News Clips 8-16-13

Today's Clips: MARTA Falcons Stadium Atlanta BeltLine Atlanta/Georgia Transit/Transportation International Transit/Transportation News

MARTA WABE-FM, 8-15-13 State and Local Leaders Welcome Home-Building Giant to New Buckhead Headquarters By Jonathan Shapiro In a ceremony Thursday morning, state and local leaders formally welcomed PulteGroup to its new Buckhead headquarters. The home construction giant recently relocated from the Detroit area. With the governor at his side, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said it reinforces the regions place as a top corporate destination. PulteGroup chose Atlanta over several other cities because we partnered together and we continue to attract top talent from around the country, said Reed. At least $6 million in state and city tax credits and job training helped seal the deal. PulteGroup chief Richard Dugas says he sees tremendous growth potential in the Southeast. In 2012, the Southeast part of the country accounted for 37 percent of the homes that we closed and 43 percent of our invested capital and we see the potential for more growth in the future, said Dugas. He noted the Case-Shiller index shows home prices in metro Atlanta are up 20 percent over the last year, with pending sales up five percent and days-onmarket down 16 percent through the first half of 2013. PulteGroup is moving about 100 employees to Atlanta and plans to fill more than 200 new positions at its Buckhead location. Dugas said the new offices location adjacent to the Buckhead MARTA station was a big attraction. He said he wouldnt be surprised if half of his employees take MARTA on a daily basis.

Saporta Report, 8-15-13 PulteGroups decision to move headquarters to Atlanta from Detroit tied to companys growth By Maria Saporta Georgia and Atlanta leaders welcomed what they hope will be their next Fortune 500 company headquarters to Atlanta Thursday morning. Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Nathan Deal welcomed Richard Dugas Jr., the chairman, president and CEO of PulteGroup, to Atlanta at the location of its new headquarters a year from now. PulteGroup is moving its corporate headquarters from Bloomfield Hills, Mi. in the Detroit area to the Capital City Plaza building right next to the MARTA Buckhead station. The PulteGroups ranking in the 2013 Fortune 1000 list? No. 501. Oh so close. In an interview after the welcoming event, Dugas said the PulteGroup used to rank as high as No. 250 in the Fortune 500 list, but then came the housing fallout during the Great Recession in the late 2000s, and its business suffered along with other homebuilders. And that helps explains why the PulteGroup decided to relocate its corporate headquarters outside of the Midwest to the Sun Belt. In 2012, the Southeast accounted for 37 percent of the homes that we closed and 43 percent of our invested capital, Dugas said. The total Midwest markets going back 20 years ago represented just under 30 percent of our business, and today its a little less than 10 percent. Dugas said it made sense to move the company to where it sees the greatest growth opportunities. We wanted to pick a location that would be closer to our investments and closer to the customers that we serve, Dugas said. The Sun Belt continues to grow aggressively, and its more convenient when we visit projects. The corporate headquarters will employ about 320 people, Dugas said with about half relocating from Michigan and the other half being hired in the Atlanta area. When the PulteGroup announced earlier this year that it was moving its headquarters out of the Greater Detroit area to Atlanta, the news was not well received.

Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team, actually wrote in a late night tweet when the move was announced that Dugas was a punk for making that decision. He followed that up in an interview in the (Detroit) Free Press with the following quote: Lets put it this way. When a guy is willing to move the headquarters of a 63-year-old Michigan-based company in the middle of the night, basically, without even consulting with the founders family, I think that pretty much spe aks for itself. The words in the tweet are pretty appropriate. Dugas said he can understand why people were so upset. It was a business decision, he said. I dont take anything personally. At the end of the day, Pulte continues to have a large investment in Michigan. And Dugas said that the companys founder, Bill Pulte, is a first-class gentleman who told him that he would support him and his decision to move the PulteGroup if it is good for the company. Gilbert, however, didnt stop there. He also accused Dugas of not telling the truth. Dugas isnt moving to Atlanta because it matters where the corporate headquarters is, Gilbert reportedly said. Hes moving to Atlanta because hes from Atlanta. Thats where he wants to live personally. At least be honest and come out and tell the truth about it. Actually Dugas grew up in southern Louisiana. He joined the PulteGroup in 1994. He did move to Atlanta (actually Duluth) in 1996 and lived here until 2002. But thats not why the PulteGroup ended up deciding to move its headquarters to Atlanta. We did not move the company because it was where I wanted to live, Dugas said. We had a very objective process (that included all sorts of criteria scored by a team of executives). At the end of the day, the team was unanimous in selecting Atlanta. But Dugas did add: I make no apology that I loved living in Atlanta. Although the company has not yet completed its relocation, Dugas has already bought a home in Buckhead, and his family will be making the transition from Detroit to Atlanta over the next year or two. Dugas also was excited that the company will be based right next to a MARTA station.

I frankly think we have the best location in Buckhead, he said. It would not shock me if 50 percent of our workforce ends up taking MARTA to work every day. Meanwhile, Dugas is focused on making sure that the PulteGroup takes full advantage of the recovering housing market. Although it is still building suburban subdivisions, it is broadening its portfolio to include more urban, infill developments. We are learning to slice the demographic pie a little more finely, he said. We are learning to target the infill urban buyer and the single buyer. The PulteGroup also sees great growth potential in its Del Webb brand active retirement communities to appeal to the aging, yet still healthy population. The Metro Atlanta Chamber as well as the mayor and governor pledged to do all they could to help the PulteGroup grow its business. As Gov. Deal said: You will be in the top 500 corporations in the United States just by coming to Georgia.

Smart Meetings, 8-15-13 Train Yourself to Use Public Transit By Holly Woolard Do you take mass transportation on business trips? Or are you a little lazy and grab a cab because youre running behind? On a recent trip to Atlanta, I made sure to use the MARTA to transfer between the airport and downtown. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has a convenient station located at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL). Then its a straight shot downtown to the Peachtree Center and Civic Center stations, which provide access to most meeting hotels and the Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola. It only cost $3.50 for the initial one-way ticket from the airport to Peachtree Center (MARTA charges $1 for the pay card) and $2.50 for the return trip. Total amount spent to get back and forth: $6. A cab ride costs about $30, thus I saved my company $54. My easy commute from the airport got me to thinking: Why arent more people taking advantage of public transportation systems when they attend meetings? For your convenience heres a list of a few our favorite airport-to-hotel transportation systems: New York City Subway (232 miles of tracks with 468 stations) connects to with John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) via the eight-mile AirTrain. The Washington, D.C., Metro (106.3 miles of tracks with 86 stations) connects to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Bay Area Rapid Transportation (104 miles of tracks with 44 stations) connects to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Roswell Patch, 8-15-13 MARTA Extends Service to Roswell's East Side Bus service will be reestablished on east side of GA 400 later this month. By Ann Marie Quill MARTA is reestablishing northbound service to the east side of GA 400, effective Aug. 26. The City of Roswell is very pleased that MARTA is bringing back bus service to our community east of GA 400, said Steve Acenbrak, Director of Transportation for the City of Roswell in a press release. This is a great first step to providing better transportation options to our residents. Currently, Route 185 begins at the North Springs MARTA rail station, travels north of GA 400, and exits at Holcomb Bridge Road Exit 7B (loop ramp). It then travels west along Holcomb Bridge Road and north along SR 9. The new route will take Exit 7A East on Holcomb Bridge Road, and travel right on Market Way, left on Market Boulevard and left on Holcomb, then continuing current routing. A MARTA bus stop will be located on Market Way. This new service will only operate on weekdays, 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.

Falcons Stadium WABE-FM, 8-16-13 Morris Brown to City of Atlanta, Friendship Baptist: "Hands Off!" By JIM BURRESS Morris Brown College supporters gathered on the steps of the school's towering but crumbling Middleton Tower dorms late Thursday to protest what they call a land grab" related to the Atlanta Falcon's quest to build a new stadium. The team wants to construct the facility on land now owned by two churches. A deal with Mt. Vernon Baptist still hangs in the balance. But the other, Friendship Baptist, could finalize a $19.5-million agreement as soon as Sunday. As part of Friendship's plan, it wants to rebuild on adjacent property where the Morris Brown dormitory now stands. Recently uncovered documents show the church stipulates the city help broker that sale. And that's not gone over well with those with connections to the historically Black college who believe the City of Atlanta is interfering where it shouldn't, and in the process interfering with the colleges efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. Chuck Barlow is past president of the Morris Brown National Alumni Association. He says a $20-million plan was in the works between the college and Family Dollar Corporation to turn the towers into a hotel connected to the schools hospitality program. That money would have pulled the college from bankruptcy. Thats killed," Barlow says. "If you take the towers away, that takes away the Family Dollar Corp. That was the key to build this and make it a business and incorporation and partnership with Morris Brown. Supporters say the citys involvement shows officials are more interested in a lucrative sports deal than in keeping the historically black institution afloat. In a statement, Mayor Reed calls the claim preposterous. [Reed's full statement is at the end of this report.]

Meanwhile, Morris Brown supporters say theyll be in the congregation Sunday at Friendship Baptist. Thats when church membership is scheduled to vote on the $19.5-million offer. From Mayor Reed's spokeswoman, Sonji Jacobs: The claim that Mayor Kasim Reed and the City of Atlanta are attempting to "land grab" Morris Brown College for the proposed new Atlanta Falcons stadium is preposterous. The two transactions have been separate and independent. Mayor Reed's sole interest has been to enable Morris Brown to secure a stronger, financially healthier future as an educational institution that has been a vital part of the city since 1881. In addition, the Mayor is focused on bringing positive economic development and neighborhood revitalization to the West Side and the MLK corridor. His desire to assist Morris Brown has been unwavering, including his support of the decision by President Barack Obama and the U.S. Department of Education to forgive more than $9.4 million in debt owed by the college. Mayor Reed and his administration continue to believe that the $10 million financial offer put forth by the city, which would have eliminated all of Morris Browns debt, provided the school with a campus and gave the board the opportunity to repurchase the school's assets while working toward accreditation, has been the best solution. However, we wish Morris Brown well in pursuing any other holistic alternative for securing the college's future, including reaching an alternative deal to sell its properties. Finally, any negative assertion about Mayor Reed's commitment to serving and protecting all Atlanta residents, including the African-American community, is blatantly false and misleading."

11 Alive, 8-16-13 Protesters rally against new stadium plans ATLANTA -- Morris Brown College alumni are fighting to save a piece of their campus from being sold off as part of a deal to make room for the new Atlanta Falcons stadium. They held a protest Thursday night to prevent it from being sold to the equally historic Friendship Baptist Church. On Sunday, the congregation will vote on a proposal to sell their site to the Falcons, and to try to buy the Morris Brown property to build the new church. Protesters say they want to keep the campus intact, not sold off in pieces.

Atlanta BeltLine Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8-15-13 BeltLine trail dedicated at Beecher Hills Elementary By Mark Niesse Atlanta leaders dedicated a one-mile spur trail part of the 33-mile network of Atlanta BeltLine trails near Beecher Hills Elementary School this week. Mayor Kasim Reed said the Atlanta BeltLine Southwest Connector Trail will help make the city more green, sustainable and walkable. The trail through a stretch of woods will allow for improved access to Beecher Hills Elementary, and it will eventually connect to the 22-mile Atlanta BeltLine in the Westview neighborhood in southwest Atlanta.

Atlanta/Georgia Transit/Transportation Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8-15-13 State transportation board members elected By Andria Simmons The State Transportation Board held its annual elections Thursday and chose former vice-chairman Jay Shaw of the 8th Congressional District centered in Lakeland (South Georgia) as its new chairman. Georgia Department of Transportation is generally controlled and supervised by the 14-member board, which is comprised of representatives from different areas of the state. The former chairman, Johnny Floyd of the 2nd Congressional District centered in Cordele (Southwest Georgia), now rotates to a regular position on the board. In his first act as chairman, Shaw announced a new board position of Secretary would be added and named Emily Dunn of the 9th Congressional District in Blue Ridge to the post. He also created a new communications committee to be chaired by Dan Moody of the 6th Congressional District in Johns Creek. [News Clips Note: More info on the committees is available at http://www.dot.ga.gov/informationcenter/pressroom/PressReleases/BoardElectio ns2013.pdf.]

WSB-TV, 8-15-13 Bus drivers protest outside APS headquarters By Rachel Stockman ATLANTA Atlanta Public School bus drivers protested at APS headquarters over concerns about low wages, and not getting paid for days worked. A group of about 70 drivers marched from the IBEW building on Pulliam Street, to the district administration building on Trinity Avenue, honking horns and carrying signs that said "drivers are being thrown under the bus." The protest lasted about an hour and a half, and got the attention of administrators. "We got drivers crying. You should not want drivers transporting children when they are upset," said Valerie Burrell, a bus driver who has been with APS for 22 years. The drivers say they haven't received a cost-of-living increase in more than five years. "We need a raise," said Marvis Stewart. "We need our money. We love the kids but we need to feed our kids too." Atlanta Public Schools CFO Chuck Burbridge spoke with Channel 2's Rachel Stockman. "Our employees have not had pay raises for five years so yes, we understand. We'd like to do more but we are just not in the position to do more right now," he said. This year, the board sent bus drivers to work one week early, to practice new bus schedules and routes. Some of the bus drivers are concerned that they are not receiving the proper compensation. "It is important not just to me but to all my co-workers because we are not being treated fair and we should be," said bus driver Stephanie Woods. Administration officials said bus drivers will receive five other days off during the year to make up for the early start. "I think perhaps we haven't done a good enough job communicating that there is no loss in pay. There is no additional work days. We are just swapping, a change in the calendar," said Burbridge.

But some bus drivers said early retirements will keep them from getting paid for the early days. They also said they are still concerned about their low wages. "We are just tired of it," said Stewart. "We can't keep living like this. We have got to make a stand and it is now."

Associated Press, 8-16-13 GDOT adds new features to website ATLANTA (AP) Georgia transportation officials say they're trying to communicate with the public more online. The Georgia Department of Transportation says it has added a "projects" section to its website that will give the public descriptions and the current status of its projects throughout the state. The projects section can be accessed by clicking the yellow hardhat icon on the left side of the page. GDOT has also added a "quick fix" section to the website to allow the public to let the agency know about roadway or traffic problems and to offer suggestions on how to fix them.

CBS Atlanta, 8-15-13 Atlanta airport ranks #1 for confiscated guns, Wynonna Judd says "I'm not packing" By Adam Murphy ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) - Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport officials confiscated 100 guns last year, more than any other airport in the entire nation. This year they've picked up 67 guns in carry-on luggage. Now they said it's time to take action to prevent the problem. CBS Atlanta News ran into country music singer Wynonna Judd at the airport Thursday and she weighed in on the issue. "I'm not packing," Judd said. Judd knows not to bring a gun to the Atlanta airport, but apparently others don't and the airport has added new warning signs to educate travelers. "The Atlanta Police Department will arrest you and charge you for that violation," Atlanta police Chief George Turner. The Transportation Security Administration said Atlanta is on pace to confiscate more guns this year than last, and just this week one was taken out of a passengers carry-on luggage. "You can't take guns on airplanes," Airport General Manager Louis Miller said. "Duh," Judd said. Atlanta police said every time they respond to a call about a gun in someone's luggage, it takes two officers more than an hour to process the traveler. "Every time TSA discovers a firearm in a bag at the checkpoint it delays the screening process for other travelers at the checkpoint," TSA Federal Security Director Mary Leftridge said. "If there's a rule, there's a rule. It's not my rule," Judd said. Airport officials tell us you can travel with a gun as long as you put it in your checked luggage and notify the airline in advance. If you do that you shouldn't have any problems.

Streetsblog, 8-15-13 Atlantas Big Bike Push By Angie Schmitt What would it take to change Atlanta into a place that values and celebrates healthy, active transportation? We just may see, in short order. Atlanta just recently installed its first protected bike lane on a short segment of 10th Street at Piedmont Park. But thats just the beginning of what the city has planned. Atlanta has committed almost $2.5 million in local funds to building 26 high quality bike infrastructure projects this year, including six miles of protected bike lanes, buffered bike lanes and bike boulevards. One of those protected lanes runs right through the center of downtown on Peachtree Center Road. Joshuah Mello, assistant director of planning at the city of Atlanta, who oversees transportation, says Peachtree Center will be like Chicagos Dearborn Street bike lane. The bikeways will build on the success of Atlantas Beltline trail system, which will connect urban neighborhoods by reclaiming abandoned industrial areas. Atlantas City Council and Mayor Kasim Reed authorized the bikeways expenditure in February and began Phase 1 of the Cycle Atlanta plan. Mello said the mayors strong commitment to better bicycling was key, as was the citys involvement in the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). Atlanta joined the organization as a member city in 2011 and the following year hosted one of the organizations Cities for Cycling events. Now all of Atlantas transportation engineers use NACTOs bikeway design guide for planning in addition to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials guide, which excludes protected bike lanes. A lot of our engineers now carry the NACTO guide around to our meetings, said Mello. Its been the go-to document for our city staff. Rebecca Serna, executive director of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, said her group is thrilled. Its like Christmas came early this year. Were really excited, she said. I think its going to really surprise a lot of people who have almost given up on this kind of thing in Atlanta.

Atlanta Business Chronicle, 8-15-13 Ga. freight roads win flexible funding By Dave Williams The State Transportation Board approved a plan Thursday aimed at making sure improvements to Georgia highways vital to the movement of freight are adequately funded. Board members voted unanimously to declare Georgias entire interstate highway system and other key highways across the state freight corridors. That designation will exempt projects along those highways from a state law requiring that federal transportation funds be divided equally among the states 14 congressional districts. This is a good step forward for how we can use limited resources, Toby Carr, director of planning for the Georgia Department of Transportation, told board members before Thursdays vote. Besides the interstate system, the state-designated freight corridor also includes a series of mostly four-lane divided highways that draw a lot of truck traffic. The list includes the Fall Line Freeway connecting Augusta, Ga., to Columbus, Ga., via Macon, Ga.; U.S. 441, which travels the length of eastern Georgia from the North Georgia mountains through the Okefenokee Swamp; and U.S. 27, a north-south highway through western Georgia. In metro Atlanta, the only non-interstate highway thats part of the freight corridor is a short stretch of Georgia 6 that connects warehouse-distribution facilities in Austell, Ga., to Interstate 20. Carr said future plans call for improving highway connectivity between Macon, Ga., and LaGrange, Ga., to provide relief to growing truck traffic congestion in the metro region. The DOTs Office of Planning released a study last year warning that Georgia could lose its edge as a freight hub without $18 billion to $20 billion in improvements to highways, freight rail lines, ports and air cargo handling facilities. The report suggested the largest chunk of that wish list - $9.5 billion go to highway projects.

International Transit/Transportation News Slate, 8-15-13 Hot Air The big problem with vehicles that run on natural gas: methane. By Uven Chong On a sweltering Tuesday afternoon in June in Washington, D.C., President Obama unveiled a plan to lead the world in a coordinated assault on a changing climate. His speech was complemented by a plethora of visual exclamation points. Acknowledging the heat, Obama took off his jacket and paused several times to wipe the sweat off his brow. After a first term in which many environmental supporters felt neglected, the speech suggested that the Obama administration is finally ready to spend some political capital on climate change. A large tenet of Obamas energy plan is to promote the use of shale natural gas that has recently become accessible due to advances in drilling technology (that is, fracking). This appears to be working. A recent report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that carbon dioxide emissions in the United States are steadily decreasing in large part to the substitution of coal with natural gas. More recently, the Economist has also enthusiastically embraced the potential of natural gas to replace demand for oil. However, shale exploitation is not without critics, and rightfully so. In terms of climate change, there are two main objections to shale gas. One is in the process of digging up the gas and moving it to fuel stations through pipelines, and the second is in the use of the gas itself. The former gets most of the attention, but the latter could also have significant implications, especially if predictions of increased natural gas vehicle adoption come to fruition. The first argument against shale gas is that the extraction and pipeline transport process of shale results in leaked methane, a greenhouse gas that is stronger than carbon dioxide. In April 2011, researchers at Cornell published a study that concluded that if methane leaks are considered, natural gas contributes more to global warming than oil or coal. The exact quantity of so-called fugitive methane continues to be hotly debated, but the good news is that there seems to be an emerging consensus that containing the leaks is neither difficult nor expensive. In April 2013, the EPA lowered its estimates of methane leakage from natural gas production in part due to voluntary industry-imposed methane control measures, such as better-sealed replacement gaskets.

But theres a second problem here, one that hasnt received nearly as much attention as fugitive pipeline methane leaks: methane emissions from in-use natural gas. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the adoption of natural gas vehicles in bus and truck fleets. Most recently in December 2012, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Board of Directors announced a planned $343 million and 500-bus transformation of its transit bus fleet to compressed natural gas. The New York Times recently reported that there is momentum in the trucking industry to adopt natural gas vehicles, as the increase in shale gas supply has made the fuel cheap and economically attractive. As an added marketing incentive, most transit agencies trumpet their natural gas vehicle investments to burnish their green credentials. What those bragging campaigns fail to mention, however, are the methane emissions that have been reported by several studies. The emissions occur when the natural gas is actually combusted to create energy (such as in the engine of a natural gas vehicle). Just as hydrocarbons, for example, are belched out by gasoline and diesel vehicles today, methane is a pollutant that is emitted by natural gas vehicles. Vehicle emissions are highest when operating conditions are unsteady or dynamic, such as when a cool engine is first turned on or when an engine has to speed up. Thats particularly worrisome if natural gas vehicles like transit buses or freight trucks are operated in urban environments and are subject to a lot of stops and starts that could result in methane emissions. One study of compressed natural gas buses even suggests that when methane is considered, the total global warming impact for natural gas vehicles could be greater than current diesel buses. The methane impact from smaller vehicles (such as passenger cars) is unclear, as most studies have been conducted on heavy-duty trucks and buses. However, since the current interest in natural gas vehicles is predominantly coming from freight and bus companies, tailpipe methane emissions from these studies are still relevant. Yet, amid the optimism for natural gas, it seems that these results have been outshined by the bright promise of a fuel that can ease the tension between economic cost and environmental protection. The threat of methane emissions should not necessarily spell the end of natural gas vehicles. One clear solution is to develop a catalyst that is able to reduce methane. Catalysts are devices that cause chemical reactions in a vehicles exhaust to eliminate many of the toxic air pollutants that result from cars and trucks.

Much in the same way that catalysts are used in diesel or gasoline engines to chemically convert exhaust gases to meet federal emissions limits, a catalyst could be designed to break down methane to solve this suffocating issue. But this is easier said than done because existing catalysts are not effective at reducing methane, a very stable compound that is resistant to chemical reaction. Researchers at the University of Trieste, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Cadiz recently published promising findings of a new catalyst using palladium and ceria that can reduce methane. The solution is not yet commercially feasible, but the results are promising. Methane emissions limits have also been developed by the U.S. EPA and will be implemented starting with model year 2014 vehicles. These regulatory actions will spur on new research programs to comprehensively measure methane emissions from natural gas fleets and ensure that natural gas is a truly climate-friendly alternative fuel. To be clear, there are political, economic, and environmental advantages to natural gas use, which make it a potentially important tool in the fight against climate change. But in the context of urban transportation fleets, we need to be mindful that natural gas could be a methane-filled Trojan horse, a deceptively veiled prop that ultimately proves destructive.

Associated Press, 8-15-13 Transit Misery Leads to Anger in Brazil Chests squashed flat against backs, hours a day, every day. That's the daily commute for the 8 million citizens who ride the subway and bus lines in Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. Exhausted workers often travel two or three hours each way, crammed into tightly packed buses and subways. And that's if things work as planned. Commuter train breakdowns are common, and enraged commuters have clashed at times with police after being stranded. Such experiences helped spark the biggest revolts to hit Brazilian streets in a generation. A bloody police crackdown roused sympathy for demonstrators who were protesting a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares. That brought millions into the streets across the country, protests that came to encompass other frustrations, such as corruption, pitiful schools and poor health care. Officials rolled back the fare hike. But Sao Paulo workers still pay a relatively stiff $1.30 fare for each miserable trip. That means the poorest people, who often must changes buses and subway lines repeatedly to reach work from distant slums, can wind up paying 20 percent of their pay on transportation. President Dilma Rousseff recently announced $4 billion in public spending in Sao Paulo, much of it earmarked for new infrastructure for bus lanes and the subway. But officials acknowledge it will take years to expand the subway, create more dedicated bus lanes and beef up public transportation fleets. [News Clips Notes: A photo gallery is available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/sao-paulocommute_n_3762934.html.]

Reuters, 8-16-13 New Yorker arrested 29 times for transit crimes sentenced in bus theft NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City man arrested nearly 30 times over 30 years for posing as a subway worker or bus driver, at times piloting trains full of unsuspecting commuters, was sentenced to up to 5 years in prison on Thursday for his latest joyride. Darius McCollum, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, [an autism-spectrum disorder], will seek treatment for his transit obsession upon his release from prison, under a plea deal with prosecutors, his lawyer said. McCollum, 48, pleaded guilty this month to taking a Trailways bus in 2010 from a depot in Hoboken, New Jersey, and driving it to the city's Queens borough, apparently en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Queens District Attorney's office said. It was McCollum's 29th arrest since the age of 15. He faced up to 15 years behind bars for the Trailways theft but as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, he was sentenced to 2-1/2 to 5 years in prison. McCollum has been in jail for nearly 3 years and could face a parole board within weeks since he already has served the minimum of his sentence, his attorney Sally Butler said. "The goal was to get him in front of a parole board as soon as possible, to get him out of the system and to get him some help," she said. McCollum's obsession with mass transit, specifically with the city's subway system, started early in his life when he hid in a train after being violently attacked at school, she said. "It was his home. It's was an environment where he feels safe," she said. In 1981, McCollum was arrested for the first time after taking the controls of an E train and driving it six stops, apparently without any complaints from the conductor or passengers. Over the next two decades, McCollum was arrested for a series of transit crimes, including dressing like a Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee and attempting - and at times succeeding - to drive trains and repair vehicles. He also posed as a member of a crew working on tracks.

"He's done this way more times than he's been arrested," his attorney said.