Want to run social media for an aggressively reform-minded NYCDOT? Now's your chance. cityjobs.nyc.gov/job/creative...

Seems bad: "Our current roadspace regime—free driving lanes here, metered parking there—is a patchwork that autonomous vehicles will arbitrage relentlessly." From @reillybrennan.com, sharp thinking here about AVs' impact on streets of the future.

This is regulatory failure. Blame NHTSA and Congress. Tesla never should've been allowed to sell driver assistance systems misleadingly called Autopilot or Full-Self Driving. Of course people got confused! Competitors like Ford would be far more cautious Tesla had paid a price for its deception.

New research finds that ~18% of Americans would like to live car-free -- more than double the share that currently does. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

The research is clear: Cities have many reliable ways to curtail speeding. Lower the posted limit. Deploy traffic cameras. Insert speed humps. Install road diets. They all work – and most residents support them.But implementation often feels like pulling teeth. In Bloomberg, I explored why.

I hear a lot about a future of "shared" AVs where riders travel with strangers. Not gonna happen. Most people -- esp women, as per this study -- don't want to sit alone with someone stinky or creepy. Nor are they willing to let others' itineraries dictate their route. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

Minivan sales jumped 20% in 2025. Excellent news for families, pedestrians, and everyone who loathes oversized SUVs and pickups.

Very cool paper measuring pedestrian volumes on NYC streets and examining crash risks: "Intersections with the highest pedestrian injury risk are often outside Manhattan, where exposure-adjusted danger is the greatest." www.nature.com/articles/s44...

The ghost of John Forester casts a long shadow

Insightful piece from @davidzipper.bsky.social: “If AVs are 20% safer than human drivers and expand total driving by 30%, total crashes would increase by 4%” I think the jury is still out on how AVs are going to affect systemwide goals like Vision Zero.

New paper finds that US bike deaths have "trended toward lower-density suburban areas" rather than central cities Those killed tend to be poor and non-white. Lesson: The suburbanization of poverty could be contributing to the surging number of cyclist fatalities. doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...

It's true! We agreed that one (1) Trump idea for transportation is genuinely terrific. (Hint: It's not dressing up before going to the airport.) Thanks for the kind words, @jordihoney.bsky.social. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

It's perfectly fine for AV co's to use teleoperators -- they need human backstops if their tech gets confused. But Waymo et al. have said little about them. That erodes trust. For instance: 🔹 How many is "enough" to handle emergencies? 🔹 What if one shows up drunk? 🔹 What's the latency rate?

DC doesn’t need a second airport named after a president whom locals despise

I'll soon head to the Sunshine State to keynote the Safe Roads Summit in Fort Lauderdale. My topic: How cities can prepare for an influx of AVs. I'll be joined by @wesmars.bsky.social, my partner in crime on @lookbothwayspod.bsky.social. Info: www.browardmpo.org/safe-roads-s...

"The annual traffic fatality rate per 100k people increased by more than 33% across the 100 largest US cities but less than 5% in all other parts of the country [between 2008-12 and 2018-22]." findingspress.org/article/1559...

6/ The Post has lost over 375,000 subscribers in just over a year. If 10% of those readers subscribed to The 51st instead, we could hire 10 reporters and five editors, dramatically scaling our coverage of the city at this critical time. 51st.news/signup

🧵 1/ We’re devastated about the layoffs at The Washington Post, which are gutting D.C. reporting. These journalists are an incalculable loss for our city. The 51st’s mission has always felt urgent, but now we know it needs to kick into high gear.

Recommended reading for anyone trying to wrap their head around today’s WaPo news www.linkedin.com/posts/mabaro...

@davidzipper.bsky.social thinks the rising popularity of golf carts suggests that the US has untapped demand for mnicars that are widespread across East Asia and Europe. A snippet from the latest episode, available Thursday.

The DMV is losing one of the best transportation reporters in the US. I'm sad for Rachel, but even more so for DC.

As the @51st.news's first full-time reporter, I don't actually disagree with this. We're building something new one brick at a time, but at this point it's simply not a one-for-one replacement for what's being lost at the Post. (Please read and support us, though!)

When I worked in the DC mayor's office, my colleagues and I lived in fear of WaPo's formidable metro team. We might loathe them at time, but we always respected the hell out of them. Solidarity with everyone affected by today's cuts.

What's actually unfair: 🔹 Drivers gambling with other people's lives when they floor it and hope they don't get caught 🔹 Police deciding whether to issue a ticket to speeders they pull over Speed cameras are a solution — not a problem.

New research finds negligible benefit from "minimum passing distance" laws requiring drivers to give cyclists space when overtaking them. Protected bike lanes are far more effective. doi.org/10.1016/j.jc...

Ridehail worsens many urban problems (esp congestion), but it does reduce traffic fatalities. This new paper found that ridehail lowers crash deaths by 5.2%, with decreases concentrated after dark when people are more likely to drink. doi.org/10.1162/rest...

A fundamental tension: Robotaxi services can make the most money in dense urban neighborhoods—which are precisely the places that need them least.

Rural fatalities are disproportionately caused by roadway departure. Robotaxis presumably are going to vastly outperform humans in keeping it between the lines.

Robotaxi companies are scrambling to expand in cities, but they’re ignoring rural America. They shouldn’t. AVs could do a world of good in the countryside (and unlike in dense cities, they’d fit well into existing transport networks). My guest essay in The Driverless Digest. 🧵

Research shows that biking is very, very healthy for people 65+. Findings after reviewing 28 prior studies: "Cycling in later life links to improved mobility [and] balance." "Older cyclists often report psychosocial health, life satisfaction, and well-being improvements." doi.org/10.1016/j.jt...

Next livestream is Tuesday at 6p ET! On the agenda for David and Wes: 🔸 The future of transit service 🔸 Minicars' untapped potential 🔸 The painful saga of Chicago's parking meters Livestream link below. Audio pod posts at the end of the week.

New research finds that the vast majority of US pickup owners would be just fine going electric. 3 in 4 either prefer an EV or would be indifferent if performance and price are comparable. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

Recent Danish paper suggests that transit's first-mile/last-mile discourse is overblown. Pretty much any FM/LM "solution" fails to improve total welfare for distances <1km. A big reason: Walking is really healthy! link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Wow. You can reason your way back to this result but few predicted it. I myself thought the effect outside the zone would be more mixed.

Strange, I was told autonomous vehicles would end crashes

Congestion charges make driving easier and reduce congestion even more *outside* the C-charge zone.

Pricing externalities is a win for literally everyone! Time to apply this in other cities, and in other parts of New York.

A strange but true finding about NYC congestion pricing: Drivers’ time savings have overwhelmingly gone to those traveling *outside* the toll zone (i.e., driving from Brooklyn to Queens or within NJ) – not those headed into Manhattan. Me, in Bloomberg 🧵

Yale’s new Presidential Senior Fellow

Curious to see what role car bloat may have played in the recent Waymo crash (with a child, near a Santa Monica elementary school)

Three days after a snowstorm hit DC, this gas station in Shaw has done nothing about the ice coating its sidewalks—but its car lanes are completely clear. Not sure that there’s a worse urban land use than gas stations.

Protected bike lanes = One Weird Trick to Massively Increase Cycling

Late to the game, but it's nauseating that the guy who helped kill high-speed rail in the US is now coopting 'abundance'

New study of e-cargo bikes: "Most participants felt more respected by motorists, more secure, more powerful, and more entitled as road users when e-cargo cycling [compared to traditional biking]." doi.org/10.1080/2380...

Some encouraging research about EVs and air pollution in California: "For every 200 zero-emission vehicles added to each neighborhood, that area saw a 1.1% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels."

"Battering ram pickup trucks"

If only we had a way to ensure parking spots are available when you need them. I'm told a wise man named Donald Shoup knew the solution, but sadly he passed away.

"Had some fun with the Japanese Mini Truck in the park today"

High-speed two-wheelers* deter people from biking at all. “Because of the dangers of those who are cycling fast, especially older people over 55 or 60 simply leave their bikes at home. We also hear that parents no longer dare to let their children cycle.” *Not pedal-assist e-bikes