Friday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
Links to all the news from yesterday: The New York City subway is no longer a 24-7 system. Seattle takes 20 miles of streets from cars. And a CBC documentarian created a must-watch pro-transit video. Click the link above for all the stories.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on May 8, 2020
- Transit ridership is down dramatically, and may never come all the way back. If transit agencies want to avoid a death spiral, they need to stop thinking about ridership stats and fare recovery, and start thinking of themselves as an essential service. (City Lab)
- About 60 percent of workers have jobs that can’t be done from home, but those who do are probably going to be working from home at least some of the time from now on. (The Atlantic)
- The University of Tennessee and Portland State are launching a study on how people are getting around during the coronavirus pandemic. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Lyft’s ride-hailing business is down 70 percent during the pandemic. But it still reported more revenue and smaller losses for the first quarter of 2020 than in 2019. (The Verge)
- Uber is in talks to fold struggling scooter company Lime into its Jump scooter subsidiary. Uber already owns a minority stake in Lime and would pay $170 million for majority control. (The Information)
- CBC videographer Uytae Lee has made a concise and passionate video about the coming carpocalypse that every politician should watch.
- Forever? Forever ever? Forever ever? Seattle is one of several cities that has shut down streets to traffic so residents can keep enough space between them while they walk, bike and jog. Now, Mayor Jenny Durkan has announced that 20 miles of those streets will be closed to through traffic permanently (Seattle Times). Meanwhile, Boulder won’t close streets to cars, so now residents are taking matters into their own hands (Daily Camera).
- The New York City subway shut down overnight for the first time since it opened 115 years ago as workers sanitized trains and stations. (NY Times)
- Los Angeles residents craving a double-double are doubling down on driving through drive-throughs. (L.A. Times)
- Austin’s Capital Metro is adding another light rail line to its Project Connect expansion plan. In several instances, the agency has found that bus rapid transit won’t have enough capacity to meet demand. (Monitor)
- Northern Virginia is putting off a decision on new transit projects because the Beltway tolls that would fund them have dropped. (Inside NoVa)
- Take heart: Lisbon emerged from economic hardship with one of Europe’s best mobility systems. (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.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
The Financial Costs of the Pedestrian Death Crisis Are Still Stratospheric
The human costs of the pedestrian death crisis are unacceptable even as deaths begin to fall. And the financial costs aren't any better.
April 6, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Only Hurt Ourselves
Climate change has cost global economies tens of trillions of dollars. The U.S. is both the biggest culprit and biggest victim.
April 6, 2026
State Bill Would Stop Highway Expansions Near Vulnerable New Yorkers
Assembly Member Emerita Torres's Stop Highway Community Harm Act would ban the state from expanding highways within 200 feet of public housing or in ZIP codes with the highest asthma-related emergency room visits in the state.
April 3, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Keep Our Eyes on the Road, Our Hands Upon the Wheel
Going to the roadhouse in a self-driving car does not mean you're gonna have a real good time.
April 3, 2026
Friday Video: A Master List of All The Reasons Why Car Domination Sucks
Jason Slaughter catalogues the many harms of America's preferred transportation monoculture.
April 2, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.