Do Wednesday’s Headlines Dream of Electric Sheep?
It's OK if the computer writing federal transportation safety rules hallucinates a bit, right?
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on January 28, 2026
- The Trump administration is planning to use AI to write new transportation regulations. The U.S. DOT’s general counsel said, “We don’t need the perfect rule … We just need good enough.” (ProPublica)
- The Department of Justice will no longer prosecute drivers or mechanics for installing “defeat devices” that let diesel engines spew pollution (CBS News), so throw a pair of truck nuts on your dually’s tow hitch and roll coal to your heart’s content.
- In related news, the latest research out of Harvard links 300,000 American deaths to air pollution each year. (Inside Climate News)
- The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will decide whether transit agencies have “sovereign immunity” from lawsuits like many other state agencies.(Eno Center for Transportation)
- Addressing the “moonshot” proposal by Transportation for America to more than double federal transit funding (Governing, Streetsblog USA), Benjamin Schneider at The Urban Condition says the devil is in the details.
- About 800,000 rideshare drivers in California can now unionize. (NPR)
- The CEO of Denver’s Regional Transportation District is considering charging for parking at transit stations and focusing more on major events to address a $200 million deficit and bring back riders. (Denverite)
- Cleveland is resisting pressure from businesses to scrap plans for replacing 25th Street parking with bus-only lanes. (Axios)
- Detroit native and cycling advocate Marco Speeks is working hard to convince Detroiters that bikes can address their transportation and health needs. (Metro Times)
- Santa Monica is using AI cameras on city vehicles to ticket bike-lane blockers. (Planetizen)
- Aspen is considering congestion pricing during the peak tourism season. (Daily News)
- Tucson’s Tugo Bike Share added five new stations. (KGUN)
- Despite a recent crash in Spain, high-speed rail remains one of the safest forms of travel. (CNN)
- Copenhagen is considering banning “fatbikes” that are faster and heavier than typical e-bikes. (The Guardian)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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