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COVID-19 could stress mass transit budgets

Mar 16, 2020
The San Francisco Bay Area’s transit system says it’s losing $500,000 a day in lost fares.
Ridership is down during the coronavirus.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Should public buses be free?

Dec 4, 2019
Kansas City, Missouri is debating eliminating fares, which would make it the largest city in the U.S. to do so.
A public bus pulls up to a stop in Kansas City, Missouri. Transit officials hope the city will sign off on their idea to eliminate bus fares.
Lisa Rodriguez for Marketplace

Why are subways in the U.S. so expensive?

Apr 11, 2019
American cities pay a mysterious premium for underground rail lines.
Construction workers at New York's Second Avenue subway project site in 2014. The 1.8-mile project cost an estimated $4.5 billion, an average cost of $2.5 per mile.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Federal shutdown imperils public transport nationwide

Jan 24, 2019
While the D.C. Metro is losing revenue, public transit systems across the country aren't getting federal funding.
 
Amid the ongoing government shutdown, the Washington, D.C. Metro says it’s losing $400,000 per day in revenue.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

In an effort to boost ridership, Atlanta is rebranding its trains and buses

Jun 6, 2018
Transit in Atlanta has struggled with a bad reputation. State lawmakers hope a new brand will change that.
Atlanta area leaders want to change the brand of transit locally. The name of the city’s longtime transit agency, MARTA, has baggage.
Stephannie Stokes for Marketplace

Baltimore subway closure exposes deeper problems

Feb 23, 2018
Transit advocates say the city's system perpetuates inequality.
The Penn-North Metro Subway Station in West Baltimore is among those closed for emergency track repairs.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

Why New York's subway issues should matter to all of us

Jun 30, 2017
The economic repercussions go beyond the metropolitan area.
A Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker in New York City exits a Harlem subway station where a morning train derailed on June 27.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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