Thursday’s Headlines Are Micro and Mobile
Shared bikes and scooters are more popular than ever, but venture capital funding is drying up, and poor decisions by companies and cities threaten the industry.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on February 1, 2024
- 2024 will be an important year for micromobility as the increasing popularity of bikeshares and scooter rentals bumps up against service providers’ financial instability. (Smart Cities Dive)
- Cargo bikes are making a dent in car ownership, according to one recent survey. (Velo)
- The federal government hasn’t raised insurance premiums for truckers since 1980, and doing so could potentially save thousands of lives. (Streetsblog USA)
- Common Edge interviewed planner and author Jeff Speck about his new company and why every city needs a walkability study.
- Over at Medium, Jason Beskin examines how ride-hailing apps have affected public transit (membership required).
- Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal to boost transit funding by $1.4 billion over five years might not make it through the Republican-controlled state Senate. (Pittsburgh Union Progress)
- Less than two percent of a $500 million bond issue Dallas voters will decide on later this year would go toward Vision Zero projects. (NBC DFW)
- Traffic deaths declined overall in Colorado last year, but not for cyclists and pedestrians. Drivers killed 131 pedestrians last year, up from 76 in 2019. (Sun)
- A new group is pushing for more bike lanes in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8, which historically has seen underinvestment from the city. (WUSA)
- Austin’s Capital Metro is spending $20 million to make bikeshare MetroBike fully electric and integrate it with public transit. (CBS Austin)
- The Harrisburg bikeshare SusqueCycle is expanding. (The Burg)
- St. Paul is holding a public hearing Friday on building more off-street bike trails. (Pioneer Press)
- Hoodline has questions about why Houston transportation chief and Equitable Transportation author Veronica O. Davis is resigning.
- The University of Georgia continues to cater to drivers by building more parking, even though there are other ways to get to and around campus. (Flagpole)
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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