Tag Archives: Metro

No Metro vote this year

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One thing that won’t be on your ballot this fall. Voters will have to wait a few more months to decide Houston’s transit future, as Metro officials said Monday they are taking a more deliberative approach to developing a long-term … Continue reading →

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Metro will pilot automated vehicle shuttle at TSU

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

from the inbox: Texas Southern University students may have another transportation option on campus in the fall semester: an autonomous shuttle. Today, METRO’s Board of Directors gave the nod to the autonomous vehicle (AV) project, a first for the agency.  Although the … Continue reading →

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Metro to buy buses for Uptown BRT

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. Metro officials next week are set to spend at least $11.2 million on buses for bus rapid transit service along Post Oak, committing the agency to spending on the controversial project after years of discussion. Metropolitan Transit … Continue reading →

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Northwest Mall will be your Houston high speed rail terminal

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas Central Partners and Houston-area elected officials on Monday announced that the company, which is seeking federal approval for a 240-mile high-speed train line, has chosen Northwest Mall near Loop 610 and U.S. 290 as their preferred site. … Continue reading →

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No Amazon HQ2 for Houston

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Never really expected that we’d be a top contender, to be honest. Amazon ruled out Houston as a candidate for its $5 billion second headquarters on Thursday, delivering a blow to local leaders who had hoped to lure the Seattle … Continue reading →

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The elections we may get in 2018

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We know there are going to be a lot of contested elections up and down the ballot in 2018, both primaries and the November general, for state, county, and federal office. There are also at least four possible elections I … Continue reading →

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High speed rail line route finalist chosen

Posted on December 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’d where the Texas Central rail route will be, modulo some possible final tweaks and any further political obstacles. Federal officials narrowed the possible paths for a Dallas-Houston bullet train down to one likely route Friday, providing an unknown number … Continue reading →

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Another step in the Uptown BRT process

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta build those bus lanes on the Loop, too. A bus guideway along Loop 610 will cost slightly more than anticipated, based on bids opened Wednesday in Austin. Williams Brothers Construction, a mainstay of highway building in the area, was … Continue reading →

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Lamenting the lost rail opportunity

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

What could have been. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett’s speech Tuesday may have included jabs at state lawmakers, but it was a hit with transit advocates for a single line. “We cannot go back in time and undo some poor … Continue reading →

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2017 EV daily report: Just remember, the reports we get are all of Harris County

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here are today’s numbers, and here are the daily totals from previous years: 2015 2013 2011 2009 2007 And here’s a select comparison: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ======================================= 2017 11,953 7,513 19,466 19,581 2015 36,322 19,789 56,111 42,520 2011 … Continue reading →

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People who oppose the Uptown Line continue to oppose the Uptown Line

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Film at 11. A plan for faster bus service along Post Oak, the centerpiece of a larger project to remake Uptown’s Main Street, continues to divide its supporters and transit skeptics, even as work accelerates and commuters brace for limited … Continue reading →

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Harvey’s car carnage

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Lot of people lost their wheels in the floods. More than a week after Harvey slammed Houston, wreckers like Bryan Harvey are still hauling cars and trucks from flooded neighborhoods to dealerships or to vast fields where insurance adjusters can … Continue reading →

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Houston signs memorandum of understanding with Texas Central

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This makes a lot of sense. At City Hall, Houston and Texas Central Partners announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding, which commits both sides to share environmental surveys, utility analysis and engineering related to the project and surrounding … Continue reading →

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Can we share these lanes?

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Metro is rethinking how the light rail lines run in parts of downtown. Traffic woes and collisions along the newest light-rail lines in downtown have Metro leaders toying with the idea of backpedaling on their promise not to close parts … Continue reading →

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From the “we don’t want those people coming here” files

Posted on July 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Stay classy, Spring. The headline wasn’t subtle: “Stop Metro from coming to Spring.” The article,published July 15 on the website Spring Happenings, warned that bus service would “give criminals an easy way in and out” of the north Harris County … Continue reading →

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Culberson does his Culberson thing to Metro again

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is. But maybe, just maybe, there’s now a sell-by date on it. Houston may have stopped building light rail lines, but the fight over them rages on — right to Washington where Rep. John Culberson again … Continue reading →

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Bonds on the ballot

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Turner has one more item to deal with this November. Mayor Sylvester Turner is poised ask voters to approve bonds this fall to fund improvements to city parks, community centers, fire stations and health clinics, adding hundreds of millions … Continue reading →

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Help Metro figure out its Regional Transit Plan

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your chance to get involved and shape the direction of transit in the greater Houston area going forward. What is your vision for transit service in the Greater Houston region? METRO needs your help in creating a bold vision … Continue reading →

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No Metro vote this year

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One less to worry about. Agency officials expect to begin public meetings to gather input on where expanded bus and rail lines might go in late June. But the critical public response – the money to fund preferred projects via … Continue reading →

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Metro begins regional transportation planning

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Metro wants your input. We want to hear your ideas for a regional transit plan for the future. METRO, led by its Board of Directors and chair Carrin Patman, is developing a new plan for transit services. It will build … Continue reading →

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Revenue cap will be on the November ballot

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Here it comes, assuming the pension reform bill doesn’t get mugged in a dark alley. Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to ask voters to lift Houston’s cap on property tax collections in November, a move that could loosen one of the … Continue reading →

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Improving Metro service for disabled riders

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a work in progress. Many elderly and disabled people in the region rely on the bus, and a 6-foot stretch of missing sidewalk can cut off their access completely. Advocates expect better from the city with the world’s largest … Continue reading →

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Metro still fixing rail car issues

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Someday this will all be over. Houston’s light rail system is fully open, but closing out a complicated rail car purchase that nearly derailed the new lines remains a challenge for transit officials. Metropolitan Transit Authority officials continue withholding $12.9 … Continue reading →

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The long-term future of public transit

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

By “long-term” I mean by 2050 or so. For an agency that’s spent decades guiding freeway expansion, it was a stark admission for members of the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s transportation policy council. “Future growth and the resulting travel is expected … Continue reading →

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Metro preps regional transit plan

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This could be on our November ballot as well. A pending long-term regional transit plan, and likely voter referendum as early as November, will determine where Metro goes. More importantly, they will show what level of support people in the … Continue reading →

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Another point about Metro and marketing

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Metro receives a good report in its quadrennial audit, and also a good suggestion. The public perception of vagrancy, loitering and even crime remains a challenge for Houston transit officials that has made its way into Metro’s new performance audit. … Continue reading →

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Ready for driverless cars, Houston?

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well, they’re coming, ready or not. Researchers, business leaders and elected officials are about to turn Texas into the biggest laboratory for connected cars in the nation, with the likeliest place to spot a self-driving car in Houston along the … Continue reading →

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Here comes the fully extended Green Line

Posted on January 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Hallelujah. Oh what a rocky ride it’s been. Political opposition. A Buy America violation. Construction delays. Contaminated soil that sank an underpass. Overweight and badly-manufactured railcars. More construction delays. When trains finally start rolling along the new Green Line into … Continue reading →

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A look ahead to Houston’s 2017 elections

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I want to return to something in that story about Mayor Turner’s 2017 agenda, which was near the bottom but which is a very big deal for the coming year: A lawsuit over the ballot language used last year to … Continue reading →

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What’s going on with Metro’s ridership numbers?

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea what to make of this. Houston’s heralded bus system redesign – garnering kudos from local riders and transit supporters around the country – is running into the reality that nothing can boost transit when fewer people … Continue reading →

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The Complete Transportation Guide To Super Bowl LI

Posted on December 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

For which the tl;dr version is don’t drive in or near downtown if you can at all help it. More than 1 million people are expected to converge on downtown Houston during the week leading up to Super Bowl LI … Continue reading →

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As go gas prices, so goes interest in transit

Posted on December 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is. Cheap gasoline has Texans driving more, indicating that efforts to promote mass transit or bicycle commuting are falling short, a new statewide poll suggests. As folks hit the road, though, they are increasingly supportive of … Continue reading →

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The State of Metro

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Metro Chair Carrin Patman gave a “State of Metro” speech at the Greater Houston Partnership this week, and among other things she said that another referendum is in the works to finish some tasks from the 2003 vote and to … Continue reading →

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Coming back to the US90A rail extension

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of talk, and a case for action sooner rather than later. A Metro rail extension from southern Houston to Missouri City is gaining momentum, fueled by rare near-unanimous support from local, state and federal officials who represent the area. … Continue reading →

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