Free Republic

What is already arguably America's worst public transit project is about to get a whole lot more expensive. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is moving ahead with plans to build a 2-mile extension to the city's 2.7-mile streetcar line, with an estimated price tag of $230 million. The Center Square reports that the first batch of that new spending—an $11.5 million contract awarded to a firm that will design the extension—was doled out last week. The project is being funded by a half-cent increase in the Atlanta sales tax, and the extension is scheduled to open in 2028....

Charlotte, North Carolina’s $37 million streetcar officially began moving this week, and those in the community were still wondering — was it worth that much money? Knowing the backlash that the electric streetcar has received in the community, two editors at CharlotteFive, a new project of the Charlotte Observer that says it delivers both news and entertainment to Millennials, decided to see just how efficient the streetcar is and challenged it to a race. According to a video produced by the online site,Charlotte’s Gold Line streetcar travels at a speed of approximately 16 mph and only makes six stops on its 1.5 mile route,...

Government officials in the Washington region, as well as nationwide, are looking increasingly to bus rapid transit for new transit options as they face tightening public purses. BRT plans are under way in Alexandria and Arlington County, where buses are planned to travel from Braddock Road to Pentagon City. Alexandria expects to begin construction in July and start running buses in dedicated lanes in December 2013, said Abi Lerner, Alexandria's deputy director of transportation. Arlington expects to complete its half of the system in spring 2014. Across the Potomac, Montgomery County officials have proposed a 160-mile system with 23 routes....

<p>NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The city's public transit system should pay $51.4 million to the family of an 11-year-old girl whose arm was crushed beneath the wheels of a streetcar after she fell out of a window five years ago, a jury has decided.</p>