Friday’s Headlines as We Close Out the Week
Lots of transit news today ... including autonomous buses (uh-oh). It's all one click away.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on December 4, 2020
- A New York University study found no link between riding transit and respiratory diseases like the flu.
- Speed cameras can take the racial bias out of traffic enforcement. (Smart Cities Dive)
- The D.C. Metro’s announcement that it could be forced to cut weekend rail service prompted renewed calls for emergency transit funding from Congress. (Washington Post)
- On the heels of several successful transit referendums around the country, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles wants to put an $8- to 12-billion investment for light rail, buses, greenways and bike paths on the ballot. (WFAE)
- Despite COVID setbacks and a deal with Virgin Trains falling apart, privately owned Florida rail company Brightline is planning to continue expanding and thinks it can compete with both cars and air travel. (Railway Technology)
- Portland found that the fastest drivers tended to slow down on streets where the speed limit dropped from 25 to 20 miles per hour. (BikePortland)
- Seattle’s Sound Transit signed a contract to buy wind energy to power light rail, saving $390,000 on electricity and cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent. (Railway Age)
- Philadelphia’s transit agency is committed to the King of Prussia rail line despite a rising price tag and questions about how to pay for it. (Inquirer)
- A new Milwaukee bus rapid transit line is projected to start running in October, 2022. (Journal-Sentinel)
- The time Australians have saved on commuting by working from home is equivalent to thousands of dollars a year. (The Conversation)
- Twenty streets in Toronto are slated for dedicated bus lanes in the coming decade (blogTO). But before Americans get jealous, Toronto is also removing a temporary bike lane over cyclists’ outcry.
- Germany is starting testing of autonomous buses (Intelligent Transport). Meanwhile, Waymo is building a whole fake city in Ohio to test driverless cars (Gizmodo).
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:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday’s Headlines: Streetcars Get Mixed Reviews
As Omaha builds a downtown streetcar line, how have similar projects in other cities panned out?
August 21, 2026
New Report Underscores Success of Speed Cameras in Oakland
Speeding is down at camera locations. But advocates caution against relying too much on cameras without concrete infrastructure
August 20, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: How Money for Highways Could Have Built 36 Paris Metros
The money we spent on urban freeways could have transformed American cities for the better.
August 20, 2026
Take Thursday’s Headlines Home, Country Roads
The Trump administration wants to build roads through pristine public lands.
August 20, 2026
A New US-Canada Bridge Opposed By Trump Has a One-of-a-Kind Bike Path
The bike-ped path on the brand new Gordie Howe International Bridge opened on Aug. 5 despite the president's opposition.
August 19, 2026