Hello and Happy Friday.
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Shifting Gears: It's bikes' time to shine
REUTERS/Bryan R Smith
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It's me again, with your weekly roundup of transportation news from the week.
Planes still aren't flying (for the most part), cruises aren't cruising, and most of the transportation world remains in a holding pattern.
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Scared off public transportation by the coronavirus , some Americans especially those lucky enough to live in areas where it's safe to have turned to the humble bicycle. They've been helped in some cases by cities with the gravitas to ban cars from streets to make more space.
Kent, a major manufacturer, said sales of its cheaper models have surged over the past month. Across the board, the company said sales at most of the major retailers he supplies were up 30% last month and are up over 50% so far in April.
As the weather gets warmer, I know I'll be biking. It's cheap, it's easy, it's fast, and it's free exercise. If you want to try out your chops for the first time in a while (no judgment), Vice has some great re-entry tips.
Now, for everything else. ( And don't forget you can sign up to get this newsletter straight to your inbox. )
There's still no light at the end of the tunnel for airlines. American's CEO said this week he has "no idea" when travel will get back to normal, even as his company and the the other major US carriers inked a deal with the US Treasury Department for a bailout that would avoid layoffs until October .
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Boeing, meanwhile, lost even more orders as its crisis deepens.
Trucking sits in a weird spot, as we discussed two weeks (a year? who knows anymore) ago.
President Donald Trump gave a golden key to four truck drivers at the White House on Thursday, though it remains unclear exactly why and what the keys are for. Making matters stranger is the fact that the $800 billion industry g ot no financial assistance as part of the CARES Act in March. Rachel Premack has the full rundown of the event here.
And in the cruise world, Carnival is considering cutting passenger capacity on its cruise ships as it looks for ways to improve safety in wake of coronavirus outbreaks, sources say
Lastly, some weekend reads:
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- Delta, United, and more are scrambling to raise cash, but airlines still have a huge untapped resource that could keep them afloat
- A man's secret collection of more than 140 antique Fords, Cadillacs, Chevys, and even a Ferrari will be auctioned off see the collection that spans 6 decades
- The FAA is telling pilots not to fly if they take the controversial malaria pill Trump pushed as a treatment for the coronavirus
- The coronavirus pandemic is forcing car dealers to change the way they sell and deliver vehicles. But not everybody knows how to do it successfully.
- The world's largest cargo plane is taking to the skies to transport COVID-19 supplies. Take a look inside the six-engine Antonov An-225 Mriya.
- Virgin Orbit will soon use its modified Boeing 747 to launch satellites into orbit using a rocket strapped to the wing here's how it works
- A small Missouri city wants Tesla to build its Cybertruck factory there and is offering $1 billion in incentives to make it happen
See Also:
- NYC subway ridership cratered 93% as all but essential workers stay home and the transit system says it needs an additional $3.9 billion bailout to keep running
- Americans are turning to bikes instead of public transportation because of the coronavirus
- Did you hear honking at 3 p.m. on Thursday? It was a coordinated way of honoring transit workers.
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