- Uber and Lyft drivers are pushing to unionize for better pay. One driver told The Guardian he made $3.75 an hour after expenses to risk his life during a snowstorm. Employees of a Lyft contractor that operates bike-shares are unionizing, too (San Francisco Examiner). Meanwhile, as Lyft prepares to go public, the unprofitable company is telling potential investors it plans to cut spending next year (Bloomberg).
- When L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Vision Zero in 2015, he promised a 20-percent reduction in traffic deaths by 2017 and a 100-percent reduction by 2025. Instead, drivers are killing more cyclists and pedestrians. (U.S. News and World Report)
- A Florida bill moving swiftly through the legislature would require two-thirds of voters to raise the sales taxes that local governments rely on to fund transportation improvements. City and county officials are calling it an assault on home rule. (Orlando Sentinel)
- Virginia will use buses, water taxis and Amtrak discounts to move people stranded by the months-long closure of six D.C. Metro Blue and Yellow Line stations for repairs. (WTOP)
- As of Saturday, Seattle's downtown transit tunnel is for light rail only, pushing 830 bus trips and 30,000 riders a day onto surface streets. (MyNorthwest)
- Charlotte is getting its first permanent protected bike lane. (Observer)
- Residents along Atlanta’s booming North Avenue say they’re seeing more collisions and pedestrian safety problems and want it to become a Complete Street. (Curbed)
- Orlando’s public bike-share, Juice, has been squeezed out by competitor Lime’s dockless e-bikes. Juice is pulling out its docked bikes now that its contract with the city has expired, but pledges to return with more dockless models. (Weekly)
- In four months of operation, the St. Louis streetcar has only sold 4,300 tickets, bringing in a quarter of expected revenue. (Fox 2 Now)
- Virginia transportation officials were forced to visit Elon Musk's Boring Company in L.A. and came away unimpressed. "It's a car in a very small tunnel," one said. (Jalopnik)
- And, finally, a lot of dummies are going to die before engineers get driverless cars right. (Business Insider)
Today's Headlines
Monday’s Headlines
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Wednesday’s Headlines Think Globally, Act Locally
In a world where the federal government is aligned against all your goals, what else can you do?
February 5, 2025
Study: You’re Not That Much Safer In a 4,000+ Pound Car
For decades, American car buyers believed that bigger = safer. A new study finds that rule appears to have hit a ceiling.
February 5, 2025
Op-Ed: Reviewing America’s First (and Last?) Federal ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Pilot
The Biden administration exhausted the funds of the first-in-the-nation Reconnecting Communities program before they left office. But how did they spend the money — and what can we learn about how to do better next time, if advocates ever get another bite at the apple?
February 5, 2025
Tuesday’s Headlines Are a Sanctuary
The Trump administration's latest threat would withhold funding from many big-city transit agencies and transportation projects in some blue states with "sanctuary" policies on immigration.
February 4, 2025
This Automaker Is Attacking Sustainable Transportation Even More Than You Think
The world's largest automaker has been ramping up spending to put climate change deniers in Congress, and crushing support for all kinds of sustainable modes in the process.
February 4, 2025
