Sandy

With 6,000 bicycles, New York's bike-share program is already the largest in the country. In fact, immediately after launching, Citi Bike proceeded to eclipse the national daily ridership record (previously held by Capital Bikeshare), with 12,000 trips in 24 hours. Ridership should grow steadily as more people start using the bikes and the network expands, but how quickly will Citi Bike grow beyond the initial service area? Appearing on the Brian Lehrer Show this morning, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan discussed how the city intends to land the funds to implement the original plan for a 10,000-bike system.

The city and state need to shift gears to create a more resilient transportation network in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a group of New York University transportation researchers argue in a report released this morning. Chief among their recommendations: New York must get serious about Bus Rapid Transit and create permanent, physically-separated transit lanes to keep bus riders from getting stuck in traffic.

In August, three county executives supported Governor Cuomo's Tappan Zee Bridge plan in exchange for a "transit task force" that would study how to strengthen transit between Rockland and Westchester counties. At the time, advocates greeted the announcement with cautious optimism, awaiting details on the task force from the governor.

Some notes from Bloomberg's latest Sandy briefing, which wrapped up minutes ago:

If yellow cabs and livery cabs can't get gas, that's a problem, especially when train service is limited and buses are packed. But many of the cars in this line, which clogged one lane of Broadway from 168th to 174th Street in Washington Heights this afternoon, were private vehicles.

If there's any good news to come out of the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, it's that political leaders and the press are actually talking about climate change. At the end of a long campaign season with barely a mention of the issue, it's a relief to hear some sane discussion of the issue based on the premise that global warming is real.

While the city is recovering from disaster and New Yorkers are trying to get back to work, members of the city's political press once again showed their true colors: For some, the top concern is being able to gas up their single-occupancy vehicles and drive around Manhattan unimpeded.

While New York City's first day after Hurricane Sandy was marred by paralyzing car traffic, buses immobilized in gridlock, and the delayed release of a transportation plan from Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg, this morning's commute was a different story as the plan went into effect, with partial subway service restored, HOV-3 restrictions in place and a temporary "bus bridge" between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

After much of Manhattan seized into gridlock, Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg jumped into action a day late this afternoon with a transportation plan for New Yorkers. Even with the combination of HOV-3 restrictions, partially restored subway service and special bus routes ready for tomorrow morning's commute, most New Yorkers will discover that -- like today -- their bike provides the fastest one-seat ride in the city.