Transportation

  • A car passes a sign reading "Speed Limit 65" on a desert highway.
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    LeoPatrizi via Getty Images
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    California poised to require new cars to warn speeding drivers

    Legislation requiring vehicles to give an audible and visual warning when drivers go more than 10 mph above the speed limit could become the nation’s first.

    By • Sept. 12, 2024
  • An Amtrak train at a train station with a sign reading "Manassas" and a crowd of people on the station platform.
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    Courtesy of Virginia Passenger Rail Authority
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    More intercity passenger rail coming to Virginia

    The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority signed an agreement with freight railroad Norfolk Southern that will expand commuter service in Northern Virginia and extend Amtrak service south of Roanoke, Virginia.

    By • Sept. 11, 2024
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

    From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • A large pickup with a sign reading "Tundra."
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    Bill Pugliano via Getty Images
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    Pedestrian deaths from SUV, pickup truck crashes are the focus for proposed federal rule

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to require new vehicles be designed to reduce the risk of serious and fatal injuries to children and adults in pedestrian collisions.

    By • Sept. 10, 2024
  • A family packs their car for a trip, with a man holding a child and a woman loading the trunk.
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    Permission granted by Azman Jaka
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    Sponsored by VEIC

    The case for EVs is much more than environmental

    Clean transportation experts at VEIC say to highlight these benefits instead.

    Sept. 9, 2024
  • A green motor coach bus makes a turn at an intersection in a city with tall buildings in the background.
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    Courtesy of FlixBus
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    Here’s how US intercity bus lines are doing in 2024

    While one company CEO sees “robust growth,” another major operator declared bankruptcy, and states entered the picture to provide more bus service.

    By • Sept. 6, 2024
  • A man rides a bike along a street lined with more rental bikes.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Why Lyft is doubling down on docked bikes, scooters

    Lyft CEO David Risher said the company will focus on docked bike and scooter systems, seeing micromobility as “core to our purpose.”

    By • Sept. 5, 2024
  • A grey vehicle with a Wayve logo added above the left front headlight.
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    Courtesy of Wayve Technologies Ltd.
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    Uber to deploy autonomous vehicles on its platform through Wayve partnership

    The partnership could potentially bring Wayve’s technology to more than 150 million of Uber’s monthly global users.

    By Eric Walz • Sept. 5, 2024
  • A rendering of an aerial view of a sprawling gray building surrounded by roads.
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    (2024). "South Dade Transit Operations Center - Video Rendering of the entire facility - March 24, 2024" [Video illustration]. Retrieved from Miami-Dade County/YouTube.
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    20-acre electric bus operations center under construction in South Florida

    The "largest all-electric bus maintenance and transit operations center" in the U.S. will be home to 100 articulated 60-foot buses, a county official said.

    By • Sept. 4, 2024
  • Wide view of row houses leading to skyline of downtown Philadelphia.
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    ChrisBoswell via Getty Images
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    How Philadelphia cut crashes on one of its most dangerous roads

    Automated speed cameras led drivers to slow down on segments of Roosevelt Boulevard. Now, a federal grant will help the city improve pedestrian safety infrastructure.

    By • Sept. 3, 2024
  • DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C., showing the name of the department.
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    Retrieved from FHWA.
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    Low-carbon materials a ‘huge opportunity’ to green the transportation sector

    The U.S. Department of Transportation is releasing $800 million for state, local and other agencies to reimburse builders for using cleaner construction products, Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said.

    By Julie Strupp • Sept. 3, 2024
  • An image of a sidewalk robot with pink and orange painting.
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    Courtesy of Coco
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    Uber expands robotic delivery

    Urban robot delivery company Coco started delivering for Uber Eats in Los Angeles this week. It will expand to more cities in coming months.

    By Julie Littman • Aug. 30, 2024
  • A man in a wheelchair crosses a street in Manhattan pushed by another man.
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    Kena Betancur via Getty Images
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    US DOT proposes rule on pedestrian accessibility standards

    The Department of Transportation wants to clarify how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to pedestrian facilities including transit stops.

    By • Aug. 29, 2024
  • A parking space painted with "EV charging only" with a charger behind it
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    DOT awards $521M in EV charging grants amid slowing sales growth

    Grant winners will deploy over 9,200 electric vehicle charging ports and build alternative-fueling infrastructure across 29 states, eight tribal areas and Washington, D.C., the Department of Transportation says.

    By Robert Walton • Aug. 29, 2024
  • Passengers with luggage standing by buses under a shed.
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    Tim Boyle via Getty Images
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    Chicago intercity bus station could close next month

    City leaders and bus operators are scrambling to find a short-term solution to handle the more than 500,000 yearly bus riders.

    By • Aug. 28, 2024
  • A photo of people riding Bird scooters.
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    Mario Tama/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
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    Lyft app adds Bird scooters in over 25 US cities

    "Working together with Bird allows us to expand access to scooters,” said a Lyft executive. Riders nationwide will be able to access thousands more scooters through the Lyft app.

    By • Aug. 27, 2024
  • A white and orange painted Chevy Bolt EV operated by Cruise parked in front of a cafe in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.
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    Courtesy of Cruise LLC
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    Entire Cruise robotaxi fleet recalled for unexpected braking

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that a software fault contributed to 10 crashes, four of which involved a vulnerable road user and resulted in injury.

    By Eric Walz • Aug. 27, 2024
  • New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a podium.
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    (2024). "Pausing Congestion Pricing to Address Affordability and the Cost of Living in New York" [Video]. Retrieved from Governor Kathy Hochul/Youtube.
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    New York’s congestion pricing plan may return with lower tolls after November elections

    Faced with a $16.5 billion budget gap, New York transit agency Chair Janno Lieber said “it’s good news" the governor may reconsider the program.

    By • Aug. 26, 2024
  • Rendering of modern train station with people on a plaza. Sign reads "Parkchester/Van Nest."
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    Retrieved from New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority on August 23, 2024
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    NYC rezoning allows transit-oriented development around four new train stations in the Bronx

    The New York City Council plan includes 7,000 new housing units around the stations in the East Bronx, currently considered a transit desert.

    By • Aug. 23, 2024
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom and others walk past a brightly-painted electric commuter train.
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    Courtesy of Caltrain
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    2 California commuter railroads implement zero-emission trains

    Caltrain and the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority join other commuter rail lines in replacing diesel-powered trains with battery, electric or hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

    By • Aug. 22, 2024
  • Aerial view of Jacksonville, Florida, with an elaborate highway interchange intersection showing
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    Bilanol via Getty Images
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    Why building US highways is so expensive

    A new paper blames higher costs on lower staffing and more use of consultants in state transportation departments as well as declining competition among construction firms.

    By Julie Strupp • Aug. 21, 2024
  • New Tesla vehicles parked on a car lot
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    More efficient electric vehicles can reduce grid stress, cut charging costs by almost a third: ACEEE

    Local governments can leverage registration fees and subsidies to encourage EV efficiency, says research published Tuesday by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

    By Robert Walton • Aug. 20, 2024
  • A Waymo self-driving taxi waits in traffic on a Los Angeles street with heavy traffic.
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    Mario Tama/Getty via Getty Images
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    Self-driving vehicles spark array of views among states, truckers, advocates

    Commentators had vastly different takes on the risks of artificial intelligence in feedback to a U.S. Transportation Department agency.

    By David Taube • Aug. 16, 2024
  • A Greyhound bus on a road with tall buildings in the background.
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    Courtesy of Flix North America
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    Q&A

    Largest intercity bus operator in US sees bright future for bus travel

    Three years after acquiring Greyhound Lines, Flix North America’s CEO opines on how states can support bus operators.

    By • Aug. 15, 2024
  • One of Serve Robotics' delivery robots.
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    Courtesy of Serve Robotics
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    More robotic delivery coming to Los Angeles through Shake Shack partnership

    The fast food chain is teaming up with Serve Robotics, which has worked with around 200 other LA restaurants and hopes to deploy 2,000 robots across the U.S. in 2025. 

    By Julie Littman • Aug. 15, 2024
  • A rider on a bicycle along a Paris street.
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    Permission granted by Lime
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    Los Angeles mayor wants ‘car-free Games’ for 2028 Olympics

    Can car-centric LA avoid a traffic meltdown when it hosts the 2028 Olympics? Mass transit, bike lanes and remote work might do the trick, some say. 

    By • Aug. 14, 2024