Thursday’s Headlines Got a Ticket to Ride
Unfortunately, too many people still don't as the pandemic drags on. My baby don't care, but what would make them? Free fares? Free tickets? A better app?
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on December 23, 2021
- Transit ridership fell everywhere during the pandemic, but most sharply at stations serving mainly white-collar commuters, as opposed to Black and working-class neighborhoods. (Urban Institute)
- From fare cuts to free sports tickets, transit agencies are trying everything to lure drivers back. (Bloomberg)
- Detroit has one of the worst transit systems of any major U.S. city, and it disproportionately hurts Black residents. (Metromode)
- A Houston city council member tried to walk back his false assertion that bike lanes are bad for drivers, but still insists that the notoriously car-friendly city pays too much attention to cyclists, even though drivers have killed three people on bikes in his district since he took office two years ago. (Chronicle)
- Austin’s Vision Zero policies are reducing serious injuries from car crashes even as such crashes rise nationwide. (Fox 7)
- New Orleans officials say they’re renewing their focus on bike and pedestrian safety after the deadliest year on Big Easy roads since 2004. (WDSU)
- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu extended the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s fare-free pilot project another two months. (CommonWealth)
- Colorado should shift resources away from more pavement and toward mass transit. (Sun)
- The L.A. Metro is offering free rides on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. (Los Angeles Daily News)
- The Milwaukee streetcar is temporarily reducing service hours due to staff COVID exposure. (CBS 58)
- A long-awaited new sidewalk is finally coming to Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood. (City Paper)
- Improving Maine’s sparse transit system would help fight climate change. (Maine Public)
- Construction on a pedestrian bridge and tramway over a Gulfport highway will start next year. (WLOX)
- Tucson transit is staying fare-free through June. (Arizona Public Media)
- St. Louis can’t even keep a trolley running these days, but it was once the nation’s premier streetcar city. (Next STL)
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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