Wednesday’s Headlines Pay Through the Nose to Drive
The average American car owner spends about $15,000 a year on their vehicle, according to a AAA analysis of Bureau of Labor statistics.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on September 16, 2026
- Car insurance and gas are both up over 50 percent since 2019, making the annual cost of owning a car nearly $6,000 a year. And that’s on top of payments, which now average $765 a month for new cars and $542 for used. (CNBC)
- Cities should be setting aside money for infrastructure maintenance. (Governing)
- The Federal Transit Administration awarded $233 million in grants for station accessibility (Transportation Today), including $20 million for Green Line station upgrades in Cleveland (Axios).
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a new Vision Zero plan that includes lowering speed limits near schools, infrastructure improvements at intersections, speed-limiting devices on city-owned vehicles and potentially higher tolls for oversize vehicles. (NY Times)
- New Jersey is considering building its first true bus rapid transit line. (NJ.com)
- Boston bike advocates are underwhelmed by Mayor Michelle Wu’s track record on bike safety projects. (WCVB)
- Phoenix is starting an on-demand van service and expanding RAPID bus service. (KJZZ)
- Raleigh churches are considering turning their usually empty parking lots into affordable housing. (WUNC)
- Somebody was caught on video in Seattle driving at freeway speeds along a walking and biking trail parallel to I-90. (Seattle Bike Blog)
- Vancouver reopened Granville Street to cars after the World Cup ended, but the successful experiment could lead to pedestrianizing it permanently. (CBC)
- Biking and walking are booming in Limerick. (Independent)
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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