- In the 1980s, light rail was supposed to be a less expensive, more reliable alternative to heavy rail that also lacked the stigma associated with buses. Success was mixed: They helped revitalize downtowns and walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods, but ultimately the haphazard networks built with little help from the feds failed to get many people out of their cars. (City Lab)
- Last year was the year that electric buses went mainstream, with transit agencies in 45 states either using them or planning to, and school districts starting to modernize their fleets. (U.S. PIRG)
- Uber has done little to address discrimination against riders of color, and recent changes to the app in California could even make the problem worse. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- The opening of Houston’s first bus rapid transit line has been pushed back again, this time to July (Chronicle). Meanwhile, the chief executive in Montgomery County, Maryland, has dropped plans to fund a tunnel underneath downtown Bethesda, which will at least delay the opening of the Purple Line (Washington Post). And safety issues raised by the D.C. Metro's inspector general could delay Silver Line construction (WTOP).
- Minneapolis will spend 18 months and $60 million repairing the 90-year-old 10th Avenue Bridge. The project includes replacing two car lanes with a two-way bike path and sidewalks. (Star Tribune)
- Bikes and cars are expected to share the road in Colorado — an arrangement that makes many cyclists uncomfortable knowing they can be blamed for collisions. A new bill would give cyclists the right of way in bike lanes, fining or jailing drivers who fail to yield. (Denver Post)
- Nashville Mayor John Cooper committed to Vision Zero as the local cycling community mourned the deadliest year in city history last weekend. (Fox 17)
- Philadelphia hasn’t followed through on its ambitious Vision Zero plan. (Philly Mag)
- Lyft is fighting a Georgia plan to require “online marketplaces” that facilitate transactions between individuals, such as ride-share apps and eBay, to collect sales taxes. (CBS 46)
- Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but Curbed expects L.A. to cut the ribbon on the nation’s most extensive network of bike lanes by the end of the 2020s, and a bankrupt Elon Musk to be digging tunnels for utilities instead of cars.
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By Blake Aued
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