Friday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
- Transit officials expect a slow ramp-up in ridership as the coronavirus crisis eases and states start to reopen (CNN). To make a comeback, commuter rail needs to focus not only on making riders feel safe, but expanding service both ways during off-peak hours (City Lab).
- Empty streets mean road deaths are down and speeding is up in cities across the country (Talking Points Memo). The lack of traffic congestion during the coronavirus pandemic has also been a boon for freight companies (Bloomberg).
- Just days after reports that Uber is laying off a fifth of its workforce, Lyft announced it is letting go almost 1,000 people, and furloughing another 300 (CNBC). Maybe bootlegging can keep them in business? (Washington Post)
- Bicycling delves into a study we told you about earlier this week on the economic benefits of bike lanes.
- The speed limit is now 25 miles per hour in Atlanta, where speed contributed to more than half of fatal crashes last year. (Atlanta Intown Paper)
- San Diego spent $30 million on “smart streetlights” to collect data to help make transit and mobility decisions. Mostly, they haven’t worked. (Voice of San Diego)
- Indianapolis transit agency IndyGo has postponed plans to launch a new grid-based bus network in June. (Metro Magazine)
- Maryland’s Purple Line remains on track to open in December, 2022. (Greater Greater Washington)
- Starting today, New Orleans bus and streetcar riders are required to wear masks. (WWL)
- Tesla, which received $1 billion in taxpayer money to build a plant in Buffalo, now wants to back out of its financial and job-creation commitments for a year. (WIVB)
- Canadian transit agencies that relied most heavily on fares are now suffering the most. (Globe and Mail)
- Cornell Tech dressed up a person like a car seat to gauge the public’s reaction to autonomous vehicles. Turns out, people are scared of them. (The Drive)
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