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News Articles: Public transportation

Yellow tape blocks off the parking lot of the Forest Park Blue Line train station in Forest Park, Ill., after four people were fatally shot on the train early Monday, Sept. 2, 2024.

4 people were killed on a train in the Chicago area on Labor Day, police say

The suspect initially escaped from the scene, but was later found through Chicago Transit Authority surveillance video. Police now have the person in custody and seized a firearm in their possession.

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  • Ayana Archie
A woman in the window of a women-only metro car in Mexico City in October 2023.

Despite women-only cars, Mexico City's metro still has a gender violence crisis

Nine out of 10 women who’ve ridden Mexico City’s public metro system claim to have been victims of sexual harassment despite cars that are reserved only for women and children.

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  • Sara Messinger and
  • Ana María Islas
A view of the metro car during the inauguration event of Bogota's future metro system as a school of culture for public transport, on Aug. 10.

Bogotá has some of the worst traffic. It's finally getting a metro, with China's help

Colombia's capital is home to 11 million people — and to some of the worst traffic jams in the world. Now Chinese companies are building its first metro line.

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  • John Otis
Robert Lee Cohen, 87, takes the MTA paratransit bus to a dialysis center in east Macon three times weekly. Cohen moved to Macon from Buffalo, New York, in 2021. “Here you got to have a car to get around,” Cohen said. The new technology will call Cohen before the MTA bus arrives so he doesn’t have to wait in the elements. “It would make things easier,” Cohen said of the bus tracking system.

Real-time tracking by phone, Wi-Fi coming to Macon Transit Authority buses

Macon Transit Authority customers soon will no longer have to wonder when their buses will arrive.

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Atlanta's MARTA transit system piloted a similar service last year called MARTA Reach.

Chatham County's public transit system to develop rideshare prototype with new federal grant

The service is meant to help passengers whose origin or destination is far from a bus route.

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Study: Atlanta's e-scooter ban increased travel time

Georgia Tech researchers have found that the citywide ban on the use of e-scooters and e-bikes at night has added hundreds of thousands of extra hours spent in traffic. 

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A sign advises people to wear a mask and stand six feet apart as travelers make their way through Miami International Airport in December 2021 in Miami. A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the federal mask mandate on planes, trains, buses and other modes of public transportation is unlawful.

TSA will no longer enforce travel mask mandate after a federal judge strikes it down

The mask-wearing requirement had been initially imposed in early 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden took office.

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  • Jonathan Franklin
Travelers wearing masks sit in the subway where posters advertise free COVID-19 vaccination in New York City in several languages on July 18, 2021.

How to stay safe on the New York subway, according to city leadership

Mayor Eric Adams issued a subway safety plan in February, and placed a strong emphasis on moving unhoused people from subway stations into housing.

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  • Ayana Archie
A woman walks past posters explaining mask requirements at Grand Central Terminal train station in New York City on Wednesday. Rules requiring masks on transit are unchanged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's updated mask guidance for fully vaccinated people.

Here's What Is (And Isn't) Changed By The New CDC Mask Guidance

Some parts of public life in the U.S. still operate according to restrictive rules, and that includes planes, trains and buses.

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  • Laurel Wamsley
A worker disinfects the inside of a bus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Transit agencies are taking new steps to reduce the risks for riders during the pandemic.

Coronavirus FAQ: Is It Safe To Get On The Bus (Or Subway)?

Mass transportation ridership plummeted when COVID-19 struck. Now people are beginning to return. What are the risks they face — and how can they reduce them?

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  • Pranav Baskar

Amid Proposed MARTA Name Changes, A Look At The History And Cultural Importance Of 'Bankhead'

MARTA is considering renaming five train stations in Atlanta. It's an effort to keep up with changes in the city and to reflect surrounding...

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The spotlight is on transportation this week ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl game in Atlanta.

Spotlight Shifts To MARTA Ahead Of Super Bowl 53

Atlanta officials expect 150,000 out-of-town visitors this week for events leading up to and including Sunday's Super Bowl game. Even more are expected...

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'On Second Thought' For Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019

Today's show celebrated the 50th anniversary of Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, explored the dynamics of aging in place and checked in about the future of...

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40 Years, $100 Billion: The Future Of Public Transportation In Metro Atlanta

At last week's State of MARTA address, MARTA CEO Jeff Parker called for a $100 billion investment in public transit over the next 40 years. GPB's Ross...

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The $2.7 billion More MARTA Atlanta plan calls for more than 20 miles of light rail, increased bus rapid transit and eight miles of rail along Atlanta's BeltLine.

MARTA's Multi-Billion Dollar Transit Plan Gets Board's Approval

Metro Atlanta's transit authority has approved its multi-billion dollar transit expansion plan . The $2.7 billion More MARTA Atlanta plan calls for more...

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