A Hillbilly Elegy for Thursday’s Headlines
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, supports more federal subsidies for giant, deadly, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on July 18, 2024
- Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, sponsored a bill to gut the Biden administration’s incentive program for electric vehicles and replace it with incentives to buy gas-powered ones. And the larger the vehicle, the bigger the rebate. (Quartz)
- Stories about how the EV market is slumping are too simplistic, according to Slate. For example, e-bike sales are through the roof, even though they don’t qualify for the same type of incentives as cars.
- House Republicans are taking a look at the Biden administration’s climate policies in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling restricting agencies’ ability to interpret laws. (Smart Cities Dive)
- The most dangerous congressional districts for pedestrians are mostly in the South and mostly majority Black and brown. (Streetsblog USA)
- The Federal Transit Administration announced $1.5 billion in infrastructure grants to buy zero-emissions buses in New Jersey, Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit and more than 100 other communities. (EC&M)
- The FTA ordered the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to address safety issues like worker fatigue and inadequate training. (Trains)
- Transit consultant Jarrett Walker thinks Chicago transit agencies need more funding, but is opposed to a proposal to consolidate them (Human Transit). Walker also spoke with John Greenfield at Streetsblog Chicago.
- A former Detroit Free Press reporter writes that, when the city demolishes I-375, what replaces it should serve first and foremost as a connection between neighborhoods.
- Louisville is creating a new department of transportation. (Lane Report)
- Charlotte had five crashes involving pedestrians in just three days. (WCNC)
- With its new majority, the UK’s Labor Party plans to nationalize rail, improve bus service and revive a northern high-speed rail line. (The Guardian)
- Oslo’s climate budget caps emissions in the city, leading to innovations like electric construction equipment. (World Resources Institute)
- Informal transit networks like those found in African cities are often inequitable, but providing subsidies for certain routes can change that cheaply. (City Fix)
- Dubai is turning its main traffic artery into a 40-mile High Line-style walking and biking trail with 1 million trees. (Fast Company)
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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