Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Thursday’s Headlines Have No Direction Home

A homelessness crisis is keeping some riders away from trains and buses. Transit Center has some ideas for what to do about it.

  • Transit agencies have found themselves unwittingly at the forefront of a homelessness crisis in the U.S., which is keeping some riders away due to perceptions that transit is unsafe. A new Transit Center report based on case studies from several cities offers alternatives to doubling down on policing, such as partnering with shelters and social service providers.
  • Cities across the country are turning parking lots into safe havens for unhoused people who are forced to sleep in their cars. (Smart Cities Dive)
  • Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio, both Democrats, have introduced a bill that would provide $200 billion over five years for high-speed rail, expanding passenger rail service and electrifying the most polluting rail lines.
  • Prisoners, jail inmates and detained immigrants are particularly vulnerable to climate change-driven natural disasters. (Slate)
  • Florida employers often cover it up when workers die of heat-related causes. (Tampa Bay Times)
  • Startup Empower is competing with Uber and Lyft by undercutting them on price, but it's operating illegally in Washington, D.C. in a throwback to the early Wild West days of ride-hailing apps. (New York Times)
  • Our Streetsblog Chicago colleague John Greenfield suggests that Illinois divert federal "flex funds" from highways to transit to avoid a looming fiscal cliff.
  • If the North Carolina legislature doesn't allow metro Charlotte to move forward with a transportation sales tax referendum, there is no Plan B. (Observer)
  • The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is overhauling its bus lines to provide more frequent service on the most popular routes. (AJC)
  • New Orleans' Riverfront streetcar will be out of service for two weeks due to vandalism and theft. (Times-Picayune)
  • Drivers have killed 14 pedestrians in Anchorage this year, and top officials' response is to push for recriminalizing jaywalking. (Daily News)
  • Visitors to city centers who arrive by bike or on foot spend less than drivers, a Dutch study found, but they also visit more frequently, so they spend more per month. (Dutch Cycling)
  • Greece is lowering speed limits on most urban streets from about 30 miles per hour to less than 20. (Ekathimerini)
  • England's equivalent of the U.S. surgeon general is in favor of 15-minute cities. (Forbes)

From the editors: Streetsblog provides high-quality journalism and analysis for free — which is something to be celebrated in an era of paywalls. But the work Streetsblog does is not free; we rely on the generosity of our readers to help support our reporters and editors as they advance the movement to end car dependency in our communities.

If you already support our work, thank you! Can you brag about us to your friends and ask them to support?

If you aren’t a supporter yet, please join us and help us push for a more livable, walkable, bikeable, equitable and enjoyable country for all. And happy holidays from the Streetsblog team!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

How State-Level ISA Bills Are Gaining Ground in a Polarized America

Ten lessons from the front lines of the battle for speed limiter laws.

October 27, 2025

Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think

Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Hanging Out Down the Street

The same old thing we did last week — until the neighbor wrote a letter to the editor.

October 24, 2025

Report: Lessons from California’s HSR Project

A new paper from the Mineta Institute looks at California's high-speed rail project—and how to do better moving forward.

October 23, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Life After Cars

Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of The War on Cars podcast on their new book, opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.

October 23, 2025

Traffic Congestion Is a Housing and Transit Problem, Not a Highway Problem

To truly solve tangled traffic in California (and across the U.S.), we need to take the problem out of the hands of the road builders and address the root causes of congestion: building more affordable housing near jobs and improving public transportation options.

October 23, 2025
See all posts