Five Amtrak routes are now included in Google Transit searches. So you can use the Google site to find your way, say, from New York City to Albany, if you can’t figure out how to get to directly to the Amtrak site. (www.amtrak.com.)

(Oddly, though, I was unable to find a public transit route from Yonkers [...]

From way out in western New York (though not far enough away for my money), comes the story of this genuis — a guy who, while driving, was texting on one phone while talking on another.

Guess what happened. Or just read the report here, courtesy

When you drive on the New York State Thurway near Sleepy Hollow you’ll notice new signs that let you know the area is home to a cluster of historic sites.

The recently erected signs highlight the Rockefeller estate Kykuit, Union Church of Pocantico Hills, Philipsburg Manor, Van Cortlandt Manor, and Sunnyside, the one-time

Check out what’s happening with the Throgs Neck Bridge, hobbled by fire, at the press conference going on now, and streaming live on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Web site.

Two Bronx-bound lanes leading to the bridge are open, but only

It looks like it will soon be illegal to send someone a text message while you’re driving. And really, talk about something that should be common sense.

The state Senate voted today to make it illegal to text, play video games or surf the Web while behind the wheel. The Assembly had passed it earlier.

Well, we [...]

One of my favorite surprises is when I get books in the mail. Well, the one that came recently is not so much a literary treasure (though the writing is perfectly fine) as it is of practical benefit.

It’s Build Your Own Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, by Briarcliff Manor resident Seth Leitman.

I know Leitman. I wrote [...]

The firstAmtrak coach car to be refurbished by federal stimulus dollars will be back on the rails and carrying passengers next week, the railroad announced.

It’ll get back on track at an Amtrak maintenance yard in Bear, Del., and Amtrak is celebrating the event with a press conference Monday. The car cost $687,000 to renovate.

There’s a certain tortise-and-the-hare irony to this. A runway at JFK Airport was shut down temporarily yesterday because a few dozen turtles ambled onto the tarmac, the Associated Press reports.

Pilots at the airport on Jamaica Bay reporting seeing the first turtles about 8:30 a.m.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey rounded up the [...]

Well that was quick.

Every cause, it seems, needs an association. Or many associations. Well now, a few weeks after President Barack Obama announced national plans for high-speed rail, a newly formed U.S. High Speed Rail Association has announced itself.

You can take a look at the organization’s ambitious plan

Traffic congestion dipped ever so slightly in 2007 — even before the current recession — but don’t take heart, says the Texas Transportation Institute, which studies traffic nationwide. Those maddening traffic jams robbed us of $87.2 billion in wasted fuel and lost work time.

That was more than 2.8 billion gallons of wasted fuel, or three [...]

Sometimes you just have to reward persistence. Somehow, I’ve gotten on the e-mail list of Iceland Air, and I am constantly getting their service updates.

So, fine. I’ll pass on the latest news. The airline is starting new flights to Manchester, England and Glasgow, Scotland. And if you ever find yourself at Keflavik airport — I’m [...]

Amtrak Acela Express passengers will see changes in the schedules starting Monday because of track work that’s going on.

But maybe the more significant news is that the railroad is adding two new Sunday runs from New York to Boston.

Check out the press

Riders on Metro-North’s Hudson Line will see some schedule changes July 13 because of track work. Temporary changes that had been in effect since April 5 will end.

If you ride the Harlem Line or the main New Haven Line, don’t worry. No changes

Here’s a statement from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Monday’s horrific Metro train crash in Washington D.C.:

“The heartfelt thoughts and prayers of all MTA employees go out to

Elliott “Lee” Sander, chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is stepping down, but the agency says it’s not because of the controversy over the payroll tax Albany just approved on employers in the New York City area.

That tax — 34 cents per $100 of payroll — will be levied on businesses, hospitals, governments and [...]