The Hub 9/23/16: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Round-up of Transportation News

“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up to date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.

New York Times: Self-driving cars gain powerful ally: the government – This week, signaling that our roads will not be the Wild West of self-driving cars, the National Highway Safety Administration published the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy. Additionally, President Obama declared that the automated vehicles have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives each year.

Next City: On-demand bus service arrives in New Jersey – Watch out Uber! OurBus, a one bus company running one route between New Jersey and New York City, will soon be transforming into an on-demand bus service with multiple responsive routes for picking up and dropping off passengers within walking distance from their homes and offices.

Plan Philly: Proposal to increase parking finds no support at Planning Commission – Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s proposed bill would double the mandatory minimum parking requirements for apartment buildings, the costs of which will be passed on to car-owning and non-car-owning tenants in the form of higher rents. The Planning Commission extend consideration of the bill for another 45 days.

Bicycling: The 50 best bike cities – Citing Philadelphia’s failure to adopt a Vision Zero policy, Bicycling Magazine dropped Philadelphia from the 14th best bike city to the 15th. However, in August, nine organizations came together to form Philadelphia Vision Zero Alliance and are demanding an official comprehensive strategy to eliminate all traffic deaths in Philadelphia.