Alon Levy - D.C. Policy Center

Alon grew up in Tel Aviv and Singapore. He has blogged at Pedestrian Observations since 2011, covering public transit, urbanism, and development. Now based in Paris, he writes for a variety of publications, including New York YIMBY, Streetsblog, Voice of San Diego, Railway Gazette, and the the Bay City Beacon. You can find him on Twitter @alon_levy.

D.C. Policy Center contributors are independent writers, and we gladly encourage the expression of a variety of perspectives. The views of our contributors, published here or elsewhere, do not reflect the views of the D.C. Policy Center.

Written By Alon Levy

Articles | Transportation

Could gondolas and water taxis improve intraregional transportation?

Public transportation in the national capital region consists of Metrorail, buses, and some commuter trains. In between, there are substantial gaps in coverage: some in-demand neighborhoods have no rail service at all, especially Georgetown, whereas the service that does exist is often overcrowded, especially the Orange Crush in the morning from Arlington…

April 26, 2018 | Alon Levy

Articles | Transportation

Is maglev right for D.C.?

Last decade’s excitement about the prospect of high-speed rail in the United States gave way to disappointment over project cancellations and mounting costs. Instead of conventional high-speed rail (where trains run at 200 miles per hour), several ventures have come forth with proposals to build new, even faster technologies, such as magnetic…

March 22, 2018 | Alon Levy

Articles | Transportation

Improving bus service east of the Anacostia River

The neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River have some of the longest commute times in D.C.—at or above 35 minutes on average (compared with 29 minutes District-wide), and over 45 minutes for those who use public transportation.[1] There is some Metrorail access, as the Green Line serves Anacostia and Congress Heights, and…

January 4, 2018 | Alon Levy

Articles | Transportation

Equitable bike share systems: Removing barriers to access

D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare was one of the first big bike share systems in the United States, on the heels of similar systems installed in Paris and Montreal.[1] Offering docks full of bikes all over the central part of the District, with some additional service in outlying neighborhoods and in the suburbs, it…

November 1, 2017 | Alon Levy

Articles | Transportation

Four ways to build a better bus system

Public transportation in the District of Columbia has been in meltdown for several years. The Post has a page aggregating Metrorail breakdown stories; in 2016, Metrorail ridership fell by about 6%. The buses have not fared any better. Where Metrorail’s problems are about breakdowns and safety, the buses’ are about network design….

September 29, 2017 | Alon Levy