Massachusetts governor seeks to expand intercity passenger train service to Western Massachusetts

With Western Massachusetts currently served by just one daily round-trip train from Boston, Gov. Maura Healey's proposed fiscal 2024 budget includes $12.5 million for the East-West rail project.

By Dan Zukowski • March 13, 2023

Dynamic curbs could make cities more livable but would require getting more people out of cars, experts say

During the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, cities allowed sidewalk dining streeteries and parklets. Now they’re “tearing half of them down to turn them back into parking spots,” a Lyft executive said.

By Maylin Tu • March 13, 2023

Explore the 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

Biden 2024 budget asks Congress to allow transit capital funds to be used for operating expenses

The “historic policy change” could stave off drastic fare hikes and service cuts as transit agencies face budget shortfalls in the coming years.

By Dan Zukowski • March 10, 2023

New transit workforce dashboard can help agencies tackle labor shortages

The dashboard creates a one-stop shop for “visualizations and digestible information about the transit workforce” that will be continually updated, the Transit Workforce Center said.

By Dan Zukowski • March 9, 2023

Philadelphia kicks off project to reconnect Chinatown neighborhood divided by expressway

The Chinatown Stitch project will develop a plan to “cap” a less than one-mile stretch of Interstate 676, called the Vine Street Expressway, that split the community more than 30 years ago.

By Michael Brady • March 9, 2023

Self-driving cars have people worried: survey

Although manufacturers tout their potential to reduce accidents, "driverless vehicles are nowhere near ready for prime time," a safety advocate said.

By Dan Zukowski • March 8, 2023

NYC cuts proposed delivery worker wage floor by almost $4

Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash persuaded the city to reduce its 2025 target base pay by $3.86 an hour, arguing workers would be compensated by “multi-apping.”

By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • March 8, 2023

To fight e-bike fires, New York state and city lawmakers crack down on unsafe batteries, chargers

“Reconditioned and untested batteries are contributing to a serious threat to the health and safety of New Yorkers in their homes and in their jobs,” state Sen. Liz Krueger said.

By Michael Brady • March 8, 2023

San Francisco transit agencies face “worst-case scenarios” for revenue, potential service cuts, leaders say

California, facing a $22 billion budget shortfall, may cut state funding for transportation just as major transit agencies struggle to regain riders and find new revenues.  

By Dan Zukowski • March 7, 2023

US DOT and Austin, Texas, launch first-of-its-kind $22 billion transportation partnership

It’s the first time the Transportation Department has entered an emerging projects agreement with a city to fast-track networks of related projects rather than using a piecemeal approach.

By Michael Brady • March 7, 2023

National League of Cities calls for congressional action to improve rail safety

The letter calls for specific improvements to rail safety as legislators consider new bipartisan action in response to the Ohio train derailment in February.

By Dan Zukowski • March 6, 2023

Point-counterpoint: should garages be the “gas station” of the future for electric vehicle charging?

Experts at the International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) are driving innovation, transformation, electrification, and the future of parking and mobility.  Plug in to the conversation on when, where, and how to charge electric vehicles for maximum impact.

By Mary Smith, PE, and Andrew Sachs, CAPP excerpted from articles in Parking & Mobility Magazine • March 6, 2023

Federal infrastructure funds begin to flow, mostly to roadwork

Spending on roadway contracts in 2022 was more than 29 times higher than spending on rail and transit contracts, according to American Road & Transportation Builders Association data.

By Dan Zukowski • March 3, 2023

New Mexico considering bill to mandate, fund protected bike lanes in some roadway improvement projects

The requirement would apply to roadway improvement projects in municipalities with 10,000 or more residents.

By Michael Brady • March 3, 2023

Denver’s e-bike program produced more new riders, less car trips: report

Surveyed program participants said they rode their bikes an average of 26 miles per week, replacing 3.4 round-trip vehicle trips, a new report found.

By Danielle McLean • March 2, 2023

US DOT to audit SEPTA rail car contract with China-based supplier for Buy America compliance

A photo showing a rail car bound for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority being assembled in China prompted Congress to request the investigation.

By Dan Zukowski • March 2, 2023

45 projects receive first Reconnecting Communities grants from US DOT

With funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program aims to restore connections between communities that had been severed by highways and other transportation infrastructure. 

By Dan Zukowski • March 1, 2023

Chick-fil-A opens free space for food delivery workers in NYC through mid-April

Couriers in Manhattan can access The Brake Room, which has bathrooms, bike storage, electrical outlets, seating, Wi-Fi and beverages.

By Julie Littman • March 1, 2023

$250M for curbing climate pollution, advancing environmental justice available from US EPA

Each of the 67 most-populated U.S. metropolitan areas is eligible for $1 million in planning grants, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will follow with $4.6 billion to help cities and states implement their plans later this year.

By Michael Brady • March 1, 2023

Pedestrian deaths up 5% in first half of 2022: GHSA report

An average of 19 people a day are killed by motor vehicles, creating "a pedestrian safety crisis on our roads," said a Governors Highway Safety Association spokesperson.

By Dan Zukowski • Feb. 28, 2023

‘Impossible to build’: REIT Vornado postpones mixed-use development planned for New York’s Penn Station

The Vornado development is part of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to redevelop Penn Station with tax revenue generated by the project.

By Sebastian Obando • Feb. 28, 2023

Intercity bus station closures create problems for riders

The closure of many Greyhound bus stations “is putting a lot of pressure on state and local governments to help find fixes,” said a researcher at the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University.

By Dan Zukowski • Feb. 27, 2023

States could help struggling transit agencies close their budget gaps: report

Gas taxes fund transportation in most states, but some of them partially or fully prohibit the use of those dollars for public transportation.

By Dan Zukowski • Feb. 24, 2023

Most Los Angeles County bus stops lack protection from extreme heat

Low-income people of color “are chronically underserved and exposed to heat while waiting for transit," according to the authors of a UCLA study.

By Dan Zukowski • Feb. 23, 2023

Subway sandwich chain to install EV charging stations at select stores

The smaller stations will have fast EV chargers that provide a 120-mile charge within 17 minutes for about $20.

By Julie Littman • Feb. 23, 2023