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

Thursday’s Headlines Are a Disco Inferno

Senate Republicans want cars to "burn, baby, burn" more gasoline.

  • The Senate version of Republicans' "one big, beautiful" reconciliation bill would strip the federal government of its ability to enforce fuel economy standards. (Heatmap)
  • Lots of families want to live in dense urban areas, but it's too expensive because too many regulations stand in the way of building more housing. (Governing)
  • The Trump administration is basically trading electric vehicles for AI data centers. Either one will tax the country's power grid. (Transport Energy Strategies)
  • Tiny EVs resembling golf carts that are popular in Europe and Asia could be coming the the U.S. (Washington Post)
  • The "last mile" problem refers to how get people to and from transit stops. Biking has a "last 50 meters" problem requiring secure parking and charging stations for e-bikes. (Cities Today)
  • Pedestrianizing streets is a cheap and easy way to make a city more pleasant. (The Urban Condition)
  • Philadelphia recently launched a "school street" pilot, closing a street in front of a school to traffic for walking, biking and playing. (The New Urban Order)
  • California lawmakers reached a $2 billion deal on transit, restoring $1.1 billion that Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting and offering struggling San Francisco transit systems a $750 million interest-free loan. (Trains)
  • Dallas Area Rapid Transit is creating special tax districts around transit stations to encourage redevelopment. (Mass Transit)
  • The Maryland DOT awarded $1.25 million in grants for transit-oriented development. (Baltimore Fishbowl)
  • A Chicago freight rail once slated for a freeway could now become a bike trail. (Block Club)
  • CalBike is supporting legislation to create a network of "bike highways" in California.
  • Transit officials are looking for a way to provide service to North Miami-Dade, where a promised Metrorail line is still more than a decade away. (Miami Today)
  • Some Tucson residents think fare-free transit attracts drug users to bus stops. (KJZZ)
  • London now has 2,000 electric buses, 20 percent of the fleet and more than any other city in Western Europe. (BBC)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Confirmed: Non-Driving Infrastructure Creates ‘Induced Demand,’ Too

Widening a highway to cure congestion is like losing weight by buying bigger pants — but thanks to the same principle of "induced demand," adding bike paths and train lines to cure climate actually works.

January 9, 2026

Friday’s Headlines Are Unsustainably Expensive

To paraphrase former New York City mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, the car payment is too damn high.

January 9, 2026

Talking Headways Podcast: Poster Sessions at Mpact in Portland

Young professionals discuss the work they’ve been doing including designing new transportation hubs, rethinking parking and improving buses.

January 8, 2026

Exploding Costs Could Doom One of America’s Greatest Highway Boondoggles

The Interstate Bridge Replacement Project and highway expansion between Oregon and Washington was already a boondoggle. Then the costs ballooned to $17.7 billion.

January 8, 2026

Mayor Bowser Blasts U.S. DOT Talk of Eliminating Enforcement Cameras in DC

The federal Department of Transportation is exploring how to dismantle the 26-year-old enforcement camera system in Washington, D.C.

January 8, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines Are Making Progress

By Yonah Freemark's count, 19 North American transit projects opened last year, with another 19 coming in 2026.

January 8, 2026
See all posts