Wednesday’s Headlines Kei Your Car

Small trucks and vans that weight less than 1,500 pounds and get 40 miles per gallon exist in Japan, but they're hard to acquire in the U.S.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on March 26, 2025

Nicolás Boullosa, CC|

A kei “van” awaits its passengers; standard size sedan for scale.

Americans who fantasize about not having to buy a Ferd Fteenthousand just to haul a couple bags of mulch could get a cheap, small truck from Japan, except your state government won't let you. That's mainly because, while kei cars are safer in collisions for those outside the vehicle, they don't fit with the U.S. arms race to turn vehicles into tanks. (CityLab)
The architect who designed New York's High Line had no idea how much it would transform the city or the influence it would have. (NY Times)
California now has 50 percent more electric vehicle chargers than gas pumps. (Inside EVs)
Bay Area state legislators are again proposing a 1 percent sales tax to prop up transit agencies that are facing a collective $600 million deficit and drastic funding cuts (CBS News, Streetsblog SF)
A Detroit study will look at potentially expanding the downtown People Mover elevated light rail line. (News)
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority launched the long-awaited South Coast rail line on Monday. (WBUR)
King County is enforcing fares again on its Seattle-area buses and streetcars. (Fox 13)
Washington state lawmakers have apparently abandoned discussions on a vehicle-miles tax in favor of raising the gas tax (KIRO), and they watered down a parking reform bill (The Urbanist).
Drivers killed three pedestrians in the Florida Keys in two separate crashes. (Miami Herald)
A new train station would make Cleveland's Tower City Center great again. (Neo-Trans Blog)
The iconic Monument Circle in Indianapolis is really just a roundabout. So why not close it cars rather than keep letting drivers gawk? (Fast Company)
Politico profiles Jan Sramek, a Czech immigrant who is trying to build a walkable New Urbanist city outside of San Francisco in a state with a lot of red tape that's wary of the tech billionaires funding the project.