April 7, 2016
Where the Sidewalks End
Being a pedestrian in Houston is challenging. It’s isolating. Sometimes it’s dangerous. Even more so when you’re a woman.
Transportation
The Daily Post
February 17, 2016
Fort Worth And Dallas Could Be Connected By A 64-Mile Bike Trail
It probably won’t do for a daily commute, but those looking to get between the Metroplex’s anchor cities are on the verge of a new option.
Business
February 1, 2016
The Hyperloop Got Its Design Preview At Texas A&M This Weekend
The future of transportation took another step from science fiction to science fact.
Business
January 29, 2016
Lyft And Uber Continue to Battle With The City of Austin
Sifting through the twists and turns of Austin's ridesharing battle.
The Daily Post
January 13, 2016
Why Can’t Austin Ridesharing Be A Compromise For Both Sides?
Austin's music industry held a press conference in support of ridesharing, but it's worth considering why they believe it's City Council who needs to bend.
The Daily Post
December 21, 2015
This Doesn’t Have To Be The End Of Rideshares In Austin
Uber and Lyft haven’t yet declared their departure from Austin, but there are already others ready to take their place.
The Daily Post
November 23, 2015
State Troopers Will Now Just Ask Drivers Their Race
After a review of years of citations by state troopers raised questions of racial profiling, DPS is trying out a new method.
Business
November 18, 2015
The Road Work Goes on Forever
The expansion of I-35 may be the worst thing that’s happened to Salado since the railroad left town.
The Daily Post
November 17, 2015
Austin, Dallas, and Houston Have Some of Worst Highways in Texas (and the U.S.)
Every year, Texas' growing population makes traffic a bit more unbearable.
News & Politics
October 23, 2015
The DMV Is Auctioning Off a License Plate That Reads “Texas AF”
Find a millennial and ask what that means.
The Daily Post
September 3, 2015
Welcome To Internet Fame, Texas State’s Barbie Jeep Lady
A San Marcos student got creative after her license was revoked for suspicion of DWI.
Transportation
August 13, 2015
Carless in Houston
The heretical choice to not own a vehicle in a city that worships the automobile.
Business
August 7, 2015
Dallas and Uber’s Love Affair May Be Over
After an Uber driver was accused of rape, the friendly relationship between Dallas and the transportation company could be getting frosty.
The Daily Post
May 28, 2015
A Tale of Two Cities, a Bullet Train, and the Farmland in Between
High speed rail advocates overcame a hurdle in the legislative session last Thursday, meaning that the bullet train between Dallas and Houston could become a reality. Not everyone’s too happy about that.
Health
April 8, 2015
The Most Walkable Cities in Texas
Houston, Dallas, and … Laredo?
Business
April 6, 2015
Uber’s Petition to the Texas Legislature Has Nearly 100,000 Signatures
The transportation company seeks a change in the way it’s regulated on a statewide basis, and it’s managed to mobilize a lot of supporters—both in and out of Texas. But does a statewide regulatory platform for Uber make sense?
Business
January 16, 2015
Elon Musk Wants to Build His Hyperloop Test Track in Texas
It may be his most ambitious invention yet.
The Culture
December 5, 2014
High Plains Lyfter
Uber comes to Lubbock.
Burka Blog
September 16, 2014
What State Government Does
Recent actions by state government have reinforced my belief that the state rarely does anything FOR the public; it only does things TO the public. The latest example is that Texas insurance commissioner Julia Rathgeber allowed the three largest home insurance companies to impose significant rate increases. Rathgeber could have
The Daily Post
September 11, 2014
Most of the Worst Highways For Traffic in Texas Are in Houston, But Dallas and Austin Shouldn’t Feel Too Left Out
Enjoy cruising freely, San Antonio.
Business
August 11, 2014
Houston Legalized Rideshare Apps Last Week—Which Texas City Is Next?
Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and the rest of the quasi-legal services that allow everyday drivers to get paid for giving rides to strangers took a big step in Houston last week—and Dallas might be next.
Travel & Outdoors
August 11, 2014
One Hundred Years of Greyhound
The Dallas-based national bus line got its start in 1914 transporting iron ore miners in Minnesota.
Politics & Policy
June 27, 2014
Road to Nowhere
Why Texas is stuck with its transportation policy.
The Daily Post
May 22, 2014
Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin Are Some of the Most Dangerous Cities in America for Pedestrians
Yep, pretty much every city in this state is awful for walkers.
The Daily Post
May 13, 2014
Texas Cities Have A Lot Of Ideas About How To Fix Transportation Woes
Although representatives of San Antonio's taxi companies think that some of them are "barbaric."
Business
April 23, 2014
Are Buses the Future of Texas Travel?
Without the inefficiency of air travel and the impossibility of high-speed rail, business travelers might well be looking at a future of riding the bus between Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
Business
April 22, 2014
Do Texas Cities Need Rideshare Services Like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar?
The legal status of "disruptive" transportation apps like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar is in question. But as federal judges weigh in on the rules that keep them from operating at full capacity in Texas, the bigger question is whether or not these services meet a legitimate need.
The Daily Post
April 22, 2014
A Horrific Cycling Hit-and-Run in the Valley
Riding a bike in any Texas city is a dangerous proposition—and it's almost always because of human negligence.
The Daily Post
March 6, 2014
Houston To Try Experimental Transportation Plan
The city will test a new pilot program that will close certain streets to automobile traffic, leaving them reserved for cyclists and pedestrians, during the month of April.
The Daily Post
February 13, 2014
This Is Not a Sustainable Way to Beat I-35 Traffic Jams
I mean, yeah, we've all wanted to magically zip through stalled traffic at 100mph, but that doesn't mean we'd actually do it.
Politics & Policy
August 1, 2013
How to Fix the Transportation Crisis (But You Won’t Like It)
Oregon is considering a "vehicle miles traveled" tax. Should Texas?
Politics & Policy
August 1, 2013
The Transportation Problem
“Transparency” is a word that is frequently invoked in the Capitol. But it is honored more often in the breach than the observance. Take the current battle over transportation funding. The problem is that the state has chosen to finance transportation by issuing bonds. This is a clever way to
Politics & Policy
July 29, 2013
The Wheels Come off Transportation Funding
Joe Straus' statement on the failure of the House to agree on a solution to the state's transportation needs is worth posting, because it lays bare the failure of the state's leaders to address the real problem.
Politics & Policy
July 10, 2013
“Cone Fatigue”
Will voters support a constitutional amendment for more spending on roads, after seeing all the construction that is going on?
Politics & Policy
June 21, 2013
Wrecks and Roadblocks
A proposal to expand funding for transportation may face some snarls in the Texas House.
Politics & Policy
May 9, 2013
“Responsible” Funding for Transportation
UPDATE: REP. DARBY HAS PULLED DOWN HIS BILL, AND IN DOING SO SUGGESTED THAT IT WOULD BE TAKEN UP IN A SPECIAL SESSION.Michael Quinn Sullivan is at it again. Writing on the Empower Texans website, he assails the House leadership for scheduling a bill raising fees for transportation.
The Culture
January 23, 2013
What’s With Austin’s Traffic?
Two questions for Ginger Goodin, of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
Being Texan
January 20, 2013
The National Car of Texas
It’s big, it’s fast, it’s powerful, it eats gas, it’s the Suburban.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
“Read My Lips: No New Texas”
George H. W. Bush has given Texas the Republican convention—and little else.
Being Texan
January 20, 2013
My Kind Of Car
Texans tell why they love their Suburbans.
Being Texan
January 20, 2013
The Soul of a Huge Machine
The nuts and bolts of a Suburban are more complicated than you might think.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Highway Establishment and How it Grew and Grew and Grew
All roads have to go somewhere; but it could be that roads in Texas are going the wrong way.
Politics & Policy
May 14, 2010
Engineers’ group criticizes inaction on transportation
Yes, the Texas Council of Engineering Companies has a self-interest in roadbuilding, needless to say, but so does everyone who drives on Texas roads. The point of the TCEC statement, as the headline says, is that there is a cost to doing nothing. TRANSPORTATION: THE COST OF DOING NOTHING No
Politics & Policy
December 31, 2009
Appoint a committee, roads to follow
The following two paragraphs are the conclusion of an article that appeared in the Pasadena Citizen about an appearance by Kay Bailey Hutchison yesterday in which she discussed her transportation plan. The article appears on the Hutchison campaign web site: When asked about paying for transportation improvements, she was less
Politics & Policy
October 3, 2009
How much federal highway $$$ does Texas get?
The Hutchison campaign’s Joe Pounder criticized Perry yesterday for getting his facts mixed up over how much Texas gets from the feds from the federal gasoline tax money it sends to Washington. Here’s what Pounder wrote: Rick Perry and his campaign are confused. They are so eager to launch negative
Politics & Policy
April 22, 2009
The transportation debate and the state spending cap
The Texas Public Policy Foundation testified before the House Transportation committee this week concerning the mammoth local option transportation funding bill that has passed the Senate. TPPF's Justin Keener expressed alarm about the rising cost of government (to no one's surprise): Between 2000 and 2008, the state’s total budget grew
Politics & Policy
April 6, 2009
The local option transit tax: what it’s all about
I'm intrigued by SB 855, John Carona's local option tax legislation to fund transportation improvements in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso have also attached themselves to the bill. It would seem that such a bill--a tax increase! and new fees!--wouldn't have much of a chance
Politics & Policy
January 23, 2009
Let the (shell) games begin
In an interview with the Dallas Morning News this week, Gov. Rick Perry advocated an end to all diversions of gas tax money from the Highway Fund, which is used primarily to finance road construction. But two key senators believe the current budget estimates make that highly unlikely
Travel & Outdoors
November 1, 2000
Airport 2000
These days, a plane trip can entail more time in the terminal than in the air. But why get stressed when you can have a massage, taste Texas wines, go for a jog, check your e-mail—even eat gumbo while watching (other people’s) planes take off? A survivor’s guide to DFW,
Politics & Policy
April 1, 1993
The Little Engine That Might
From Paris to Dallas, everyone’s asking, Will the bullet train ever get on track?