transportation

The US Government Needs a National Policy on Self-Driving Cars

In the same way that only a handful of American cities are seriously preparing for self-driving vehicles, it seems the federal government isn’t thinking ahead either. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx revealed yesterday that his department has no plans for national regulations around autonomous cars. That’s very troubling, and it needs to change. Although the…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jan 8

Uber (and Lyft) Finally Bankrupted San Francisco’s Favorite Taxi Company

Here’s one we probably saw coming. San Francisco’s largest taxi company is filing for bankruptcy, citing competition from Uber and Lyft. But it’s not too late for Yellow Cab yet. The SF Examiner has a statement from the Yellow Cab Co-Op that points out an interesting reason for their slumping business. It’s not that riders…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jan 6

Penn Station, the Worst Public Transit Experience in the US, Will Be Reborn—Amen!

Finally, some good news for the 650,000 commuters forced to slither through the catacomb-like warrens of one of the worst train stations on the planet every single day. New York City’s Penn Station is getting a much-needed $3 billion makeover. As part of a comprehensive regional transportation plan that includes a new airport at LaGuardia…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jan 6

GM Just Bet Half a Billion Dollars on Building Self-Driving Cars With Lyft

Detroit is more than a little worried about the tech-centric future of automobiles, namely the ones that drive themselves. So it’s no surprise that GM is investing $500 million in Lyft to build a network of autonomous cars. Why not just buy the whole company?! Well, that’s not a crazy idea. GM’s massive new investment…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jan 4

How Dangerous Is Airplane Turbulence?

It’s scary. It’s uncomfortable. It spills your tomato juice. It’s turbulence—but how dangerous is it, actually? I have a very personal interest in this question, having been semi-traumatized on a terrifying flight whose tumbling felt like that of a rag doll in a clothes dryer cranked to turbo. I’ve flown since I was in diapers,…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Jan 1

How Japan’s Bullet Train Is Taking Over the World

The shinkansen—Japan’s bullet train that brought high-speed rail to the world in 1963—is as symbolic for the nation as sushi and cherry blossoms. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to export it across the world. And so far, he seems to be doing just that. Although high-speed rail has flourished in countries like Japan, China, Germany,…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Dec 28

California Taxi Industry Finally Has Its Own App, Only Four Years Too Late

The task of competing with logistics giants Uber and Lyft seems more soul-crushing than ever. Uber’s valued at something like $70 billion. Lyft has those pink mustaches. How’s the everyman cab supposed to compete? Government support, of course. A recent ruling from the California Division of Measurement Standards will let a small startup called FlyWheel…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Dec 23

Ban Cars

In December of 2015, 195 countries announced that even a global effort to reduce emissions probably won’t prevent the catastrophic warming of the planet. But there is a way we can reach our climate goals. It’s not a pledge. It’s not a tax. It’s easier than that. We ban cars. Aside from a single panel…

Climate Change Alissa Walker Dec 10

Ships Have Black Boxes—And Apparently, They’re a Cinch to Hack

Voice, navigation, and radar data aboard ships are all at risk, according to an expert who claims that some devices that contain sensitive ship information just aren’t secure enough. This could be good news for pirates and spies, and bad news for the good guys. Motherboard reports that large boats, like cruise or cargo ships,…

Privacy & Security Bryan Lufkin Dec 9

Nevada Is Getting a Hyperloop Test Track

Hyperloop Technologies plans to build a hyperloop test track for in North Las Vegas—and it wants to start testing early next year. The AP talked to the California company (which takes its name from Elon Musk’s proposed invention, but isn’t associated with him) about its plans to create a testing ground for the transit technology.…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Dec 8

The US Is About to Waste $305 Billion On Roads We Don’t Need

A big infrastructure bill finally passed the House this week, pushing $305 billion over five years to transit and highway projects. In the same week, Uber raised another $2.1 billion, bringing its total valuation to $62.5 billion—roughly the same amount the new bill spends on infrastructure each year. Which of these figures do you think…

Tech News Alissa Walker Dec 4

Visualization of Flight Searches Reveals Our True Thanksgiving Travel Plans

The most popular destination this Thanksgiving may not have been mom and pop’s house, but rather Miami Beach or Disney World, according to a telling visualization of airline search data. It’s a well-known fact that air traffic spikes on Thanksgiving weekend. But data journalists at The Upshot were curious to learn whether our flight patterns…

Tech News Maddie Stone Nov 28

90 Years Ago, the Los Angeles Subway Was Born in This Lost Tunnel

By now almost everyone knows (I hope!) that Los Angeles has a subway. But did you know that this is not the first subway that LA has ever had? Ninety years ago today, the Pacific Electric Subway opened in Los Angeles, connecting the city’s growing transit network with a 1.9-mile tunnel. The Pacific Electric system—nicknamed…

Tech News Alissa Walker Nov 25

Here’s the First Airport to Run on 100% Solar Power

Cochin International in southern India is the world’s first airport to be run solely on power from the sun. It became totally energy self-sufficient in August. How’s it holding up? BBC reports that the 1,300-acre airport harnesses energy from a field of over 46,000 solar panels to run what’s apparently the country’s seventh busiest airport.…

Tech News Bryan Lufkin Nov 25

The Absolutely Insane $700 Billion Idea to Fix LA Traffic? Tunnels!

A few weeks ago LA unveiled a sweeping new transportation vision for the city that will swap car-centric planning with more transit, biking, and walking. But a different plan says getting people out of their cars is not the solution. What we really need, are more places for those cars to go. UNDERGROUND. Last week,…

Tech News Alissa Walker Nov 24

This NYC Subway Map Shows How Many Calories You Could Be Burning By Walking

We know life would be better if we’d get off our butts and walk more. But when??? This map shows the health opportunities hidden in plain sight by mapping the calories hypothetically burned if we’d ditch the subway/Uber/hoverboard and walk. During London’s tube strike, Transport for London created an alternative transit map that showed walk…

Health Alissa Walker Nov 23

This Freeway Overpass Got Completely Replaced in 43 Hours

Remember Carmageddon, LA’s massive freeway widening project that was supposed to paralyze the city? (It didn’t.) The demolition of a single overpass alone took an entire weekend. Earlier this month, a major Beijing overpass was demolished and completely replaced in less than two days. How did this happen? While the demolition of the old bridge…

Tech News Alissa Walker Nov 20

These Parks Are Reclaiming Ugly Urban Underpasses as Public Space

Manhattan’s rails-to-trails High Line sparked a global trend of turning old transit infrastructure into parks. But a new breed of public spaces aren’t waiting for the transportation around them to stop running—they’re transforming the ground below the still-active elevated tracks. Use the slider to navigate between before and after shots proposed for Miami’s Underline We’ve…

Tech News Alissa Walker Nov 20

Could Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson Have Stopped That Bomb If They’d Just Taken An Uber?

You could use the public data released by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission to reveal critical insights about urban transit trends. Or you could use it to conduct a completely serious investigation on the plausibility of one of the transportation scenarios in Die Hard: With a Vengeance. To be fair, developer Todd…

Tech News Alissa Walker Nov 18

Volvo Is Designing the Autonomous Car That Could Eliminate All Traffic Deaths

As usual, traffic was apocalyptic on the 10 Freeway. So I cued up the Master of None episode I didn’t finish the night before, pulled out the Greek yogurt I hadn’t had time to eat for breakfast, reclined my seat way back, and relaxed. I may have even dozed off as my vehicle steered its…

Tech News Alissa Walker Nov 18

The US Government Needs a National Policy on Self-Driving Cars

Uber (and Lyft) Finally Bankrupted San Francisco’s Favorite Taxi Company

Penn Station, the Worst Public Transit Experience in the US, Will Be Reborn—Amen!

GM Just Bet Half a Billion Dollars on Building Self-Driving Cars With Lyft

How Dangerous Is Airplane Turbulence?

How Japan’s Bullet Train Is Taking Over the World

California Taxi Industry Finally Has Its Own App, Only Four Years Too Late

Ban Cars

Ships Have Black Boxes—And Apparently, They’re a Cinch to Hack

Nevada Is Getting a Hyperloop Test Track

The US Is About to Waste $305 Billion On Roads We Don’t Need

Visualization of Flight Searches Reveals Our True Thanksgiving Travel Plans

90 Years Ago, the Los Angeles Subway Was Born in This Lost Tunnel

Here’s the First Airport to Run on 100% Solar Power

The Absolutely Insane $700 Billion Idea to Fix LA Traffic? Tunnels!

This NYC Subway Map Shows How Many Calories You Could Be Burning By Walking

This Freeway Overpass Got Completely Replaced in 43 Hours

These Parks Are Reclaiming Ugly Urban Underpasses as Public Space

Could Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson Have Stopped That Bomb If They’d Just Taken An Uber?

Volvo Is Designing the Autonomous Car That Could Eliminate All Traffic Deaths

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

‘Starfleet Academy’ Season 3 Could Have Done the ‘Voyager’ Sequel Episode of Robert Picardo’s Dreams

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

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