Friday’s Headlines Have Questions

What's an optimal rebate to get people to buy e-bikes without wasting money on those who were going to buy one anyway?

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on March 1, 2024

Photo: University of Twente

Despite e-bikes' environmental benefits, new research calls into question the cost-effectiveness of incentives, because 80 percent of people who buy an e-bike would have done so without a discount (The Conversation). The best way to maximize the return on investment is to make the rebates modest, easy to redeem and targeted at lower-income individuals (CityLab).
A survey by a parking app came to the unsurprising conclusion that most people really hate paying for parking, but the lede is buried: Almost half don't know that free parking is subsidized by their taxes. (Yahoo! Finance)
City and state governments are spending more on Vision Zero infrastructure like traffic signals and cameras. (State Tech)
The New York Times framed New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's plan to fund transit as an unpopular business tax, rather than a much-needed source of revenue.
Pedestrian and cyclist deaths in Nashville have more than doubled over the past decade, and victims' families are calling for change. (Axios)
A bill that would have killed the Blue Line bus rapid transit project in Indianapolis won't move forward after Republican state legislators got the city to agree to include more car lanes. (Fox 59)
A $100 million Columbus, Ohio plan would replace downtown parking and car lanes with biking and walking paths. (Dispatch)
A St. Louis regional planning board voted to approve a new north-south MetroLink line. (Business Journal)
Colorado's Regional Transportation District is about to start a downtown Denver light rail reconstruction project. (Railway Age)
A $44 million makeover of Boston's Blue Hill Avenue will include a dedicated bus lane. (WBUR)
Citing concerns about cost, reliability and availability, Milwaukee will no longer purchase battery-electric buses. (Urban Milwaukee)
Governing is the latest news outlet to profile Hoboken, the rare city that actually achieved Vision Zero.
Durham hired a Vision Zero coordinator who views traffic safety as a public health crisis. (Spectrum News)
Minneapolis is once again at odds with Uber and Lyft over driver pay. (Star Tribune)
Until the 1950s Dallas was a walkable city with 200 miles of streetcar tracks. (Strong Towns)
A fast-food chain tried to steal Uber's hugely unpopular surge pricing idea, only to back down after customer backlash. (Quartz)