Transportation

Police: Imani Shakoor Steals Woman's iPhone on MetroLink, She Pulls His Hair To Stop Him

Imani Shakoor, 21, allegedly stole a woman's iPhone right from her hands while she was riding on the MetroLink. Unfortunately for him, he was not able to get away fast enough -- and the victim was not going to let her smartphone go without a fight. Police say in trying to get her phone back, she c ... More >>

Bottoms Up and All Aboard

Kansas City's Red Light Cameras Survive Class-Action Lawsuit

Last year the St. Louis-based Simon Law Firm filed six class-action lawsuits challenging the legality and constitutionality of red light cameras in Missouri. To date, the Simon lawyers are 0-3 in their quest to banish the cameras in a half-dozen municipalities. The latest defeat occurred last week w ... More >>

Metro's Advertising Rules Allows Easy Censorship, Removal of Gay Pride Ad Latest

In the end, Metro admits it screwed up. The St. Louis public transit agency should never have removed advertisements from its buses for this month's gay pride festival, PrideFest 2012.It was unclear yesterday just how many Pride St. Louis advertisements disappeared from Metro buses this week after a ... More >>

MetroLink Employee Wanted Government to Examine Shoddy Construction

The federal government has declined to pursue a whistleblower lawsuit against MetroLink on behalf of an employee of the transit agency. As KMOX reports this morning, Eric Fields, an engineer for Metro, filed a lawsuit last October claiming that the light-rail line had serious construction defects ma ... More >>

"New" Loop Trolleys Been Here the Whole Time

Well, howdayalikedat? Apparently the Loop Trolley project has abandoned its plans for new streetcars that would run on batteries and electric. Instead the $43-million initiative -- slated to break ground this year -- will use salvaged electric street cars from the mid-1900s.

Security Screenings At Lambert Will Be Expedited

​The Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Commission announced today that TSA Pre, its passenger pre-screening program, will expand to more airports in 2012 -- including Lambert, a.k.a., TSA's Airport of the Year.TSA Pre allows passengers to provide information about the ... More >>

Rep. Wieland Tries Once Again to Regulate Red Light Cameras

​Representative Paul Wieland (R-Imperial) filed a bill in the Missouri House today that would regulate the use of "automated traffic enforcement systems," better known by most drivers as "those damn red light cameras."Spurred in part by a suspected computer glitch that sent collection letters to t ... More >>

"L-Word" Star Allegedly Kicked Off Flight In St. Louis for Same-Sex Kiss

TwitterLeish Hailey was not laughing yesterday at Lambert Field.​Update 3 p.m. Leisha Hailey and her girlfriend, Camila Grey, released a statement today saying that they "were not making out" or creating any spectacle. "It was one modest kiss." The couple plans to file a formal complaint with the ... More >>

Mississippi River Bridge Project Employment Disparity Stings for African American Community Hit Hard By Recession

"I myself don't choose to be a third generation welfare mother. I want to work in the field that I'm trained in," says Dent.​Tiama Dent is a single mother of two children and a graduate of the Illinois Department of Transportation's Highway Construction Preparatory Training program. The eight-w ... More >>

81,000 Households in Metro St. Louis Don't Have a Car

Who knew so many St. Louis households depended on one of these?​The Brookings Institution is out with a study looking at the public transportation access within America's biggest cities, and St. Louis is near the bottom of the list. According to Brookings, 82 percent of area residents without a ca ... More >>

Baby Killed After Car Lost Control at I-55 Loughborough Exit

The 7100 block of Idaho, where an out-of-control vehicle from I-55 came to its deadly stop.​File this one under devastating:A 17-month-old baby has died after an early morning accident July 4. Police say the driver of the car carrying Bella Houston lost control of her vehicle on I-55 near the Loug ... More >>

MetroLink: Conduit for Deer?

break.comJust like the Loop and Galleria troublemakers, this guy probably didn't pay his fare either!​In 2008 Riverfront Times (and yours truly) took a lot of flack for a story examining the role MetroLink may play as a conduit to crime. At the time, the Galleria shopping mall and the Delmar Loop ... More >>

Hypocrisy Alert! Post-Dispatch Links MetroLink to Unruly Teens in Delmar Loop

The P-D editorial page once accused RFT of giving credence to "thinly concealed racist sentiments" -- for a view now echoed on its own front page.​Don't look now, but the Post-Dispatch has done the unthinkable! They've linked crime and hooliganism in the Delmar Loop to MetroLink! It's right there ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Blame Societal Ills, Not MetroLink

Today's comment comes in response to a post about a Post-Dispatch article today that reported how some business owners and patrons in the Loop blame MetroLink for the influx of teenagers causing trouble in the district. When Riverfront Times reported a similar story three years ago, the Post-Dispatc ... More >>

Forest Park to Get Trolleys, Limit Vehicle Access at Hampton and Tamm to Ease Congestion

Yes, the trolley will look like it was ripped from the pages of a children's book.​Look for trolley buses to begin navigating their way through Forest Park this week as part of the latest effort to ease traffic congestion though St. Louis' "Crown Jewel." In addition to the trolleys, the park also ... More >>

Feel Free to Ignore Digital Speed Signs on I-270 Beginning in July

Sammy Hagar approved.​The variable speed signs along Interstate 270 haven't been as productive in easing congestion as hoped in their nearly two years in operation. Now, beginning in July, the signs will play only an "advisory role" in directing traffic. Motorists who choose to ignore the signs -- ... More >>

Before Amtrak Gets Fast, It's About to Get Slow

Someone oughtta right a song about this. Oh, wait...​Beginning today Amtrak service between Chicago and St. Louis will experience several interruptions for track maintenance as part of an effort to create a high-speed route between the two cities. Passengers who use Amtrak's Lincoln Service depart ... More >>

Holiday Travel Horror Stories -- Or, How A Complete Stranger Vomited On Me on an Airplane Last Night

Wikimedia Commons​According to AAA, travel during this Memorial Day weekend is slated to be up five percent over last year. Personally, I decided to get out of town this weekend - in fact, I'm already in Cleveland visiting my parents and my boyfriend, while tying up loose ends for my RFT work ... More >>

St. Louisan Goes Apeshit on Southwest Flight

Image sourceThe skies aren't so friendly anymore.​And it wasn't even Annie! On a completely different Southwest flight last night, this one from Seattle to Lambert, a St. Louis man went batshit crazy and started pounding on the cockpit door. The plane had to be diverted for an emergency landin ... More >>

The International Society of Women Airline Pilots Convention Lands in St. Louis

About 50 members of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots landed at the Four Seasons hotel this week for their annual convention. The society was founded in Las Vegas in 1978 to provide moral support for women in a heavily male-dominated field. (It still is; in the U.S., less than five p ... More >>

The Cover of the November 26 Print Edition

Metro Planning to Once Again Ask Voters for a Tax Increase

'Cause you can't keep MetroLink down.​That's the news from the Washington University Student Life newspaper. In an article today the paper reports that Wash. U. has already forked over $25,000 to support a tax measure that could go before voters as soon as this April. Philanthropist Sam Fox has gi ... More >>

Truth in Advertising: Somers Town gets at the heart of working-class London.

And it might sell some train tickets, too.

The Bus is Back In Town

www.flickr.com/photos/afagen​So our tongues may have been planted firmly in our cheeks when it came to the Best Bus Route category in our 2009 Best Of St. Louis issue:Best Bus RouteWe regret due to lack of funding service to this category is suspended.But despite seemingly every useful stop in the ... More >>

Tour Diary: The Pragmatic in Portugal, Day One

(Local synthrockers the Pragmatic are currently in Portugal playing the Optimus Alive 09 fest, which is one of the country's biggest events. The band is keeping a diary for us about its travels. Here's the first installment!) Its been a long trip but we made it. None of us could sleep very well o ... More >>

Proposal Calls for Super Fast Train Connecting St. Louis to Chicago; Speeds Up to 220 m.p.h.

midwesthsr.orgBecause no one can ever get enough news from Progressive Railroading (a.k.a. "The Rail Professionals' Information Source"), I share with you an article from last week's issue. It's about a proposed, high-speed train connecting St. Louis to Chicago. Unlike a proposal in April that calle ... More >>

St. Louis Aviation Expert Remembers a Time When Air Travel Was Exotic

flickr.com/photos/The Picture HouseIn 1957, amid the true glory days of air travel, Frank Sinatra came out with a hit song, "Come Fly With Me," which evoked the glamour and exhilarating anticipation of climbing aboard an airplane.Come fly with me, lets' fly let's fly awayIf you can use s ... More >>

Anyone Recognize This City? It's Not St. Louis -- Though You'd Think It Would Be

The advocacy group Metropolitan Area Transit Riders Alliance of St. Louis (MATRA-STL) recently launched a website drawing attention to its mission of bringing much-needed funding to Metro. As MATRA founder Edward Williams writes: We will fight for the public transit need of all citizens of the ... More >>

Freakonomics on MetroLink

RFT readers are still in a tizzy over Kevin Slaten's temper and whether MetroLink imports crime

Hear that whistle blow: Readers react with sound and fury over "Blood on the Tracks"

Boeing vs. Airbus: The Winning Bird Might Be Too Big

Metro Messy

Transit chief Larry Salci knows he has his critics. Ask him if he cares.

A-Lou-zing Race

This Saturday, hop aboard St. Louis public transit for one incredible scavenger hunt

Best Boondoggle

The Lambert Airport expansion

Rat Times at Richmond Heights

Has the MetroLink expansion unearthed a rodent invasion?

A River Runs Through It

The Route 3 detour means wannabe Griswolds needn't set foot in East St. Louis

Cash Landing

With bills coming due at Lambert, St. Louis considers drastic change

When Pigs Fly

On this flight, the biggest threat seemed to be a gassed-up, grabby pilot

Best Metrolink Station

Eighth and Pine

Terminal Lethargy

Is UM-St. Louis to blame for Bi-State's failure to build a much-needed garage?

Burning Airlines with Shiner and Aina

Thursday, Aug. 9; Rocket Bar

Air Fare

Once reviled as a last recourse, airport food has gone upscale

Streettalk

What Has Been the Most Remarkable Occurrence in St. Louis During Your Time Here?

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of June 7

Gremlin on the Wing

Why TWA keeps losing money and how Carl Icahn keeps cashing in at the airline's expense

IF YOU WANT LOYALTY, TWA'S NOT YOUR DOG

Letters to the Editor

Short Cuts