Monday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
- The Federal Transit Administration has awarded the $25 billion set aside for transit agencies in the CARES Act. Top recipients include the New York region ($5.4 billion, though only $3.7 billion for the city's subways, buses and commuter rail networks), Chicago ($1.5 billion), Los Angeles ($1.2 billion), Washington, D.C. ($1 billion), Boston ($883 million), Philadelphia ($879 million) and San Francisco ($822 million).
- Biking has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, but will it last? Experts think the experience of sheltering in place will lead to more telecommuting and less time spent sitting in traffic, which could help people keep up the biking habit. (Fast Company)
- A federal judge told Lyft — and by extension, Uber and other “gig economy” companies — that it’s disregarding the rule of law by refusing to treat drivers like employees. (Bloomberg)
- Despite Portland’s reputation as an environmentally friendly city, bike commuting is falling, new residents are bringing their cars, and even the tree canopy points to inequality. (Curbed)
- The D.C. Metro board approved a $3.9-billion budget that assumes things will be back to normal in July. But officials may have to revisit it in June if the coronavirus pandemic is still pushing down ridership. (Washington Post)
- Dallas is finally looking at how to use its zoning policies to encourage transit-oriented development, 40 years after starting a transit agency in hopes of spurring development along routes. (D Magazine)
- Denver’s Regional Transportation District might have to sacrifice a future light rail line to Boulder in order to avoid deep cuts to bus routes. (Colorado Public Radio)
- Cincinnati’s streetcar, shuttered due to coronavirus, will keep running with a skeleton crew and no passengers after officials learned that would be cheaper than mothballing it. (WCPO)
- Phoenix’s Valley Metro is cutting express buses, although local buses and light rail continue to operate as usual. (KTAR)
- Nonprofits in New York City and Washington, D.C. are helping people donate bikes to health care professionals who need a way to get to work. (WAMU)
- Notoriously smog-choked Los Angeles had clean air for almost the entire month of May — the longest stretch in 40 years. Now it's up to residents to keep up the habits they've developed during the coronavirus crisis. (Curbed)
- Twitter user @p_cresp0 has a thread of beautiful pollution-free skies around the world. It could stay like this, you know.
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