Monday’s Headlines Are Rooting for Higher Gas Prices

Photo: Bev Skyes, CC
Photo: Bev Skyes, CC
  • Here’s one thing some advocates think President Biden could do to curb climate change: Keep gas prices above $5 a gallon. (Bloomberg)
  • High gas prices are fueling the popularity of anti-car online communities. (CNET)
  • Encouraging biking would be a great way for the Biden administration to save Americans money at the pump. (People for Bikes)
  • A shortage of bus drivers is hampering transit agencies’ ability to bounce back from the pandemic. (Route Fifty)
  • Uber admitted to covering up a 2016 data hack but won’t be prosecuted (Reuters). It’s also doubling down on the grocery delivery business (CNBC).
  • States like California are reconsidering jaywalking penalties in light of evidence that police disproportionately enforce the laws against low-income individuals and people of color. (Pew Trusts)
  • President Biden has nominated a former Colorado and Delaware transportation official to head the Federal Highway Administration. (White House)
  • In the latest Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority safety disaster, a Boston train caught fire during the morning commute. (Washington Post)
  • Austin has seen a 31 percent reduction in serious injuries and deaths from car crashes since it started improving intersections as part of its Vision Zero program in 2016. (Community Impact)
  • Indianapolis has created a new Fatal Crash Review Team to evaluate dangerous streets and intersections. (WISH)
  • Oregon’s new law easing parking mandates will lead to vacant buildings being renovated and more shared parking lots among businesses. (Sightline)
  • With drivers and cyclists constantly bickering about who’s breaking the law, the Miami New Times breaks down the rules of the road.
  • NPR‘s Bill Chappell rhapsodizes about the pleasures of riding a bike.

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“Crisis” Mode AAA Urges Panicked Drivers to Take Transit

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  Drivers, elected officials and the Daily News are freaking out as city gas prices hit $4 a gallon. The hysteria has reached such a pitch that AAA New York is doing the unthinkable, advising drivers to reduce consumption. It costs so much to fuel up that the American Automobile Association is urging its members […]

National Poll: Americans Expect Gas Prices to Rise More

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Fifteen Percent Live Near Convenient Transit Options By a margin greater than four to one, Americans think the price of gas is more likely to hit $5 per gallon than drop to $3 per gallon, according to poll results released last week by Survey USA. With a rash of stories about how drivers are changing […]

Federal Energy Forecast: Gas Nearing $3/Gallon, Fuel Consumption Up

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Average gas prices are expected to hit $2.92 during this summer’s peak driving season, with fossil-fuel consumption rising overall as the economy begins to recover from a recession that limited U.S. emissions growth, according to a forecast released this week by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). (Photo: Pop and Politics) The EIA’s latest short-term […]

High Gas Prices Won’t Cure Gridlock

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It’s the New Math: a dollar-a-trip rise in the cost of fuel for a car trip to Manhattan is cutting traffic almost as much as Mayor Bloomberg’s eight-dollar toll plan would have done. Too good to be true, right? But that’s the slant of the front-page headline in today’s Times, "Politics Failed, but Fuel Prices […]

Going Back-to-School in the Age of the $4 Gallon

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Today is the first day of class for New York City public school students, while other districts across the country have been in session for weeks. The Times reports that some are grappling with how to get kids to and from school in the face of $4-per-gallon gasoline. Schools in many states have cut bus […]