Wednesday’s Headlines Are Still Struggling

Photo credit: Forbes.com
Photo credit: Forbes.com
  • International public transportation systems signed a resolution declaring mobility a human right. (Mass Transit)
  • Transportation continues to evolve, but innovators can’t seem to get self-driving cars or hyperloops to work, let alone the flying cars and hoverboards the movies promised us. (Surface)
  • Uber reached a settlement waiving fees for disabled riders and offering refunds to those who sued saying the company charged them for taking too long to get into vehicles. (Reuters)
  • President Biden signed an executive order telling railroad workers involved in a labor dispute that they can’t strike for the next 60 days. (Politico)
  • Charlotte bus ridership had been declining for years even before the pandemic, and now it’s lost 75 percent of its riders since 2014. Two factors are ride-hailing and gentrification. (WFAE)
  • Members of Tampa’s regional transit authority are wondering why they bother, since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis keeps vetoing its funding and one Republican St. Petersburg legislator is trying to disband the group. (Tampa Bay Times).
  • The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is facing criticism for spending money from a new tax on improved bus service instead of new rail lines, and spending it too slowly. (Saporta Report)
  • Dallas trains are slowing down this week because extreme heat could cause rails to buckle. (NBC DFW)
  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calls on the Pennsylvania DOT to prioritize safety over speed.
  • Philadelphia’s first neighborhood “slow zone” isn’t actually slowing down drivers, according to residents. (KYW)
  • Did Minneapolis police accidentally, and for the wrong reasons, come up with a good way to calm traffic? (MinnPost)
  • The replacement for Los Angeles’ iconic Sixth Street viaduct has bike lanes, but cyclists are skeptical they’ll be protected by the flimsy plastic dividers. (LAist)
  • El Paso, one of Smart Growth America’s 20 cities with the most dangerous streets, is considering a Complete Streets policy. (KLAQ)
  • Somehow, Demonbroomin beat out 3-Sweepio and Taylor Swept in the contest to name Nashville’s new bike-lane sweeper. (Tennessean)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Marin Transit Source: Wikimedia Commons. Uber Transit Source:  Flickr via Creative Commons.

Why One Transit Agency Is Paying Uber $80k

|
San Francisco Bay Area agency Marin Transit signed a deal that will allow its riders to buy their bus tickets directly from the Uber app — agreeing to pay the company a subscription fee as much as $80,000 over two years for the use of its software. The move raised hackles among some transit advocates, who are skeptical of the e-taxi industry's corrosive impact on public transportation ridership.