Gas Prices - David & Wes talk about high gas prices and whether the changes they prompt will stick. Some people try transit or bicycling. Others start shopping for an EV or a hybrid. But what happens when gas gets cheaper again? The conversation then turns to the shrinking value of fuel taxes as well as a question that many people think they already know the answer to: who pays for our roads? Sure drivers contribute through gas taxes, tolls, and fees, but that doesn't come close to covering the bill...

Topics include: 🔹 David's trip to London 🔹 Gas tax holidays & if they help the cause 🔹 Oregon’s pay-per-mile program & whether road usage charges are a better way forward 🔹 The future of the federal gas tax 🔹 The myth that drivers pay for roads

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Additional resources: U.S. Cities See Public Transit Use Grow as Fuel Prices Remain High

America’s Hybrid Hype Has Hit the Used Market

Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org

Climate + Transportation - David & Wes kick things off with a good conversation about the irony of Waymo sponsoring Climate Week events. Electric robotaxis may be cleaner than gas-powered car trips, but that does not mean they help the bigger cause. The harder questions are about what kinds of trips they replace, whether they create new vehicle miles, and whether AVs reduce driving or simply make car travel easier to justify. From there, the discussion turns to regional rail and the role it could play.

Topics include: 🔹 Our most miserable travel experiences 🔹 Waymo, Climate Week, & the greenwashing question 🔹 Electric AVs & the problem of more vehicle miles 🔹 Colorado’s growing interest in regional transit & passenger rail 🔹 And send your Look Both Ways sticker ideas to lookbothwayspod@gmail.com

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Additional resources: Self-driving cars would be a climate disaster (David's article)

Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org

Speed Limits - David & Wes talk about speed limits: what they can do, what they can’t do, and the surprisingly complicated question of how robotaxis should handle them. Japan is moving toward lower speed limits on a large share of its roads, shifting many streets from 60 km/h to 30 km/h. That sounds simple enough, but speed is never just the number on the sign. It looks different from behind the windshield, in the crosswalk, inside a traffic study, or at the moment of impact. From there, David & Wes get into the 85th percentile, why traffic engineering has often treated driver comfort as data, and whether AVs should strictly follow the law, move with traffic, or behave the way human drivers actually do.

Topics include: 🔹 Car commercials that made us mad (or happy) 🔹 Why speed feels different from inside and outside the car 🔹 The 85th percentile trap 🔹 Robotaxis, speed limits, and the weirdness of legal compliance 🔹 And send us your Look Both Ways sticker ideas!

Subscribe for biweekly conversations about all things transportation.

Additional resources: How Japan Won its ‘Traffic War’ (David’s article in Bloomberg)

Japan halves speed limit to 30km/h on all narrow city streets

Saturn “Sheet Metal” commercial from 2003

Everybody loves the Ford Ranger commercial from 1995

GM “Stop pedaling…start driving” advertisement from 2011

Dodge Charger Empty Streets Superbowl commercial from 2018

Nissan Sentra “Bob” commercial from 1990

VW “Think Small” commercial from 1959

Volkswagen 0-60? Yes. advertisement from 1998

Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound)

Email us at lookbothwayspod@gmail.com or find us at www.lookbothwayspodcast.com, www.davidzipper.com, and www.wesmarshall.org