Graffiti-covered subway cars! Graffiti-covered buses! It's New York City in the 1970s, as seen through the eyes of disgruntled straphangers. The below clip has choice soundbites from locals at the time; one woman declares, "The subways are crummy, and they're dangerous. You get pushed, you get shoved, sometimes you get mugged in the subway... during the daylight.” And people weren't happen with the way the MTA was running things then, either. Another woman says, "I can remember when public transportation was one of the prides of New York... what's happened?" Indeed. more ›

For years, the city's center was Manhattan, and in many ways it still is. The subway was used as a means to commute into Manhattan for work or pleasure and then return home at night. But now the outer boroughs are becoming destinations in their own right, as well as business centers, and the Center for an Urban Future thinks it's high time the city's public transportation system represented that shift. more ›

Attempts are allegedly being made to reverse the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) policy of removing children from strollers during rush hour on the Red Bus (passengers are told to fold the strollers up before boarding). According to Roosevelt Islander, the open stroller ban has "pitted one set of riders against the other." (The MTA recommends the same on all city buses, by the way.) Well, the war on strollers isn't just a New York City thing... turns out the pleasant folk in Madison, Wisconsin have also battled it out over this issue. So much so that they even made a video (with a jingle!) on how to deal with stroller use on public transportation. Do you think they also have a problem with babies in bars over there? It's nice to know we're not alone. more ›

New public transportation idea: zip lines! From the same people that brought you the bike on a wire idea, the design group now introduces a concept that would have city folk of the future carrying a device around so that they may latch on to a system of steel wires to transport them around town. Looks fun! more ›

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said yesterday that America's trains and buses are the most "vulnerable" forms of transportation for the kinds of terror attacks seen around the world, most recently in Moscow. Though the Department of Homeland security is introducing enhanced aviation security measures such as the "use of explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams, or pat downs," Lieberman says that more needs to be done to protect public transit. "The threat is real to non-aviation transportation. All you've got to do is look around the world," he told David Gregory on "Meet the Press." more ›

Paging George Jetson, your future is here! Something called the EU Infrastructure has created an illustration of their vision of the future of public transportation. Forget The Aerotropolis, can you picture "Self Driving Cars, SkyTrans, Electric Bicycles, Mag-lev/air propelled trains, Moving sidewalks to replace pavement, Segways, Backpack helicopters and Zeppelins" in New York City? PSFK notes that "While some of these concepts are seemingly as far-fetched as the fabled flying car, they have all been realized to some degree." But maybe we should just focus on that 2nd Avenue subway line first? [via Animal] more ›

As a part of greening up the earth, Google Transit will tell you the quickest way to get from Point A to B using mass transit in the city. more ›

Our heart melted when we read how this adorable kitten made its way to the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition:

BARC Shelter's kennel manager, Jose, made an unusual rescue last Saturday afternoon. A man named Richard thinks he has a kitten under the hood of his Chevy Tahoe. He's driving and has his dog Duff in the car with him. Duff doesn't like other dogs and really doesn't like cats. Richard decides to drive to the shelter. No, not the safest solution, but the kitten we call Chevette is safe and sound if a little greasy. She also needs a home and prefers public transportation, in a cat carrier please!

The MTA announced today that it has formed a Sustainability Commission to create a "sustainability master plan" by Earth Day of next year. MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said, "The MTA’s public transportation network makes the entire New York region sustainable, but in the era of climate change we have a responsibility to go even further. The commission will build on the exciting green initiatives we’ve already completed to make sustainability a permanent part of the MTA’s DNA.” more ›

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and several smiles as well as lots of cash were raised by some plucky urban ironing. London is apparently full of lies and whales: one of these things is true. We leave that up to you to figure out. more ›

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. more ›

While everyone else was busy trying to find someone to blame in the congestion pricing gridlock, it turns out that lawmakers have been actually trying to work out a plan. Of course, this may come too late for the city to qualify for federal funding, but progress is progress. The NY Sun reports that Albany Democrats "were close to agreeing to a deal in which they would authorize the city to begin implementing the infrastructure of the program, such as buying and installing cameras." more ›

One of the saddest images from yesterday were the parents of slain police officer Russel Timoshenko, weeping at Brooklyn criminal court after the arraignment of the three men accused of Timoshenko's murder. The suspects, Dexter Bostic, Robert Ellis, and Lee Woods, were arraigned last week on charges including attempted murder. It is believed that Bostic, firing from the front passenger seat, shot 23-year-old Timoshenko in the face and neck during a July 9 traffic stop (Ellis allegedly fired at police officer Herman Yan; Woods was the driver). Timoshenko had been on life support since the shooting and was declared dead on Saturday. more ›

See this bird? His name is Birdy and he's part of the city's multimedia campaign, GreeNYC, to educate New Yorkers about making environmentally sustainable decisions. more ›

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. more ›

The New York Times looks today at the community of golf caddies who live in Harlem, and commute by public transportation to the many private golf clubs in the tri-state area to practice a trade that they've been doing for decades. Dozens of older men who live and socialize near Harlem mainstays like Sylvia's have been caddying almost their whole lives and represent the first-string of caddies who work at the nearly 200 private golf clubs within a 75-mile radius of Manhattan. Harlem is a favored neighborhood for these men due to its Metro-North stop that can take them out to Westchester and Connecticut. more ›

Earlier this week, the Post reported on a new trend that even "grandparents, baby boomers and even mothers with carriages" are getting in on: not paying bus fares by using the back door. Dunh dunh DUNH! more ›

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. more ›

Despite its size (and irrelevance in national elections), New York City produces about 1% of all of America's greenhouse gas emissions. That's as much as the entire countries of Ireland and Portugal, however considering that New Yorkers account for about 2-3% of the U.S. population, 1% isn't bad. But it's not great either, and Mayor Bloomberg said, "We can no longer deny the science and bury our heads in the sand. Climate change is a real issue with real consequences. And as a coastal city, New York can't just sit back and hope for the best." more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. more ›

We're guessing most of you are hungover from St. Patrick's Day. We are too. But still, we're going to muddle on through our green haze and give you (drum roll please...) this Week In -ists. more ›

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing-- what's going on in the World of the -ist's? more ›

Sometimes we don't want to read on the subway. Sometimes we just want to take a nap. Which is why we were intrigued by industrial designer Matthew Gale's "Jacket for Sleeping on Public Transportation" - via BoingBoing. The Excubo, as its called, has a stiff collar that surrounds the neck - creating a solid platform for resting the keppe. Imagine the zzz, er, possibilities. more ›

He may be best known for this role in Entourage, but Adrian Grenier wears a lot of other hats. Filmmaker, musician and New Yorker are amongst those. He bought a house in Clinton Hill a couple of years ago, insulated it with recycled denim and installed photovoltaic panels (so add environmentalist to the above list, as well). Last weekend we asked the multifaceted Grenier some questions. more ›

We can't get enough of hearing how the Department of Education's school bus route changes are totally insane. Here are some more examples: more ›

The lawyer representing of the family of the 18 year old girl who was killed when she fell through a Long Island Rail Road platform gap says the MTA "doesn't give a tinker's damn about drinking and intoxication on the railroad". more ›

Well, there's nothing like blaming the victim. The NY State Public Transportation Safety Board says that the August death of Natalie Smead, who fell into a gap at the Woodside LIRR station, was her own fault. The board issued a report saying that 19 year old Smead had been drinking with friends earlier and lost her balance when she fell in the 8-inch gap. When her cousin tried to help her, apparently Smead "pulled away" and crawled under another platform, where she was hit by a different train. more ›

The Long Island Rail Road has been starting to fill in gaps at certain train platforms in the wake of various customer falls. Eighteen year old Natalie Smead, visiting from Minnesota and on her way to Manhattan for a concert, fell in the gap at the Woodside stop and was fatally hit by a train when she tried to get out of the tracks. Newsday found that the gaps at Woodside were as wide at 15 inches. Oddly enough, the Woodside station wasn't on the initial list of stations whose platform gaps needed to be closed (at this point, tracks at Shea Stadium, Jamaica, Southampton and Deer Park have been fixed). more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? more ›