Friday’s Headlines Depend on How You Phrase It

How to reduce emissions through taxes is pretty clear, but to sell it to the public, you can't make lower-income people pay.

By Blake Aued

1:17 AM EDT on May 24, 2024

Photo: Ljubomir Zacovic|

Budapest’s car free zone.

A majority of Americans oppose a flat-rate vehicle mileage fee, but majorities also support it if it's restricted to high-polluting vehicles, delivery and freight trucks, and ride-hailing and taxi vehicles, as well as exempting low-income drivers, according to a Mineta Transportation Institute survey. (Metro Magazine)
Cities that are meeting their emissions goals include those with good transit that encourage walking and biking, invest in electric vehicle charging and make deliveries more efficient. (Governing)
Democrats' Build Green Act may not pass now, but it could influence a transportation funding reauthorization bill in 2026. (Streetsblog USA)
Lyft has removed thousands of e-bikes from service in New York City, Washington, DC and San Francisco due to complaints about brake problems. (Reuters)
A California bill would require new cars to alert drivers when they exceed the speed limit. (Transport Topics)
Drivers with lots of unpaid tickets tend to be dangerous, local officials say, so now Washington, D.C. is towing their vehicles. (Axios)
The Minnesota legislature is giving more power to oversee transit projects to the state DOT. (MinnPost)
A Pennsylvania bill would allow cities to establish their own bikeshares, rather than partner with for-profit companies. (WTAE)
The Baltimore DOT has opened up bids for e-bike and e-scooter rental vendors. (Sun)
Light rail in downtown Denver will be shut down this summer for maintenance. (Colorado Public Radio)
Voters in the Columbus, Ohio area will decide in November whether to approve sales tax funding for transit. (Dispatch)
A new automated light-rail people mover has been proposed in Broward County, Florida. (Sun-Sentinel)
Cincinnati's streetcar is converting skeptics. (Local 12)
Of course Kid Rock rode around a rodeo in a Tesla Cybertruck painted like the General Lee. (Jalopnik)