Today’s Headlines
Basics
Monday’s Headlines
Cars are killing us, part infinity: The Guardian reported on new research that links air pollution from cars to brain cancer for the first time. Nanoparticles that are easily absorbed into cells increase the risk by 10 percent for people who live on busy streets versus quiet ones. As Streetsblog has long pointed out, requiring … Continued
November 18, 2019
Friday’s Headlines
Navigation apps like Waze promise to help users avoid traffic, but ironically, because they make users more confident they can avoid traffic, they drive more, so way-finding apps make traffic worse for everyone. [City Lab] And another from City Lab: Apps that let people pay for all types of mobility aren’t going to get people … Continued
November 15, 2019
Thursday’s Headlines
Prominent Democratic presidential candidates have all put forward plans for clean energy, limiting drilling and subsidies for electric vehicles. Yet they have nothing to say about Americans’ addiction to driving — and if they don’t wean Americans off cars, they’ll never meet climate goals. (Huffington Post) Economists say Uber and Lyft drivers will get a … Continued
November 14, 2019
Wednesday’s Headlines
Despite the mobility revolution that gives people more options than ever for getting around, Americans still prefer to sit in traffic by themselves, fund roads with ever-shrinking gas taxes and are willing to accept 40,000 deaths a year. (The Hill) Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was just the latest tech/transportation executive to bend over backwards for … Continued
November 13, 2019
Tuesday’s Headlines
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the state that Phil Murphy serves. It is the Garden State, not the Nutmeg State.
November 12, 2019
Monday’s Headlines
Ride-hailing roundup: A new lawsuit filed by New York Uber drivers alleges that the company illegally withheld taxes and charged riders a higher rate than it paid drivers, pocketing the difference (Washington Post). Uber also might have to send some money Google’s way after it came to light that Uber’s been using Waymo technology in … Continued
November 11, 2019
Friday’s Headlines
Low-clearance rapid transit could be faster than trolleys and cheaper than subways. Trams run at street level except at major intersections, where they briefly dip underground. Meanwhile, minor cross streets are blocked off to cars, with those intersections only open to pedestrians. This lets trams avoid stopping at traffic lights without all that slow, expensive … Continued
November 8, 2019
Thursday’s Headlines
The national epidemic of pedestrian deaths — up 50 percent in the past 10 years to over 6,000 last year — is one of the few issues drawing bipartisan concern in Washington, D.C. A Senate bill would boost funding for sidewalks, bike paths and bike lanes, while in the House, lawmakers are looking at separated … Continued
November 7, 2019
Wednesday’s Headlines
The National Transportation Safety Board voted against staff to recommend mandatory helmet laws in all 50 states. (Streetsblog NYC) And in other NTSB news, the panel revealed that the software inside the self-driving Uber that killed an Arizona woman last year was not designed to detect pedestrians outside of a crosswalk. (Wired) A new Uber … Continued
November 6, 2019
Tuesday’s Headlines
It’s election day! Yes, it sounds strange, but in this case, a vote to cut transit funding will actually mean more money for buses. Cincinnati voters will decide today on Issue 22, which would roll back an income tax for transit. But it will only take effect if voters approve an even larger sales tax … Continued
November 5, 2019