Wednesday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued |
  • Women spend more money than men on transportation each month, according to a new study, primarily because they don’t feel safe on public transit. (Wired)
  • As the number of women who walk or bike to work declines, according to Census data, Crosscut advocates for a #MeToo-style approach to street safety in Seattle.
  • Houston is having a semantics debate over whether its dangerous streets are a public health threat or a public safety threat. The verdict: Public health is a broader category than many people might think. (Chronicle)
  • Smart Cities Dive has a series on how freight-hauling affects congestion in New York, L.A., Atlanta and Chicago.
  • Estonian ride-hailing company Taxify is worth $1 billion and has 500,000 drivers — and it’s coming for Uber. (CNBC)
  • Uber has a new system for reporting sexual misconduct by drivers, from staring to rape. (ABC News)
  • After fending off a “guerrilla launch,” Arlington, Va. is set to start a pilot program with two e-scooter companies. (WTOP) A pedal-assist bike share is now available in Philadelphia. (Next City)
  • Baltimore will issue refunds to members of the city-run bike-share it ended in August. It’s just not clear when. (Sun)
  • Two Utah residents are biking from Alaska to Argentina. They’ve contended with mountains, headwinds and bears, but asked about the worst part of the journey, one said, “Entering any urban area when you’re on the outskirts and there’s the four-lane with the turn lane with no bike lanes or shoulders.” (Deseret News)
  • Streetsblog International: A driver plowed through a group of cyclists in Trinidad and Tobago, killing two and injuring at least 10 more. (Daily Express) In Bogota, Columbia, streets and highways are closed to cars every Sunday for people on bikes to use. (CGTN)
  • And, finally, if you want to know everything you can about Amazon’s sweetheart deal with New York, our friends at StreetsblogNYC have the ultimate curated list of coverage.

Tuesday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued | | 1 Comment
  • The National Review blames Democrats, with their unions and environmental regulations, for slowing down infrastructure construction, as opposed to those free-market conservatives in Europe and China.
  • Forget those tax returns: Another conservative publication, The Weekly Standard, says Democrats can find common ground on infrastructure with President Trump — basically, by taking it easy on Trump.
  • Illinois’s J.B. Pritzker is the latest Democratic governor-elect to float a gas-tax hike. (WIFR) Even Alabama’s GOP-dominated government might be forced to grapple with the issue of infrastructure funding. (Birmingham News) And in Texas, Sen. John Cornyn is calling for an overhaul in the way governments fund roads. (Dallas News)
  • More than 16,000 people rode Milwaukee’s new streetcar, The Hop, on its first weekend in operation. (CBS 58) Little Rock’s streetcar isn’t new, but Rock Region Metro is offering half-price fares for riders who download its new app. (KARK)
  • The Washington Post has caught on to the cool kids’ e-scooter craze.
  • Studies suggest that women may be paid less than men, on average, because after they have kids, they’re less willing to commute as far for work. Of course, that doesn’t explain why society pressures women to make such choices and not men. (Quartz)
  • Bikelash remains rampant, even in liberal San Francisco. (Examiner)
  • ICYMI: Buses still beat Uber and Lyft as the most efficient way to move people around cities. (The Atlantic) TechCrunch riffs off author Jared Walker’s article and gets a bit deeper in the weeds.
  • Charging for parking and strictly enforcing parking regs is generally a good thing, but a UK Starbucks is taking things to a whole new level. (The Guardian)

Monday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued |
  • Incoming House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio is no fan of privatizing infrastructure, but he also knows he’ll need President Trump’s support to get a bill through the Senate. (WaPo)
  • Ray LaHood — President Obama’s Republican transportation secretary — is the latest to tell President Trump he should work with Democrats on an infrastructure bill. (CNBC)
  • Newly elected Portland city commissioner Jo Anne Hardesty envisions a car-free city where transit is free and convenient. (Bike Portland)
  • Work has started on a Florida bike trail that will connect suburban Pinellas County with downtown St. Petersburg. But users will have to cross a six-lane freeway. (Tampa Bay Times)
  • El Paso’s new streetcar started running Friday. (KFOX) Officials will cut the ribbon on St. Louis’ Loop Trolley next week, but it’s unclear when service starts. (Post-Dispatch)
  • Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Walz says he’ll propose a gas-tax hike next year. (WNAX)
  • Bike- and scooter-share companies Lime and Spin have reached an agreement with software company Remix and the L.A. DOT to share data. (Government Technology)
  • The hiring of former New York transit and Citi Bike boss Jay Walder as Virgin Hyperloop One CEO gives the company “street cred,” according to the Elon Musk fanboys at Wired.
  • The wealthy hate transit, so why should anyone trust them about Amazon’s HQ2? (Greater Greater Washington)
  • Amsterdam is raising parking rates to discourage cars and spending $400 million on transit to it more attractive. (Smart Cities World)

 

Friday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued |
  • Traffic deaths are an international public health epidemic. Cars kill 1.3 million people each year. Where is the outrage? (Ottawa Citizen)
  • State funding for public transit in Ohio will probably continue to dwindle when Republican Mike DeWine takes office as governor. (WCPO)
  • Drivers in Utah (Salt Lake Tribune) and Missouri (Kansas City Star) refuse to pay more for gas, even if it means passing up an opportunity to improve education or crumbling roads.
  • Milwaukee streetcar drivers say test runs have taught drivers how to share the road — not just with streetcars, but with people on foot and bikes, too. (Journal Sentinel)
  • Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell says the city will borrow $44 million to meet a federal demand for more matching funds for light rail. (KHON)
  • The guy who used to run Citi Bike and other bike share systems is now working for Virgin’s hyperloop. (The Verge)
  • West Seattle Blog has a detailed look at options for light rail to Ballard, Wash.
  • Remember Puck from “The Real World”? (Google it, millennials.) Bike couriers could be the answer to the car delivery services clogging city streets. Just make sure to hide the peanut butter. (Mobility Lab)
  • L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti gave Hillsborough County, Fla. voters a shout-out on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for approving a sales tax hike to fund transit. (Tampa Bay Times)
  • New University of Charlotte basketball coach Ron Sanchez is a big fan of light rail and e-scooters. (Observer)

Thursday’s Headlines

By Blake Aued | | 2 Comments
  • High turnout among Democrats powered many local transportation-related initiatives to victory on Tuesday — and proved that politicians win when they run on improving infrastructure. (City Lab)
  • Curbed also delves into various transportation referendums, pointing out the urban-rural divide and wondering whether free rides to the polls helped boost turnout.
  • Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio will take over as chairman of the House Transportation Committee in January. He says he’s committed to spending $100 billion on transit infrastructure. (KLCC)
  • Politico has more on what the Democratic wave in the House will mean for D.C. oversight and transportation-related ballot initiatives around the country.
  • Yet another prediction that Democrats will work with President Trump on an infrastructure bill. But will Trump work with them? We’ll believe it when we see it. (The Hill)
  • Oklahoma City’s streetcar will be free to ride for three weeks after it starts running in December. (Oklahoman)
  • Greensboro, N.C. hopes Vision Zero will reduce crashes at its most dangerous intersections. (Fox 8)
  • Bike lanes approved in Savannah, Ga. (Connect)
  • No one knows whether it’s intentional or accidental, but one Portland bike lane is consistently covered in nails. (KATU)
  • Uber and Lyft want to create “walled gardens” — a Facebook-like experiences that encourages users to never leave the app for their transportation needs. That’s bad news for public transit. (Fast Company)
Load more stories