- President Obama started the TIGER grant program to fund innovative mass transit projects, but the Trump administration is spending most of the money on roads instead. (City Lab, Streetsblog)
- Attention, reporters: Research shows that when the media refers to car “crashes” or “collisions,” rather than “accidents,” and assigns agency to drivers who crash their cars, instead of pretending the cars crashed themselves, readers are less likely to blame victims. (Forbes, Streetsblog)
- E-scooters: threat or menace? Neither, says Outside magazine Bike Snob Eben Weiss.
- Much as we hate it, it’s just a reality that cars are a necessary evil in many parts of the country. But Ford and GM are abandoning drivers who want a small vehicle, and as a result many of them are trading up for SUVs. (Edmunds)
- Los Angeles has the worst congestion in the country, poor air quality and is facing the effects of climate change, yet transit ridership continues to fall, mainly because the region has been spotty about funding it. (Sierra Magazine)
- Michigan state lawmakers and metro Detroit officials are preparing another push for a regional transit system in 2020. A 2016 referendum failed, but this time, the regional system won’t include suburban Macomb County, where voters overwhelmingly opposed it, giving it a better shot at passing in Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw. (Detroit News)
- A newly elected Cambridge councilman wants to give residents of the Massachusetts city free monthly passes for Boston's regional transit system (Huffington Post). The news comes as an economic justice group protests a crackdown on fare-jumpers in Phoenix (Arizona Republic).
- Planners are designing a new development at an old Ford plant in St. Paul to encouraging walking, biking and using transit, with complete streets and bus service every 10 minutes. (Star Tribune)
- A proposed bus rapid transit system in Pittsburgh linking downtown and Oakland is moving into the final design stages. Construction is scheduled to start in 2022 and end the following year. (Post-Gazette)
- Vermont is using its share of the Volkswagen Dieselgate settlement to test out electric school buses. (Energy News Network)
- Last week’s cold front led to delays on Dallas transit, but DART says it will be ready next time. (Morning News)
- Self-driving garbage cans are in the works for Quayside, Google’s planned “smart neighborhood” in Toronto (Mobile Syrup). George Lucas thought of this over 40 years ago.
Today's Headlines
Tuesday’s Headlines
By Blake Aued
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday Video: How ‘Car Brain’ Warps the Way We See the World
How can we fix the brains distorted by car culture?
January 16, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Are the Best
People for Bikes named its top bike lane projects of the past year.
January 16, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Lost Subways of North America
Author Jake Berman discusses transit histories through the lens of racial dynamics, monopolies, ballot measures and overlooked cities.
January 15, 2026
A ‘Demographic Time Bomb’ Is About To Go Off — And the Transportation Sector Isn’t Ready
A top firm is warning that the "silver tsunami" will have big implications for the climate, unless U.S. communities act fast.
January 15, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Shoot for the Moon
What if the U.S. spent anything near what it spends on highways on transit instead?
January 15, 2026
Passenger Rail Is Headed for a Reckoning — and the First 90 Days of 2026 Will Decide It
Railfans: it's time to go full steam ahead.
January 15, 2026
