Commuter/Regional

Greater Cleveland RTA recently canceled a new railcar RFP when the only bidder whose proposal was considered did not respond to technical requirements.

Transit Briefs: Greater Cleveland RTA, Denton County TA, WMATA

Greater Cleveland (Ohio) Regional Transit Authority (RTA) canceled its railcar procurement Request for Proposal (RFP); Denton County (Texas) Transportation Authority (DCTA) received four first-place honors in the 2021 AdWheel Awards, presented by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA); and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Amazon are partnering on a transit-oriented development (TOD) program to create 1,000 affordable housing units.

“We are honored to receive the Climate Change Project of the Year Award from the EBC,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said. “With 100% of the T’s electricity load coming from fully renewable energy sources as of January 1, 2021, the MBTA continues to expand the use of renewable energy in our portfolio, and continues our commitment to sustainable transit.”

Transit Briefs: MBTA, Metrolinx, LACMTA, CTA

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has earned the New England Environmental Business Council Award for Climate Change Project of the Year; Metrolinx, the Toronto-area regional transit agency, has installed roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels at four stations, saving almost C$1.8 million in energy costs to date; the CRRC Massachusetts plant recently celebrated the arrival of the first of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA) new subway cars on order; and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has launched a Transit Ambassador program.

Senate Commerce Committee Debuts $78B Bill for Surface Transportation

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has released a bipartisan five-year surface transportation bill authorizing $78 billion for rail, freight, safety and research programs; it is a companion to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works’ (EPW) recently advanced, and also bipartisan, $303.5 billion Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act of 2021.

Second in a Series: Railroads Respond to Changing Ridership Patterns

Historians may look back on the Great Pandemic of 2020-21 and notice that February 2020 was the month in which commuting by train peaked in the United States. Beginning in March 2020, Railway Age has reported the overall decline in service on our local railroads, which came in reaction to the shutdowns that suddenly appeared to sweep the country on Friday the Thirteenth of that month.

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