Transportation

  • Side view of a two-door car parked at night with people sitting at tables on the sidewalk.
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    Courtesy of Tesla Motors
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    Tesla promises driverless robotaxi by 2027

    CEO Elon Musk also announced that fully autonomous versions of Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y vehicles would begin driverless tests in California and Texas next year.

    By • Oct. 11, 2024
  • Debris from Hurricane Helene cover the ground.
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    Melissa Sue Gerrits via Getty Images
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    Helene deals billions in damage to infrastructure

    Roads, bridges, electrical grids and water systems need to be rebuilt following the deadly storm.

    By Julie Strupp • Oct. 10, 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
  • Two women and a man seated at a long table with micrphones.
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    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
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    Zero-emission bus transition: Lessons from the front lines

    There’s likely no economic payback for zero-emission buses, panelists at an American Public Transportation Association conference said, but it’s the right thing to do.

    By • Oct. 10, 2024
  • A blue hybrid-electric bus in New Haven, Connecticut.
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    Alexander Farnsworth via Getty Images
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    How the White House influences transportation grantmaking

    Priorities vary among administrations, an Urban Institute report found. “The president actually has substantial discretion over a lot of these programs,” one researcher said.

    By • Oct. 9, 2024
  • A woman at a podium.
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    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
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    $50B in transit ballot measures riding on November election

    Support for voter-approved transit funding has been strong. Transit agencies and advocates shared their stories at a recent American Public Transportation Association conference.

    By • Oct. 8, 2024
  • Two autonomous vehicles with Avride and Uber branding
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    Courtesy of Avride
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    Uber inks deal to bring delivery robots, robotaxis to several cities

    To start, Uber Eats will deliver orders with Avride’s sidewalk robots in Austin, Texas, before expanding to two other cities. 

    By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • Oct. 8, 2024
  • Amtrak trains at a station.
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    Courtesy of Amtrak
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    FRA opens $1B intercity passenger rail grant funding round

    Projects to expand or improve intercity passenger rail outside the Northeast Corridor can apply for the Federal Railroad Administration funding.

    By • Oct. 7, 2024
  • Electric air taxis
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    Courtesy of Joby Aviation
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    Toyota to invest $500M in Joby Aviation

    The automaker's investment will create a manufacturing alliance for the electric air taxi startup's first phase of commercialization. 

    By Haley Cawthon • Oct. 7, 2024
  • Crowds of people walking through Union Square Park in Manhattan New York City on a bright sunny day.
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    deberarr via Getty Images
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    Sponsored by RUBICONSmartCity, now part of Routeware

    How AI is helping cities drive improvements in infrastructure and citizen satisfaction

    Equipping vehicles to look for critical infrastructure and quality-of-life issues that can plague communities helps city partners deliver proactive government and equitable public service across all zip codes.

    Oct. 7, 2024
  • Cars line up at a red light in a city.
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    peeterv via Getty Images
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    Right-turn-on-red bans not a ‘silver bullet’ for pedestrian safety, experts say

    As more cities restrict drivers from turning right at a red light, some research indicates such policies may not make a big dent in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and serious injuries.

    By Michael Brady • Oct. 4, 2024
  • People with a row of docked bicycles along a busy sidewalk.
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    Permission granted by Dan Zukowski
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    Micromobility on the rebound in 2024

    Industry consolidation and growing ridership for shared scooters and bikes are helping to renew optimism among micromobility industry leaders.

    By • Oct. 2, 2024
  • Crowds of people walk on a city street
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    rarrarorro via Getty Images
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    2025’s top smart city conferences

    Smart city technology, housing, climate action, road safety and more will take center stage at events already announced for next year.

    By , • Oct. 1, 2024
  • Ali Zaidi, national climate advisor to Joe Biden, speaking at Climate Week
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    Lamar Johnson/Smart Cities Dive
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    Now is the time to ‘lean into’ decarbonizing transportation sector: Biden climate advisor

    Reducing transportation emissions represents a “massive public health opportunity,” Ali Zaidi, a national climate policy advisor for the Biden administration, said at Climate Week NYC.

    By Lamar Johnson • Sept. 30, 2024
  • Man wearing a helmet riding a bicycle on a trail in the woods.
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    Permission granted by Jon Lugbill
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    Q&A

    This former Olympian is bringing a 43-mile trail to life in Virginia

    Jon Lugbill, ardent trail user and executive director of a nonprofit that encourages active living, tells how the Fall Line Trail came to be and what it means for the communities it reaches.

    By • Sept. 30, 2024
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    FMCSA Provided

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    Sponsored by FMCSA

    FMCSA’s grant award season: Millions allocated to improve highway safety

    Learn about federal grant opportunities and how your organization can apply.

    Sept. 30, 2024
  • An electric vehicle at a Tesla EV charging station.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Customer satisfaction with public EV charging is improving: JD Power

    Electric vehicle owners are particularly satisfied with the speed of public fast chargers. But public charging infrastructure isn’t keeping up with the number of EVs in service, a J.D. Power executive said.

    By Kalena Thomhave • Sept. 27, 2024
  • Asphalt art installation in Baltimore.
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    Courtesy of Kacie Mills
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    Up to $100K per city available for asphalt art in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ latest grantmaking

    This marks the first round of funding offered since the U.S. Department of Transportation incorporated asphalt art into federal road design guidelines for the first time.

    By • Sept. 26, 2024
  • A conductor talks to a rider at a Manhattan subway station.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    How New York’s congestion pricing plan went from admiration to desperation

    The tolling plan was once seen as a solution to fund new trains and buses and keep the system in good repair. Gov. Kathy Hochul's order to halt it leaves the transit agency waiting for a miracle.

    By • Sept. 26, 2024
  • An SUV crashing into a barrier in a test facility.
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    Courtesy of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
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    ‘Road safety crisis’ requires US DOT action: TRB report

    The report lays out five recommendations the Transportation Research Board says can be sustained over the years.

    By • Sept. 25, 2024
  • A driver seen through the windshield of a car. The driver is adjusting a device on the dashboard that reads "lyft."
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    Kelly Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Lyft tackles rideshare drivers’ EV range anxiety

    Smartcar’s technology will ensure electric vehicle drivers only receive ride requests in their current battery range, Lyft says.

    By Benton Graham • Sept. 25, 2024
  • Illustrated lines between vehicles from an overhead view of an intersection show how vehicles could relay critical information to help reduce crashes.
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    metamorworks via Getty Images
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    Connected vehicle tech could help nationwide e-tolling, officials say

    Public and industry leaders have long noted obstacles in regional wireless transponder networks and a goal to achieve more seamless travel.

    By David Taube • Sept. 25, 2024
  • Construction worker wearing hardhat sits on barrier while a pedestrian walks by on a street.
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    carstenbrandt via Getty Images
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    18 startups tested innovative tech in New York’s transportation systems. Here are the results.

    Better curb management, transit resiliency and transit user experience were among the goals of the Transit Tech Lab experiments.

    By • Sept. 24, 2024
  • A man at a podium in front of a subway car.
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    (2024). "MTA News Conference - 9/18/2024" [Video]. Retrieved from MTA Live/YouTube.
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    NY transit agency proposes next $68B capital plan even as its current plan is in doubt

    Despite the congestion pricing plan's pause leaving a multi-billion-dollar hole in its budget, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans a record investment in buses, subways and rail cars.

    By • Sept. 23, 2024
  • A GPS of a map and other map settings superimposed on top of a arial view of a city.
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    Permission granted by TomTom
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    Sponsored by TomTom

    Smart Cities: the key to unlocking a traffic-free future

    With more people living in urban centers, we must reimagine our cities and how we move around them.

    Sept. 23, 2024
  • Electric vehicles at an EV charging station.
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    EXTREME-PHOTOGRAPHER via Getty Images
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    Biden administration proposes expanding tax credits for EV charger installations

    The proposed rule would expand on January guidance from the Treasury Department, allowing the tax credit to be accessed per individual charging port installed.

    By Robert Walton • Sept. 20, 2024