Monday’s Headlines As We Enter Uncharted Territory

We know everyone will be refreshing CNN’s homepage all day to learn whether our growing constitutional crisis the Trump coup will continue, but until there’s news, here’s our headlines for the day:

• Massive budget cuts at cash-strapped transit agencies in New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver and elsewhere could cripple the economy unless Congress steps up with funding. (City Lab)
• The Biden-Harris administration should provide at least $32 billion in emergency relief funds for transit, tighten greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and trucks, and invest in walking and biking infrastructure, suggests the National Resources Defense Council.
• Starting with segregated trains and buses, transportation has always been a civil rights issue, and equal access to public transit remains key to social justice. (McGill International Review)
• Illinois is Lyft’s next target in its campaign against worker rights. (Next City)
• The future of Maryland’s Purple Line remains in doubt after contractors quit due to a dispute over cost overruns. At the very least, the light rail line won’t be completed until 2024, leaving many workers no choice but to sit in traffic. (Baltimore Sun)
• Advocacy groups are calling on Bay Area transit agencies to delay projects rather than cut jobs as they deal with a pandemic-related drop in revenue. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• The first pilot project at Los Angeles’s new transportation innovation zone will involve zero-emissions delivery robots. (Smart Cities Dive)
• A Denver program to ensure property owners keep up their sidewalks is running into major problems like a lack of inspectors, according to a city audit. (Denver Post)
• City planning professor Reid Ewing debunks the idea that there’s any such thing as “smart sprawl.” (Salt Lake Tribune)
• California is exploring the idea of taxing drivers by the mile instead of by the gallon. (KCRA)
• Hit-and-run drivers are killing Philadelphians at an alarming rate. (CBS Philly)
• Houston bike-share BCycle is rolling out new e-bikes. (Houston Public Media)
• Forget Hyperloop. Hovertrains were the pie-in-the-sky transit of the future in the 1970s. (Popular Mechanics)