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<ul class="summary-list"><li>NYC is far behind on requirements to build bike and bus lanes, among other non-car infrastructure.</li><li>This comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul suspended a new toll on vehicles in Manhattan below 60th Street.</li></ul>As urban dwellers around the world turn to two wheels to get around their cities, some governments are handling the shift better than others. The number of <keyword id="22853778" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bicycle-trips" source="keywords">bicycle trips</keyword> in Paris <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2023/11/11/a-paris-la-frequentation-des-pistes-cyclables-a-double-en-un-an_6199510_4355770.html">doubled</a> between 2022 and 2023, thanks to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-22/how-paris-will-become-100-cyclable">massive expansion</a> of the French capital's bike lane network. Tourists in town for the Olympics <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://slate.com/culture/2024/08/olympics-paris-games-bike-infrastructure-cycling-streets-safety-transportation.html?via=rss">are encouraged to cycle</a> to the Games. <keyword id="19901403" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-York-City" source="keywords">New York City</keyword> has also seen <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://momentummag.com/new-york-city-leads-the-way-as-new-report-shows-surge-in-cycling-across-the-u-s/">a surge in bicycling</a> since the pandemic caused many to avoid mass transit and ride shares. The success of the Citibike bike share program is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.curbed.com/2023/05/citi-bike-nyc-ridership-10-years.html">a huge part of that change</a>. But anyone who hops on two wheels in New York is facing more dangerous and congested roads than in other leading global cities. The city Department of Transportation — which controls the streets, but not trains and buses — is behind on its longer-term plan to boost pedestrian and bike infrastructure. The city's five-year NYC Streets Plan, which became law in 2019, requires the city to build 250 miles of <keyword id="22853779" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="protected-bike-lanes" source="keywords">protected bike lanes</keyword> by 2026, among other safe streets priorities. So far this year, the city has completed just 2.3 miles of protected lanes, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://projects.transalt.org/bikelanes">according to the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives</a>. Last year, it built 38.6 miles of 50 required miles of protected <keyword id="22853777" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bike-lanes" source="keywords">bike lanes</keyword> and in 2022 it built 19.9 miles of the 30 miles it was required to build. At this time last year, it had built <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvH-_LFOkMP/?igsh=MWc3b244NDJxejk5MA%3D%3D">9.7 miles of lanes</a>. The city DOT told Business Insider that most bike lane construction happens in the second half of the year because of weather issues, and it disputed the 2.3-mile figure. But the department didn't provide an estimated number of bike lane miles it expects to complete this year. DOT noted that it built more protected lanes last year "than every major American city combined." Adams isn't just required by law to build bike lanes. He <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.amny.com/news/eric-adams-seeks-the-cycling-vote-with-a-promise-for-300-miles-of-bike-lanes/">campaigned for mayor on a promise</a> to build 300 miles of protected lanes in his first four-year term. And the funding for the Streets Plan — more than $900 million — has already been allocated to DOT. The Adams administration has also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nyc-streets-plan-update-2024.pdf">fallen behind</a> on other priorities in the Streets Plan, including building dedicated bus lanes and upgrading bus stops. Advocates say the slow pace of progress comes down to politics. "The money is there, the law is there, but the mayor doesn't seem to be there," said Elizabeth Adams, interim director of Transportation Alternatives. "And that's really what's holding this up." The city has made progress in some areas. A DOT spokesperson noted to Business Insider that the city has built "over a million square feet of pedestrian space over two years, exceeding the target in the Streets Plan." New York's plan to impose a new toll — known as congestion pricing — on vehicles that drive in Manhattan's central business district would have been a boon for more sustainable modes of transport. Fewer cars and trucks on the street means more space for bikers and pedestrians. Since London implemented congestion pricing 20 years ago, daily car trips have fallen while <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-23/london-bike-boom-risks-becoming-a-victim-of-its-own-success">bicycling trips have quadrupled</a>. But since New York Gov. Kathy Hochul abruptly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/nyregion/congestion-pricing-pause-hochul.html">suspended</a> the congestion pricing plan she had <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYQSH5E5p5Y">long celebrated</a>, a less congested future — not to mention at least <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/nyregion/subway-mta-finances-congestion-pricing.html">$15 billion</a> for the city's subways and buses — is on hold. In May, weeks before the city was set to implement congestion pricing, the DOT unveiled <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2024/connect-core-access-business-district.shtml#:~:text=A%20report%20detailing%20this%20work,%2C%20safer%2C%20and%20more%20convenient.">a plan</a> to improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure to give New Yorkers better access to Manhattan below 60th street. The city insists it's moving forward with its plans despite the governor's about-face, and Adams said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2024/06/11/mayor-adams-congestion-pricing-hochul">he supported</a> Hochul's reversal on congestion pricing. "We are continuing to develop these projects regardless of the pause. Many are either in construction, or will start construction soon," a spokesperson for DOT told Business Insider in a statement. Advocates for mass transit and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure say the safety and environmental impact of traffic is a crisis. New York was the most congested city in the world for the second year in a row, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inrix.com/scorecard/">one major study</a>. Congestion and crowding in the city "is very much at a breaking point," said Adams, of Transportation Alternatives. "We should be doing everything we can to make it easier to get around outside of a car," she added. <h2>Traffic deaths overtake gun deaths in NYC</h2>These days, biking doesn't feel like a viable option for many New Yorkers worried about safety. The city streets were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/cars-and-robert-moses-transform-nyc-video/new-york-documentary-film/">designed to maximize vehicle speed</a> rather than to get as many New Yorkers around as efficiently and safely as possible. Bikers have to contend with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://transalt.org/press-releases/new-data-shines-light-on-the-growing-dangers-and-growing-ownership-of-suvs-in-new-york-city#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20SUVs%20were%20slightly,consequences%20for%20vulnerable%20road%20users.">larger cars</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-06/welcome-to-the-age-of-extreme-acceleration?srnd=citylab">more speeding</a>, a surge in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2024/04/25/dot-will-spend-11m-to-boost-off-hour-deliveries">delivery trucks</a>, and a rash of speeding <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/27/nyregion/street-wars-e-bikes.html">mopeds and e-bikes</a>. While New York City streets have generally gotten safer since the city adopted its 'Vision Zero' plan in 2014 to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries in 2014, progress hasn't been consistent. Pedestrian deaths are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/nyregion/traffic-deaths-vision-zero.html" target="_blank">way up so far in 2024</a>. This year, New Yorkers were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://gothamist.com/news/cars-prove-far-deadlier-than-guns-in-nyc-so-far-this-year">more likely to be killed in a traffic crash</a> than by gun violence. While pedestrian deaths fell <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-03-11/new-york-city-s-decade-long-battle-for-pedestrian-safety">last year</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/05/nyregion/nyc-cyclist-deaths-ebike.html">more bicyclists died</a> on New York City's streets in 2023 than in any year since 1999, although a DOT spokesperson noted that cyclist deaths are "down nearly 37% so far this year." Cities like Paris, London, Tokyo, and Bogotá have proven how essential — and beneficial — pedestrian and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/most-bike-friendly-cities-2019-copenhagenize-design-index/">multi-modal infrastructure</a> is to a healthy city. Better bike and pedestrian infrastructure doesn't just mean safer streets and cleaner air — they're also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bike-lanes-good-for-business-studies-better-streets-2024-3">good for business</a>. Advocates say New Yorkers should follow their lead. "What New York City can learn is that when you commit to comprehensive bike infrastructure, it works," Elizabeth Adams said. "People are happier and it boosts the economy, and the streets are safer, and the air is cleaner, and people shift modes very quickly." Note: Correction: August 14, 2024 — This article has been updated to clarify that pedestrian deaths are higher this year, rather than traffic deaths, and added additional context around the city's building of pedestrian infrastructure and recent cyclist death counts.

Urban biking is booming around the world, but New York City is falling behind

Russia's showing NATO its hand in the air war over Ukraine

Elon Musk-run <keyword id="107096" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="tesla" source="Orion">Tesla</keyword> is facing a preliminary probe by the US' <keyword id="101929" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="national-highway-traffic-safety-administration" source="Orion">National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</keyword> (<keyword id="112531" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nhtsa" source="Orion">NHTSA</keyword>) into 120,000 Model Y cars (2023 models) as reports surfaced about steering wheels dangerously falling off while driving. The agency said it was aware of at least two incidents in which the wheel detached from the steering column in 2023 Model Y cars. According to a filing posted on NHTSA's website, the affected vehicles were delivered to owners without the "retaining bolt that holds the steering wheel in place". The NHTSA is assessing "the scope, frequency and manufacturing processes associated with this condition". Tesla recently "recalled" more than 321,000 vehicles for a software glitch and deployed an over-the-air (<keyword id="6607315" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ota" source="Orion">OTA</keyword>) firmware update to correct the anomaly in tail lights that may cause false fault detections. It also recalled almost 30,000 Model X vehicles over an issue that could cause the front passenger airbag to improperly deploy in "low-speed" collisions. In September last year, the electric car-maker recalled around 1.1 million vehicles to prevent drivers from getting pinched by the windows while being rolled up. The windows in these Tesla cars would not recognise certain objects while closing, which could result in "a pinching injury to the occupant". In May, Tesla physically recalled 1,30,000 cars to fix touchscreen issues caused by an overheating central processing unit (CPU). The company also paused the rollout of its Full Self-Driving (<keyword id="450300" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="fsd" source="Orion">FSD</keyword>) beta software in the US and Canada until a firmware update can be issued to address a safety recall. Despite a rocky takeover of Twitter which saw Tesla stock tumbling by over 60 per cent, Tesla made more money than ever in 2022, as total revenue grew 51 per cent to $81.5 billion and net income more than doubled to $12.6 billion. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/49-employees-lose-up-to-5-hours-a-week-dealing-with-it-issues-says-a-report-by-unisys/articleshow/98519236.cms">49% employees lose up to 5 hours a week dealing with IT issues says a report by Unisys</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/apple-iphone-14-launched-in-new-yellow-color-in-india-heres-how-it-looks/slidelist/98519266.cms">Apple iPhone 14 launched in new yellow color in India: Here’s how it looks</a>

Elon Musk-run Tesla faces probe as reports of steering wheels falling off while driving, emerge

<ul class="summary-list"><li>US air traffic on <keyword id="32170" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving</keyword> eve was the highest of any day since March, according to <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation">Transportation</keyword> Security Administration records.</li><li>More than 1,070,900 people passed TSA checkpoints on Wednesday, the agency found. The number was down just 40% from 2019's numbers.</li><li>Health authorities had urged Americans not to travel for the holiday, but an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-ignore-covid-19-to-have-thanksgiving-as-usual-2020-11">Insider survey found</a> that 37% of Americans said they planned to go about Thanksgiving as normal.</li></ul>US air traffic on Thanksgiving eve was the highest of any day since March, according to Transportation Security Administration records.On Wednesday, 1,070,967 people passed TSA checkpoints, <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput">according to the agency</a>.The last time that many people traveled by air was March 16, when 1,257,823 people passed TSA checkpoints. The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-declares-coronavirus-pandemic-covid19-2020-3">declared the coronavirus a pandemic</a> on March 11.Some 2,624,250 people traveled through TSA checkpoints on the day before Thanksgiving last year, meaning this year's figures were a 40% decrease.The relatively high level of US <keyword id="6354691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Air-travel">air travel</keyword> came even though multiple health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged Americans to avoid traveling even short distances for Thanksgiving.Regardless, an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-ignore-covid-19-to-have-thanksgiving-as-usual-2020-11">Insider survey of 1,110 people conducted November 20-21</a> found that 37% of Americans said they were not changing anything about how they planned to go about Thanksgiving this year.Thirty-one percent of respondents said they didn't factor CDC advice into their plans, and 57% said they were planning to mix households at the dinner table.<div type="image" title="thanksgiving travel 2020" height="722" width="1445" msid="79449095" hostid="261"></div>On November 19, the CDC <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-new-advice-do-not-travel-for-thanksgiving-2020-coronavirus-2020-11">recommended that Americans not travel at all for Thanksgiving</a> and said holiday meals should be done only with those who people live with or neighbors if they can dine outside.The agency also acknowledged that some people might not follow its advice, adding that those who were spending Thanksgiving with people they didn't live with should wear masks and wash their hands frequently.Dr. <keyword id="225564" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anthony-Fauci">Anthony Fauci</keyword>, the top US infectious-disease expert, also warned on Sunday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thanksgiving-coronavirus-millions-travelling-despite-cdc-advice-over-covid-19-2020-11">that airports specifically would be breeding grounds</a> for the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>."You are at a crowded airport, you are lining up, not everybody is wearing masks. That puts yourself at risk … that's what's going to get us into even more trouble," he said.Wednesday — the day that saw the most flights since March — also marked the day <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-record-level-daily-covid-19-deaths-thanksgiving-2020-11">the US recorded its highest daily COVID-19 death toll since May</a>.That same day, the CDC <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-basically-stopped-talking-pandemic-despite-soaring-deaths-2020-11">predicted</a> that the US would most likely pass 300,000 deaths by December 19.As of Friday morning, more than 12.8 million people in the US had tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 260,000 people had died, according to <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">a tracker from Johns Hopkins University</a>.

US air traffic on Thanksgiving eve was the highest it's been since the beginning of the pandemic

Mumbai, Apr 6 () Domestic air traffic is expected to drop to 80-90 million passengers in the current fiscal and delivery of more than 200 planes to Indian carriers are likely to be deferred by up to two years, according to a report."The combination of COVID-related travel restrictions and an economic downturn is likely to result in 1Q FY2021 being a virtual washout for the Indian industry."The second quarter is historically the weakest period for demand and hence airlines are only likely to limp back into recovery," aviation consultancy CAPA India said on Monday.As a result, CAPA said the majority of the fleet is likely to be surplus to requirement during the first half of the current financial year.In its report titled 'COVID-19 &amp; the State of Indian Aviation Industry,' the aviation consultancy forecast domestic traffic to decline to around 80-90 million this fiscal from an estimated 140 million in FY2020.International traffic is expected to fall from approximately 70 million in the previous financial year to 35-40 million passengers or may be even less in the current fiscal.While giving the forecast, CAPA India said it is initial estimate and would be continually revised.Domestic and international flights have been suspended till April 15 amid nationwide lockdown to curb spreading of coronavirus infections.A gradual path towards normalcy could be expected towards Q3 and Q4, CAPA India said.According to the report, airlines that are offered concessions by lessors would need to take a strategic call on whether they require all of their aircraft.The holding costs of maintaining a larger fleet may outweigh the concession available.More than 200 aircraft -- scheduled for delivery over the next couple of years, including 56 MAX aircraft -- are likely to be deferred by 1-2 years, it said."Starting from the end of April-2020, Indian carriers are initially expected to seek to return up to 100 aircraft to lessors, especially older equipment and those that may be closer to the expiry of their terms."The number of returned aircraft will continue to increase significantly up until September-2020, possibly reaching 200-250, or even higher," the report said.Since aircraft lessors would have limited customers to whom they can remarket returned aircraft, they may be willing to negotiate temporary rental holidays, CAPA India said. IAS RAM BALBAL

India's domestic air traffic to fall to 90 mn this fiscal: Report

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="http://www.eran.com/">Eran Bendheim</a>, a photographer in New York City, took photos of the night sky from his living room window in April 2019 and April 2020.</li><li>The side-by-side photos show how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-live-updates-latest-news">the coronavirus</a> pandemic has greatly reduced the number of planes and <keyword id="54022" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="helicopters">helicopters</keyword> above the city.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Two photos taken a year apart illustrate just how much demand for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-traffic-during-coronavirus-pandemic-changes-effects-around-the-world-2020-4">air travel has plummeted</a> since the start of the coronavirus.Eran Bendheim, an Israeli <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-wedding-photographer-taking-photos-facetime-during-quarantine-2020-5">photographer</a> and web developer living in New York City, captured <keyword id="6385565" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="air-traffic">air traffic</keyword> in the night sky in April 2019 and again in April 2020. When placed side-by-side, the images show how air traffic has greatly reduced above the city."I shot them from my living room window facing north. We are lucky to be on the sixth floor in Chelsea, Manhattan, where we have a nice view of the Empire State Building on the right and Hudson Yards on the left," he told Business Insider.He chose April because it has some nights that are cloudless. Additionally, "there is less distortion from heat in the air, and if it is not too cold, there won't be any chimneys producing heat," he said.In 2019, Bendheim captured air traffic by accident while trying to photograph star trails, which are "the continuous paths created by stars, produced during long-exposure photos," <a href="https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-are-star-trails">according to EarthSky.</a><div type="image" title="The night sky in April 2019." height="1100" width="1467" msid="75726699" hostid="261"></div>Though he didn't mean to shoot the air traffic, he describes it as a "nice mistake." "The air traffic noise was an interruption that created unexpected trails in the sky," he said."The traffic you see in the year-old photo is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-a-photographers-quest-to-photograph-hundreds-of-parked-planes-2020-5">airplanes</a> heading to LaGuardia or JFK. Some of them are also police, tourist, or traffic TV helicopters <keyword id="52392" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flying">flying</keyword> around," he said.In the photo from 2020, the lines are from star trails, with no interruptions from air traffic.<div type="image" title="The night sky in April 2020." height="1101" width="1467" msid="75726700" hostid="261"></div>"In the photo taken the same week a year later under lockdown, you're only seeing the star trails as circular even lines. The dot in the left side is the North Star," he said. <h2>The photos illustrate just how much air traffic has been affected by the coronavirus</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-traffic-during-coronavirus-pandemic-changes-effects-around-the-world-2020-4">A previous Business Insider report</a> analyzed flight data from OAG, an aerospace data and consulting company.According to that data, during the first full week of April 2020, there were only 287,760 flights globally compared to April 2019, which saw 733,576 flights. That means the total number of flights fell 60.8% year-over-year.In North America, there were 102,319 flights in the first week of April 2020, compared to 204,297 flights in April 2019, meaning that the total number of flights fell about 50% year-over-year, according to the report.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/us-will-temporarily-shrink-operating-hours-at-100-air-traffic-towers-2020-4">US will temporarily shrink operating hours at 100 air traffic towers</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/air-traffic-during-coronavirus-pandemic-changes-effects-around-the-world-2020-4">Coronavirus demolished air travel around the globe. These 14 charts show how empty the skies are right now.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-ceo-airline-collapse-coronavirus-2020-5">Boeing's CEO says a major US airline could collapse this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic</a></li></ul>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-year-apart-show-pandemics-effect-on-air-traffic-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

Photos of the New York City night sky taken one year apart illustrate how the coronavirus pandemic has affected air traffic

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Federal Aviation Administration technician assigned to the John F. Kennedy International Airport air-traffic control tower has tested positive for COVID-19.</li><li>Air-traffic controllers moved to a temporary facility at the airport as the FAA closed the tower for cleaning.</li><li>JFK was the latest in a series of airports affected by FAA technicians testing positive forcing the temporary closure of air-traffic control towers across the country. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed the air-traffic control tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after a technician tested positive for COVID-19, according to a <a href="https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1240998059527606273">statement</a> issued on Friday. The main control tower has since reopened.Arrivals and departures were not affected as New York's primary gateway remained open with air-traffic controllers moving to a secondary location on the airport property to continue facilitating flight operations.The airport, designated as one of 13 approved entry points by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the latest in a string of airports to be affected by air-traffic control tower closures. Positive cases of the novel coronavirus temporarily halted traffic at Chicago's Midway Airport and Las Vegas' McCarran Airport earlier in the week, causing flight delays across the country. The affected technician hadn't visited the tower since March 16, during which the FAA said he stayed briefly and didn't visit the tower cab where air-traffic controllers talk directly with aircraft. Despite limited contact with the critical areas of the tower, the FAA was cleaning the entire facility to protect its employees. JFK's control tower is located directly above Terminal 4, the shared-use international arrivals building primarily occupied by Delta Air Lines. In addition to the control tower, the facility features office space and a ramp tower on a lower level which coordinates the movement of aircraft that are parking at Terminal 4. The FAA implemented a ground delay program early Friday morning in an attempt to limit the number of flights at the airport as technicians moved from the control tower to their temporary facilities. The program was lifted later in the morning with the airport no longer reporting any delays or FAA-mandated ground stops. FAA technicians assigned to JFK are not only responsible for facilitating arrivals and departures into JFK Airport but also controlling a ring of airspace that extends into Queens, Brooklyn, and Nassau County. Nearby LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport are not affected by the temporary closure.

JFK airport's air-traffic control tower closed temporarily after an FAA technician tested positive for the coronavirus

11 air traffic control centers have been temporarily closed after workers tested positive for coronavirus, highlighting a vulnerability in air travel

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-postal-service-run-out-money-september-coronavirus-covid-19-2020-5">USPS</a> has been around for more than 200 years, but says it is close to being insolvent.</li><li>Laws requiring it to fund pensions for people it hasn't even hired yet have hurt the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/usps">post office's </a>ability to operate.</li><li>It's likely to become a major issue this summer, as many voters may rely on it to cast their vote during the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/coronavirus">coronavirus pandemic.</a></li></ul>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>.Narrator: Every year, the United States Postal Service takes and delivers 142 billion mailed items. If it needs to go from point A to point B anywhere in the US, the <keyword id="6380711" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="post-office">post office</keyword> can do it. It survived the Civil War, two world wars, the Great Depression, and the upheaval brought by the internet and email.But it's currently more than $160 billion in debt, and it's telling Congress it will run out of cash by September and needs a $75 billion infusion. How did this happen?The US Postal Service has been delivering mail since before the Declaration of Independence was even signed. In 1775, Benjamin Franklin was appointed postmaster general, and it was Franklin who handled the distribution of letters from Congress to its armies during the Revolutionary War. President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act, which authorized Congress to create the US Postal Service. This established routes and made it illegal to open anyone's mail.Clip: What matter if it took two weeks to go from New York to Atlanta, over a month to St. Louis? If the letter from Uncle Ben arrived a day or so later, nobody fussed.Narrator: In 1823, it started using waterways to deliver mail, then began using railroads. 1847 saw the first issued stamps. And then the famed Pony Express debuted in 1860. In 1896, it began delivering to some rural addresses, meaning residents no longer had to go to the town post office to get their mail. By 1923, all houses were required to have a mail slot. And in 1963, zip codes made their debut.Clip: What a system! As you can plainly see, just five little numbers, quick as can be.Narrator: But what really transformed the post office into what we know today? That happened a few years later.Clip: The post office stands to be swamped, overwhelmed, drowned in a sea of mail. Where do we go from here?Narrator: In 1967, the postmaster general testified before Congress that the post office was in "a race with catastrophe." There were all sorts of backlogs, and sorting-room floors were bursting with unsorted mail. Combined with a postal worker strike in March of 1970, led to the Postal Reorganization Act and established the United States Postal Service as we know it today.Clip: The Post Office Department is leading the search for better ways to process and dispatch mail in the shortest time possible.Narrator: The act eliminated the post office from the president's cabinet and made the post office its own federal agency. It was set up more like a corporation than a government agency and had an official monopoly on the delivery of letter mail in the US. It also set up the elimination of the post office's direct government subsidies, which were completely phased out in 1982. The post office has been operating without any taxpayer money since.Competition from UPS and FedEx made the post office innovate on its offerings, like introducing express mail. But since its most lucrative service was first-class mail, the <keyword id="195495" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="USPS">USPS</keyword> didn't have to worry too much about competing with other companies. In fact, the post office has partnered with both companies in the past, like when it signed a deal in 2000 that contracted its air delivery of first-class, priority, and express mail to FedEx.So, basically, the USPS was fine. First-class mail volume peaked in 2001 at 103.6 billion pieces of mail. It operated at a loss in the first couple years of the 21st century, but by 2003, it was back to operating at a profit. In fact, from 2003 through 2006, USPS recorded a total $9.3 billion profit. That all changed at the end of 2006.Clip: HR 6407, a bill to reform the postal laws of the United States.Narrator: Enter the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush. Up until this point, the post office added to and removed from its retiree pension and healthcare accounts on an ongoing basis, putting money in as needed, based on its current retirees. This model is similar to the way many other companies and corporations fund their own healthcare pensions. This act changed all that.It required the post office to calculate all of its retiree pension and healthcare costs for the next 75 years, including for people it hadn't even hired yet, and put away enough over the next 10 years to cover them. To put this in perspective, that'd be like you only working from age 18 to 28 and then expecting to live on that income until you were 103 years old.The timing for this was not ideal, either. Email, texting, and online payments had begun to chip away at the post office's main business, first-class mail, which had slowly been declining since its 2001 peak. But even that decline wouldn't put the post office in the negative.If not for the 75-year pension and healthcare obligation, the USPS would have reported operating profits for the last six years. Once the bill was enacted, USPS had to contribute about $5.6 billion a year for people who had not yet retired, in addition to the normal amount for current retirees. In 2006, prior to the new bill, this was $1.6 billion for those who were already retired. In 2007, USPS had to put away 625% more, about $10 billion, to cover both current and future retirees. This gave the post office an annual loss of more than $5 billion for the year.Additionally, the new bill restricted the post office's ability to set prices. First-class mail, marketing mail, and other products the post office does not have a large competition for were all tied to the consumer price index, meaning it couldn't increase rates for those products above the rate of inflation. This has caused various problems, like in 2009, when prices couldn't be raised at all on those products, because there was no inflation.The rule has created an environment where packages are the post office's only profitable area. By 2010, the post office's overall debt, which was just over $2 billion in 2006, had climbed to $12 billion. It sounded the alarm to Congress multiple times and was also the subject of a 2018 Trump administration report saying the pension obligation should be restructured. But nothing changed. In its most recent annual report, the post office said it had incurred almost $78 billion in losses from 2007 to 2019. It couldn't afford to make any payments into the fund from 2012 to 2016 and now owes about $55 billion related to its future pension and health benefit obligations.Which brings us to today. As with many other industries, the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> has taken its toll on the post office. First-class and marketing mail have plummeted, and the post office expects a $13 billion decline in revenue. The postmaster general has told Congress she expects the USPS to be completely out of cash by September. This would make it unable to pay its employees and could quickly cause disaster in mail delivery across the country, especially in rural areas not serviced by UPS and FedEx. So, can it be saved?The post office is now asking Congress for a $50 billion cash infusion along with a $25 billion loan. The initial bailout bill Congress passed in March provided $13 billion for the post office, far less than the $25 billion the organization was seeking in the bill. However, President Trump threatened to veto any bill that bailed out the post office, so the bill was changed before signing to a $10 billion loan, 13% of the $75 billion it had originally asked for and another $10 billion to add to its debt.And then, in early May, Trump appointed Louis DeJoy the new postmaster general, and he will take the reins of the organization on June 15. Unlike the last three postmaster generals, DeJoy is not a career employee; he is a large GOP donor and the former CEO of a logistics company. Democrats and ethics watchdogs see the appointment as purely political, not just because of Trump's desire to reshape the post office, but also because millions of Americans may be forced to vote by mail this year, which means the future of the post office is likely to become a political issue this spring and summer, especially if its cash flow starts running dry.And those at risk? The 497,000 Americans who rely on the USPS for their jobs, and the 329 million Americans who rely on it for paying bills, medication, and everything else the USPS delivers through rain, sleet, snow, and even pandemics.Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-rise-fall-post-office-collapse-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

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