Wednesday’s Headlines Are Done Negotiating

  • President Biden is done talking to Senate Republicans and will instead try to cut an infrastructure deal with a bipartisan group of 20 senators in hopes of getting 60 votes for a bill. (Politico)
  • An electric Hummer weighs 9,000 pounds — as much as three Honda Civics. The extra battery weight protects people inside, but makes the vehicle much deadlier to everyone else (CNN). Meanwhile, Ford announced it will start producing a small, cheap hybrid pickup that gets 40 miles per gallon (CNBC).
  • Amtrak is restoring daily service on 12 long-distance routes after receiving emergency funding from Congress. (Reuters)
  • Transportation for America likes House Democrats’ transportation bill. And a California bill eliminating parking requirements near transit gets a nod from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
  • The aforementioned U.S. House bill would put climate change at the center of nearly every federal transportation policy. (The Hill)
  • The pandemic taught planners not to be afraid to experiment with streets, despite past failures of pedestrian malls. (Public Square)
  • Get used to sky-high Uber and Lyft prices — it’s the only way their business model is sustainable. (Curbed)
  • Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillebrand want $500 million for cybersecurity after someone hacked New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority. (NY Daily News)
  • The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority advisory board wants to create a new governing body to deal with budget issues and falling ridership. (Boston Globe)
  • The Arizona Daily Sun reminds Flagstaff drivers to be on the lookout for bikes.
  • This week in road rage: Two people were arrested and charged with shooting and killing a 6-year-old boy on a California freeway after his mother made “a perceived unsafe lane change,” according to police (CNN). In Canada, a driver plowed into a truck and killed four people because the family were Muslims (Chicago Sun-Times).
  • The world’s most expensive parking space was $387,000 in 2012, which seems like a bargain now. (Car and Driver)

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