Transit

In June, Governor Kathy Hochul made the bombshell announcement that she had ordered the MTA to indefinitely pause New York City’s congestion-pricing program, just weeks before it was set to begin. The governor had once been a major proponent of the first-in-the-nation plan to charge fees to drivers traveling at or below 60th Street, but when she announced the pause, she cited concerns about the $15 toll being too much of a financial burden for everyday New Yorkers. This week, Hochul is indicating that a replacement plan could soon be on the horizon.

The New York Post reported on Sunday that Hochul is mulling significant changes to congestion pricing, including a lower toll and potentially adding new exemptions to the fee. A source told the outlet that the governor is considering excluding teachers, police officers, and firefighters who commute from paying the toll. In July, the New York Times reported that state lawmakers, who would have to sign off on a new plan, were pushing for Hochul to consider a lower toll

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In one of the coolest and more outrageous repair stories in quite some time, three white-hat hackers helped a regional rail company in southwest Poland unbrick a train that had been artificially rendered inoperable by the train’s manufacturer after an independent maintenance company worked on it. The train’s manufacturer is now threatening to sue the hackers who were hired by the independent repair company to fix it.

After breaking trains simply because an independent repair shop had worked on them, NEWAG is now demanding that trains fixed by hackers be removed from service.

The project has been delayed for years, but perhaps with Amtrak (and Andy Byford), the line will finally progress.

This is my full interview with Kim Irwin, the Executive Director of Health By Design about her work advocating for expanded transit and other urbanist policy in Indianapolis. It was a great conversation. Check out the more polished version of the video here.

One day...