Special Features

Wednesday’ Headlines Are On Autopilot

Don't be afraid of regulating driverless cars out of existence, writes Angie Schmitt. The industry needs guardrails.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on December 10, 2025

Autonomous vehicles could very well save lives because humans are such bad drivers, writes former Streetsblog editor Angie Schmitt, but they need to be regulated, and they can’t be the only solution to traffic deaths (Love of Place). In related news, China is coming closer to solving the conundrum of who’s liable when a driverless vehicle hits someone. (Clean Technica)
So many students are sleeping in their cars that some colleges are starting to provide safe parking lots with access to bathrooms. (Hechinger Report)
President Trump is once again on the attack against transit — and immigration — after another light rail stabbing in Charlotte (CBS News), and the Federal Transit Administration is threatening to withhold funding from the Chicago Transit Authority after passengers set two fires (NBC Chicago). Reminder: These kids of attacks, while tragic, make the news because they are so rare, whereas cars kill more than 100 people a day.
A U.S. House bill sponsored by a California Democrat would provide $50 million a year for transit agencies to hire police officers and upgrade safety infrastructure. (The Center Square)
Congestion pricing cut air pollution in Manhattan by 22%, according to a Cornell study. (Phys.org)
The D.C. region’s long-term transportation plan spends too much money on highways and not enough on transit. (Greater Greater Washington)
Portland’s TriMet cut night bus service on five routes last weekend, the first of three cuts planned over the next year as the agency grapples with a $300 million deficit. (Oregon Public Broadcasting).
Seattle Transit Blog has suggestions for Mayor-elect Katie Wilson to improve bus service.
L.A. police arrested a guerilla urbanist for painting a crosswalk without a permit. (NBC Los Angeles)
New Orleans is planning its first bus rapid transit line. (Times-Picayune; paywall)
Wichita will add bike lanes to Douglas Avenue and swap out angled parker for safer parallel parking. (KWCH)
Grammy-nominated musician Roderick Macleod was killed while walking his dogs in Rhode Island by a driver who police said had 82 warrants and 40 previous traffic citations. (CBS News)
Carsharing company Zipcar is leaving the U.K., making it that much harder to get by without a personal automobile. (The Guardian)
European cities like Paris and Cardiff are restricting huge American-style cars. (AS)