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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Gretchen Goldman, PhD @gretchentg.bsky.social · Jul 29

It's a sad day when our leaders turn their back on long established science to try and roll back public health protections while the dangers of climate change are palpable on a daily basis. We cannot let this stand. www.ucs.org/about/news/t...

Trump Administration Launches Broadside Attack on Science-Backed Endangerment Finding, Public Health Protections

Trump Administration Launches Broadside Attack on Science-Backed Endangerment Finding, Climate and Public Health Protections

www.ucs.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Transbay Coalition @transbaycoalition.bsky.social · Jul 16

TONIGHT tune in to learn how to make your city's bus system better as we host a book talk with the author of "Better Buses, Better Cities" @stevenhigashide.com
actionnetwork.org/events/bette...

"Better Buses, Better Cities" Book Talk with author Steven Higashide and Transbay Coalition

Join Transbay Coalition's book club for a talk with the author of "Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit" Steven Higashide! The virtual event is open t...

actionnetwork.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Transbay Coalition @transbaycoalition.bsky.social · Jun 30

Excited to host a virtual book talk with the author of "Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit" @stevenhigashide.com. Register today! actionnetwork.org/events/bette...

Get your book through @islandpress.bsky.social at islandpress.org/books/better...

actionnetwork.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · Jun 18

useful piece for people who might be wavering on Zohran. from the outside he seems like a smart guy who is willing to build alliances with more experienced folks like Lander, I think that is key

Sam @samd.bsky.social · Jun 18

Here it is: my urbanist NYC voter guide. While Zellnor Myrie and Brad Lander are (by far) the best candidates, you’re going to have to rank either Zohran or Cuomo if you want your vote to count.

I dove deep into this decision and came to the conclusion that Zohran is the superior choice.

An Urbanist NYC Voter Guide

And the pragmatic case for Zohran Mamdani over Andrew Cuomo

bettercities.substack.com

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · Jun 6

"The Elizabeth Line in London is used by more than twice as many people as expected, for example. For some reason, this is not being treated as a massive embarrassment, nearly as bad as a 100% cost overrun." backofmind.substack.com/p/department...

department of what now?

voices from the beehive, part 4

backofmind.substack.com

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

John Morales @johnmoralestv.bsky.social · Jun 3

Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · Jun 4

“Everybody will say, ‘Silicon Valley’s reinventing the bus again.' But it’s more like they’re reinventing a worse bus”: @kevshen.bsky.social in @grist.org grist.org/transportati...

Uber's new shuttles look suspiciously familiar to anyone who's taken a bus

Beyond the jokes about Uber inventing bus lines are serious questions about what its shuttle service will mean for struggling transit systems, air quality, and congestion.

grist.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

The Weather & Climate Livestream @wclivestream.bsky.social · May 30

Powerful non-partisan moment on the Weather & Climate Livestream as fired NOAA employees address the popular belief that voters in red states should "get what they voted for."

wclivestream.com/watch/

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · May 30

For decades, U.S. residents have had the experience of traveling, riding public transportation networks that blow ours out of the water, and asking "Why can't we have that here?" Would be ironic to see the same thing happen to the experience of driving!

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer.bsky.social · May 30

“In just a few years, U.S. consumers may go on vacation abroad and discover that their rental car or taxi is running on a technology that looks different and is in many ways more attractive than what is available at home.” www.csis.org/analysis/wha...

What’s Missing from the U.S. Debate on Electric Vehicles

Proposed policies by Congress and the administration aimed at slowing the EV industry would have negative implications for innovation in the United States and the development of local EV value chains.

www.csis.org

Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · May 29

Some toplines:

🔌EV brake wear PM 83% lower than combustion vehicles; tire wear PM ~20% higher due to higher weight

☁️40% of brake PM goes airborne compared to 1-5% of tire PM

🚇Model: 5x reduction of non-exhaust emissions (in London) from shifting trips to public transit vs. faster electrification

EIT Urban Mobility @eiturbanmobility.eu · May 22

🚨 New study: with exhaust emissions down, brake, tyre & road wear are now the dominant source of PM emitted by vehicles in cities. Electrifying fleets helps—but shifting from cars to public transport cuts PM up to 5x more.

Released today at #ITF2025 👉 www.eiturbanmobility.eu/knowledge-hu...

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Bob Burgess @bobburgess.bsky.social · May 28

Actual quotes from the Dallas Fed's monthly manufacturing report:

"Business sucks"

"DOGE has killed us. Our customers are fighting tariff increases and dramatic funding cuts from USDA and USAID."

"We have a large order delayed until 2026."

www.dallasfed.org/research/sur...

Texas manufacturing production flat, new orders fall

Texas factory activity held steady in May, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions,...

www.dallasfed.org

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · May 27

The OGs:

Reposted by Steven Higashide

Madeline Brozen @mbrozen.bsky.social · May 22

For reference, this show is taped 4 blocks from a train station in Hollywood, one of the places in LA with excellent transit connectivity!

I bet at rush hour, @awalkerinla.bsky.social could easily get to the show faster than other guests driving there!

TransitCenter @transitcenter.bsky.social · May 22

Huge kudos to @awalkerinla.bsky.social for all she’s done to champion and normalize transit use in LA!

We’re working towards a world where nobody’s mind will be blown if you tell them you took transit to get where you were going.

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文 @kevshen.bsky.social · May 22

Demand for transportation options is growing - people are increasingly choosing transit 🚌🚇. But still over half of the country’s population does not live near any transit whatsoever. Meanwhile, agencies' hard-earned recovery faces the threat of fiscal cliffs.

Read more: blog.ucs.org/kshen/how-mu...

How Much Transit Investment Is Needed to Get Back to “Normal”?

Transit is essential for the climate, our health, and our pocketbooks, but was never set up for success in transportation policy. While transit agencies in the United States have made slight increases...

blog.ucs.org

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · May 20

“This could be the start of a new kind of freight system. One that’s better for our health, as well as delivering significant operational savings to fleets. So, let's not undercut this remarkable advance in technology at this critical moment.” www.govtech.com/transportati...

Transportation, Energy Leaders Urge Congress to Save Incentives

Proposed legislation would gut key components of the Inflation Reduction Act and potentially sideline the nation’s innovation growth in energy and transportation. On Thursday, executives in these sect...

www.govtech.com

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · May 14

The Prius has given #Toyota a pro-environment reputation that covers up the fact that the company does more than any other automaker to fight climate solutions.

Toyota is even asking its own employees to lobby Congress to kill California's clean vehicle rules.

Dave Reichmuth @davereichmuth.bsky.social · May 13

California can’t clean its air or slow climate change without switching from gasoline to electricity. But there’s a roadblock: the biggest car seller in the state is one of the most vocal opponents to a transition away from fossil fuels. blog.ucs.org/dave-reichmu...

Why Does Toyota Oppose Clean Air?

There is no way to protect our health and our climate by simply making better gasoline cars.

blog.ucs.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Chris McCahill @chrismccahill.bsky.social · May 9

Last week I received notice that FHWA’s INVEST tool—a resource launched in 2012 to help transportation agencies evaluate the sustainability of their programs and projects—will no longer be available starting this June. www.sustainablehighways.org

Welcome to INVEST Version 1.3! | INVEST - Sustainable Highways Self-Evaluation Tool | Federal Highway Administration

www.sustainablehighways.org

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · Apr 30

100 days of this administration, over 200 separate documented attacks on science (as tracked by @ucsusa.bsky.social - blog.ucs.org/jules-barbat...)

savesciencenow.org

www.youtube.com

Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · Apr 30

More than anything else, it's the cost of building roads that has eroded the effectiveness of federal fuel taxes.

Lots of talk in Congress right now about taxing EVs and finding new transportation revenue. But the conversation we need is how to spend the money better.

bsky.app/profile/ucsd...

Dave Cooke @ucsdave.bsky.social · Apr 30

Doing the same thing over & over and expecting a different result is the proverbial definition of insanity, but that's our approach to transportation spending. Road construction costs outpace inflation, freight traffic more than fills increased capacity, and yet ppl think EVs are the problem? WTAF?

Chart title: Effectiveness of the Federal Fuel Tax Has Dropped by More than 80 percent. Shown: A chart with five bars showing the relative change in value of the federal fuel tax, per mile, compared to 1993 (100%). An increased share of miles from freight trucks results in a 9.2% increase in income per mile, while increased vehicle efficiency since 1993 has decreased the value taken in per mile by 17.1%. Electric vehicles do not contribute to the fuel tax but comprise 2.1% of miles traveled, a further decrease. But increased in the cost of road building, which is what the fuel tax is largely spent on, has resulted in a 78.6% decrease in the value of federal fuel tax since 1993, leading to an overall value of just 19% in 2023 compared to 1993.

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Steven Higashide @stevenhigashide.com · Apr 30

The US declared the interstate highway system complete in 1992 and last raised federal fuel taxes in 1993.

Since then, the US has continued to massively expand roads, and the cost of building those roads has increased. Three decades of expanding the road network while keeping the gas tax unchanged.

Dave Cooke @ucsdave.bsky.social · Apr 29

House T&I is talking Highway Trust Fund right now, but they're missing the big point: it's not just what we're paying into the fund that's causing it to go bankrupt, but our insatiable desire for more, and evermore expensive, roads. blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...

The Truth Is Out There: The Cost of Roads Is Bankrupting the Highway Trust Fund, Not Electric Vehicles

The continued build out of the freeway system creates an ever-increasing cost spiral for infrastructure built.

blog.ucs.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Josh Apte @joshapte.bsky.social · Apr 16

Most rail services in the US still use polluting diesel locomotives. Recently, our commuter rail system in San Francisco, @caltrain.com, was electrified.

Good news: we found DRAMATIC air quality improvements once the electric trains replaced the diesels.

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Dramatic Air Quality Improvements after the Complete Electrification of a Commuter Rail System

To limit the impact of climate change, there is an urgent requirement for infrastructure decarbonization and a transition to lower-emission energy systems. This is expected to result in local air qual...

pubs.acs.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

Sam @samd.bsky.social · Apr 15

People might think this is an exaggeration but it’s a literal description of what happened in New York, where Cuomo partnered with a small group of turncoat democrats to hand control of the NY Senate to Republicans

The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) was a caucus consisting of several Democratic members of the New York State Senate that existed from 2011 to 2018.
The IDC is notable for having formed a power-sharing arrangement with the Senate Republican Conference. At the time of its dissolution, the IDC had eight members:
Jeff Klein, Marisol Alcantara, Tony Avella, David Carlucci, Jesse Hamilton, Jose Peralta, Diane Savino, and David Valesky. The IDC was led by Jeff Klein.

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Dave Reichmuth @davereichmuth.bsky.social · Apr 15

There's lots of uncertainty surrounding EV policy right now.

However, it's important to remember what we can be certain of: EVs are a critical technology for reducing pollution from transportation.
blog.ucs.org/dave-reichmu...

Electric Vehicles Help Combat Climate Change, Here’s Why.

97 percent of the country lives where the average EV is better than the most efficient gasoline vehicle

blog.ucs.org

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Reposted by Steven Higashide

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Apr 8

we live in an extraordinarily wealthier society than our parents and grandparents. our problem is that we have not invested enough of that wealth in social goods, but i don’t think anyone actually wants to return to a time when even a “good” factory job was backbreaking labor

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Apr 8

asterisk because i think we look at that period of stability deeply red rose-colored glasses. when people think prosperity they don’t think “family of six sharing a 1200 sq ft home living largely on canned goods and hand me downs” but that was the reality

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