Wednesday’s Headlines Were Bankrupted by Cars
More than six percent of Americans are at least two months behind on their car payments, a nearly 30-year high, and the problem is only likely to get worse.
By
Blake Aued
12:11 AM EDT on October 25, 2023
- More Americans are currently behind on their auto loans since at least 1994. (Bloomberg)
- People are living in their cars in part because their monthly payments are so high they can’t afford rent. (New York Times)
- Portland officials are considering suspending bike parking requirements as a way to bring down housing costs, which even some bike advocates surprisingly support as a temporary measure. (Bike Portland)
- The L.A. Metro is on track to hit pre-pandemic ridership levels soon. (LAist)
- Honolulu has until the end of the year to resolve a dispute with the Federal Transit Administration and receive $744 million in federal funds for a light rail line. (Civil Beat)
- St. Louis County will reconsider funding for regional transit after a measure deadlocked because one Democratic council member was absent. (Post-Dispatch)
- A one-year pilot program in poverty-stricken New Orleans will provide fare-free transit for youth. (Transit Center)
- The Austin city council wants to delay the start of construction on I-35 due to air quality concerns. (Monitor)
- Gov. Spencer Cox has previously acknowledged that Utah can’t pave its way out of congestion, but now wants to widen I-15 and other state roads as part of an Olympics bid. (Salt Lake City Weekly)
- Since state lawmakers in Annapolis control the Baltimore transit system, one city delegate asked them to come ride it. (Banner)
- Stanford University’s hospital is violating an expansion agreement with Palo Alto to limit the number of employees driving to work and could have to pay a $4 million fine. (The Almanac)
- Buffalo is testing “smart streets” with bike lanes, moveable curbs, heated sidewalks and more on a seven-block stretch of downtown. (News)
- Forget flying cars — Uber is now disrupting the hot air balloon business. (Insider)
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.
Read More:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
Urban Truth Collective: The One-Hour City Conspiracy
Here's the real conspiracy: Too many people are forced into car-dependent lives, with more health harms, more crashes, more noise, more air pollution, more social isolation — and less space for everything good our streets should be giving us.
April 27, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Introduce the New Green New Deal
To quote the great philosopher Kermit the Frog, "It's not easy being green."
April 27, 2026
How Intercity Bus Lines Are Rebranding To Attract New Riders
Getting people riding the bus isn't just about service; it's also about style.
April 27, 2026
Train Tubers: a Talk with the YouTube’s Transit Warriors
The masters of transit YouTube discuss their efforts to get people interested in urbanism
April 24, 2026
New E-Mobility Study Actually Reveals Need For Safer Streets, Not E-Bike Crackdowns
A new look into emergency room data at one Manhattan hospital shows a need for more infrastructure, despite what you might have read elsewhere.
April 24, 2026