Today’s Headlines
Basics
Tuesday’s Headlines
Better public transit doesn’t just provide more transportation options — it might be a hack to actually get Americans to exercise. (Time) Uber and Lyft are pulling out the big guns to oppose a California bill that would grant drivers labor rights (City Lab). And no wonder: One report estimates that making drivers employees, rather … Continued
June 18, 2019
Monday’s Headlines
Walmart stores’ vast acreage of parking is mostly a waste of space, but their lots do make good places to put charging stations for electric cars. (Curbed) Gas taxes are paid by those who use roads, and good roads are good for business, so gas taxes should appeal to Republicans. But apparently antipathy toward hybrid … Continued
June 17, 2019
Friday’s Headlines
The U.S. is playing catchup with the rest of the world when it comes to bike infrastructure. (Engineering) Uber has introduced a new model of self-driving car it claims is safer. The manufacturer, Volvo, predicts that a third of the cars it sells will be autonomous by the mid-2020s. (CNBC) Curbed outlines three funding options … Continued
June 14, 2019
Thursday’s Headlines
Lyft e-bikes are back in San Francisco, two months after the company pulled them from three cities due to brake problems. They’ll return to New York and Washington, D.C., this fall (CNN). Lyft also rebranded its Bay Area bikes as Bay Wheels, replacing the Ford GoBike moniker (Engadget). For cities to wean themselves off of … Continued
June 13, 2019
Wednesday’s Headlines
Uber’s dream of flying cars is undeterred (CNN) even after a helicopter crashed over Manhattan on Monday (USA Today). Uber was already offering $200 chopper rides to JFK (CBS News). Never fear: Fast Company says one doesn’t have anything to do with other, and Bloomberg predicts flying taxis might be just four years away. We’ll … Continued
June 12, 2019
Tuesday’s Headlines
Looks the ol’ swamp still needs some draining: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao intervened on behalf of allies of her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to get grants approved in their home state of Kentucky. (Politico) Cities with the highest rents also tend to be the cities with the worst traffic problems. The most egalitarian … Continued
June 11, 2019
Monday’s Headlines
We disagree with the notion that human-driven cars are “remarkably safe,” but this Vox article raises interesting questions about how safe autonomous vehicles will have to be to be accepted. According to Smart Cities Dive, an advocate for self-driving cars thinks they can alleviate the public health crisis of road deaths, but the industry has … Continued
June 10, 2019
Friday’s Headlines
Crowdfunding bike infrastructure can help raise public engagement and prevent bikelash. (Greenbiz) Forbes has a thousand different ways to say that Uber will never be profitable. Meanwhile, CNBC interviews struggling Uber drivers. Skateboarding is soon to be an Olympic sport, and Curbed traces its history back to federally funded “slum removal” projects in the mid-20th century. … Continued
June 7, 2019
Thursday’s Headlines
Nashville, Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas and North Carolina all rejected transit. Ridership dropped almost everywhere. Gas prices are down. Americans are buying more cars. Poorer people are being pushed out of city centers. Millennials are riding scooters or just walking. Overall, it’s been a bad year for transit. (Governing) The Stranger, Seattle’s alt-weekly, delves into … Continued
June 6, 2019
Wednesday’s Headlines
At least eight people have died and 1,500 have been injured while riding rented e-scooters, leading to renewed calls for regulation, bans and better road design. (Consumer Reports) As previously reported, protected bike lanes slow down traffic and make streets safer for everyone, not just cyclists. (Fast Company, City Lab) San Francisco’s dispute with Lyft-owned … Continued
June 5, 2019