June 4, 2016

Almost 75% Of D.C. Metro Riders Expecting Transitpocalypse, Survey Says

Almost 75% Of D.C. Metro Riders Expecting Transitpocalypse, Survey Says
June 3rd 2016


Leading local transit app Moovit recently surveyed its Washington, D.C. users about upcoming Metro closings and found significant anxiety among public transit riders – not surprising considering 45% of those surveyed use the Metro daily. With heavy-use lines experiencing closures throughout the summer and autumn months, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority predicts hundreds of thousands of week-day trips will be affected. According to Moovit, 49% of users surveyed said they were “very concerned” about the shutdowns and 23% said they were “concerned.” The closure that is by far causing anxiety for the largest number of people is the red line shutdown with 49% saying that will most impact them.

Survey results also show that the closures won’t just be a headache for the 67% of riders who rely on the Metro to get to work. At least 40% of respondents report using the Metro in their leisure time – possibly accounting for the 69% who said they use the system at least once or twice a week – for activities such as going to concerts, sporting events, bars and clubs or just visiting with friends and family. If they are close enough, Moovit’s bike share option might be especially useful for the last activity.

The transit app, which combines real-time information from both public transit operators and live crowdsourced data from users, aims to ease those concerns and take away some of the pain the service disruptions will likely cause. ...............(more)

https://www.alexandrianews.org/2016/06/almost-75-of-d-c-metro-riders-expecting-transitpocalypse-survey-says/

June 1, 2016

Is there anyone with a more apropos name than Ken Ham?

Creationist Ken Ham goes bonkers over media coverage of ‘sin-cursed’ gorilla’s death




Has the news media been spending way too much time covering the dead gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo? Probably it has. That said, creationist Ken Ham can’t make this very basic point without tipping over into loony toons territory.

On Twitter Wednesday morning, he first excoriates the media for focusing on the gorilla when abortions are taking place each and every day:

Next, he says that it’s wrong to feel too sorry for the gorilla since it wasn’t made in God’s image:

Over at his Answers in Genesis website, Ham makes a longer case against getting too upset over the gorilla’s fate by citing (what else?) biblical scripture. He then ties all these scriptural quotes up with a thrilling conclusion in which he refers to the gorilla as a “sin-cursed animal” that unfortunately had to be put down. ................(more)

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/creationist-ken-ham-goes-bonkers-over-media-coverage-of-sin-cursed-gorillas-death/

June 1, 2016

Tax push for $4.6 billion Detroit area transit plan begins

(The Detroit News) Regional Transit Authority officials on Tuesday are beginning the journey to sell a tax increase to Metro Detroit voters to fund bus rapid transit, a commuter rail line, an airport shuttle service and a universal fare card, among other upgrades to regional transportation options.

The initiatives are part of a $4.6 billion, 20-year master plan to be unveiled at a 10 a.m. news conference at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. RTA officials say the proposed 20-year, 1.2-mill tax to help fund the plan would cost the owner of a $200,000 home about $120 annually.

The plan emphasizes better coordination, reliability and extension of service into unserved areas to supplement the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation and the Detroit Department of Transportation. And it paves the way for the RTA to take over operations of the upcoming QLine streetcar system in 2024.

While acknowledging challenges with tax-fatigued voters who have already approved regional millages for SMART, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Detroit Zoo, RTA officials say residents in Washtenaw, Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties will have have better access to jobs and see an economic development boom in return for their investment.

.....(snip).....

■ Commuter rail between downtown Ann Arbor and downtown Detroit, with stops in Ypsilanti, Wayne and Dearborn and planned shuttle service to the airport. The 38-mile route would use existing Amtrak lines.

■ Express shuttle service to Detroit Metropolitan Airport from Ann Arbor, downtown Detroit and Macomb and Oakland counties.

■ Region-wide, door-to-door paratransit service for seniors and riders with disabilities.

■ A universal fare card system with state-of-the-art access to all Metro Detroit transit entities.

■ New cross-county connector and commuter express buses providing service across municipal and county lines.

■ New local services for communities with no other transit options, bringing them into the regional network. ..............(more)

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2016/05/31/tax-push-detroit-area-transit-plan-begins/85178220/