- Is it finally Infrastructure Week? President Biden is meeting with senators to discuss a spending package (Washington Post). And transit agencies will need more federal funding to buy them time to turn around the pandemic-related drop in ridership (Fast Company).
- The Biden administration can empower cities to make small changes that will add up to make a greener and more equitable country. (City Monitor)
- Uber and Lyft are still losing billions of dollars, although slightly fewer billions than in 2019. (The Verge)
- A bill introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) would restore tax credits for bike and transit commuters. (Bicycle Retailer)
- The University of Minnesota is developing a cellphone app to help blind and visually impaired people safely cross the street (unfortunately, the app does not get rid of cars). (Governing)
- Californians are moving to Texas and bringing with them radical liberal demands like better transit. (Texas Monthly)
- An Oregon bill would effectively scuttle Portland’s plans to use congestion pricing to reduce the number of cars driving on the city’s freeways. (Willamette Week)
- The Southwest Light Rail Line in Minneapolis is not going to open by its target date of 2023. (Sun Sailor)
- Some of Muni’s light rail lines in the Bay Area are scheduled to reopen in May after being shut down for a year. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- One of Elon Musk’s tunnels is a poor replacement for the L.A. Gold Line, which has been caught up in red tape. (Jalopnik)
- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget would cut almost all of the state’s already-meager funding for transit agencies. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
- Washington, D.C. transportation journalist Gordon Chaffin defends the use of cameras to catch drivers who roll through stop signs after the website Defector criticized them as revenue-generating devices rather than an effort to protect pedestrians.
- Toronto residents who ditched transit for Uber and Lyft accounted for 31 million lost transit trips in 2019 and cost the system $76 million in farebox revenue, according to a new report. (CBC)
- During the pandemic, many African cities have banned the private minibuses and motorbikes that make up much of their transit. This will give them an opportunity to create a more reliable and efficient system. (Wired)
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