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Wednesday’s Headlines Welcome Our Robot Overlords

The robotaxi field is growing, but with buyouts and now possibly layoffs at the U.S. DOT, will anyone be left to regulate them?

  • Court filings indicate the Trump administration is seeking layoffs at the U.S. Department of Transportation, even after thousands of employees took buyouts earlier this month. (Politico)
  • Lyft is following Uber's lead by partnering with two companies to start running robotaxis (Motor Trend). They both trail Waymo in the field, but Tesla trails everyone: Its planned San Francisco robotaxis will just be regular human-driven taxis after the firm failed to get a permit from California regulators to operate autonomous vehicles (Jalopnik).
  • Cities should be building trams to connect regional rail to urban subways. (Works in Progress)
  • Make cycling safe for seniors, and they will see enormous health benefits. (Carbon Upfront)
  • Giving up driving will reduce your stress and anxiety, and help connect you to your neighborhood. (MinnPost)
  • Chicagoans can learn something from the looming transit cuts in Pennsylvania. (Tribune)
  • The Trump administration will unfreeze $1 billion in Biden-era infrastructure funding, according to Sen. John Fetterman. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
  • Bike advocates say Mayor Mike Johnston's $935 million transportation package doesn't include enough funding for bike lanes. (Denverite)
  • Indianapolis has introduced a cost-sharing initiative for tactical urbanism projects. (Indy Mirror)
  • BikePGH's open streets events in Pittsburgh draw thousands of people eager to bike without danger from car traffic. (WESA)
  • How did San Francisco get a 37-foot-wide sidewalk? (Chronicle; paywall)
  • A Houston crew doing road work found original brick paving and streetcar lines buried under the asphalt, which some commenters want to bring back to the surface. (Chron)

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