Tuesday’s Headlines Are Fair, Free and Fare-Free

• The zero-fare movement is popular with businesses, labor groups and environmentalists alike, and it’s spreading from Kansas City to cities all over the country. But it’s not for every transit agency, especially bigger ones that rely on fares as a main source of revenue. (CNBC)
• Transit agencies are likely to face major budget challenges in 2023. (Smart Cities Dive)
• Families that can’t afford electric cars, which carry an average price tag of $65,000, are switching to cargo e-bikes instead. (NPR)
• “Small modes” — walking, biking, scooters, etc. — can make significant and often underappreciated contributions to reducing emissions. (Planetizen)
• For the first time in a decade, drunk and high drivers outpaced distracted drivers as the No. 1 cause of New Jersey traffic deaths. (NJ.com)
• The D.C. Metro is reconsidering a 5 percent fare hike, its first in five years, because it would cost long-distance commuters up to $2.50 a ride. (Washington Post)
• The Seattle-area cities of Lynnwood and Bellevue are fighting over who gets light rail service first. (Seattle Times)
• Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner wants to stick with the plan for a controversial Blodgett Street road diet, although one Harris County commissioner has offered to spike the bike lanes if Houston forks over $8 million. (Axios)
• Denver’s biking community is mourning the loss of two cyclists killed by drivers in close succession. (5280)
• Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici suffered a concussion when a driver hit her and her husband while they were crossing the street in Portland. (New York Daily News)
• Surprisingly, previously neglected East Portland leads the way among neighborhoods with the most planned bikeways built. (Bike Portland)
• Mild-mannered Streetsblog editor by day, Gersh Kuntzman prowls Gotham by night striking fear into the hearts of license-plate scofflaws. (New Yorker)

source https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/01/17/tuesdays-headlines-are-fair-free-and-fare-free/