Monday’s Headlines
- Uber filed paperwork for its long-awaited initial public stock offering. Despite the company's claims that it complements transit, the IPO reveals what we've suspected all along: It's competing with public transportation. The goal is to operate at a loss until it achieves dominance, then jack up prices. (Jalopnik)
- More on the Uber IPO: The company lost $1.8 billion on $11.3 billion in revenue last year, and growth is beginning to slow (NY Times). That's less of a loss than in 2017, but revenue growth also fell by half (Wired). Its biggest vulnerability may be that a quarter of its rides came from just five cities: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London and Sao Paulo (Slate). The losses make Uber seem like an essential service investors want to exist, rather than a typical business that's forced to turn a profit, says City Lab. Some of those losses are self-inflicted, for example spending nearly half a billion on pie-in-the-sky autonomous- and flying-car research (Tech Crunch).
- Meanwhile, competitor Lyft is partnering with a nonprofit to invest $50 million in parks and transit. (Curbed)
- Lyft-owned Citi Bike, Capital Bike Share and the Bay Area's Go-Bike had to ground their entire e-bike fleets because of a front brake problem, a story broken by our StreetsblogNYC colleagues.
- Las Vegas officials have opted for bus rapid transit over light rail for a transit line from downtown along the Strip to the airport, mainly because it's only a third of the cost. However, the vast majority of citizens who commented on the project preferred rail. (Nevada Current)
- Although Kansas City missed out on a federal grant to extend its streetcar this year, officials are hopeful they'll get 'em next time. (Star)
- Honolulu will also have to wait another year for federal funding for a light-rail line. (Civil Beat)
- After a successful pilot program, San Francisco is considering doubling the number of e-scooters allowed in the city. (Chronicle)
- Missouri is one of just two states that hasn't fully banned texting while driving, but that could change soon. (KROG)
- A bill to let Seattle install cameras to catch drivers blocking intersections and bike lanes has a second life. (KIRO)
- An SUV driver who ran over two pedestrians has residents in Washington's Tri-Cities area talking about how streets are designed for drivers' convenience. (KEPR)
- A Washington, D.C. elementary school has a new "traffic park" where kids can ride bikes and play on miniature city streets. (WAMU)
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