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].
A drop in CDC health alerts leaves doctors ‘flying blind’
Doctors and public health officials are concerned about the drop in health alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since President Trump returned for a second term.
Photos: Highlights from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony
Athletes from around the world attended the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan.
Alabama sets execution for man in auto parts store customer’s death
Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday set a March 12 execution using nitrogen gas for Charles “Sonny” Burton. Burton was convicted as an accomplice in the shooting death of Doug Battle, a customer who was killed during an 1991 robbery of an auto parts store in Talladega.
Trump posts racist meme of the Obamas — then deletes it
Trump's racist post came at the end of a minute-long video promoting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
Hyperpop, poetry, BDSM or a Moroccan rave allegory? Choose your own cinematic adventure
Charli xcx is on more screens this weekend while Pillion tells a sweet BDSM story.
‘Pillion’ is a wildly entertaining dark comedy about sex and power
A mild-mannered young man enters into a dominant-submissive relationship with the leader of a gay biker gang. Pillion approaches the subject without judgment and with a great deal of sly humor.
