public transit | The Heart of a City

In Case You Missed It: April 9th, 2016

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Greg Hampton

In the midst of busy schedules and attention-grabbing headlines, it can be easy to overlook some of the most interesting city-focused news stories in a given week. To catch up, take a look at a few of the stories that you may have missed for the week of April 9th, 2016.

Whole Foods 365: An affordable alternative to the traditional Whole Foods model. Photo by Whole Foods.

An Affordable Whole Foods?: With increasing competition from start-up chains, online meal delivery companies, and traditional grocery stores, Whole Foods has slowly lost a grip on the niche urban demographic of Millennials that the chain has owned for years. To regain traction, Whole Foods is launching “Whole Foods 365“, a new line of stores targeting urban markets with the promise of affordability. Learn more about Whole Foods 365, and the first 365 launch in Los Angeles at USA Today.

The debate between buses and trains may impact the future of public transit in Miami-Dade.

Buses v. Trains in Miami-Dade: In the public transit arena, buses and trains are often pitted against one another by riders who often swear by one method and loathe the other. But, as a current debate in Miami-Dade County shows, politicians are not afraid to voice their opinion on the subject either. While The Heart of a City will explore this topic in-depth at a later point, read a quick synopsis on the debate (and what it could mean for the future of transit in South Florida) at NextCity.

The Big Easy: A tourism and public spending leader? Photo by Ilya Grigorik available through CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ig/5175670076

Stretching Your Tax Dollars: In an era where local governments are continuing to recover from the recession in 2008, it is vital that government officials maximize the impact of tax revenue collected from their residents. While not an all-inclusive list, WalletHub conducted an analysis of 78 large America cities and ranked New Orleans #1 in terms of efficient spending among cities in the study. See the rest of the rankings, and feedback from leading academics on fiscal challenges facing our cities, here.

The Electric Bus: Sustainability in Chicago’s Public Transit

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Greg Hampton

The two CTA-700 buses make the CTA the first major public transit system with all-electric buses in the county. Photo by the Chicago Transit Authority

The two CTA-700 buses make the CTA the first major public transit system with all-electric buses in the country. Photo by the Chicago Transit Authority.

Sustainability is a major area of focus in cities throughout the country. From climate action plans that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from government buildings, to bans on plastic bags at restaurants and grocery stores, sustainability initiatives have gained traction as city officials become more concerned about their local environments. Yet, an area of city life that has gone overlooked in the local sustainability movement is public transit.

In Chicago, sustainability in public transit has arrived through buses. Since October of 2014, the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) fleet of vehicles has included two all-electric buses. Known as the CTA 700-series, the buses make the CTA the first major public transit system in the country to use all-electric buses in their daily operations.

The CTA-700 buses are used across the city, including on Route 52, a route that takes riders through Northwest neighborhoods such as Logan Square to the heart of Chicago Lawn on the city's Southwest side. Photo by Gregory Hampton

The CTA-700 buses are used on routes such as Route 52, which takes riders through Northwest neighborhoods such as Logan Square to Chicago Lawn on the city’s Southwest side. Photo by Gregory Hampton.

Purchased through grant funding from the U.S Department of Transportation and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the electric buses are designed to save the city an average of $25,000 a year in fuel costs. In addition, each bus is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an average of 121 tons a year, which is the equivalent of emissions produced by 23 passenger vehicles (as calculated by an easy-to-use Emissions Calculator from the federal Department of Energy).

Even with the projected energy and emissions savings, the CTA has a long way to become the nation’s first public transit system completely dependent on all-electric buses. The two buses are just a snapshot of the 1,800 currently in the CTA fleet. In addition, plans for future CTA 700s may be dependent on data gathered from their performance in extreme weather conditions as a part of the CTA’s grant agreements. However, the buses are a major step in creating a more sustainable public transit system for the 2.7 million people that call the Windy City home.