A former motorcycle messenger rides down memory lane

Jul 12, 2024
“I used up eight of my nine lives in that job,” said Ray Charlton, who drove paperwork around Los Angeles in the 1980s.
A motorcyclist splits lanes as drivers sit in traffic in Southern California in 2024. In the 1980s, motorcycle messengers zoomed around Los Angeles delivering papers.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images

The cost of congestion pricing

Jun 6, 2024
New York's governor pulled the plug on the congestion pricing plan for NYC. But congestion can cost more than the $15-per-driver planned charge.
In London, Stockholm and Singapore, congestion pricing led to eased gridlock and a drop in climate-warming emissions.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The loss of Baltimore's bridge has snarled traffic. How do commuters cope?

Apr 9, 2024
Previously, 30,000 cars and trucks would traverse the Francis Scott Key daily. Now all those vehicles have to find other routes.
About 30,000 vehicles used to travel the Key Bridge every day. Now all those cars and trucks have to find other routes.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Don't panic, it's just a roundabout

Dec 22, 2022
The modern roundabout was created in 1960s Britain. But since the '90s, the small Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, Indiana has slowly become the roundabout capital of the United States.
Popularized in Great Britain, roundabouts work around the key behavior of yielding to those already inside the circle.
James Brey/Getty Images.

Proposed Manhattan congestion fee could make return to office even harder

Aug 29, 2022
Manhattan could soon charge drivers a toll to enter midtown, the financial district and other active areas.
Dense traffic in midtown Manhattan. New York City’s proposed congestion plan could include tolls as high as $23 during peak hours.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Traffic moves on Second Avenue in March 2020 in New York City, which could become the first city to implement congestion pricing.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Cities face a new battle over space on their streets and curbs

Dec 24, 2019
Instant deliveries and ride-sharing.services have increased demand for limited real estate.
Ridesharing apps aren't exactly helping the major traffic congestion cities are experiencing.
Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Cities are piloting e-bike programs in a bid to reduce delivery truck traffic

Nov 21, 2019
Montreal and Oslo are aiming to alleviate truck traffic and pollution.
A driver cycles on a tricycle delivery vehicle to deliver packages for UPS in the rain in 2018 in Berlin, Germany.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

NYC is one step closer to a congestion charge – could other cities follow?

Feb 26, 2019
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have announced joint support for congestion pricing on cars entering Manhattan’s central business district. Under the proposal, which still needs to be approved by state legislators, revenue collected would help pay for improving the city’s dilapidated subway system. Cities like London, Singapore, and […]

Report: The average American spends the equivalent of 2.5 work weeks in traffic

Feb 13, 2019
The report, from traffic data company INRIX, finds Boston drivers spend the most time in congested commutes, with Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles rounding out the top 5.
David Paul Morris / Getty Images