Friday’s Headlines
- The latest on Lyft's IPO: There's a disconnect between Lyft providing single-occupancy rides and claiming cities shouldn't be designed around cars. (GreenBiz) While its carbon-neutral status is currently achieved by buying carbon offsets, Axios predicts shareholder activists will push Lyft and Uber to get greener. And the more it shifts away from ride-hailing to bike- and scooter-shares, the messier its finances will get. (Bloomberg)
- Arizona prosecutors will not charge Uber for its autonomous car striking and killing a woman crossing the road in Tempe, Ariz., last year, but investigators may look further into the role of the backup driver, who was watching a video before the crash and did not brake until after making contact with the pedestrian. The decision highlights the question of who is responsible when a car no one is driving runs over a person? (NY Times)
- The Washington Post picks up on a month-old Urban Institute study showing that bike-share bikes are vastly more prevalent in white neighborhoods than black ones.
- Also from the Post: A judge has dismissed a second lawsuit filed by opponents of Maryland's Purple Line light-rail project.
- In the latest Durham-Orange light rail drama, project booster GoTriangle is asking Duke University to reconsider its stance against the line in light of a Federal Transit Administration warning not to delay. (Durham Sun-Herald)
- The demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is already bringing new development to the Seattle waterfront, and residents are excited about being able to access it by foot and bike. (Seattle Magazine) This month's issue focuses on light rail and its impact on neighborhoods, according to an editor's note.
- Ohio legislators have cut Gov. Mike Dewine's proposed gas-tax hike, but boosted transit funding from a measly $40 million to a slightly less measly $70 million. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- Uber supports a Georgia bill that would tax ride-hailing to raise tens of millions for transit. But the mainly highway-focused State Transportation Board objects to consolidating transit — currently overseen by six state agencies — into one new department. (AJC)
- Dallas Magazine shows you how much better the city's transit was 100 years ago than it is now.
- Meet the new Cincinnati streetcar boss. (Enquirer)
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