Category Archives: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Metro to kill Inner Katy line

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is such bullshit. The Metropolitan Transit Authority will further reduce its previously planned bus rapid transit efforts while boosting police presence on its routes and increasing its investment in so-called microtransit under its proposed fiscal 2025 budget. The draft … Continue reading →

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Watch out for Waymo

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked a lot about Cruise’s so far ill-fated attempt to do robotaxi service, mostly because it was briefly available in Houston (and may be again soon), but the most successful purveyor of such services out there has been Waymo. … Continue reading →

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A free word of advice for Fort Bend County

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Start building out a real mass transit network, like, now. In just one year, Fort Bend County gained 27,000 residents – cementing its position as one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, according to the most recent U.S. … Continue reading →

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On burying a freeway and building a park over it

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Noting this for the record. As a high-stakes project to sink I-35 through downtown Austin kicks into gear this summer, city officials and the University of Texas are looking to Dallas for a possible glimpse of the future. The vision: … Continue reading →

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Of course the I-10 project will cost more than expected

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The sun rises in the east, water is wet, etc etc etc. Lifting Interstate 10 out of White Oak Bayou’s floodway is poised to cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more than anticipated, as bids to build the project … Continue reading →

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A high level overview of passenger rail in Texas

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There’s stuff happening, mostly talk for now but maybe there will be more. A robust passenger rail system has long been seen as a pipe dream in car-dependent Texas. But a glut of federal dollars for rail projects and a … Continue reading →

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More on the I-10 project and “No Higher No Wider”

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This story is primarily about the effect of the proposed I-10 widening/elevating would have on the Cottage Grove neighborhood, which was previously split in two by the highway’s construction in 1968. That’s all worth reading, but I’m focusing on a … Continue reading →

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Behold the US High Speed Rail map

Posted on July 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

May I live long enough to see this happen. The U.S. High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) published a map outlining its proposal for a new 17,000-mile national high-speed rail network across the United States, which it claims will “cut our … Continue reading →

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San Antonio gets BRT (*) funds

Posted on July 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

At least someone is moving forward with a big transit project. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, whose 28th district stretches from Laredo to South and East San Antonio, has secured $110 million in federal funding for VIA’s first rapid transit route. … Continue reading →

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Alternate route for the DFW high speed rail line

Posted on July 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Compromise! High-speed rail could zip past downtown Dallas under a revised route that regional elected leaders will consider this week. The proposal, developed after the Dallas City Council approved a June 12 resolution opposing an elevated line through downtown and … Continue reading →

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A small followup on the West 11th Street safety study

Posted on July 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This doesn’t really add much to what we had before, but I figured a little low-stakes story about something good was a thing we could use. 11th Street in the Houston Heights area became safer for everyone, including drivers, after … Continue reading →

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A few questions about Swyft Cities and the Whoosh project

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In my earlier post about the Whoosh elevated autonomous cable car project in North Texas, I got a comment from Leonard Lee addressing some of the concerns I had raised. He invited me to contact him if I had any … Continue reading →

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Whoosh!

Posted on July 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay, this is a new one. Transportation planners have a new idea about how to take on congestion as Dallas-Fort Worth’s population grows: elevated autonomous cable cars that riders can hail on demand. Five North Texas cities — Dallas, Arlington, … Continue reading →

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A more in depth overview of electric flying taxis

Posted on June 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff here. When the electric air taxi revolution arrives, you probably won’t it hear coming. A remarkable feature of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is how quietly it flies, scarcely noticeable amid typical city traffic sounds. … Continue reading →

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Metro officially fails to follow through on the Universities Line

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Cowards. Transit officials received a busload of criticism Thursday for the decision to pause the long-planned east-west spine of rapid transit in the region, with some critics questioning whether the decision was an attempt to kill the line altogether. “I … Continue reading →

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Metro to fund RYDE services

Posted on June 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Okay, fine. Transit officials are poised to pick up the tab for another six months of funding on-demand rides around Second Ward and Third Ward. If approved by the Metropolitan Transit Authority board on Thursday, the agency would spend $216,000 … Continue reading →

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One more time for keeping the Universities line going

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Raj Mankad is a Chron editorial board member and a neighbor of mine, who once took public transit from Houston to Galveston to prove it could be done. He has now taken to the op-ed pages in favor of not … Continue reading →

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LINK Houston advocates for the Universities line

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From Sunday’s op-ed section, three leaders of LINK Houston advocate for the Universities BRT line as promised in the 2019 Metro referendum. This is the part that is most of interest to me: There’s a lot on the line. If … Continue reading →

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Ellis requests full Metro board vote on halting Universities BRT

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s at least put it on the record. Concerned the University Corridor rapid transit line project could be delayed for years, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis on Friday called on Metro to move forward with the voter-approved project and hold … Continue reading →

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Once more with Amtrak and Texas Central

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Bloomberg examines the recent history and possible future of the Texas high speed rail line. The US is “on the cusp of a high-speed rail revolution,” says Andy Byford, Amtrak’s Senior Vice President for High-Speed Rail Development Programs. “Suddenly, people … Continue reading →

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City report calls 11th Street a success

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? A Houston Public Works draft report obtained by Axios states that measures to slow traffic along 11th Street in the Heights have achieved key safety goals. Why it matters: The project — a polarizing rebuild completed under … Continue reading →

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Metro officially puts Universities BRT line in the freezer

Posted on June 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Goddammit. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County will not pursue the University Corridor bus rapid transit line, a core element of the MetroNext program, delaying the project indefinitely. During a Tuesday meeting of the board of directors’ Strategic Planning … Continue reading →

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The DFW high speed rail line hits a bump

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Whoops. Dallas City Council members hit the brakes on a proposed elevated high-speed passenger rail line that would connect with Arlington and Fort Worth. The council, including Mayor Eric Johnson, approved a resolution 14-0, with council member Jaime Resendez absent. … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle’s reprieve runs out

Posted on June 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Sad to see it go. Houston’s long-struggling system of on-demand bicycles is reaching the end of the trail. BCycle, the system of kiosks with available bikes spread around downtown, Midtown and other locations will close June 30, officials with the … Continue reading →

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I-45 construction set to begin

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here it comes. Houston’s largest-ever freeway project is one step closer to starting construction, with crews poised to begin digging in the dirt along Interstate 69 by fall. After years of planning and sometimes fiery debate, the … Continue reading →

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Cruise returns to Houston

Posted on June 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack… Houston, we missed you! Today we’re resuming driving in Houston where we’ll build on the knowledge collected last year. We’ll start with human driven vehicles and move to supervised autonomous driving with a safety driver behind the wheel … Continue reading →

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Shepherd-Durham project back on track

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

First, I got this in my inbox, from the Mayor’s office. Mayor John Whitmire and the Memorial Heights TIRZ have reached a compromise on the design of the Shepherd Durham Phase II project that maintains the terms of the Federal … Continue reading →

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Metro Chair seeks to nullify 2019 election

Posted on June 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’m so mad about this I’m having a hard time seeing straight. Metro is beginning to steer in a different direction under Mayor John Whitmire and his appointed chair of the transit agency, pulling away from a planned expansion of … Continue reading →

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A brief overview of flying taxis

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This was written by the executive director of the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education, and it answers at least one of my questions about our flying taxi future. In the near term, once eVTOLs are certified to fly … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail revival

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe now is finally the time. Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and Travis County Judge Andy Brown have jointly launched a committee of political heavyweights to explore the decades-old idea of connecting Austin and San Antonio via passenger rail. The … Continue reading →

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On “bold things” for mobility

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Mayor John Whitmire started a noontime discussion about transportation in the region by saying he was “fired up” about the opportunity to improve the city’s mobility and infrastructure. […] 2. “I am … Continue reading →

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That other high speed rail line update

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Keep on moving. Transportation planners in North Texas continue their efforts to bring high-speed rail to the area, a system that would link Dallas and Fort Worth via Arlington and push south to Houston. The North Central Texas Council of … Continue reading →

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We need to pay more attention to the I-10 construction proposals

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

By which I mostly mean I need to pay more attention to them, because they sound terrible. Between the shrill of large trucks barreling down Interstate 10 – when only the whoosh of cars dominates the din – Matt Tetlow … Continue reading →

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Amtrak is going hard for the high speed rail line

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I love it. If Texas ends up getting a long-envisioned high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas, the Amtrak executive now leading the initiative says it would feature the fastest trains in the world. The plan for the 240-mile route between … Continue reading →

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