Tuesday’s Headlines Mean We’re Almost There
How about that: Buying every American an electric Vespa would solve our transportation problem. Plus all the other news of the day.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on December 29, 2020
There are still a few days left on our December Donation Drive, so, um, you know what to do. Thanks!
- Municipal transit agencies aren’t the only ones suffering during the pandemic. Long-haul bus companies like Greyhound, charter buses and ferries have also seen significant downturn in ridership. (NPR)
- The New Republic suggests that the federal government buy every American an e-scooter — the Vespa-style kind, not those little razor scooters — because, according to one study, they’re one of the greenest modes of transportation around.
- Minimum parking requirements are driving up housing costs and turning cities into storage areas for cars. (Banker & Tradesman)
- The biggest flaw in delivery apps’ algorithms is that they only really work when the driver knows the area, like where a protest shut down streets and which neighborhoods have bike parking. (Slate)
- NBC News is the latest outlet to delve into transit’s COVID crisis.
- A Bay Area transit agency halted the layoff of 146 employees in anticipation of a new round of stimulus funding. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Washington, D.C. is doing a study on whether sending messages to speeding drivers gets them to slow down. (WTOP)
- A new traffic management system in Columbus aims to reduce travel times and make streets safer. (Dispatch)
- San Jose Spotlight profiles Ron Diridon, the father of Silicon Valley’s transit system.
- Want to make a green New Year’s resolution? Bike more, drive less and advocate for Complete Streets. (Orlando Sentinel)
- In an excerpt from the new book “Driven: The Race to Create the Autonomous Car,” Business Insider chronicles a feud within Google that led a top engineer to jump ship to Uber.
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.
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