Monday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
New data reveals a bigger crisis than coronavirus: the nation's inability to act collectively. Plus other headlines.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on April 13, 2020
- Vox breaks down who is social distancing (high wage earners), and who isn’t (Trump supporters and climate change deniers). The data reveals a bigger crisis than coronavirus: the nation’s inability to act collectively.
- Essential workers who lack cars are scared to ride transit — but they have to do it anyway. (Washington Post)
- Global oil consumption is down 35 percent in the past month, forcing oil-producing nations to slash production as prices fall. (New York Times)
- Wearing high-visibility clothing helps keep cyclists safe — but only if drivers are paying attention, which they often aren’t. (Outside)
- Labor groups want Congress to reject Uber’s request for a new employee classification allowing them to continue treating drivers like contractors rather than employees (The Hill). Uber’s also finally shipping face masks to drivers, who’ve been complaining for weeks about their risk of contracting COVID-19 (The Verge).
- Seattle advocates for transit riders and the disabled are asking Mayor Jenny Durkan to let people use restaurants’ and medical facilities’ drive-throughs while on foot or in wheelchairs. (Seattle Times)
- The Pittsburgh Port Authority is limiting the number of people who can be onboard buses at any given time. (Trib Live)
- California is allowing a startup to test driverless delivery vehicles. (Reuters)
- Portland has slashed the price of its Biketown bike-share to just a penny a minute. (Bike Portland)
- The silver lining of the coronavirus pandemic is that sheltering in place has drastically improved air and water quality over just a short period of time in toxic megacities like New Delhi and Bangkok. (The Guardian)
- The European Union is setting up “living labs” in five cities to test more sustainable mobility options. (Eltis)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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