The Trump Administration Just Named a Front-Runner in the Robotaxi Race
Zoox got the first commercial exemption for a driverless car. It came with a promise that safety regulations would evolve “as Zoox's technology advances.”
Transportation Policy
Airports Are Opting for Private Security Over the TSA. The Union Says That's a Public Safety Threat.
Airport security screeners at the 20 private-contract airports get paid during a government shutdown. A public sector union wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Trump's FAA Moves To End the 50-Year Ban on Domestic Supersonic Flight
Supersonic flight is legally limited to the ocean. But the federal bureaucracy is (slowly) changing, and at least one company wants to take advantage.
D.C. Wants To Charge Robotaxis $6 Million. Unions Still Say No.
A proposed bill would legalize commercial autonomous vehicles in D.C. under one of the country’s most expensive regulatory frameworks, but unions still want the brakes applied.
Taking the W
Developers rush to use California's new apartments-near-transit law, North Carolina eliminates parking requirements, and the federal housing bill finally becomes law.
The New Transportation Bill Puts Special Interests Above Safety
Some safety recommendations are treated as essential—while others become negotiable once influential people object.
House Transportation Bill Eliminates Obscure Rule That Effectively Bans Driverless Trucks
This year's surface transportation reauthorization would eliminate a requirement that human drivers place safety placards around disabled trucks.
America's Highway Fund Is Running Out of Money. Congress Wants To Spend New Funds on Not Fixing Highways.
Congress’ new infrastructure bill commissions a costly review of Amtrak’s food and beverage offerings and a study of yellow paint.
Taxes and Government Fees Make Up 25 Percent of Car Rental Fees
Travelers make easy targets for revenue-hungry officials.
The Self-Driving Car Fight in Congress Isn't Really About Safety at All
Bootleggers, Baptists, and the fight over who gets to write America's self-driving car rules.
Pittsburgh Thinks the NFL Draft Is Worth $19 Million of Taxpayer Money. Here's What Past Draft Data Say.
Plus: NFL draft rookies get screwed by the players union, and governments are charging a ton to get to the World Cup
FISA Reform Blues
Plus: The House passes a short-term FISA extension, Ron Wyden urges fellow Senate Democrats to oppose a "clean" bill, and Norway gets robot buses.
Does the Government Own You—or Do You Own Yourself?
"Why should somebody else have this right to decide the direction of my own life?" asks Timothy Sandefur, author of the book You Don't Own Me.
We Could Have Flying Cars by 2028
But only if politicians learn to focus on the boring basics of aviation policy.
Facebook Guilty
Plus: Trump declares victory over Iran again, Afroman trial reflections, and more...
Welfare on Wheels: The Truth About the Supposed Truck Driver Shortage
Is there really a truck driver shortage? Or are companies just using that story to pull off an outrageous corporate welfare scam?
Here's Why Virginia Has the Best Highways in the Country
While it struggles with congestion, the state is using innovation to ease traffic and make its highways safer.
Seattle's Minimum Wage Laws Backfired on Uber and Lyft. Now the Union Wants To Limit Drivers.
As demand for trips has plummeted in the wake of the wage hikes, the Drivers Union is trying to limit the number of gig workers on the road.
Review: A Period Drama About the Price of Progress in the American West
Train Dreams follows a logger in the Pacific Northwest during the age of westward expansion.
NYC Transit Just Got Rid of MetroCards for Fares. The Successor Could Put Your Privacy at Risk.
Unlike the MetroCard, the OMNY system requires train and bus riders in New York City to give their name and phone number to the government.
Pete Buttigieg Says DOGE Was a Good Idea
The progressive Democrat is a front-runner for the 2028 presidential nomination, but has no vision of a smaller, more efficient government.
It Looks Like the End of the Road for Rideshare Alternative Empower in D.C.
The company may soon shutter its operations in the District of Columbia, following recent decisions by the D.C. Superior Court and Court of Appeals.
D.C. Public Schools Still Closed as City Struggles To Clear Roads and Sidewalks
As the district's struggle to clear snow drags on, the case for public infrastructure maintenance becomes weaker.
Trump Issues Order Cracking Down on Corporate Homeownership
The president's order is not the comprehensive ban on large investor–owned housing that he promised. But it could still have a chilling effect on the single-family rental market.
Why Can't New York Get Rid of 2-Person Subway Crews?
Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill mandating two-person subway crews, but union contracts and bipartisan support ensure New Yorkers will keep paying for them anyway.
Would Star Trek's Transporter Destroy Cities or Save Them?
What a speculative technology can tell us about the demands for urban density and sprawl
17 Ways Politicians Can Make Things Cheaper, Starting With Food, Health Care, and Appliances
A real affordability agenda would unleash free markets, not constrain them.
LA Metro Is a Dangerous, Costly Mess. What Would Fix It?
Almost half of riders dodge the fares.
Uncle Sam Makes Thanksgiving Worse
We have many things to be grateful for this time of year. The government isn't one of them.
California Clears Path for Gig Unions
Even after the Prop 22 rebuke, California is pushing a system that could standardize schedules and undermine gig work.
The New Luddites Want To Pump the Brakes on Driverless Cars
To fully realize human flourishing, America must embrace the future—not fear it.
6 Zohran Mamdani Campaign Promises That New York City Can't Afford
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor by promising New Yorkers “free” programs and services with their own money.
The Trump Administration Waives Obscure Safety Rule Blocking Driverless Trucks
Federal safety regulators have granted driverless truck company Aurora's requested waiver of the warning triangle rule that had acted as a de facto requirement for human drivers in autonomous trucks.
How Stockholm Used a $3 Toll To Tame Its Traffic Congestion
Swedes initially hated the congestion pricing experiment. After they witnessed the effects, they voted to bring it back.
Feds Pump the Brakes on Autonomous Trucks
An obscure federal rule is slowing the self-driving revolution.
Empower Stays on D.C. Streets as Appeals Court Weighs Future of Rideshare Company
The D.C. Superior Court found Empower still in contempt of court despite updating its software-as-a-service agreement and will reconvene in January.
D.C. Will Arrest This CEO if His Rideshare Alternative Doesn't Shut Down by Friday
Empower CEO Joshua Sear is guilty of providing a cheap, popular alternative to Uber in the nation's capital.
Mamdani's Fare-Free Buses Wouldn't Be NYC's First Wasteful Public Transit Boondoggle
A previous pilot program found free access slowed down buses in New York City, which already has the slowest buses in the nation.
MAGA Conservatives, Unions Want To Crush Driverless Trucks. Will the Trump Administration Listen?
A fight over an arcane trucking safety rule reveals the White House's split position on autonomous vehicle regulations.
Trump Once Called Biden's $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill 'Terrible.' Now He's Pretending He Signed It.
He was right the first time.
Josh Hawley's Anti–Driverless Cars Policy Would Kill a Lot of People
Tens of thousands of people die each year in crashes where human error was the cause or a contributing factor.
Europe's Highest Bridge Was Built Without Government Subsidies
France's Millau Viaduct is an engineering marvel funded by tolls.
Union-Backed Boston Ordinance Would Require Drivers in Driverless Waymos
Unionized drivers and politicians say regulation is needed to stop autonomous vehicles from replacing jobs.
Why Does the Government Run Air Traffic Control?
Air traffic control is simply too important to leave up to the politicians.
