Monday’s Modest Headlines
A new online atlas looking at nine metrics for sustainable transit shows that it's not the size of the system that matters, it's how many people it serves.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on July 8, 2024
- Poland’s third-largest city lacks a subway, but it does have the second-most sustainable transit system in the world behind Prague with 86 percent of residents living near transit lines, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Just goes to show that the fanciest is not always the best. (City Lab). StreetsblogUSA covered the same story in May.
- The Biden administration is making available $600 million in grants to reconnect neighborhoods divided by urban freeways. (Clean Technica)
- San Jose Spotlight warns readers about the bad-faith anti-transit arguments of conservative think tanks like the Cato Institute.
- In May, all three of Chicago’s transit agencies recorded their highest ridership numbers since 2019, an increase of 14% over the previous year. (Mass Transit)
- Minnesota hit its limit just 18 minutes after opening an online portal for residents to apply for $1,500 e-bike rebates. More than 60,000 people attempted to apply for about 1,300 rebates. (Star Tribune)
- Unlike Minnesota’s first-come-first-served program, Atlanta’s e-bike rebates are by lottery. About 9,000 people signed up for a chance at a rebate, with a total of $500,000 available. (Axios)
- Houston Public Media asked listeners what they would change about Houston’s roads, with many of the comments focused on a desire for narrower streets, wider sidewalks and more transit.
- Residents of Washington, D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood are “throwing an epic tantrum” about the prospect of better bus service. (Greater Greater Washington)
- A heat wave is causing delays on Portland light rail. (KGW)
- Indianapolis received a $22 million federal grant for the bus rapid transit Blue Line. (Recorder)
- Recognizing the dangers of speeding cars, a fast-growing small town in Texas is building more sidewalks where it’s never needed them before. (KXAN)
- “You’ll never catch me alive!” a self-driving Waymo told Phoenix cops. (Fox 10)
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
‘A Solution, But To What Problem?’ Experts Say AVs Are The Elephant In The Room, But There’s Still Time To Figure Out Their Role
Want to know more about autonomous vehicles? Read this vital excerpt from last week's "The Future of Transportation" seminar.
April 20, 2026
When Traffic Violence Hits The Same Family Twice — Years Apart, On Exactly the Same Street
The deaths of a Colorado married couple has some mourning an eerie coincidence — and others outraged at two predictable tragedies that could have been prevented.
April 20, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Should Wean Themselves Off Fossil Fuels
Even people who don't drive wind up paying when oil prices spike.
April 20, 2026
Waymo Means Way Mo’ Cars, According To Uber Docs
Caution ahead: Uber admits that self-driving taxis grow their taxi business, too.
April 17, 2026
Friday Video(s): Kidical Mass, Night-Biking in Tokyo, and More
There were great urbanism-adjacent YouTube videos for every taste this week; here are six of our favorites.
April 17, 2026