Fare Policy—and Zero Fares—Can Help Transit Agencies and the Communities They Serve Recover Post-Pandemic
Downloadable version (pdf) As ridership and farebox revenue plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, already cash-strapped transit agencies took a surprising step: they went fare-free. Of course, the move was driven by safety concerns, not financial ones: rear-door boarding helps protect drivers from exposure by reducing their interaction with passengers. It also makes fare payment …
The New TDM Challenge: Flattening the Return-to-Work SOV Curve
Downloadable version (pdf) The Challenge As the country prepares to open for business, our transportation systems may not be ready. Looking beyond the uncertain duration of stay-at-home restrictions, we face a transformed transportation reality, with significant demand and supply implications for our travel infrastructure. The most pressing concerns rest on several key unknowns: The rate …
Paratransit Service during COVID-19: Serving People with Disabilities & Seniors May Require Different Solutions than Fixed-Route Transit Service
Downloadable version (pdf) As news of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. changes by the hour, so do the adaptive service delivery strategies of transit agencies throughout the country. People with disabilities and seniors traditionally rely on public transit—and the ADA paratransit programs transit agencies provide—to meet their essential life activities, including …
Principles For Equitable Public Outreach & Engagement During Covid-19 and Beyond
Downloadable version (pdf) The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing have reshaped the transportation landscape: transit ridership has plummeted; normally congested highways have emptied; and some micromobility companies are pulling out of cities as demand has bottomed out. The pandemic, as well as our response measures, have not impacted all communities equally, and in many …
Transit Systems Shouldn’t Return to Pre-COVID-19 Service—They Can Do Better
Downloadable version (pdf) Faster than we ever imagined, everything changed. Here at Nelson\Nygaard, we went from practicing working at home on a Thursday to doing it every day the following Monday. As things have come to a standstill, travel has plummeted. Widebody planes are carrying only a handful of people, and rush hour congestion has …
Nelson\Nygaard Hires Former Lyft and Lime Executive Emily Castor Warren as Director of Policy
Emily Castor Warren, a former executive at ridehailing company Lyft and shared scooter company Lime, and a leading expert in emerging mobility models, has joined national transportation planning firm Nelson\Nygaard as principal and director of policy. Warren, a pioneer of regulatory frameworks for new mobility services, will head up the firm’s new policy practice. Warren’s …