This is an ongoing series that will keep you informed about the goings-on in the transit industry. Hopefully, it will provide little perspective on the larger environment in which DART operates.

New technologies for a new normal, a lifeline for the transit industry, and a special day to appreciate your bus or train operator – they’re all in the news, and they’re all fit to print. Here’s the news from transit-land this week.

Get smart

Much of the conversation in transit circles revolves around the future of transit after the pandemic subsides. Mass Transit magazine ties post-COVID transit into broader, “smart city” initiatives that will improve mobility throughout the nation. The article predicts: “It’s safe to say that as the economy recovers and people come back to work, mass transit will continue to play a prominent role in getting people to where they need to be.”

A crisis averted

The stimulus is kind of a big deal, and The New York Times specifically addresses the benefits it will bring to transit systems. The takeaway: “[Transit] systems, and the people who rely on them, have been pulled from their worst crisis in decades by President Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which includes $30.5 billion for transit agencies – the largest single infusion of federal aid public transportation has ever received.”

Changes under way

Even amid a changing landscape, the transit industry has continued to evolve. Metro Magazine cites contactless payment methods (such as DART’s pioneering GoPass® Tap card and mobile app) as a critical component to restoring ridership as the world enters a “new normal.” The upshot: “More agencies [will] deploy Account-Based Ticketing using mobile phones, contactless bank cards, and smart cards.”

Additionally, more agencies are transitioning, or planning to transition, to zero-emissions fleets. Among the latest to do so: San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, Cal., Niagara, N.Y., San Diego, Racine, Wis., and Corvallis, Ore.

Thank an operator

Meanwhile, March 18 – yesterday – was Transit Driver Appreciation Day. The observance started in 2009, and the date was selected to commemorate the word’s first bus line, in Paris in 1662 – but it has added relevance in view of the pandemic. If you forgot to appreciate your DART bus or train operator yesterday, it’s not too late!

This is an ongoing series that will keep you informed about the goings-on in the transit industry. Hopefully, it will provide little perspective on the larger environment in which DART operates.

New technologies for a new normal, a lifeline for the transit industry, and a special day to appreciate your bus or train operator – they’re all in the news, and they’re all fit to print. Here’s the news from transit-land this week.

Get smart

Much of the conversation in transit circles revolves around the future of transit after the pandemic subsides. Mass Transit magazine ties post-COVID transit into broader, “smart city” initiatives that will improve mobility throughout the nation. The article predicts: “It’s safe to say that as the economy recovers and people come back to work, mass transit will continue to play a prominent role in getting people to where they need to be.”

A crisis averted

The stimulus is kind of a big deal, and The New York Times specifically addresses the benefits it will bring to transit systems. The takeaway: “[Transit] systems, and the people who rely on them, have been pulled from their worst crisis in decades by President Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which includes $30.5 billion for transit agencies – the largest single infusion of federal aid public transportation has ever received.”

Changes under way

Even amid a changing landscape, the transit industry has continued to evolve. Metro Magazine cites contactless payment methods (such as DART’s pioneering GoPass® Tap card and mobile app) as a critical component to restoring ridership as the world enters a “new normal.” The upshot: “More agencies [will] deploy Account-Based Ticketing using mobile phones, contactless bank cards, and smart cards.”

Additionally, more agencies are transitioning, or planning to transition, to zero-emissions fleets. Among the latest to do so: San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, Cal., Niagara, N.Y., San Diego, Racine, Wis., and Corvallis, Ore.

Thank an operator

Meanwhile, March 18 – yesterday – was Transit Driver Appreciation Day. The observance started in 2009, and the date was selected to commemorate the word’s first bus line, in Paris in 1662 – but it has added relevance in view of the pandemic. If you forgot to appreciate your DART bus or train operator yesterday, it’s not too late!

This is an ongoing series that will keep you informed about the goings-on in the transit industry. Hopefully, it will provide little perspective on the larger environment in which DART operates.

New technologies for a new normal, a lifeline for the transit industry, and a special day to appreciate your bus or train operator – they’re all in the news, and they’re all fit to print. Here’s the news from transit-land this week.

Get smart

Much of the conversation in transit circles revolves around the future of transit after the pandemic subsides. Mass Transit magazine ties post-COVID transit into broader, “smart city” initiatives that will improve mobility throughout the nation. The article predicts: “It’s safe to say that as the economy recovers and people come back to work, mass transit will continue to play a prominent role in getting people to where they need to be.”

A crisis averted

The stimulus is kind of a big deal, and The New York Times specifically addresses the benefits it will bring to transit systems. The takeaway: “[Transit] systems, and the people who rely on them, have been pulled from their worst crisis in decades by President Biden’s sweeping $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which includes $30.5 billion for transit agencies – the largest single infusion of federal aid public transportation has ever received.”

Changes under way

Even amid a changing landscape, the transit industry has continued to evolve. Metro Magazine cites contactless payment methods (such as DART’s pioneering GoPass® Tap card and mobile app) as a critical component to restoring ridership as the world enters a “new normal.” The upshot: “More agencies [will] deploy Account-Based Ticketing using mobile phones, contactless bank cards, and smart cards.”

Additionally, more agencies are transitioning, or planning to transition, to zero-emissions fleets. Among the latest to do so: San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, Cal., Niagara, N.Y., San Diego, Racine, Wis., and Corvallis, Ore.

Thank an operator

Meanwhile, March 18 – yesterday – was Transit Driver Appreciation Day. The observance started in 2009, and the date was selected to commemorate the word’s first bus line, in Paris in 1662 – but it has added relevance in view of the pandemic. If you forgot to appreciate your DART bus or train operator yesterday, it’s not too late!