Wednesday’s Headlines Bike More Often

Spending on bikes rose sixfold during the pandemic, and new research shows bikeshares are the gateway drug to cycling.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on May 31, 2023

Image: Patrick Leitner, CC

Bikeshares encourage people to bike more often — and some for the first time, a new study found. (Cycling Industry News)
Spending on bikes and bike accessories rose even higher during the pandemic than anyone suspected: 620 percent between 2020 and 2023, with more than 30 million Americans taking up two-wheelers. (Bicycling)
If employees were allowed to cash out their parking benefits, many would stop driving to work. (Planetizen)
As with just about anything, it seems, artificial intelligence could either optimize transit or exacerbate existing biases. (Smart Cities Dive)
Bus and bike lanes are comparable to building urban freeways that destroy neighborhoods? Really? (Vice)
San Francisco transit agency Muni could cut 20 bus lines this summer without additional state funding. (Chronicle)
Seattle’s Federal Way light rail extension has been delayed by the need to build elevated tracks over wetlands. (KIRO)
Sixty-five years ago today, a court order desegregating New Orleans streetcars took effect. (Gambit)
MAGA Republicans will pay a price at the ballot box if they try to obstruct a Phoenix tax for light rail expansion. (Arizona Republic)
The Federal Transit Administration rejected the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s plan to improve track safety for workers, saying it would take too long. (CBS News)
The Dallas city council signed off on the Texas DOT’s plan to put elevated I-345 in a trench, killing any chance of demolishing it entirely. (D Magazine)
The Philadelphia Parking Authority’s new bike patrol officers issued tickets to more than 300 drivers blocking bike lanes in their first month of operation. (Audacity)
France has a 2 billion euro plan to double the country’s bike lane network by 2030. (Fortune)
Amsterdam has cars so small, they’re allowed to ride in bike lanes. (City Lab)