- Portland and Sidewalk Labs are using cellphone data to see how people move around the city, which could help planners make better decisions, but also raises privacy concerns. Next up: Testing the Replica software in Chicago and Kansas City. (GeekWire)
- Los Angeles is also collected tons of data on e-scooter use. It has the largest fleet of any city in the country, with more than 30,000 provided by seven companies. (LAist)
- Protected bike lanes make streets safer for not just cyclists, but drivers too, according to a University of Colorado Denver study. (Denverite, Streetsblog)
- Elon Musk’s scaled-back cars-in-a-tunnel version of the hyperloop might work in Las Vegas, but don’t expect it to be the future of public transit. (City Lab)
- An Alexandria, Va., panel of experts outlined the pros and cons of e-scooters. (Gazette)
- In the wake of a federal ruling that Uber and Lyft drivers are contractors, not employees, a California bill would give them basic labor protections for the first time — at least in one state. (Vox)
- Texas, which leads the nation in traffic fatalities, will adopt a Vision Zero strategy to cut road deaths in half by 2035 and eliminate them by 2050. (Houston Chronicle)
- MARTA is fast-tracking two Atlanta bus rapid transit lines, but light rail to Emory University and along the Beltline won’t be completed until at least 2035. (AJC)
- San Francisco wants to quadruple its number of dockless bikes to 11,000, but is getting pushback from Lyft. (Curbed)
- The new CEO of the company building Maryland’s Purple Line isn’t happy about permitting holdups. (WaPo)
- Montreal is building 26 kilometers — that's 18 miles — of bike lanes over the next two years. (Gazette)
- Forget Tide pods and pill parties. The latest phantom teen menace is gangs of roving youth on bikes assaulting the elderly. (Outside)
Today's Headlines
Friday’s Headlines
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
When the Government Says You’re ‘Weaponizing’ Your Car
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers have been brutalizing and killing people who they perceive as threats. Is mass automobility multiplying their pretext to do it?
January 12, 2026
Should Monday’s Headlines Carry a Carrot or a Stick?
Human beings generally don't like being forced to do anything, so Grist wonders whether policies like car bans could actually be counterproductive?
January 12, 2026
Chicago Explores Black Perspectives on Public Transit
"We're not going to fix decades of inequitable investment in one year, and things like the high-frequency bus network and the Red Line Extension are really important, but the work isn't done."
Confirmed: Non-Driving Infrastructure Creates ‘Induced Demand,’ Too
Widening a highway to cure congestion is like losing weight by buying bigger pants — but thanks to the same principle of "induced demand," adding bike paths and train lines to cure climate actually works.
January 9, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Are Unsustainably Expensive
To paraphrase former New York City mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, the car payment is too damn high.
Talking Headways Podcast: Poster Sessions at Mpact in Portland
Young professionals discuss the work they’ve been doing including designing new transportation hubs, rethinking parking and improving buses.
January 8, 2026
