Wednesday’s Headlines

The Transportation Research Board’s 99th Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, D.C. from Jan. 12-16, 2020. Click here for more information.

• Global consulting firm Deloitte predicts that as cities grow more crowded, bike usage will double by 2022. (Forbes, Treehugger)
• Many cities — such as Los Angeles, Shanghai, Helsinki and Singapore — have started “Uber for transit” programs to compete with ride-hailing apps. But on-demand buses aren’t having much success because they’re expensive and inefficient to operate. (Wired)
• In the traffic-choked Bay Area, transit will be cheaper, more frequent and go more places in the coming decade, while driving will be less convenient and more expensive, the San Jose Mercury News predicts.
• Hillsborough County’s proposed bus rapid transit line between downtown Tampa and the University of South Florida is a welcome change in thinking for the county, but to be successful it has to be true express service and not just an ordinary bus line, opines the Tampa Bay Times. The county’s transit authority is also rehabbing four 17-year-old streetcars, thanks to a $2.7-million federal grant (ABC Action News).
• Seattle bike ridership is at an all-time high on Second Avenue and the Fremont Bridge, thanks to frustration with traffic, an expanded bike lane network and the growing popularity of e-bikes. (Seattle Times)
• Nashville Mayor David Briley’s $8.7-million cut to WeGo transit is forcing some riders to walk miles to their new stops. (Fox 17)
• Jacksonville, one of the country’s most dangerous cities for cycling, is creating a network of bike paths downtown. (Palm Beach Post)
• Boston’s new city council president wants to use revenue from a proposed gas tax hike to make bus rides free. (New Boston Post)
• Plans aren’t finalized yet, but Louisville is putting Broadway, one of its main thoroughfares, on a road diet and adding more frequent bus service. (Courier-Journal)
• The South Carolina capital is also reducing car lanes and adding bike lanes on two major downtown streets, Marion and Washington. (Charleston Post and Courier)
• A Charlotte environmentalist urges the city to design safer streets and embrace bikes and scooters. (Observer)
• Toronto ride-hailing drivers now need three years of driving experience and must complete training courses, among other new city regulations that take effect this year. (CBC)
• Even though the city’s spent more than $200,000 on ads reminding them, Albuquerque drivers just can’t seem to stay out of the bus-only lane. (KRQE)