Thursday’s Headlines Are the Last of 2020
The Year of the Neighborhood, which brought calamity to transit systems nationwide, is almost behind us.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on December 31, 2020
- Transit went from growth to crisis during the coronavirus pandemic, Trains says in its year-end coverage. Other top stories of 2020 include transit workers lost to COVID-19, the election of rail advocate Joe Biden and safety problems on the D.C. Metro.
- The pandemic made 2020 the Year of the Neighborhood, at least for those of us lucky enough to be able to work from home and live in walkable areas. (Slate)
- A lot of those “free” rides Uber and Lyft are promising to people getting the COVID-19 vaccine won’t actually be free. (SFist)
- Maine is the latest state to pull out of the Transportation Climate Initiative. Out of 12 states that were supposed to sign the interstate carbon-tax compact, only Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have done so, along with Washington, D.C. (Maine Wire)
- Seattle could soon expand its new LINK e-scooter fleet, which is offering free rides to essential workers. (Seattle Times)
- St. Petersburg residents love their new driverless shuttle. Tampa residents, not so much. (Tampa Bay Times)
- The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is subsidizing Uber and Lyft rides for voters who don’t live on bus lines to get to the polls for the U.S. Senate runoff Jan. 5. (CBS Atlanta)
- Bloomington, Indiana, is opening its first bus rapid transit line. (KSTP)
- Uber settled a case with a food delivery rider in Australia, avoiding a court ruling on whether he is an employee or contractor. (The Guardian)
- Biking started to catch on in Asia when buses shut down during the pandemic, even in places with hot, humid climates or cultural barriers like a belief that biking is a hobby for the rich. (Vice)
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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