Hacker News with Generative AI: Transportation

B.C. to toll U.S. trucks travelling to Alaska (cbc.ca)
British Columbia is hitting back at economic threats from the United States by introducing tools to impose fees on U.S. truck traffic travelling through the province on the way to Alaska.

Politics, Transportation, Canada, United States, Alaska

9 points by geox 2 hours ago | 0 comments

Waymo's Expansion: Cars, New Depots, and What's Next (autonomycentral.net)
A couple of months ago, Waymo content creator JJRicks uploaded a video showcasing a factory he discovered, capturing close-up ground-level footage of the site. This factory turned out to be an assembly plant from Magna, where Waymos are constructed.

Autonomous Vehicles, Technology, Business, Transportation

12 points by xnx 23 hours ago | 0 comments

The New York City Subway Is Using Google Pixels to Listen for Track Defects (wired.com)
Between September and January, six Google Pixel smartphones hitched free rides on four New York City subway cars.

Transportation, Technology, Google

13 points by jonbaer 3 days ago | 1 comments

Tesla applies for ride-hailing service in California, but with human drivers (electrek.co)
Tesla has applied for a permit to operate a ride-hailing service in California, but it will be using human drivers rather than the promised robotaxi.

Tesla, Ride-Hailing, California, Transportation, Human Drivers

5 points by zfg 6 days ago | 2 comments

The Moped King (streetsblogprojects.org)
Twenty years ago, e-bikes and mopeds were rare in the city, but now they are everywhere — buzzing around midtown office towers during the lunch rush, parked in long rows outside takeout spots, and, occasionally, barreling down bike lanes and sidewalks.

Transportation, Urban Planning

21 points by paulgb 10 days ago | 9 comments

'The flying bum': can a UK firm making airships get off the ground? (theguardian.com)
Airlander maker HAV scales up to build world’s biggest aircraft, which it says will have 90% lower emissions than a conventional plane

Airships, Transportation, Sustainability, Innovation, UK

9 points by n1b0m 10 days ago | 0 comments

EV could reboot medium-duty trucking by not reinventing the wheel (arstechnica.com)
GARDEN GROVE, Calif.—There's no shortage of companies looking to reinvent the delivery experience using everything from sidewalk drones to electric vans. Some are succeeding, but many more have failed by trying to radically rethink the simple, age-old task of getting stuff from one place to another.

Electric Vehicles, Trucking, Transportation, Innovation

7 points by rbanffy 12 days ago | 0 comments

Has UK rail's Elizabeth line shown what rail investment can achieve? (theguardian.com)
Halfway to a billion journeys, and it’s only just begun. Amid the recent gloom, struggles and doubts besetting Britain’s railway there is a bright beacon of hope: the Elizabeth line.

Transportation, United Kingdom, Infrastructure, Rail

5 points by erehweb 13 days ago | 1 comments

Airlines Sue to Avoid Consequences for Breaking Disabled Travelers' Wheelchairs (motherjones.com)
Five major airlines—American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United—have joined an airline trade association lawsuit to overturn a Department of Transportation rule that forces airlines to treat wheelchair users and their mobility devices with dignity.

Airlines, Disability Rights, Lawsuits, Transportation, Consumer Protection

7 points by awnird 14 days ago | 1 comments

Canada pledges billions for high-speed rail linking Quebec City and Toronto (apnews.com)
The Canadian government said Wednesday it is moving ahead with a multibillion-dollar plan to build a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto.

Canada, High-Speed Rail, Infrastructure, Transportation, Government

56 points by geox 15 days ago | 68 comments

Trump Administration Moves to End New York's Congestion Pricing Tolls (nytimes.com)
President Trump intends to revoke federal approval of New York City’s congestion pricing program, fulfilling a campaign promise to reverse the policy that tolls drivers who enter Manhattan’s busiest streets to finance repairs to mass transit.

Politics, Transportation, Infrastructure

41 points by mikhael 15 days ago | 66 comments

A secret poker game you can play on the subway (prfalken.dev)
In the bustling world of urban commuting, where millions of people ride the subway daily, a new and exciting game has emerged: Subway Poker.

Games, New York, Transportation

300 points by oktcho 17 days ago | 110 comments

Pathfinder 1: The Airship That Could Usher in a New Age (bbc.com)
Pathfinder 1, bankrolled by a Google billionaire, is an attempt to revive the airship. A century after terrifying disasters, is it a safe-enough bet?

Airships, Technology, Transportation, History

39 points by andrewl 17 days ago | 59 comments

Trump begins firings of FAA ATC staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash (apnews.com)
The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Politics, Aviation, Transportation, Accidents, Government

18 points by throw0101d 17 days ago | 3 comments

Dust from car brakes more harmful than exhaust, study finds (e360.yale.edu)
In cars, pollution doesn’t come from exhaust alone. It also comes from wear and tear on roads, tires, and brakes. According to new research, tiny bits of dust cast off by brake pads may inflict more harm than car exhaust.

Environmental Science, Transportation, Health, Pollution

456 points by Brajeshwar 19 days ago | 455 comments

Edgware 1924: The Making of a Suburb (modernism-in-metroland.co.uk)
One hundred years ago, the new Edgware Underground station was opened. It marked the completion of the tube extension from Golders Green, on the line we now call the Northern, but what was then the Charing Cross. Euston & Hampstead Railway, owned by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, the forerunner to London Transport.

History, London, Transportation, Suburbs

16 points by benbreen 20 days ago | 4 comments

Getaround announces wind-down of U.S. operations (coverager.com)
Last night, Getaround sent an email announcing it is shutting down its US operations, which includes HyreCar, citing the need to preserve liquidity and maximize stakeholder value through its European business.

Business, Startups, Transportation

6 points by mfkp 22 days ago | 1 comments

NYC is giving free e-bikes to delivery workers with shoddy or illegal e-bikes (electrek.co)
New York City’s Department of Transportation has a novel idea for helping get the most common uncertified e-bikes off the city’s streets: let their riders swap them for a safer UL-compliant electric bike for free.

Transportation, E-bikes, Safety

7 points by gnabgib 22 days ago | 6 comments

Large Nuclear-Powered Subsonic Aircraft for Transoceanic Commerce (1971) [pdf] (nasa.gov)

Nuclear Power, Aviation, Transportation, Commerce, History

31 points by ipnon 24 days ago | 5 comments

Why hasn't commercial air travel gotten any faster since the 1960s? (2009) (engineering.mit.edu)
In an era when everything else is accelerating, airplanes are actually flying at slower speeds than they used to…

Aviation, Transportation, History, Engineering

142 points by sorentwo 25 days ago | 667 comments

Streetsblog Mourns the Passing of Donald Shoup (streetsblog.org)
Donald Shoup, the author of the groundbreaking High Cost of Free Parking and UCLA Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA, passed away last Thursday evening, February 6, 2025.

Urban Planning, Transportation, Obituaries

8 points by riffic 26 days ago | 1 comments

An Artist Helped Drivers with a Counterfeit Highway Sign (2023) (thedrive.com)
When Caltrans couldn't make a useful sign to direct motorists through a confusing interchange, a brave artist snuck his own onto an existing one.

Art, Transportation, California, Design

4 points by wallflower 26 days ago | 0 comments

Feds Halt the National Electric Vehicle Charging Program (wired.com)
The US Department of Transportation has ordered states to kill their implementation plans related to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, according to a memo obtained by WIRED that was later made public.

Electric Vehicles, Government, Policy, Transportation

43 points by pseudolus 27 days ago | 101 comments

Subway crime plummets as ridership jumps significantly in congestion pricing era (amny.com)
NYC subway crime has dropped significantly so far this year even as ridership increased in the congestion pricing era, according to the newest NYPD data released on Tuesday.

NYC, Crime, Transportation, Public Policy

156 points by ceejayoz 29 days ago | 207 comments

Trump Puts California High-Speed Rail in Crosshairs (ktla.com)
President Donald Trump has renewed his efforts to stifle California’s High-Speed Rail project that is currently under construction and would link the Bay Area with greater Los Angeles.

Politics, Infrastructure, California, Transportation

5 points by LinuxBender 29 days ago | 0 comments

Is Google Maps fatally misleading drivers in India? It's complicated (restofworld.org)
Earlier this week, an Indian politician urged the country’s Parliament to support homegrown alternatives to Google Maps — blaming the popular navigation app for fatal accidents.

Google Maps, India, Transportation, Technology, Safety

7 points by NDAjam 29 days ago | 0 comments

America's "First Car-Free Neighborhood" Is Going Pretty Good, Actually? (dwell.com)
It’s been two years since Culdesac Tempe, the self-proclaimed "first car-free neighborhood in America," opened with a goal of making walkability its centerpiece.

Urban Planning, Sustainability, Transportation, Arizona

61 points by prawn 30 days ago | 105 comments

Station of despair: What to do if you get stuck at end of Tokyo Chuo Rapid Line (soranews24.com)
More people spend the night in Otsuki than want to spend the night there.

Japan, Transportation, Travel, Public Transport

523 points by edward 30 days ago | 333 comments

Farewell potholes? UK team invents self-healing road surface (theguardian.com)
For all motorists, but perhaps the Ferrari-collecting rocker Rod Stewart in particular, it will be music to the ears: researchers have developed a road surface that heals when it cracks, preventing potholes without a need for human intervention.