Issues & Insights

Conflicts are often about minute infrastructure changes like that — the sort of design changes that barely register as design, but always require taking space from cars. Shade trees, narrowed lanes, and shorter crosswalks often play into these “road diets.”

Users can rent an e-bike for the day and return it to the same location to charge. That means that a user can ride to work, stop by the grocery store and visit friends before docking the bike – unlike with traditional bike-share, where bikes are docked at the end of each trip.

Among the trillions of dollars approved by Congress to keep the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic were about $70 billion for the country’s public transit systems.

The movement of people of color, immigrants and impoverished communities to suburbs has been celebrated by some who suggest that it has opened opportunities for those long denied its benefits. While true for some, for others suburbanization has deepened inequalities.

Every time a train rumbles to a stop, the energy generated by all that friction is converted to electricity, which is fed through inverters and distributed throughout the subway system. One-third of that powers the trains; the rest provides juice to station amenities and a growing network of EV chargers.

CargoB’s electric bike, introduced to Greater Boston in May, has front storage that can hold up to 300 pounds. A pedal-assisted electric motor can propel the bikes up to 20 miles per hour. Many European markets offer cargo bike rentals, but CargoB’s launch in Boston marks the first ride share of its kind — on-demand cargo bikes stationed in publicly accessible places — in the U.S.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will electrify the 9 mile Fairmount Line, the shortest of their 12 commuter rail lines, using battery-electric multiple units. The first BEMU trains are projected to be operating in early 2028.

In a bid to electrify road transport to help meet Norway’s climate commitments, Norwegian authorities have offered generous tax rebates on EVs, making them competitively priced compared with fuel, diesel and hybrid cars. Norway’s EV success is in sharp contrast to struggles seen elsewhere in Europe.

Colorado, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are on their third round of seeking bids to build fast chargers along major interstates. The majority of states, though, have just started to gear up. Twenty-nine states have completed one round of request for proposals.

Legislation in California that would require new vehicles to warn drivers when they are going more than 10 mph over the speed limit went to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 11. He has until the end of the month to sign or veto the bill. If signed, California would be the first state in the nation to enact such a law.