Today's Headlines

Thursday’s Headlines Have a License to Chill

Many young people aren't all that interested in driving, or can't afford to own a car. Will transit advocates let Uber win them over?

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on May 28, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines Have a License to Chill

Peter Fazekas

From 1983 to 2022, the number of 18-year-olds with a driver’s license fell from 80 percent to 60 percent. Uber sees this as an opportunity to make ride-hailing (Fortune) and eventually autonomous vehicles (CNN) the standard mode of transportation. Shouldn’t it also an opportunity to get these kids who don’t want to drive acclimated to walking, biking and transit?
It’s no wonder young people aren’t all that interested in driving, considering that the average car payment is now over $600, not to mention gas, maintenance and insurance. A new car is a luxury item, and a used one will eventually cost you plenty in the repair shop. (Jalopnik)
The House transportation bill drastically cuts funding for transit and Amtrak, but hey, at least it includes a historic amount for bridges! (Smart Cities Dive)
Henry Grabar writes more about why suspending the gas tax is a bad idea, any way you look at it. (The Atlantic; paywall)
The CEO of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority has resigned. Lona Edwards Hankin’s three-year tenure saw a significant uptick in bus ridership, but she faced several controversies as well. (Times-Picayune)
Despite their efficiency, Denver is abandoning future center-lane bus rapid transit lines due to business complaints. (Denverite)
$50 million and 25 years after its inception, Greensboro, North Carolina’s downtown greenway opened (The Thread). A couple hundred miles away, on the coast, Wilmington is installing more speed humps to calm traffic (Star News).
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson took a bike ride last weekend, joined by hundreds of supporters and a few dozen Nazi protesters, including one with a sign that read, in a play on an antisemitic slogan, “Bikes will not replace us.” (Seattle Bike Blog)
Seattle protesters turned out ahead of a key Sound Transit vote today on potential cuts to long-range plans for light rail. (KOMO)
If you listen to Reddit, drivers are getting more abusive toward cyclists because they don’t see them as human beings. (Momentum)
Dublin officials thought bike-sharing would a flop, but is now looking to replace a private operator with a publicly owned system that would triple the number of bikes. (Irish Cycle)
The frustration of fighting for safer bike facilities in Australia will be familiar to many readers in the U.S. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)