Free Republic

Researchers have unearthed never-before-seen footage of American soldiers liberating Jewish prisoners from a Nazi death train in the final weeks of World War II. The footage — which was found in the U.S. National Archives — shows the incredible moment U.S. Army troops saved thousands of Jews during the so-called “Miracle at Farsleben” on April 13, 1945. Although it’s silent, the film speaks volumes.

New analysis by Greenpeace has ranked the affordability of public transport in 30 European countries, concluding that in most places prices are too high. Apart from Luxembourg and Malta, which have made domestic public transport free, only Austria, Germany and Hungary have introduced relatively affordable nationwide tickets, costing less than €3 per day, according to the data published on Thursday (4 May). Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Norway scored worst in the ranking, while Dublin, London, Paris and Amsterdam ranked worst in the list of capitals, offering tickets above €2.25 per day. In Amsterdam, for example, the price of a yearly...

As I’ve been pointing out for a while now, mass transit is dying thanks to a pandemic that has accustomed many white collar workers to spending one or two days a week at home. The situation is especially grim in the Bay Area which was once considered one of the best rail and bus systems in the country.Its pre-COVID ridership is unlikely to return in the next decade, making BART’s future especially perilous as transit agencies across the Bay Area and the nation project massive budget shortfalls.In its worst-case scenario, BART would impose mass layoffs, close on weekends, shutter two...

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal had a story about a topic I’ve covered before, the hollowing out of American cities as a result of changes brought on by the pandemic. One symptom of those changes is the decline of mass transit in major cities on both coasts.While offices have largely reopened and travel has resumed, many commuters are only coming in a few days a week. That shift has left subways, buses and commuter trains operating at well below capacity—particularly on Mondays and Fridays…The ridership drop also has fueled an increase in transit crime, which in turn has pushed away...

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul has lifted the requirement to wear masks while riding mass transit during a news conference on Wednesday. New signs will be displayed throughout the mass transit system letting riders know that masks are encouraged but optional. The new guidance is effective immediately. Hochul also stressed the importance of respecting the choices of others.

Masks are no longer required on airplanes, trains and rideshare services in Massachusetts after a federal judge in Florida struck down the mandate for methods of public transportation.The Biden administration's mask requirement covered airlines, airports, mass transit and taxis, and was the biggest vestige of pandemic restrictions that were once the norm across the country. “What this court has said is that the mandate coming from the CDC was improper," legal analyst Michael Coyne said. “It does not limit the ability of private agencies and entities to do what they may want.” A day after the ruling, the Massachusetts Department...

DENVER — Trash, drug use and violence out in the open at Union Station’s RTD train and bus stops have employees demanding something be done about it. The union representing 2,000 workers for RTD and First Transit, RTD’s largest fixed-route contractor, alerted the community of the conditions in a Wednesday press release, calling Union Station a “lawless hellhole.” “It’s not safe to come to work when you have to inhale smoke from drug pipes,” the union said. They join riders and even some who are homeless in calling for action. ‘They have no respect’.. Union Station is a staple of...

KDKA's David Highfield finds out what derailed Sky Bus from coming to the Pittsburgh area

With the Metropolitan Transportation Authority facing a budget crisis, New Yorkers may have to dig into their pockets to help out. Under a new proposed bill, New York City residents would be required to pay a $3 surcharge on packages they ordered online, with the exception for medicine and food. Assemblyman Robert Carroll, who proposed the bill, says the online shopping fee would raise more than $1 billion a year "to fund the operating costs of buses and subways in the city of New York."

A spate of over 400 smashed subway windows in four months has the MTA on the verge of a glass shortage, transit officials said Friday. “We had a reserve of glass when this wave started in May. We’ve run through the reserve,” MTA spokesman Tim Minton said of the rash of vandalism. Since May 14, transit workers have reported 31 separate instances of broken windows on the 7 train, internal records obtained by The Post show. Smashed windows have also turned up on the 2 and 3 trains, MTA safety exec Pat Warren said — costing the agency more than...

The Queens neighborhood of Corona has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in New York City, the epicenter of the nation's outbreak. The Queens neighborhood of Corona has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in New York City, the epicenter of the nation's outbreak. (New York Health Department) NEW YORK CITY — In an almost unbelievable twist of irony, the most cases of the new coronavirus in New York City have been found in the Queens neighborhood of Corona. No New York City region has reported more positive COVID-19 tests than the zip code 11368 — which covers Corona, North...

It's time to stop throwing money at an obsolete form of travel and focus on the transportation system that is already moving more than 80 percent of passenger travel in the U.S. When most of the nation’s governors shut down nonessential businesses and directed people to stay at home, they made the mistake of keeping urban transit systems running despite a 2018 study showing that mass public transportation systems expedite the spread of infectious diseases in communities. Further, a 2011 study found that people who ride urban transit are nearly six times more likely to suffer from upper respiratory infections...

The relentless march of urbanization, in the United States and around the world, has been coming for a long time. .. America went from 8.8 percent urban in 1830 to 25.7 percent in 1870, then to a majority in 1920, and up to about two-thirds by the mid-1950s. We were 80 percent urban by 2010. North America has the most urban population in the world. But it is not alone in seeing an accelerating trend. The U.N. estimated that, in 2009, half the world’s population lived in urban areas for the first time in human history. Over 4 billion people...

For decades, politicians who propose and promote big government have done all they could to wean Americans off the convenience and freedom of cars and pack them like sardines into subways and buses, .. the real reason for progressives’ passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism ... Fortunes in taxpayer monies have been misspent trying to get people to travel in ways they wish not to, sitting or standing in close proximity to perfect strangers instead of in the private company of their own vehicle with their loved...

In the midst of Sunday's presidential debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, Biden blurted out that his campaign's high-speed rail plan would take "millions of automobiles off the road." This is the second debate in which the former vice president brought up the belief that bullet trains will get people out of their cars. This is, to put it mildly, extremely unlikely. Biden's campaign site calls for "the construction of an end-to-end high speed rail system that will connect the coasts, unlocking new, affordable access for every American." Would bullet trains passing through major cities scattered across the U.S....

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) recently told a progressive audience at Howard University that, “Public transit should be free.” This is just the latest call for free transit; the issue has been bubbling up around the country in the past few months, started in large part by some misreporting of events in Kansas City, Missouri. ... A 2002 study authored by Jennifer Perone and Joel Volinski of the Center for Urban Transportation Research concluded: "Based upon the findings of this synthesis, it is concluded that a fare-free policy might be appropriate for smaller transit systems in certain communities, but is ill-advised...

LAWRENCE, Mass. — Dionisia Ramos gets on the 37 bus twice a day, rooting through her handbag to dig out the fare and drop it into the slot, so it came as shock several months ago when the bus driver reached out his hand to stop her. “You don’t have to pay,” he said. “It’s free for the next two years.” Ms. Ramos had never heard of anything like this: Someone was paying her bus fare? At 55, she lives on a monthly unemployment check for $235. So saving $2.40 a day, for her trip to and from community college,...

The case for change: Understanding the current state of infrastructure in the United States In developed economies like the United States, public infrastructure is typically one of the few forms of government spending that gets support across the political landscape. Roads, water treatment systems, and power lines all contribute to a smoothly functioning economy. They can also stimulate economic growth, increase safety, and reduce energy demand.

The Q65 bus came to a stop along a residential block in Queens and a construction worker stepped onboard. He walked past the farebox without paying. The driver pushed the F5 button on his dashboard. At the next stop, an older woman with a cane climbed on and gave the driver a hearty wave. She, too, did not pay. Again the driver pressed F5. Over two and a half hours, the driver pressed F5 — the button that records fare evaders — at least 50 times, and there was still a half-hour left on his morning route. “It’s getting worse,”...

The $2.5 billion has already been spent — but California has failed to deliver the high-speed rail (on time, or at all) as promised. Therefore, the Trump administration argues, the state has to repay federal taxpayers. The Los Angeles Times quoted Stanford law professor David Freeman Engstrom, a Stanford law professor, describing Trump’s effort as a “nuclear option.” The practice of recovering money after a breach of contract, while common in the private sector, was virtually unheard of in government, he explained. “There is a reluctance to penalize misspending by local government agencies. … Almost never do those violations result...