Monday’s Headlines That You Need
Transit agencies around the country could go into a death spiral during the pandemic unless Congress steps in to help. Plus other news.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on July 20, 2020
- Transit agencies around the country could go into a death spiral during the pandemic unless Congress steps in to help (New York Times). And the plunge in ridership is a big blow to climate (Inside Climate News).
- White supremacists are increasingly using cars as weapons to mow down Black Lives Matter protesters. At least 72 such incidents — many intentional, although some were accidental — have been recorded in 52 cities over the past two months. (NBC News)
- Politico has a takedown of Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a frequent critic of President Trump and potential future presidential contender whose transportation policies are just as regressive, in particular his decision to cancel the Red Line in Baltimore.
- While cities are reshuffling street space during the pandemic, they should give buses a greater share. (The City Fix)
- As part of its effort to become the one-stop shop for transportation and integrate transit into its app, Uber acquired Routematch, a company that sells software to transit agencies for data management, dispatching, booking and ticketing. (The Verge)
- Lyft is providing partitions for some of its drivers to separate themselves from potentially COVID-positive passengers — but less frequent drivers will have to pay for their own. (CNN)
- A Minnesota bond issue includes funding for bus rapid transit on two of Minneapolis’s busiest transit lines. (MinnPost)
- Alexandria received state funding from Virginia for BRT on one of its busiest corriders. (WTOP)
- Funding for future Vision Zero projects is in peril after Mayor Jim Kenney slashed $2 million from its budget. (Billy Penn)
- A coalition of neighborhood groups, activists, businesses and nonprofits is working to make streets safer in Providence. (ecoRI)
- Minneapolis is allowing Bird and Lyft to bring scooters back this summer, with requirements that they distribute a certain number of bikes in high-poverty neighborhoods. (Fox 9)
- A Canadian drivers’ association is working with Toronto to boost bike-sharing. (Intelligent Transport)
- Elon Musk gets dunked on again, as PC Magazine says the machine learning needed for autonomous vehicles just isn’t ready yet, despite the Tesla CEO’s claims to the contrary.
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
How To Push A Livable Streets Project Forward — Even in the Era of Federal Clawbacks
A livable streets superstar is launching a new organization to push forward some of America's most iconic sustainable streets projects — even if Congress is clawing back their funding
April 7, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Take an Axe to Transit
The Trump administration wants to cut transit and rail funding to help pay for the war against Iran.
April 7, 2026
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
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.