Transportation

U.S. Miles Driven Rose by 1 Percent in 2024
Americans drove a total of 3.279 trillion miles in 2024, but per capita VMT stayed the same.

Seattle Recorded Zero Bike Deaths in 2024, per Early Data
The city halved the number of pedestrian deaths compared to 2021.

Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.

Density and Disorder: The Imaginary Link
A recent article tries to tie public transit and walkability to social disorder — but in fact, sprawling Sunbelt cities like Memphis are as likely to have high crime rates as transit-rich metropolises such as New York and San Francisco.

Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.

Are Mobility Hubs Child-Friendly?
‘Mobility hubs’ aim to make urban travel easier by connecting travel modes. Adding more services could make them more accessible and useful to women and families.

Austin’s Project Connect Funding Safe for 2025
The light rail project is moving ahead with plans to finalize its environmental impact review by late 2025.

Planning Trends for 2025: Creative Housing Solutions, Ongoing Transit Woes, and the Ever-Creeping Tentacles of AI
Urban planners have no shortage of urgent issues to delve into, from a deepening housing crisis to an increasingly unpredictable climate to a new federal administration bent on slashing key funding for everything from electric cars to housing assistance.

Part of San Francisco Waterfront Highway to Become Pedestrian-Only in April
Two miles of the ‘Great Highway’ will be permanently closed to cars, in part due to erosion that makes the road unsafe for vehicles.

Bourbon Street Could Be a Model for Pedestrian Spaces
The conversation around pedestrianizing public streets isn’t new — think Times Square. Could one of America’s oldest streets lead the way in a revival of the pedestrian mall?

Multiple Lawsuits Aim to Save NYC Congestion Pricing
Environmental and transit advocacy groups, along with the MTA, are suing USDOT over its recent crusade to end the cordon pricing program.

Massachusetts Gov. Makes Case for Road Funding Reforms
A package of proposed bills would change the state’s road funding formula to ensure more money flows to rural areas with limited resources.

What is the Future of NYC’s ‘Dollar Vans’?
A semi-formal transportation system has served New Yorkers for half a century, but complex regulations prevent most drivers from operating legally.

San Francisco Slow Streets Bucks Citywide Trend, Reducing Injuries by 61 Percent
Low-cost interventions aimed at slowing traffic are making a major impact on road safety.

Report: Transportation Equity Requires More Than Electrification
Lower-income households often lack the resources to buy electric cars, signaling a need for a more holistic approach to improving mobility and lowering transportation costs.

February Must-Reads: Top 10 Articles From Last Month
Federal policy changes send shock waves through agencies at all levels of government as we continue to monitor the effects of the new administration’s slash-and-burn approach to government.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

Philadelphia Tests Bulletproof Enclosures for Bus Drivers in Wake of Fatal Shooting
The city is one of several aiming to improve driver safety.

Old Versus New Traffic Safety Paradigms
Current U.S. traffic safety programs are failing to reduce crash rates. A new traffic safety paradigm expands the scope of strategies that can be used to reduce crashes, which increases effectiveness and total benefits.

Trump Administration Takes Aim at Transportation Research
Researchers warn of a “chilling environment” as studies examining road safety and other topics are killed off and layoffs hit federal agencies.
Pagination
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