Thursday’s Headlines Are 2 Fast 2 Fare-Free

Fare-free bus systems are now in the U.S. DOT's crosshairs.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on February 5, 2026

Photo: Nick Bastian

In its latest move against cities and public transportation, the Trump administration now wants to require cities that receive federal funding for buses to charge fares. That could spell trouble for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's promise to make buses free and fast. Other municipalities like Kansas City, Richmond and Albuquerque would also be affected. (Politico)
New York and New Jersey are suing the Trump administration for halting funding for a massive Hudson River tunnel that would speed up passenger rail on the East Coast. (Reuters)
The League of American Bicyclists announced its annual list of bicycle-friendly communities, with 79 making the cut, led by platinum-level honorees Davis, California and Fort Collins, Colorado. (Momentum)
Cities nationwide followed Robert Moses' lead in carving up neighborhoods to make way for cars, but now New York City is leading the way in cleaning up the mess he made. (CityLab)
A congressional funding bill for transportation includes $100 million for light rail on a new I-5 bridge between Oregon and Washington. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Tampa officials are worried about e-bikes, even though most of the deaths involving e-bikes also involved cars, and the city has a long history of racist bike-related citations. (Tampa Bay Times)
A Florida bill would ban local governments from reducing emissions and require them to keep burning fossil fuels. (WUSF)
Tacoma could become a 15-minute city. (The Urbanist)
Silver Springs, Maryland is building a two-way bike lane on a six-lane highway where the future Purple Line will stop (Bethesda Magazine) in something of a return to form for the D.C. suburb, which has a long history of urbanism (Greater Greater Washington)
Nebraska Public Media lays out the path ahead for Omaha streetcar construction.
New traffic signals in Des Moines will give pedestrians a head start crossing the street. (Axios)
The United Nations is negotiating an agreement requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for the damage caused by climate change. The U.S., of course, is not involved in the talks. (The Guardian)
A new tunnel in Melbourne has allowed the city to add 1,200 weekly trains. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
Vienna is converting on-street parking into greenspace to cool the city and encourage the use of other transportation modes. (DW)