Getting with the commute

Bikes on a train: METRO debuts new cars with racks to swoon over

METRO welcomed the first of 19 new light rail vehicles (LRVs) on Monday.
Houston METRO/Facebook
These LRVs have a capacity of about 200 passengers per car, plus bicycle racksat the front and rear doorwys of each.
Houston METRO/Facebook
The units also allow an option to couple up to four units for greater capacityduring peak times.
Houston METRO/Facebook

As part of an $83 million contract with Siemens, METRO welcomed the first of 19 new H2 S70 trains to its light rail fleet this week. The rest will be added over the next year and a half, taking some of the strain off of the 18 nine-year-old S70 models currently in service.

"The new light-rail-vehicle (LRV) is not just a rail car. It represents a savings of nearly a year's time in getting optimal service to rail passengers. These units will help us offer more timely and comfortable trips," METRO board chairman Gilbert Garcia said in a statement.

This option for cycle storage is a huge improvement from the current system (which is actually no system at all).

Among the changes that come with the new generation of vehicles? Capacity for about 200 passengers per car, an option to couple the units for greater volume during peak times and sliding doors spaced to better facilitate fast passenger loading and unloading.

Plus, perhaps the most exciting development: Bicycle racks located at the front and rear doorways of each car.

This option for cycle storage is a huge improvement from the current system (which is actually no system at all, leaving passengers to precariously balance with their wheels during stops and starts), but cyclist ridership will still be limited by time restrictions.

And it begs the question: Will the racks slow down train arrivals and departures more than the improved doors serve to speed them up?

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”