News Archive

A selection of media coverage of UCLA ITS experts and research.

For media queries, contact Claudia Bustamante at claudb@ucla.edu.

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

Why can’t Los Angeles fix its broken sidewalks?

December 2, 2024

Fast Company

Widening highways doesn't help with traffic congestion, but affects climate change

November 1, 2024

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Waited so Long it Seemed Like a Fantasy. But it’s Actually Coming: A Rail Connection to LAX

November 1, 2024

UCLA Blue Print

Beyond Freeways

November 1, 2024

UCLA Blue Print

The Car of the Future — Almost

November 1, 2024

UCLA Blue Print

Commuting and the Toll on Families

November 1, 2024

San Jose Mercury News

Caltrans creates equity tool to learn from past infrastructure mistakes

October 21, 2024

Next City

SEPTA Is Facing a Doom Spiral. Could a New Philly Arena Save It?

October 21, 2024

The Washington Post

70% of bus riders in D.C. area don't pay. Here's what Metro is doing about it.

October 9, 2024

Marketplace

Public transit agencies eye service cuts as pandemic aid runs out

September 30, 2024

Los Angeles Times

How L.A. can fix our scary sidewalks for the Olympics

September 10, 2024

Agencia EFE

¿Puede Los Ángeles garantizar una ciudad sin automóviles para los Juegos Olímpicos de 2028?

August 19, 2024

The Guardian

Los Angeles wants a ‘no-car’ Olympics. Can the city of drivers turn a corner?

August 16, 2024

UCLA Newsroom

Can L.A.’s car-free Olympics help the climate long-term?

August 15, 2024

New York Times

Los Angeles Has Promised a ‘Car-Free’ Olympics in 2028. Can It Do It?

August 10, 2024

USA TODAY

Is it possible to live without a car? Why some Americans are going car-free

July 22, 2024

Government Technology (GT)

Digital Curb Management Can Make Streets Earn Their Keep

June 28, 2024

Los Angeles Times

It’s one of California’s worst freeway bottlenecks. Will fixing it ruin the planet?

June 20, 2024

Los Angeles Times

When it comes to deadly streets, should we blame drivers less and design more?

June 5, 2024

The Next City Podcast

What If Your City Gave You Money for Transit?

May 1, 2024

Bloomberg

LA Votes for Bus, Bike and Pedestrian Fixes as Traffic Deaths Rise

March 13, 2024

Daily Bruin

Supporters, opponents of Measure HLA discuss its focus on improving street safety

March 4, 2024

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

To Recruit Transit Workers, More Than Higher Pay Is Needed

February 29, 2024

Fortune

New York City may soon hit drivers with a $15 fee for the privilege of driving into the most traffic-choked parts of Manhattan

February 29, 2024

Los Angeles Times

California says it prioritizes climate goals over freeway widening. So why is the 15 Freeway getting more lanes?

February 5, 2024

Pasadena Now

Analyzing The Historical Impact of the New 710 Freeway Stub Community

January 18, 2024

The Canadian Press

'I am done': Amid rider woes, is Ottawa's transit system a victim of its own success?

January 1, 2024

Los Angeles Times

SoCal housing crisis makes commute times worse. But the rich get a traffic break

December 13, 2023

UCLA Newsroom

Electric vehicles improve air quality for everyone but have less impact in more polluted areas

December 13, 2023

Daily Bruin

UCLA Mobility Lab works to decrease traffic and improve safety in Westwood

November 26, 2023

Los Angeles Times

‘You can smell the pollution’: 10 Freeway closure brings traffic, fumes, anger for residents

November 16, 2023

LAist

LA Traffic Is Worse, But Not Terrible And It Probably Won’t Get Better

November 15, 2023

KQED

When Your Car Becomes Your Home

October 23, 2023

Los Angeles Times

Waymo’s driverless taxi launch in Santa Monica is met with excitement and tension

October 11, 2023

Los Angeles Times

Going car-less in LA: The environmental benefits and economic costs

August 16, 2023

The Washington Post

Yellow-shirted Metro ambassadors part of fight to win hearts, minds and new riders

July 17, 2023

LAist

Over 14,000 Vehicles In LA County Are Used As Homes

July 6, 2023

Vox

The impossible paradox of car ownership

July 5, 2023

New York Times

The Case for Ending Free Parking

June 14, 2023

UCLA Newsroom

Aspiring urban planner chews into use of city property for outdoor dining

June 12, 2023

Los Angeles Times

The freeway was born in L.A. But it might not always be free to drive on

May 30, 2023

CityLab

The Parking Reform That Could Transform Manhattan

May 24, 2023

CNN

This little-known rule shapes parking in America. Cities are reversing it

May 21, 2023

Los Angeles Times

Opinion: How can L.A. Metro make train service safer? Look to what’s working on buses

April 27, 2023

KALW 91.7 SF/Crosscurrents

Whither BART? A sobering look at the future of Bay Area public transportation

April 26, 2023

CalMatters

Why California public transit is at a pivotal moment

April 5, 2023

The Wall Street Journal

America Has Too Much Parking. Really.

April 2, 2023

Vox

How to save America’s public transit systems from a doom spiral

March 25, 2023

StreetsBlog Cal

Legislative Hearing on Public Transportation Woes Is Just a Beginning

March 2, 2023

UCLA Newsroom

Sustainable LA Grand Challenge launches initiative focused on transportation

February 28, 2023

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Three Ways DOTs Can Help the Unhoused — On and Off the Road

February 23, 2023

Silicon Valley

Less parking, more housing? San Jose tech rollout tests appetite for parking contraction

February 7, 2023

Los Angeles Times

Should L.A.’s train and bus rides be free? Karen Bass may soon decide

December 10, 2022

The San Diego Union-Tribune

Why California isn’t banking on electric cars to replace public transit in greener future

December 2, 2022

The San Diego Union-Tribune

Will San Diego's $160B rail expansion survive GOP election shake-up?

November 27, 2022

UCLA Anderson

Less Parking, More Options

November 24, 2022

San Francisco Chronicle

Why does California revoke licenses as punishment for things that have nothing to do with driving?

November 16, 2022

Curbed

Can Transit Ambassadors Make the Subway Safer Just by Being There?

November 10, 2022

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Vision Zero Cities: Road Violence is a Public Health Crisis that Needs Public Health Solutions

October 17, 2022

capradio

California law abolishes parking minimums for new developments close to public transit

October 12, 2022

Gimme Shelter

Gimme Shelter: How Parking Lots Explain California's Housing Crisis

October 7, 2022

Los Angeles Times

For historic Black community, Crenshaw/LAX Line is 'a blessing and a curse'

October 7, 2022

Los Angeles Times

California bans mandated parking near transit to fight high housing prices, climate change

September 23, 2022

New York Times

Is the Hyperloop Doomed?

September 22, 2022

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

Crime’s up, ridership’s down. Can LA Metro ambassadors help?

September 21, 2022

LAist

Vroom Vroom (With 'V' As In Volts)! The Rise, Fall And Reignition Of The Electric Car—And What Its History Tells Us

September 20, 2022

Next City

Can L.A. Finally Build Better Bus Stops? 5 Lessons From Other Cities

September 19, 2022

Los Angeles Times

Heat waves are getting worse. When will L.A. get around to offering bus riders more shade?

September 12, 2022

Governing

California Sees a Big Shift in Mass Transit Ridership

August 29, 2022

San Jose Mercury News

The Bay Area was California’s transit mecca. Now car-crazy L.A. has more train and bus riders.

August 28, 2022

Freakonomics Radio

Should Public Transit Be Free?

August 24, 2022

Bloomberg

For 2-Wheel Commuters in LA, ‘Bikepooling’ Brings Safety in Numbers

August 23, 2022

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

Healthy Streets LA: Can city be friendlier to public transit riders, pedestrians?

August 23, 2022

Curbed

Should It Be Easier to Take Away a Driver’s License?

August 19, 2022

New York Magazine

Elon’s Biggest Boondoggle: Why did the world’s richest man spend the past five years trying to sell cities a hole in the ground?

August 9, 2022

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Op-Ed: Why California Should Ban Parking Minimums

August 3, 2022

The Day

With buses fare-free, SEAT ridership rises

July 30, 2022

The Washington Post

As Starbucks exits, Union Station struggles with safety, empty stores

July 29, 2022

BBC

What if all roads went underground?

July 21, 2022

WIRED

Escooter Rentals Aren’t as Green as You Think

July 19, 2022

Resources Radio

Driving Toward Justice: Transportation and Equity, with Regan Patterson

June 7, 2022

New York Times

We’ve Got to Stop Requiring Parking Everywhere

June 2, 2022

The Advocate

In car-loving Baton Rouge, could a rapid-transit system convince people to take a bus?

May 29, 2022

Los Angeles Times

Congestion pricing? Free buses? Monorails? How LA's next mayor could change your commute

May 24, 2022

The Guardian

It’s just more and more lanes’: the Texan revolt against giant new highways

April 29, 2022

Crosstown

Did L.A.’s experiment with free buses work?

April 25, 2022

Los Angeles Daily News

Parking mandates are a top barrier to affordable housing

April 18, 2022

The Charlotte Post

To help Charlotte's low-income workers, some prefer cars over transit

April 13, 2022

The Orange County Register

Don’t let the California Dream become a transportation nightmare

March 29, 2022

The Atlantic

The Rule of Thumb That Can Save You Money on Gas

March 12, 2022

Los Angeles Times

Even with soaring gas prices, safety concerns make L.A. mass transit a hard sell

March 11, 2022

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

LA Metro bus fares don’t need to resume, argue public transit advocates

January 11, 2022

Bloomberg

A Faster Path to Safer Sidewalks

January 10, 2022

Spectrum News 1

E-scooter companies are upgrading for the long haul

January 6, 2022

NBC News

Why Traffic Is So Bad In Los Angeles

January 1, 2022

The San Diego Union-Tribune

New trolley line may not reduce congestion, but it may keep increasingly urban San Diego livable

December 5, 2021

MLK50

How can MATA get better if it keeps getting smaller?

December 3, 2021

UCLA Magazine

Researchers Analyze the ‘True Cost’ of Car Congestion

December 2, 2021

St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis eyes MetroLink expansion even as bus service contracts

December 1, 2021

CNET

How COVID accelerated a shift that could put new cities at the forefront of American life

December 1, 2021

The Fresno Bee

Are Fresno’s car-less residents being left behind? What it means to our community

November 28, 2021

UCLA Blue Print

Paying to Drive: Congestion pricing is one answer to traffic. Will Angelenos accept it?

November 23, 2021

USA TODAY

Crossing the street is getting more deadly. Biden's infrastructure law could change that.

November 22, 2021

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

‘An Epic Mistake’: Donald Shoup Reflects on America’s Parking Failure

November 19, 2021

The Washington Post

All this money pouring into infrastructure should be a boon for high-speed rail, right? Not so fast.

November 18, 2021

Los Angeles Business Journal

Car-Loving LA in Midst of Largest Rail Construction Program in US

November 15, 2021

Grist

20,000 deaths and counting: As mass transit stagnates, US traffic deaths surge

November 4, 2021

Omny Studio

Parking mandates drives up housing prices in North American cities, from Vancouver to Los Angeles

October 25, 2021

The Washington Post

Five myths about highways

October 22, 2021

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

Why is LA so hot on flying cars? Look to Hollywood and ‘The Jetsons’

September 23, 2021

KCBS Radio

Connect the Dots: Is America's public transit doomed?

September 22, 2021

Legal Reader

Lawsuit is Filed Over Use of Tire Chalk to Monitor Parking

September 20, 2021

SmartCitiesDive

New York City forges ahead with long-debated congestion pricing plan

September 17, 2021

Vox

How to end the American obsession with driving

September 12, 2021

San Francisco Chronicle

A woman is suing S.F. for $50 million over a parking ticket, saying tire chalk is unconstitutional

September 11, 2021

Reason

L.A. Finally Lets People Eat In Parking Lots

September 3, 2021

Bloomberg

Free Parking Is Killing Cities

August 31, 2021

Curbed

What It Will Take for Kathy Hochul to Get Congestion Pricing Right

August 26, 2021

dot.LA

Move Slow and Fix Things: E-Scooter Startup Superpedestrian Takes to LA Streets, Promising Safety and a Better Experience

August 26, 2021

New York Times

Will the Pandemic Make Los Angeles More Pedestrian-Friendly?

August 23, 2021

That Can't Be Right

Congestion Pricing: THEE Solution to Traffic in Los Angeles

August 4, 2021

Los Angeles Times

Traffic is terrible again. Here’s how to get it closer to spring 2020 levels

July 22, 2021

San Francisco Chronicle

What are the widest and narrowest residential streets in San Francisco?

July 14, 2021

Bloomberg

The Power of Getting Paid Not to Park at Work

July 14, 2021

Forbes

Letting Prices Tell The Truth About Housing And Parking

July 5, 2021

CityLab

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Quest to Become a Driver of Justice

July 1, 2021

Vox

Why does it cost so much to build things in America?

June 28, 2021

CNN

On GPS: Malcolm Gladwell on "Revisionist History"

June 27, 2021

Revisionist History

I Love You Waymo

June 24, 2021

The San Diego Union-Tribune

SANDAG’s proposed ‘road charge’ would piggyback on California’s plans for a per-mile driver fee

June 19, 2021

Los Angeles Times

L.A. traffic behavior is changing. Is post-pandemic gridlock inevitable?

June 18, 2021

Planetizen

Answers to 12 Questions About California Assembly Bill 1401

June 15, 2021

The Sacramento Bee

Would you trade less parking for lower housing costs? California plan seeks to do just that

June 14, 2021

The Guardian

The LA mayor’s ‘jinx:’ Garcetti could leave for India as city faces host of challenges

May 29, 2021

Los Angeles Times

L.A. turbo-charged subway, rail construction during pandemic. Will the riders return?

May 25, 2021

Los Angeles Times

Coronavirus Today: Could this number on a spreadsheet herald a return to normal?

May 25, 2021

The Atlantic

How Parking Destroys Cities

May 18, 2021

Daily Bruin

Advocates, commuter students push for improved safety on LA Metro system

May 10, 2021

Capital & Main

Why Los Angeles Hasn’t Solved Its Transit Crisis

May 10, 2021

Curbed

Peatónito the Pedestrian Superhero Is Finishing Up Grad School at UCLA

May 6, 2021

KPCC 89.3/AirTalk

With Fewer Cars On The Road, Why Didn’t Traffic Death Toll In LA Go Down During The Pandemic?

May 3, 2021

Spectrum News 1

UCLA, LABC collaborate on how to make electric vehicles accessible to everyone

April 30, 2021

LAist

Traffic Was Historically Low In 2020. The Death Toll On LA's Streets Was Not

April 29, 2021

Bloomberg Government

Male, White Transportation Staff Complicate Biden Equity Pledge

April 27, 2021

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Legislative Update: Long-awaited Speed Limit Flexibility Bill Moves Forward

April 19, 2021

Westways AAA

Southern California transportation planners weigh the pros and cons of congestion pricing

April 16, 2021

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

LA traffic is back. Why didn’t people change their habits?

April 13, 2021

Car and Driver

Raising Corporate Taxes Isn't the Only Way to Fund Infrastructure Projects

April 11, 2021

TIME

Can Public Transit Survive the Pandemic? London's New Transport Commissioner Wants You to Believe It Can

April 2, 2021

The Wall Street Journal

Transit Agencies Build Slicker Trip Navigation Tools to Boost Ridership

April 1, 2021

The Christian Science Monitor

Urban transit took a pandemic wallop. Can it bounce back?

February 25, 2021

The Journalist's Resource

Want fewer cars on the roads? Don’t offer parking, research suggests

February 23, 2021

The Washington Post

Pete Buttigieg may not know this yet: Rail transportation funding is a racial equity issue.

February 1, 2021

The Wall Street Journal

Turo CEO Says Car-Renting App Plans to Go Public in 2021

January 1, 2021

Governing

Americans Like Free Parking. They Don’t Realize It Doesn’t Exist.

December 17, 2020

TIME

The Future of American Public Transit Depends on Congress

December 17, 2020

WIRED

Mass Transit Is in Jeopardy—and So Are Cities

December 14, 2020

Los Angeles Times

Column: Should Mayor Garcetti go to D.C. if Biden offers a job? When does the next plane leave?

November 24, 2020

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

A highway project potentially threatening hundreds of homes follows a different script in 2020 LA

November 16, 2020

New York Times

A Step Forward in the Promise of Ultrafast 'Hyperloops'

November 8, 2020

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

A Historical Perspective on Los Angeles’ Traffic Congestion Fight

October 19, 2020

CityLab

Where the 2020 Election Is a Referendum on Public Transit

October 6, 2020

Spectrum News 1

Lyft Launches Electric Bike Share in Santa Monica

September 29, 2020

Spectrum News 1

Scooter Companies Zip Into Retail

September 23, 2020

Bloomberg

Public Transit and the Postal Service Have the Same Problem

August 31, 2020

USA TODAY

Segregated parks linked to higher COVID-19 deaths for Black and Latino Americans

August 22, 2020

City and State New York

Carmageddon is nigh

August 16, 2020

The Washington Post

The high cost of D.C.’s cheap parking

July 24, 2020

USA TODAY

Was your Uber, Lyft fare high because of algorithm bias?

July 22, 2020

Boston Globe

As the economy recovers, that same old problem is resurfacing — Boston traffic

June 13, 2020

Los Angeles Magazine

Can L.A.’s Scooter Craze Survive the Pandemic?

May 26, 2020

Car and Driver

Rainbows, Unicorns, and Room to Drive

May 10, 2020

CityLab

A Post-Pandemic Reality Check for Transit Boosters

May 6, 2020

Los Angeles Times

Column: What it would take to keep L.A. traffic from returning to soul-crushing levels

April 27, 2020

The San Diego Union-Tribune

Coronavirus threatens to derail San Diego’s plans to expand public transit

April 10, 2020

LAist

Vehicle Emissions Have Dropped (Duh), But The Effect On SoCal's Air Is Complicated

April 6, 2020

Curbed

Projecting $700M in losses, Metro asks federal government for help

March 25, 2020

Curbed

Transit is in trouble due to coronavirus. This Green New Deal plan could help.

March 23, 2020

The Guardian

Coronavirus brings a silver lining for Los Angeles drivers: empty freeways

March 16, 2020

Los Angeles Times

Eerily empty freeways: A symbol of how the coronavirus has hurt Los Angeles

March 15, 2020

Los Angeles Times

Column: Coronavirus has changed things we took as givens in L.A.

March 13, 2020

CalMatters

State losing its war on carbon

February 27, 2020

CalMatters

Could free transit for kids help California beat climate change?

February 24, 2020

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Zero Fatalities Task Force Report: Change the Way Speed Limits Are Set

February 6, 2020

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Apartments With Free Parking Reduce Transit Ridership

January 29, 2020

San Francisco Chronicle

SF scooter companies introduce models for disabled riders

January 15, 2020

New York Times

Los Angeles Rethinks Taxis as Uber and Lyft Dominate the Streets

January 12, 2020

San Francisco Chronicle

Seated scooter for disabled riders coming to Oakland, SF

January 8, 2020

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

Bus Rapid Transit Should Be Built More Rapidly

January 8, 2020

The Washington Post

Federal officials give green light to red bus lanes

January 4, 2020

Marketplace

Scooters now sharing the delivery lane

December 19, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Column: Let’s shift stalled bullet train funds to L.A. and San Francisco, where they’ll do some good

December 18, 2019

Curbed

Would free Metro fares get cars off the road in LA?

December 16, 2019

LAist

How Santa Monica Established Order From Scooter Chaos (And What It Can Teach LA)

November 22, 2019

Bloomberg

How Much Should New York Charge for a Parking Space? A Lot

November 22, 2019

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

The history of fighting over the 710 freeway expansion

November 20, 2019

LAist

How The Dark Future Of Blade Runner's 2019 Los Angeles Looks In The Light Of Actual Today

November 18, 2019

KNX 1070 radio

The Break Down - Part 4: How Some Cities, States Are Fixing Their Infrastructure Crisis

November 7, 2019

Curbed

LAX-it won’t improve until LAX embraces mass transit

November 5, 2019

Los Angeles Times

How green are dockless e-scooters?

November 5, 2019

Capitol Weekly

The push for clean energy is powering up

November 5, 2019

San Jose Mercury News

Why Bay Area transit is broken, and who is trying to fix it

September 22, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Did your rented e-scooter suddenly shut down? Blame the invisible geofence

September 17, 2019

CalMatters

Can California put cars in the rear-view mirror?

August 15, 2019

LAist

Yes, Uber And Lyft Add To Our Terrible Traffic. But LA Drivers Should Take A Hard Look In The Vanity Mirror

August 12, 2019

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

Remembering when the 405 freeway was shut down

August 6, 2019

KCRW 89.9/Greater LA

Why keep building freeways if they're not reducing congestion?

August 6, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Electric scooters are good for the environment, right? Here’s why it’s not so simple

August 2, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Building a Metro transit line through the Sepulveda Pass could cost $13 billion

July 23, 2019

StreetsBlog (LA & National)

The Effect of Electric Vehicles on California Transportation Funding

July 22, 2019

Los Angeles Daily News

Metro’s Orange Line was a hit — but doesn’t guarantee support for another Valley bus plan

July 12, 2019

Planetizen

The Environmental Costs of Slow, Empty Buses

June 19, 2019

Mashable

The future of America's worst freeway

June 14, 2019

Los Angeles Daily News

The untold story: How a South Pasadena-based group successfully fought the 710 Freeway extension — twice

June 14, 2019

Curbed

25 years after ‘Speed,’ can LA get its buses moving again?

June 10, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Want to park in Koreatown? Get ready for a 'blood sport'

May 28, 2019

The San Diego Union-Tribune

Can SANDAG solve traffic woes with 100 MPH commuter rail, rush-hour pricing?

May 12, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Can Bird build a better scooter before it runs out of cash?

May 5, 2019

Curbed

Mayor’s Green New Deal calls on Angelenos to drive 6 fewer miles every day

April 29, 2019

The San Diego Union-Tribune

What is congestion pricing exactly? And can it solve traffic jams in San Diego as experts promise?

April 15, 2019

New York Times

The Streets Were Never Free. Congestion Pricing Finally Makes That Plain.

April 4, 2019

National Geographic

To Build the Cities of the Future, We Must Get Out of Our Cars

April 1, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Pay $4 to drive to the Westside? Congestion pricing could cut traffic gridlock, report says

March 28, 2019

Los Angeles Times

San Diegans could face two tax hikes to fund world-class transit system. But will they foot the bill?

March 27, 2019

WGBH

Are Transit Fares Fair?

March 1, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Taxing Uber and Lyft rides is L.A. County's latest idea to free up congested roads

February 26, 2019

Los Angeles Times

Build the California bullet train

February 22, 2019

Capitol Weekly

California’s next climate step: pushing for equitable choices

January 31, 2019

Los Angeles Times

L.A. may charge drivers by the mile, adding freeway tolls to cut congestion

January 22, 2019

KPCC 89.3/Take Two

How California car culture killed the promise of a 20-minute commute

August 5, 2018

Curbed

Lyft and Uber serve low-income communities better than taxis, says study

July 2, 2018

Fortune

Ride-Hailing Apps May Benefit Poor and Minority Communities The Most, Study Suggests

June 30, 2018

New York Times

California Today: Traffic Is Terrible, but Californians Keep Buying Cars

February 6, 2018

Governing

Why Transit Ridership Is Falling (Hint: It’s Not Just Uber)

February 2, 2018

The San Diego Union-Tribune

As car ownership increases among the poor, transit ridership falls

January 31, 2018

New York Times

Mudslides Close Part of Highway 101 in California

January 14, 2018