Birmingham to Pilot Ridesharing Service
The City of Birmingham will begin testing a ridesharing service that uses vans – similar to Uber or Lyft – to carry multiple passengers headed in the same direction.
The council approved the service at its Tuesday meeting and will spend half a million dollars to test it for six months beginning in December.
The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham is contributing half of the funds for the system that will be operated by Via, a private company that operates in several cities in the U.S. and around the world. It is not part of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority.
Mayor Randall Woodfin told the council Birmingham needs more transit options, especially with the region’s public transportation problems
“Many of us hear the stories of people either being late to work, being fired from work because they’ve been late too many times, or not being able to get to school on time or get back to their children in a timely manner because a bus broke down or a bus is late,” Woodfin said.
Each one-way trip will cost $1.50. Riders will schedule trips by phone or through a digital app. Woodfin says the service area includes most Birmingham hospitals and clinics.
Also Tuesday, council members approved a resolution asking the public to share their thoughts on the future of Legion Field.
Birmingham’s historic football stadium is aging, and a newer stadium is being built downtown near the BJCC. Councilman William Parker says the public should be involved on the front end in determining what happens with the old stadium. Residents can send suggestions to [email protected].
National parks fee-free calendar drops MLK Day, Juneteenth and adds Trump’s birthday
The Trump administration, which has railed against what it describes as "woke" policies, removed MLK Day and Juneteenth from next year's list of fare-exempt days for visitors at dozens of national parks.
Waymo will recall software after its self-driving cars passed stopped school buses
Waymo is issuing a software recall for its self-driving cars after reports the company's autonomous vehicles failed to stop for school buses.
7 deaths and hundreds of injuries are linked to faulty Abbott glucose monitors
About 3 million glucose monitoring sensors were potentially affected by a production error that caused incorrect low glucose readings.
‘The Abandons’ is a sudsy soap opera dressed up in spurs and a cowboy hat
On the surface it's a gorgeous, hardscrabble Western, awash in stark landscapes, grubby faces, bar fights and banditry. But scratch away the grime, and you expose the pure, glitzy soap opera beneath.
Sudanese paramilitary drone attack kills 50, including 33 children, doctor group says
Thursday's attack is the latest in the fighting between the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, also known as the RSF, and the Sudanese military, who have been at war for over two years.
Russia unleashes drone and missile attack on Ukraine as diplomatic talks continue
Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday, after U.S. and Ukrainian officials said they'll meet on Saturday for talks aimed at ending the war.
