Friday’s Post-Turkey Headlines Are on Autopilot

While we remain skeptical of driverless vehicles, they do sound nice while in a tryptophan stupor.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on November 28, 2025

IPAM, UCLA

Driverless shuttles that carry more people than cars and can pick up or drop off passengers at virtual stops close to their homes could be a more environmentally alternative to simply swapping personal vehicles for autonomous versions. (The Conversation)
Driver-assist technology is making big rigs safer by ensuring truck drivers stay in their lane and don't fall asleep, but they could also replace truckers' jobs entirely one day. (NPR)
Uber and Chinese robotaxi company WeRide are partnering on truly driverless — no human backup — taxis in Abu Dhabi. (TechCrunch)
Solar sidewalks can reduce emissions by powering electric delivery vehicles. (PV Magazine)
Fast-growing cities will inevitable expand outward, but that doesn't have to mean sprawling wastelands of parking lots and drive-throughs, according to Bill Fulton. (The Future of Where)
Los Angeles is an example of how city governments can partner with guerrilla urbanists to make streets safer. (Next City)
Drivers killed 120 people in Philadelphia last year, the majority of them children. The city's latest Vision Zero plan includes more bike lanes and traffic cameras to bring that number down. (KYW)
Detroit bus drivers are getting a big raise, based on the premise that retaining experienced drivers will improve on-time performance. (Free Press)
A group called BikeLoud PDX is organizing residents to keep Portland bike lanes free of leaves. (BikePortland)
Richmond has a backlog of 2,000 sidewalk repairs. (WTVR)
Barcelona isn't overly fond of the tourists who swarm the city, and doesn't allow foreigners to use its bikeshare. For most cities it would make more sense to rake in revenue by charging short-term users more, but the Spanish city has so many tourists that they might actually overwhelm the system. (CityLab)

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