Transportation
New laws in China to encourage electric vehicle production
China used to be a country of cyclists. Fifty years ago, cars were such a rare sight that young boys would idle at street corners in Beijing, hoping one would drive by just so they could get a whiff of the foreign scent of petrol. Today China is becoming a nation of cars, second only to […]
On the brink of the largest recall in U.S. history
Members of Congress are calling faulty air bags from Japanese manufacturer Takata “a public safety threat,” foreshadowing what could become the country’s largest recall in history and prompting skepticism about automakers’ ability to manage the recall. It could be massive, affecting more than 30 million cars and trucks — top-selling models from Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, […]
Guardrails off the market due to safety & fraud concerns
A guardrail company will, for the time being, stop selling a product that has been found to impale auto occupants in crashes. Trinity Industries’ guardrails, which had already been banned in 13 states and counting as of last week, will be off the market until “further testing” can be done, reports the New York Times. […]
Tesla’s autopilot feature may encourage sprawl
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently announced that the auto innovator’s Model S will offer an autopilot feature, reports Wired, which lets the car drive itself in certain conditions. (We’ve reported on other self-driving car developments recently, including an autonomous Cadillac that’s in the works for model year 2017.) While the self-driving function may make some […]
Should federal transport spending take job creation into account?
Even as the amount of federal funding awarded to contractors falls, there’s broad recognition that the country must invest in its transportation infrastructure. Earlier this week the Council on Foreign Relations released Transportation Infrastructure: Moving America, its report on America’s aging transportation network, while policy wonks such as former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and former […]
Millennials leading the way in carless commuting
While baby boomers continue to drive to work en masse, recently released census data suggests that transportation-related change is afoot. Commuters, led by young workers, are moving towards carless transportation, opting increasingly for public transport and walking, reports the Brookings Institution. Census information from the 2013 American Community Survey points out the specifics: workers aged […]
Paint job boosts transit efficiency in San Francisco
A mere fresh coat of paint has led to significant improvements in San Francisco’s public transit service. While the city has long designated transit-only lanes, the city’s buses and light rail are frequently plagued by cars entering their designated lane. Until recently, many of the lanes featured simple stencils noting this transit-only restriction. But since […]
Is it your car, or are parking spaces shrinking?
Standard parking spaces measure 9 feet by 18 feet, but the 2014 Ford F-150—the most popular vehicle in the United States—measures a little over 8 feet by 19 feet. That gives its passengers trying to get out of the truck about 6 inches on either side—and that’s if the truck is perfectly parked in an […]
Little support for Texan transit; even less for toll roads
The 410,000 who joined in last month’s may want to visit the Lone Star State. 38% of residents there believe public transit reduces congestion, but only 6% of Texans use it as their primary means of travel, according to a study released by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Conducted in May, the study surveyed more than 5,000 residents […]
SimCity for pros? Transitmix fosters fantasy transportation
You’ve heard of fantasy football. But for urban planning junkies like ourselves, what could be more thrill-inducing than fantasy transportation? A new mapping tool, Transitmix, provides exactly that. Particularly useful for urban planners – but open to all transport aficionados — Transitmix allows users to create bus routes across certain cities by clicking on different […]
How hearing impaired drivers work at Lyft
Out of the ongoing hubub over regulating rideshare companies emerges a positive new trend at ridesharing service Lyft: The company, recognizable for the giant pink mustache logos attached to its cars, is seeing an uptick in deaf hires. A number of sources have reported that deaf drivers using the app are on the rise, and, […]