🚌 Buses bounce back

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Open in app View in browser   Presented By the Charles Koch Foundation   Axios What's Next By Joann Muller, Jennifer A. Kingson and Alex Fitzpatrick · Oct 07, 2022 The country's public transit systems held on by a thread during the pandemic, with some surviving only thanks to government support. Now some — but not all — are on the rebound, Joann reports. Join Axios in Washington, D.C., at 8 a.m. ET on Oct. 11 for an event offering a global look at energy security, reliability and independence amid the shift to cleaner sources. Register here. Today's newsletter is 986 words ... 4 minutes.     1 big thing: Buses bounce back, but trains run behind Data: American Public Transportation Association; Chart: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals Bus ridership is up but trains are still half-empty as public transit systems across the U.S. try to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Joann Muller reports. Why it matters: The unevenness of the recovery reflects the socioeconomic inequities of public transportation and the vagaries of hybrid work. Many essential workers and lower-income people — groups that tend to be less able to work remotely — rely on the bus for basic transportation, which helps explain why bus ridership has bounced back faster. Office workers, many of whom used to commute by rail from the suburbs, now have more flexibility to work from home at least some of the time. Where it stands: After falling to 20% of pre-pandemic levels in April 2020, total nationwide public transit ridership has recovered to more than 70% as of September, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). That's up from the summer months, when ridership had been hovering around 64% of pre-pandemic levels. APTA says more people returning to school and the office could account for the increase in ridership in September. By the numbers: Bus ridership has seen a relatively steady increase since February 2021. After falling to 28% of pre-pandemic levels in April 2020, it has recovered to about 66%. Rail transit, which includes everything from subways and street cars to light rail and commuter trains, plummeted to just 10% of pre-pandemic levels in April 2020. Now it stands at around 60%. Between the lines: Smaller cities' transit networks have recovered better than those in large urban areas, with ridership back to about 83% of normal levels in cities of 500,000 people or less compared to 66% in cities with over 2 million people. That's partly because there are fewer teleworking alternatives in smaller cities. In big cities such as Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Seattle and New York, on the other hand, more than half of employed people 16 and older are working mostly from home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 American Community Survey, Bloomberg reports. Some transit agencies have tried to recapture riders — and boost access for underserved communities — by eliminating fares. Kansas City was the first major U.S. city to offer free bus fare starting in 2020, according to NPR, but ridership is still lower than it had been before the pandemic. Richmond, Virginia, is also offering free bus fare, while Los Angeles and Seattle let students under 18 ride for free. Many cities and states are using pandemic relief funds to offset lost revenue. What they're saying: TransitCenter, a think tank, urges cities to provide targeted subsidies to riders in need, and says employers should cover workers' commuting costs. It also warns that free transit programs can backfire if the service is poor. The bottom line: No one will ride the bus — whether it's free or not — if it doesn't come often enough. Share this story.     2. SCOTUS takes on digital free speech Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios   The Supreme Court's announcement that it will rule on a pair of challenges to a foundational law governing online speech set off internet experts' alarm bells, Axios' Ashley Gold reports. Why it matters: A decision by the court to alter or strike down the law — Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act — would rock the legal landscape for social networks, online marketplaces, review sites and more. Driving the news: SCOTUS will take up two relevant cases: In Gonzalez v. Google, the court will look at whether the law protects internet platforms when algorithms target users with recommended content. Twitter, Inc. vs. Taamneh seeks a ruling on whether platforms can be held to violate anti-terrorism laws if they have policies against pro-terrorist content but fail to remove all such messages. The big picture: Congress has considered many laws modifying Section 230, but it has only passed one narrow carve-out intended to curb sex trafficking. Critics of the law hope the court's conservative supermajority will accomplish what lawmakers have not. Yes, but: A hunger to punish platforms for "censorship" could end up harming free speech online. What's next: The Supreme Court will hear arguments this term, with a decision likely by next summer. Read the rest.     3. Long COVID disables millions Data: U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey 2022; Chart: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals Of the nearly 24 million U.S. adults who currently have long COVID, more than 80% are having some trouble carrying out daily activities, according to new CDC data, Axios' Sabrina Moreno reports. Why it matters: Nearly three years into a pandemic that has left millions newly disabled, medical researchers continue to search for effective treatments. The big picture: The pandemic sharpened researchers' focus on chronic fatigue, but misunderstandings and stigma persist. By the numbers: Between Sept. 14-26, more than 1 in 4 adults with long COVID reported significant limitations on their day-to-day activities. The number is closer to 40% for respondents who are Black, Latino or disabled. Read the rest.     A message from the Charles Koch Foundation Is your top priority finding and retaining talent?     Get solutions designed to meet your talent needs. See how the Charles Koch Foundation and Society for Human Resource Management empower business leaders with the tools, resources and strategies needed to tap into new labor pools by focusing on skills over degrees. Be the first to get them here.     4. 📸 Riding high Photo: Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images   Tourists enjoy the view from the world's highest horizontal ferris wheel, in Guangzhou, China. It sits near the top of the Canton Tower at almost 1,500 feet above ground level, and has 16 cabins with room for 4-6 people each. A full circuit takes about 20 minutes. The world's highest traditional ferris wheel? That's the U.A.E.'s Ain Dubai, which tops out at over 800 feet.     5. That's one big pot Data: Coresight Research; Note: Margin of error ±6 percentage points; Chart: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals The marijuana market has nearly tripled in size over the last three years as legalization sweeps the nation, according to a new Coresight Research report, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports. What they found: Of 1,017 survey respondents in the 41 states (plus D.C.) where marijuana is now legal in some form, 22% said they had purchased it for recreational or medicinal purposes over the last year. Among them, the average person spent $85 per month — with 25% spending less than $30 and 9% spending $200 or more. That makes the market worth about $64.3 billion annually, up from $21.5 billion in 2019, Coresight estimated. Go deeper: Biden to pardon all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession Share this story.     A message from the Charles Koch Foundation The future of talent is skills over degrees — will you win it?     For businesses to compete in today's tight labor market, they need strategies to access this new labor force. Try implementing new tools developed by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Charles Koch Foundation to transform your hiring and win the best talent. Sign up to learn more.   A hearty thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next by signing up here for our free newsletter. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. 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