Monday’s Headlines To Start Your Week Off
- Fare-free transit is common in Europe, and American cities ought to give it another look. Benefits include fewer people driving, lower emissions and fewer costs for low-income families. Revenue would take a hit, but most transit agencies only get a small portion of their funding from fareboxes, and that might be offset by savings on road repairs. (Governing)
- The U.S. Department of Transportation rejected a nationwide mask mandate on planes, buses and trains just hours after President Trump revealed he had COVID-19. (Business Insider)
- Almost every car in the U.S. will need to be electric in order to meet climate goals, according to a new University of Toronto study. Since that's probably not feasible for a variety of reasons, including the strain on the power grid, it's also a good idea to invest in transit. (Scientific American, Streetsblog)
- Despite the fact that people are driving less during the pandemic, traffic deaths are at a 15-year high. That's a sign that we need to redesign our roads. (Streetsblog)
- The BBC has another story about how coronavirus sparked a cycling revolution in Europe.
- New York City's two-year-old regulations guaranteed Uber and Lyft drivers a living wage without raising prices much. They could serve as a model for other cities. (NY Times)
- Transit cuts in Denver are making it harder for essential workers to get to work. (Colorado Public Radio)
- South Florida's Brightline shut down in March. When will it start up again? (Sun-Sentinel)
- Milwaukee is redesigning its bus system, focusing on high-frequency routes where buses come every 15 minutes or less. (Urban Milwaukee)
- As the pandemic improves in Texas, Austin is winding down a pop-up traffic calming initiative, but some of the changes will be made permanent. (Monitor)
- Washington, D.C. motorists are mad that cameras might catch them breaking traffic laws. (WJLA)
- A driver was caught on video spitting on a New York woman who was using a new bike lane. (NBC New York)
- A study by a civil rights lawyers' group found that Black Bay Area residents are three times more likely than whites to be arrested for minor infractions like jaywalking or riding a bike without a light. (Long Beach Post)
- A Black fashion executive says he was racially profiled and harassed by cops who confronted him about jaywalking after he walked out of his own company's Beverly Hills store. (TMZ)
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