Friday’s Headlines From Around the Nation
- Massachusetts congressman and noted train fanatic Seth Moulton wants to spend $205 billion on high-speed rail, including lines linking Chicago and Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Dallas and Houston, and Portland and Vancouver. (Wired)
- Social distancing is leading to a new vision of permanently pedestrian-friendly cities with better sidewalks, shared streets and more public space. (The City Fix)
- Race and class are often missing from the debate when people talk about how to redesign cities in the wake of COVID-19. (Curbed)
- Bike commuting is up 20 percent over the past decade, much of that increase due to bike-shares, according to a University of Washington study. (MinnPost)
- Scooter companies are testing remote-controlled scooters in Georgia in hopes that the technology will be more convenient — riders can bring the devices to them — and reduce sidewalk clutter. (The Verge)
- The pandemic delivery boom is accelerating a shift in the autonomous vehicle industry from moving people to moving packages. (Reuters)
- Uber and Lyft have long used venture capital to subsidize rides in an effort to win market share, but those days might be ending. Rising ride-hailing prices could drive people back to transit. (Quartz)
- President Trump has taken to “announcing” transit grants on Twitter that were actually awarded weeks ago. (SFGATE)
- Virgin Trains says it won’t restart passenger rail service in Florida for months. (Bloomberg)
- Portland voters extended a gas tax that goes toward maintaining streets and safety improvements. (KATU)
- Detroit’s MoGo bike share is expanding into the suburbs next month. (Daily Detroit)
- Six years later, Pittsburgh drivers still hate the Penn Avenue bike lanes, but data shows they’re drastically improved safety. (Bike PGH)
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s coronavirus hot takes are costing him his loyal fan club. (The Atlantic)
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