Billions spent, miles to go: The story of California's failure to build high-speed rail

As part of a collaboration between Zion National Park and the nearby town of Springdale, shuttle buses were introduced to limit the amount of noise in the canyon and deal with issues of over parking. However, those shuttles have now reached the end of their lifespan and threaten to disrupt the flow of tourists into the park. Efforts to replace the buses with an electric fleet, that could also reduce carbon emissions, have hit roadblocks as they’ve been denied federal funding.

New York City’s congestion pricing program charges drivers $9 to enter Lower Manhattan during peak traffic hours, with funds raised from the toll going to support public transit initiatives. Though there’s been fierce opposition to the program, 8 million fewer cars entered Lower Manhattan in the first four months since its launch, and average travel times have sped up by about 15 percent.

The city government in Dhaka, Bangladesh, launched the first metro rail line. The metro provides a more reliable transportation option for residents than busses or the congested streets, and it’s run on electricity in hopes to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging people not to use their cars.

Los Angeles’ Metro Micro pilot program is making public transit more desirable with a $1 shuttle service similar to other app-based rideshare services. The shuttles are 10-seater vans that pick passengers up and drop them off anywhere within their designated zones.

Solar-powered e-paper signs provide schedule information to riders at transit agencies in the United States for those who can’t access the information on their cell phones.

The extensive, all-electric tram system in Strasbourg has emerged as a solution to address air pollution and street congestion caused by cars as well as a critical medium of transport as the city expands its low-emission zones. The tramway's ridership has been resilient, even during the pandemic, and its inspiring a revival of the system across France.

Storing solar energy improves the resilience of public transportation systems to disruptions in the energy grid. With the potential of extreme heat or weather conditions to cause issues in the reliability of electrical power, Philadelphia’s SEPTA public transportation system has begun to invest in solar power. By storing solar energy in batteries at various hubs, the public transportation system can avoid delays caused by local outages.

Officials who want to improve Washington D.C.'s unreliable metro system look to the Chicago Transportation Authority to find examples of success in rebuilding a subway system. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel prioritized upgrading tracks and stations and has seen a large increase in daily riders and overall satisfaction with the system since the renewal took place. Now, Washington officials invite advice and collaboration in their quest to revamp the region's metro system.

Cities across the world have implemented “congestion pricing” – meaning that cars in high-traffic areas will have to pay a fee to drive within those limits. New York City is one of the most recent cities to potentially implement this approach in its attempt to reduce congestion and encourage walking, biking, and public transportation.

City planners and governments often overlook culture when trying to rebuild cities blighted by war, disasters, or other types of urban distress. But not Medellín, Colombia. After the drug trade made Medellín a violent place, the local government turned to the concept of "citizen culture" to restore the city. By building libraries and parks, enabling art, and creating transportation access in the comunas in the hills above the city, the government invested in people-centric policies that also made economic sense.