Transportation
Covering topics such as commuter rail, intercity rail, electric vehicles, mass transit and streets and highways.
Four Los Angeles city-based Metro board members urged the transit agency to adopt an aggressive conversion plan to meet the original goal of 100 percent zero-emission buses by 2030. But the five-year delay will likely stand.
Maryland legislators are taking steps to protect workers and businesses affected by the port and highway closure. There are broader, indirect effects, however, that are creating additional uncertainty.
Manufacturing companies are frequently turning to robotics in response to labor shortages, increased strike risks and the need for flexibility with the transition to electric vehicles.
City and state leaders in the Milwaukee area are addressing a spike in reckless driving in a variety of ways, from increasing penalties to redesigning streets. The city has a goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2037.
Street safety is increasingly a source of conflict between state and local governments. Houston’s new mayor has paused a series of redesigns.
Legislation that would have legalized and regulated autonomous vehicles in Kentucky was vetoed on Friday, April 5, by the governor who claimed the bill was moving too quickly and the state needed a testing period first.
Although electric vehicle sales grew by 50 percent last year, that is far below the 70 percent growth the industry had forecast. High costs, infrastructure access, charging concerns and grid reliability continue to dissuade drivers.
State Road 516 will be equipped to recharge batteries of electric cars and trucks as they drive along the toll expressway. Although it will be less than five miles long, the road will cost nearly $550 million.
New federal regulations would force a shift to fuel-efficient hybrids and electric vehicles in the coming years. States such as New Jersey are already raising gas taxes and adopting EV fees.
The data on traffic fatalities and injuries doesn’t account for their needs or even count them. Better data would enable better solutions.
The Reconnecting Communities program is giving $3.3 billion to help cities address problems caused by highways. But in most cases, the projects stop short of removing highways altogether.
The state will launch an alternative system where drivers are charged for each mile they drive. That might replace the gas tax, which hasn’t been updated since 2003. As of 2022, just 0.13 percent of the state’s vehicles were hybrid or electric.
GOP state lawmakers have often opposed new spending and infrastructure for public transit. The reasons have as much to do with the urban-rural divide as partisan ideology.
Voters in Los Angeles approved a ballot measure to add hundreds of miles of bike lanes and bus lanes. It will force implementation of a plan the city agreed to years ago.
Minnesota state Rep. Frank Hornstein, a 22-year veteran of the state House, will not run for re-election this year. Colleagues say he’s left an imprint on transportation policy and the culture of the Legislature.
It's been seven years since the New Jersey city has seen a traffic fatality, with injuries down significantly as well. Many of its improvements could be replicated elsewhere.
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