey said."

'via Blog this'

Traffic jams from BART strike prove the importance of #publictransit

BART strike: "The BART strike has paralysed commuter traffic by contributing to the largest traffic jams in the Bay area since the last BART strike in 1997."