The Collector
April 17, 2020
Local E-Bike Rebate Set to Roll Out
At its Community Advisory Committee meeting this week, Redwood Coast Energy Authority staff revealed that a new $500 rebate for purchasing an electric bike will become available to Humboldt County residents next week! RCEA will release more details soon. (Full disclosure: CRTP Executive Director Colin Fiske serves on the Community Advisory Committee, and CRTP was one of the organizations which originally proposed an e-bike rebate to RCEA.)
Airports & Airlines Get Huge COVID-19 Bailouts
Humboldt County airports are getting $18 million out of a national pot of $10 billion for airports. At the same time, airlines are getting an additional $60 billion in bailout funds. That’s a total of $70 billion for air travel, compared to $25 billion for transit. Meanwhile, transit agencies carry about 10 times more passengers than airlines in the US in a normal year (10 billion passengers vs. 1 billion for airlines – about a quarter of which is international travel). In other words, airlines are getting a much bigger subsidy – both in total and per passenger – than transit, despite the fact that they are much less needed for essential transportation, much less efficient at moving people, and much more environmentally damaging. So what do the airlines have going for them that transit agencies don’t? They’re big private companies with deep pockets and well-connected lobbyists, of course!
Local Bike News Updates!
The latest edition of Wheel People, the newsletter of the Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association, is now available.
Weekly Street Story Update: Near Misses During Shelter-in-Place
Four near misses for people walking and biking have been reported between Eureka and McKinleyville since the county’s shelter-in-place order was issued on March 20. If you see or experience something dangerous while traveling for essential reasons or for recreation, please make your Street Story report here.
Damn the Pandemic, Full Speed Ahead
So say the Army Corps of Engineers dredges in Humboldt Bay, apparently.
Bike Safe in the COVID-19 Era
Check out the helpful tips from CalBike.
Amazon, Climate and COVID
The fact that orders to stay at home have led to a massive increase in online shopping highlights an interesting fact: Although transportation systems are traditionally divided into those that move freight and those that move people, in reality lots of personal transportation is actually just the “last mile” of the freight transportation system (i.e., getting your groceries or other goods from the store to your home). With that realization, it becomes obvious that anyone who cares about transportation should be concerned about policies and practices at Amazon.
Open Streets Gaining Momentum During the Pandemic
More and more cities are realizing that sidewalks and bike lanes don’t provide enough space for social distancing (or even for normal walking and biking in many cases).
How to Rebuild the Right Way
Smart Growth America sharpens its focus on future stimulus legislation with a report on what went wrong with the 2009 stimulus package and how to do it right this time. (Hint: don’t build a bunch of new highways.)
Transit is Essential Because People Who Ride It Are Essential
A new report finds that over a third of regular transit riders work in jobs classified as essential.
Shifting Transportation Policy Goals from Speed to Access
That’s the goal of two new bills filed in Congress.
The Collector is CRTP’s weekly transportation news roundup, published every Friday. We focus on North Coast news, but we also include relevant state, national and international transportation news – plus other items that we just find kind of interesting! To submit items for consideration, email colin@transportationpriorities.org.