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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 8m

I agree with @rmtransit.bsky.social: Robotaxis strengthen the case for congestion pricing (which was already compelling). His post about Waymo's newly announced launch in Toronto: www.thetransitbrief.net/p/waymo-is-c...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 14h

On one hand, Toronto's lost bike lanes will make the city more car-centric. On the other hand, Toronto's new robotaxis will also make the city more car-centric.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 19h

DC's next mayor is in no rush to legalize robotaxis. Another example of a progressive city leader slamming the brakes.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

The research suggests that this infamous Pro Publica story was very wrong. At least in Chicago, race doesn't seem to dictate speed safety camera placement. If anything, at-risk, low-income communities deserve more cameras.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 16/10/2026

New research on Chicago's speed safety cameras. 🔹 They're generally sited in places with lots of kids and a history of crashes. That's good! 🔹 No link btw race and camera placement 🔹 Cameras were less likely to be sited in poor communities, leaving residents at greater risk doi.org/10.1016/j.jt...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

As gas gets more expensive, people living in places with abundant transit and safe bike lanes can save money by driving less. In much of the US, that's not an option. From the new @lookbothwayspod.bsky.social, which is all about gas prices.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Hey California! I'm giving a keynote about cities and autonomous vehicles at @caltransit.bsky.social's annual conference on Oct 28th in Monterey. Afterward I'll have a fireside chat with ex-SFMTA director @jeffreytumlin.bsky.social. Hope to see you there.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

My hottest urbanist take is that I think Dutch cycling is overhyped. Yes, the Dutch bike a lot, but they also own more cars per capita than Danes & Greeks, and they travel by car more than Poles & Romanians. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/sta...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Limited myself to books about transportation and cities. It was hard!

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Something I bought in London last week: A 1923 map of the Underground, by Max Gill. Remember: "The Underground Railways are treated as a whole, and tickets are sold at any station to all other stations on the system to which there is a reasonable and convenient route."

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Activists have called for female crash test dummies that reflect women's' bodies. But Volvo—a company whose reputation revolves around safety—says that approach is too simplistic. Its new report notes that height, body shape, and weight also affect crash risk. www.volvocars.com/us/media/pre...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

When I wrote that AVs would be more useful outside cities— the only places where robotaxi co's want to deploy— industry insiders told me that the economics just doesn't work. OK, but then don't be surprised when people question whether AVs are actually worthwhile. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Implication: America’s artificially cheap on-street parking causes drivers to cruise in search of an open spot, worsening congestion as well as pollution. inrix.com/parking-scor...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

From my afternoon stroll yesterday. London, you’re a beautiful, walkable city with world-class transit. I hope you know what you’re doing.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

New study pushes back against the narrative that rising car costs are making transportation unaffordable: "Real transportation spending rose after 2020 but remains within historical ranges [and below] 1980s levels" 10.1016/j.tranpol.2026.104465

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In London, I came across this sign from the police asking the public for help investigating a crash. Seems like a sensible way to handle hit-and-runs, but I've never seen anything similar in the US.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Greetings from the double decker bus bar

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

"Cycling and walking to work were associated with better physical health, mental health, and life in general than driving." doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Saw this in London, and I love it. The bike hanger securely stores six bikes, using a single curbside parking spot. Huge help for those who can’t keep a bike in their home!

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Are robotaxis really "green"? - "They're EVs!" Sure, but cars can go electric w/o autonomy. - "They'll be shared!" Doubtful. Shared ridehail has fizzled. - "They'll boost transit!" Ridehail made the same claim. Nope. In fact, AVs could worsen the environment by inducing much more driving.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Another factor: Republicans favoring negative freedoms (“Nobody tells me what to do”) over positive ones (“I can pursue the life I desire)”), to borrow Isaiah Berlin’s terms. Think of loud cars. The right often sees them as a personal choice; the left as an audible assault. Check out USDOT's Duffy

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

UVA historian Peter Norton: “This is a uniquely partisan moment in transportation.” He believes the seeds were planted in the 1980s, when Reagan sought to unwind transit subsidies, part his push to deconstruct LBJ’s Great Society. timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

As late as the early 2000s, the Republican party platform backed multimodal transportation. In 2007, George W Bush’s USDOT even offered NYC hundreds of millions of dollars to get New York legislators to adopt congestion pricing! (NY turned the offer down.) archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blo...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Transportation need not be controversial. Everyone wants to travel quickly, safely, and affordably. In the 60s/70s a united Congress created NHTSA, bailed out transit, and removed lead from gas. Other issues, such as urban highways, were contentious—but they generally didn't pit Rs against Ds.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My review; 7/10 Love the trains and buses; learned all about the 18th century watermen who scammed Londoners traveling along the Thames But why am I reading platitudes from a transit contractor with a rather, err, dubious reputation?

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Greetings from the London Transport Museum

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Austria has banned mopeds and e-mopeds from using bike lanes. Makes sense. It's not safe for families with children to share bike lane with couriers traveling at speeds 5x faster. www.bmimi.gv.at/en/service/p...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

"E-bike adopters reduced travel costs by 12% and increased physical activity by 14%." doi.org/10.1016/j.ur...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I often see misleading stuff like this (from LinkedIn). Reminder: The price of a robotaxi trip reveals nothing about efficiciency or economics. It's hugely subsidized. Remember how cheap Uber and Lyft were a decade ago, back when they were private companies spending investor dollars?

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I'm getting ready to visit London for the first time in a decade. Anything I should be sure to see/do/eat?

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Irony alert: NYC Climate Week features a session about "Reducing Driving As Climate Action" that's sponsored by Waymo, a company poised to massively expand car use luma.com/parking-70cz...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Waymo is all over NYC Climate Week, sponsoring a slew of events. I just watched Adam Lenz, Waymo's sustainability head, field softball questions from Heatmap's CEO (nothing re: added VMT). Waymo clearly hopes to piggyback on YIMBYism. Lenz described Waymo as the "missing middle" of city mobility.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

This story is from a couple weeks ago, but it could just as easily be from 2012

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Cathie Wood predicts robotaxis "are going to destroy the auto market." I doubt it. Surveys show that most people want to own an AV, not hail rides through a fleet. That makes sense: A robotaxi can't store your stuff for a few days or reinforce your identity with its design/color/stickers/etc.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In this week's @lookbothwayspod.bsky.social, Wes asked which car ad I loathe most. Tough competition. I went with the Dodge Charger's salute to urban speeding, from the 2018 Super Bowl.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

“A perilous ride” down the Capitol steps in 1884

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

PSA: An original penny farthing is on display at the MLK Library in downtown DC

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

After 9/11, many Americans opted to drive instead of fly. But because plane travel is much safer than car travel, the shift led to a surge in crash deaths. Researchers have found that the number of lives lost (2,000+) is comparable to those killed on 9/11. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

When Democrats reclaim power, they need to bring the hammer down—hard—on Tesla. We can't afford to normalize behavior like this. From Junko Yoshida's newsletter: junkoyoshidaparis.substack.com/p/nhtsa-scra...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

New study finds the social cost of driving a car 1 km—including pollution, crashes, infrastructure, and noise—is more than *triple* the private cost paid by the car owner. doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Getting mixed signals about taking a Great American Road Trip

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Fresh evidence that car touchscreens are a giant step backwards for road safety: "For all tasks, the touchscreen was associated with increased visual distraction." doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Many such cases. This person mentions the climate crisis in her bio.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Full-sized SUVs are pedestrian killers. New research finds that they're more than twice as likely to kill or seriously injure a pedestrian than other cars. (Notably, vehicle height—not weight—was the biggest risk factor.) doi.org/10.1016/j.js...

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is from Illich's book Energy and Equity (1974). He was way ahead of his time.

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Happy 100th birthday to Ivan Illich, the OG car hater: "[Cars] create remoteness which they alone can shrink. They create distances for all and shrink them for only a few....The new expressway expands Chicago, but it sucks those who are well-wheeled away from a downtown that decays into a ghetto.”

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