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Captive Driver

@captivedriver.bsky.social
200 followers 178 following 299 posts

Car culture, bikes and bike infrastructure. Boston centric.

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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 10h
There is currently exactly one subcompact electric car available for sale in the US for the current model year.
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Bikepedantic @pedantic.bike · 22h
I don’t understand: 1. the seemingly vibes-based opposition to center-running lanes, 2. how curbside lanes are now good enough, 3. what Mayor Wu is about anymore, 4. what Boston’s transpo plan is.
bostonglobe.com
Boston, T scrap plans to extend region’s first-ever center-running bus lane on Columbus Avenue - The Boston Globe
The Wu administration and the T altered the latest design for Columbus Avenue to instead include side-running bus lanes in both directions between Jackson Square and Ruggles.
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 21h
"But the handicapped need cars!" No, what they need are options in mobility. The tech exists to enable their freedom of independent mobility, but almost always what is lacking is the enabling infrastructure. Bike lanes and quality sidewalks serve everyone.
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Dan Seitz @dseitz.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
As a Somerville resident, I want to point out that part of this was the simple realization that the people who were most inconvenienced by this (and whined about it most vocally) don't live here. Once that came into focus a lot of these changes were pretty straightforward.
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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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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
There's a reason why Somerville hasn't had a traffic death in 4 years. The city isn't perfect, but they've made a concerted effort to design many streets around people and not cars. You can still drive, but you're going to have to do so slowly and while paying attention.
bostonglobe.com
Somerville is intentionally making roads harder to drive on. It’s getting results. - The Boston Globe
To make roads safer, the city says, sometimes you have to put some obstacles in drivers' way.
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Cities everywhere are discussing the dangers of ebikes in cities and passing swift legislation to tightly control them. Meanwhile:
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
@mayorwu.boston.gov can we do this in Boston? I know some neighborhoods already do this on their own. But it would be nice if it were more organized and advertised.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
One of the really interesting findings here is that microtransit is associated with better healthcare access and health outcomes because riders are able to have reliable transportation to medical appointments.
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I did sports in college. Guy who had just graduated returned to haze freshman b/c seniors on the team refused to do it. I and one other guy refused to participate. We were ostracized sophomore year when those now sophomores hazed freshman. Coach knew what was going on and turned a blind eye.
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yesterday I had a drive somewhere: I got honked at for stopping in a rotary to let cars clear the way for an ambulance. I also got honked at for stopping for a school bus with red flashing lights. Also watched people drive in a bus/bike lane.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Something I think about often is how cyclists are portrayed as hysterical and angry when their lives are threatened yet car-brained NIMBYs are viewed as reasonable and engaged citizens because they fight tooth and nail to protect 3 parking spots
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Bony 🦴 Skeletino 💀 @notalegalrecord.net · 28/09/2026
people ask me how I can ride a bicycle in the rain, and I always hesitate to divulge the disturbing secret—to reveal the lengths to which we, the esoteric cult of cyclists, will go in our perversity, in our all-consuming, world-be-damned obsession: water-repellent clothing
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
@mayorwu.boston.gov @wutrain.bsky.social have you seen this: m.youtube.com/watch?v=8eSh... Highlights issues with western Ave, DCR managed roadways in Boston. Have we made any effort in fixing this and cracking down on illegal parking?
m.youtube.com
Paint Will Not Protect You
YouTube video by Charles Franklin
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Remember the hype 15 years ago about ridehail being transit's first mile/last mile savior—which turned out be completely untrue? Waymo is dusting off the playbook. This is a PR move, nothing more.
theverge.com
Waymo is offering transit discounts again, this time with Visa
Waymo is doing transit discounts again.
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Daniel 🦁 @eikonos.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Cars are given priority over pedestrians and cyclists because cars are private property, and in this society private property is more important than human beings. One car is more important than 30 people on a public bus, or one person walking or one person cycling, because private property matters.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 21/09/2026
this is a bit of an obsession of mine especially here in charlottesville. the cost of commercial real estate is prohibitive if you want to experiment and the city seems categorically opposed to small lots and small units that could allow people to start businesses without a huge capital investment
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Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
NEW: Drivers who blocked bicycle and bus lanes have racked up nearly $4.5 million in fines since November 2024, when an effort to use automated cameras to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians launched downtown, according to city data unveiled Tuesday. @wttw.bsky.social
news.wttw.com
Chicago Drivers Caught on Camera Blocking Bus, Bicycle Lanes Hit With $4.5M in Fines: Data
In all, the city has banked $2.6 million in revenue from the tickets, records show.
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Matthew Lewis -- living in the era of cults and consequences @mateosfo.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Total banger from @jeremyst.bsky.social : "The solution is not to punish early adopters of a revolutionary technology; it is to aggressively invest in dedicated space on public streets." sfstandard.com/opinion/2026...
sfstandard.com
Opinion: The e-bike revolution is here. San Francisco isn’t ready for it
Bike commutes are up 52%, shared bike and scooter usage has doubled, and injuries are rising too. What the city needs isn’t a ban — it’s a backbone.
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StreetsblogMASS @mass.streetsblog.org · 16/09/2026
@boston.gov Seeks Better Sidewalk Amenities In New ‘Street Furniture’ Contract – 🧵 mass.streetsblog.org/2026/09/16/c...
mass.streetsblog.org
City of Boston Seeks Better Sidewalk Amenities In New 'Street Furniture' Contract - Streetsblog Massachusetts
The city's 'street furniture' contract provides for the maintenance of hundreds of bus shelters and information kiosks across the city in exchange for outdoor advertising space.
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I live in Boston. I took the long, scenic way because it was/is the safest option.
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The Boston LOL 💜 🚲 ⚡ @thebostonlol.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Cars ruin cities and traffic destroys communities www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article...
leeds.ac.uk
Cutting traffic cuts vandalism, burglary and violence, research shows
Lowering traffic on urban streets can cut vandalism, burglary and violence, according to a significant new study by Leeds researchers.
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👻 David Weiskopf believes in spooks 👻 @dave.bzky.team · 14/09/2026
A statistic that haunts me because it is 100% true and shocking and useless in advocacy precisely because it is true and shocking: Policy that enables a 1-car lifestyle rather than 2 is equivalent to giving a family a $25,000 annual pay raise.
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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
One thing I noticed on my interstate drive the last few days was all the car dealerships with lots absolutely loaded with nothing but trucks and SUVs. Americans don't love big vehicles. Our limited marketplace is forcing them on consumers, further fueling debt, death, and the vehicular arms race.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It always infuriates me when people react to congestion pricing by yelling about the "cost." Every time you drive you're paying — our entire society is paying. But the myriad costs of driving are just accepted as the default. As normal. I do hope we're starting to see a shift in that.
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Holley 🏳️‍⚧️ @holleywithane.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The real danger of bicycling is learning just how good things could be if more people rode bicycles.
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Safe Kjipuktuk @safehrm.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Instead of expecting gas tax cuts and no carbon tax, Canadian drivers should be demanding access to cheaper low or no emissions cars, and better alternatives to driving
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California National Party (CNP) @votecnp.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Shielding US Car companies from this competition will just ensure they lose the ability to compete anywhere outside the US. Imagine how quickly we could convert to EV if a new car cost $6000 in the US!
digitaltrends.com
This utterly cute Chinese EV costs just $6,200 and pushes over 190 miles
The 2026 Hongguang Mini EV is cuter, smarter, and longer-legged than before, and at $6,200 to start, it's still the most disruptive budget EV on the planet. We break down everything that's new.
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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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Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
✅ Not narrow. ✅ Pavement color differentiation. This is design that creates presence and saves lives.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Absolutely fantastic video from @rebelwithoutacar.com about a parking lot in Sweden converted into a car-free square based on resident feedback. I love this not just for the use of space, but also for the way Mary outlines how important such areas are to fostering human connection and community.
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
One side two way bike path is dangerous for cyclists at intersections. Unless they have exclusive signals then it’s slightly better. Knowing drivers in this area they do not respect no turn on red. mass.streetsblog.org/2026/09/09/w...
mass.streetsblog.org
What's Changed, And What Hasn't, In Boston's New Blue Hill Avenue Busway Plan - Streetsblog Massachusetts
Late last week, the City of Boston and the MBTA released yet another revised design for the Blue Hill Avenue busway project, which aims to speed up Route 28 and 23 buses between Mattapan Square and Gr...
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The older I get the more I fantasize about living in a tiny apartment with a small balcony (for plants) in a walkable neighborhood with no cars.
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Safe Kjipuktuk @safehrm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
If we really cared about children's safety, we'd do much more than a "back to school" social media PSA
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
“suggests that maybe the Field of Dreams ‘build it and they will come’ approach to encouraging cycling might not be enough in the future.”
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Not just bikes. It’s primarily about shifting away from car centric planning. “Can you walk or bike to things” is a good rule of thumb for how to plan urban development. Anyone who fights against walkable and bike-able cities is not serious about the climate crisis.
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stefandraschan.bsky.social @stefandraschan.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"People fail to grasp that the car catapults them into a completely different space-time dimension—one they do not understand. They feel good while destroying nature, the landscape, cities, and the economy. These are slow processes that many do not notice." #hermannknoflacher
manager-magazin.de
Hermann Knoflacher: Warum das Auto die Welt furchtbar macht
Hermann Knoflacher (78) ist der geistige Vater der weitgehend autofreien Wiener Innenstadt. Der Professor für Verkehrswissenschaften bezeichnet das Auto als Virus, dessen Geschwindigkeit dem Menschen ...
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The Boston LOL 💜 🚲 ⚡ @thebostonlol.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
If you live in the Boston area please sign this petition to have Mass DCR address this dangerous picnic "park" where drivers keep killing cyclists bsky.app/profile/bike...
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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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The Fort Pointer @fortpointer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Head injury in South Boston this week. My City Councilor, as usual, remains silent. The lives of cyclists are of zero concern. According to Flynn, cyclists should ride alongside cars and trucks; or on imaginary “alternate routes” that are never identified; or quit cycling.
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Dr Grace S Peng @gspeng.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Full sized SUVs are 2x more likely to strike pedestrians and 2x more likely to kill or seriously injure pedestrians vs passenger cars. If a child is struck by a full size SUV, they are 8x more likely to die www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
2. Literature review
2.1. Vehicle type and crash biomechanics
Desapriya et al. (2010) found that when a collision occurs, the risk of
a pedestrian sustaining a fatal injury is 50% greater with a light truck
versus a conventional car and that vehicle design characteristics such as
height, width, and length have significant associations with pedestrian
severity outcomes. In addition to the physical dimensions of the vehicles,
the authors cited light trucks’ relatively poor braking and maneuverability
as other possible contributing factors to their poor pedestrian
safety outcomes. Recent research has found that the difference is more
drastic for children, with children being eight times more likely to be
killed when struck by an SUV versus a passenger car (Edwards &
Leonard, 2022).
Front-end dimensions have been a particular focus area of past researchers.
Studies have shown that impacts with tall front-end vehicles –
including SUVs and vans – resulted in pedestrians being pushed forward
which, depending on the height of the pedestrian, sometimes resulted in
high head-ground impact speeds, likely leading to more severe injuries
(Crocetta et al., 2015; Monfort et al., 2024). Pedestrians that are pushed
to the ground by high-front-end vehicles may also be more likely to be
run over by the vehicle, as opposed to pedestrians struck by low-front-
end vehicles who may be more likely to be forced on top of the hood
(Crocetta et al., 2015).
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Peter Cheung @bostonaruban.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
THIS SUNDAY: Ride to celebrate Cummins Highway protected bike lanes! www.facebook.com/events/18489...
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Bike Lane Uprising @bikelaneuprising.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Dear Elected Officials Please take a step back & review your interactions with volunteer orgs. Alot of us are treated as unpaid employees by your staff. We're well aware when we're taken advantage of. It's difficult to endorse your re-elections when all we get is the runaround. -BLU
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The Boston LOL 💜 🚲 ⚡ @thebostonlol.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
These deaths are so horrible, the loss of a human soul is so tragic, but then the entire community is affected in mourning as a piece of us is taken, forever Traffic deaths are preventable. Please sign this petition to urge Mass DCR to fix this deadly roadway docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
click.actionnetwork.org
Petition: Make Memorial Drive Safe, Green, and Accessible
We are heartbroken by the death of MIT Professor Thomas Rose, who died from injuries sustained while biking at Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Drive. Professor Rose is the fifth person killed while ...
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Bikepedantic @pedantic.bike · 03/09/2026
@massdcr.bsky.social has neither the resources nor the expertise nor the mission alignment to make the improvements that Memorial Drive demands. MassDOT does. Urban parkways should be signed over to MassDOT. What do you think, @electerika.bsky.social?
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
DCR managed roadway. Memorial drive is averaging a death every two years.
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Allison🇨🇦 & The Blowfish @allistronomy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Cyclists, they walk/drive among us.
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Captive Driver @captivedriver.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Any mayor who purports to care about education outcomes and health of kids they need to work on actively reducing car traffic in their cities. @wutrain.bsky.social @mayorwu.boston.gov @wutrain.bsky.social
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Robotaxis create serious problems in big, dense cities, but they’d be a godsend in small towns and rural areas—huge swaths of America that the AV industry is ignoring. My latest, in Bloomberg (gift link) 🧵
bloomberg.com
Robotaxis Aren’t Going Where They Are Needed Most
Waymo, Zoox and Tesla are clamoring to bring autonomous ride-hailing to cities like New York and Boston. But it’s small towns and rural areas that could see the biggest upside from AVs.
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Dan O'Dowd @realdanodowd.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Tesla's defective self-driving software will still illegally blow past a stopped school bus and run down a child crossing the road! We warned Tesla of this danger 4 years ago and the safety defect hasn't been fixed in FSD v14 Lite. Why is this product allowed on public roads?
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