Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
@kevshen.bsky.social
transportation, policy, planning, and onwards. 🚌 fighting for clean air and a just world. now at
@UCSUSA, recently at @MIT. he/him. views my own.
@UCSUSA, recently at @MIT. he/him. views my own.
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
This underscores the fundamental challenge of the BIL: for all it may have done to support #EV infrastructure and electrification, it fundamentally did not do jack to shift the transportation system itself, and if anything just further embedded the status quo #oil based boondoggle we have today.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed 4 years ago. In new research @urbaninstitute.bsky.social we study its effects.
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
Federal Infrastructure Spending on Transportation, Four Years after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is up for reauthorization in 2026. New analysis shows that the act increased spending on transportation infrastructure, but…
www.urban.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:49 PM
In his latest blog, my colleague @ucsdave.bsky.social clarifies how much the trucking industry damages our roadways, and how the public subsidizes them by around $88 billion a year to do so (not to mention over $170 billion/year in health and climate costs)
blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...
blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...
Trucks Cause the Lion’s Share of Road Damage—and Their Industry Wants You to Keep Paying for It
There is no reason for US taxpayers to foot the bill for a trillion-dollar per year industry.
blog.ucs.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:36 PM
In his latest blog, my colleague @ucsdave.bsky.social clarifies how much the trucking industry damages our roadways, and how the public subsidizes them by around $88 billion a year to do so (not to mention over $170 billion/year in health and climate costs)
blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...
blog.ucs.org/dave-cooke/t...
Today is a huge day for people across Illinois -- at 4am the legislature passed SB2111 to not just prevent transit service cuts but actually EXPAND service -- UCS estimates $1.5B to be able to support around 35% more transit service over the coming years blog.ucs.org/kshen/illino...
October 31, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Today is a huge day for people across Illinois -- at 4am the legislature passed SB2111 to not just prevent transit service cuts but actually EXPAND service -- UCS estimates $1.5B to be able to support around 35% more transit service over the coming years blog.ucs.org/kshen/illino...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
TRB actions eliminating committees and potentially conference content regarding equity & sustainability are "inconsistent with the foundational purposes of the TRB" & "incompatible with the function of scientific inquiry in a free society" Sign on & share: forms.gle/zBknHfDNUZjj...
Open Letter to the Transportation Research Board
Recently, the TRB made significant changes to its standing committees in response to Presidential Executive Orders, eliminating committees on climate change, equity, sustainability and most environmen...
forms.gle
September 25, 2025 at 4:23 PM
TRB actions eliminating committees and potentially conference content regarding equity & sustainability are "inconsistent with the foundational purposes of the TRB" & "incompatible with the function of scientific inquiry in a free society" Sign on & share: forms.gle/zBknHfDNUZjj...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
So much of transportation advocacy is about how people move, but this survey challenges us to think about how Black people, specifically, simply *exist* in public space, and how that shapes their experience of streets, roads, transit, & more. Grateful to @jaypitter.bsky.social for sharing her work.
New Report Explores The Challenges — and Joys — Of Being Black in Public — Streetsblog USA
Making Black North Americans feel welcome and safe in public isn't just about striking down racist transportation laws — and it may require transportation advocates to think more deeply about joy, a n...
usa.streetsblog.org
June 25, 2025 at 3:24 PM
So much of transportation advocacy is about how people move, but this survey challenges us to think about how Black people, specifically, simply *exist* in public space, and how that shapes their experience of streets, roads, transit, & more. Grateful to @jaypitter.bsky.social for sharing her work.
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
From big cities to rural towns, Pennsylvanians deserve more ways to get around. But decades of disinvestment have left public transit behind while polluting industries profit. UCS’s @kevshen.bsky.social breaks down how the current budget fight could help be the long-term solution the state needs.
The Transit for All PA Funding Package Can Help Keep Pennsylvania Moving
It's time to invest in economic vitality in communities across the state, public health, and affordable transportation options.
blog.ucs.org
June 13, 2025 at 5:00 PM
From big cities to rural towns, Pennsylvanians deserve more ways to get around. But decades of disinvestment have left public transit behind while polluting industries profit. UCS’s @kevshen.bsky.social breaks down how the current budget fight could help be the long-term solution the state needs.
School graduations, going to work.. even doing your best to navigate the system, going to immigration court hearings and appointments can be risky. "Transportation and immigration are inseparable. If movement is a right, then that right must apply to everyone" Ruth Rosas @americawalks.bsky.social
Mobility is also "about whether people can exist in public without fear. For immigrants, their presence in a public space makes them a target, which is why immigration must be part of the mobility conversation.” Ruth Rosa’s blog hits especially hard today.-@americawalks.bsky.social
Why Immigration Belongs in the Mobility Conversation
For refugees and asylum seekers, mobility is survival.
blog.ucs.org
June 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM
School graduations, going to work.. even doing your best to navigate the system, going to immigration court hearings and appointments can be risky. "Transportation and immigration are inseparable. If movement is a right, then that right must apply to everyone" Ruth Rosas @americawalks.bsky.social
Uber reinvents the bus but worse -- without public accountability or a commitment to serve everyone who needs to get around, rich or poor. Will Route Share complement transit? Or will it gum up the same routes, compete for the same passengers, and cause even more emissions?
For my first story @grist.org (!) I took on the perpetual silicon-valley reinvention of the bus, which is happening again grist.org/transportati...
Uber's new shuttles look suspiciously familiar to anyone who's taken a bus
Beyond the jokes about Uber inventing bus lines are serious questions about what its shuttle service will mean for struggling transit systems, air quality, and congestion.
grist.org
June 4, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Uber reinvents the bus but worse -- without public accountability or a commitment to serve everyone who needs to get around, rich or poor. Will Route Share complement transit? Or will it gum up the same routes, compete for the same passengers, and cause even more emissions?
Demand for transportation options is growing - people are increasingly choosing transit 🚌🚇. But still over half of the country’s population does not live near any transit whatsoever. Meanwhile, agencies' hard-earned recovery faces the threat of fiscal cliffs.
Read more: blog.ucs.org/kshen/how-mu...
Read more: blog.ucs.org/kshen/how-mu...
How Much Transit Investment Is Needed to Get Back to “Normal”?
Transit is essential for the climate, our health, and our pocketbooks, but was never set up for success in transportation policy. While transit agencies in the United States have made slight increases...
blog.ucs.org
May 22, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Demand for transportation options is growing - people are increasingly choosing transit 🚌🚇. But still over half of the country’s population does not live near any transit whatsoever. Meanwhile, agencies' hard-earned recovery faces the threat of fiscal cliffs.
Read more: blog.ucs.org/kshen/how-mu...
Read more: blog.ucs.org/kshen/how-mu...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
Clean trucks are good for our air, our businesses, and New York’s economy. There’s no reason to bend to corporate polluters — We need @governor.ny.gov and our state leaders to stand up for our life-saving clean air protections and support clean vehicles. More:
cleantechnica.com/2025/04/10/b...
cleantechnica.com/2025/04/10/b...
Businesses In New York Support Clean Trucks - CleanTechnica
Two proposed bills in New York would delay the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule.
cleantechnica.com
April 15, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Clean trucks are good for our air, our businesses, and New York’s economy. There’s no reason to bend to corporate polluters — We need @governor.ny.gov and our state leaders to stand up for our life-saving clean air protections and support clean vehicles. More:
cleantechnica.com/2025/04/10/b...
cleantechnica.com/2025/04/10/b...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
ICYMI: On Wednesday, clean air advocates and lawmakers rallied in Albany to support New York’s life-saving clean truck standard. With clean air under attack, this is not the time for New York to cave to polluter misinformation. Read more:
earthjustice.org/press/2025/l...
earthjustice.org/press/2025/l...
Lawmakers, Environmental Justice, and Clean Air Advocates Call on Governor Hochul to Stand Strong for Clean Air Protections
State leaders rally in Albany to urge the Governor to protect the life-saving clean truck standard in final budget and reject industry efforts to gut air protections
earthjustice.org
April 11, 2025 at 6:28 PM
ICYMI: On Wednesday, clean air advocates and lawmakers rallied in Albany to support New York’s life-saving clean truck standard. With clean air under attack, this is not the time for New York to cave to polluter misinformation. Read more:
earthjustice.org/press/2025/l...
earthjustice.org/press/2025/l...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
📣 We are joining legislators, clean air advocates, and community members in Albany today to demand that our state leaders protect clean air and keep New York’s life-saving standards in place.
April 9, 2025 at 2:45 PM
📣 We are joining legislators, clean air advocates, and community members in Albany today to demand that our state leaders protect clean air and keep New York’s life-saving standards in place.
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
🏫🎒 Electric school buses will provide fresher air to children, drivers, and the communities they drive through. Let's take a deep breath and embrace this clean energy revolution for a healthier, more vibrant tomorrow.
www.pressconnects.com/story/opinio...
www.pressconnects.com/story/opinio...
New York schools need more electric school buses. This is why | Opinion
School districts across New York state are transforming student transportation by planning for and adopting zero-emission electric school buses.
www.pressconnects.com
March 31, 2025 at 3:53 PM
🏫🎒 Electric school buses will provide fresher air to children, drivers, and the communities they drive through. Let's take a deep breath and embrace this clean energy revolution for a healthier, more vibrant tomorrow.
www.pressconnects.com/story/opinio...
www.pressconnects.com/story/opinio...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
"It is in the highway lobby’s interest to propagate the myth that [car fees like the gas tax] cover all the impacts of driving, but that has never been true and is becoming ever less so." @ucsdave.bsky.social
The User-Pay Myth: We ALL Pay for Our Roads, Not Just Drivers
It’s time we think harder about what it is we're paying for, for whom and why, and how we pay for it.
blog.ucs.org
March 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
"It is in the highway lobby’s interest to propagate the myth that [car fees like the gas tax] cover all the impacts of driving, but that has never been true and is becoming ever less so." @ucsdave.bsky.social
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
I've expanded this thread into a blog post here: bsky.app/profile/ucsu...
In 2018 Musk won a bid for high-speed transit in Chicago. He tried to sell the city on technology that didn’t exist and his proposal was never built. He lied and showed little regard for public services. "We are now seeing the consequences of putting someone like that in a position of power."
Blog:
Blog:
Transportation Professionals Saw Elon Musk’s Lies and Disdain for the Public Firsthand.
We can't sit on the sidelines now.
blog.ucs.org
March 19, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I've expanded this thread into a blog post here: bsky.app/profile/ucsu...
“In normal times, engineers, planners, and other transportation professionals draw on our training to help make our communities safer, healthier, and more prosperous. In these abnormal times, speaking out helps achieve the same ends.” - @shigashide.bsky.social’s new blog on Musk’s history of lies.
In 2018 Musk won a bid for high-speed transit in Chicago. He tried to sell the city on technology that didn’t exist and his proposal was never built. He lied and showed little regard for public services. "We are now seeing the consequences of putting someone like that in a position of power."
Blog:
Blog:
Transportation Professionals Saw Elon Musk’s Lies and Disdain for the Public Firsthand.
We can't sit on the sidelines now.
blog.ucs.org
March 19, 2025 at 5:37 PM
“In normal times, engineers, planners, and other transportation professionals draw on our training to help make our communities safer, healthier, and more prosperous. In these abnormal times, speaking out helps achieve the same ends.” - @shigashide.bsky.social’s new blog on Musk’s history of lies.
It all adds up--check out my latest blog on cumulative impacts and transportation, NEPA, and policies that holistically protect communities from harm.
Esp. in these times, we must hold the line AND keep the vision for a healthy and just future.
blog.ucs.org/kshen/transp... s/o @ourstreetsmn.org
Esp. in these times, we must hold the line AND keep the vision for a healthy and just future.
blog.ucs.org/kshen/transp... s/o @ourstreetsmn.org
Transportation Burdens Add to All that Communities Are Already Facing
We need a more holistic approach that includes the total cumulative impacts on communities, not a project-by-project approach that can make the impacts seem smaller than they are.
blog.ucs.org
March 10, 2025 at 4:48 PM
It all adds up--check out my latest blog on cumulative impacts and transportation, NEPA, and policies that holistically protect communities from harm.
Esp. in these times, we must hold the line AND keep the vision for a healthy and just future.
blog.ucs.org/kshen/transp... s/o @ourstreetsmn.org
Esp. in these times, we must hold the line AND keep the vision for a healthy and just future.
blog.ucs.org/kshen/transp... s/o @ourstreetsmn.org
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
🚨 This week, legislation was introduced to delay New York's #CleanTruck standards and worsen public health. We urge @govkathyhochul.bsky.social and the legislature to fight corporate interests and protect our environment.
Full statement here: electrifyny.org/wp-content/u...
Full statement here: electrifyny.org/wp-content/u...
electrifyny.org
March 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
🚨 This week, legislation was introduced to delay New York's #CleanTruck standards and worsen public health. We urge @govkathyhochul.bsky.social and the legislature to fight corporate interests and protect our environment.
Full statement here: electrifyny.org/wp-content/u...
Full statement here: electrifyny.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
"The truth is that standards can be met, and with fewer sales than the opponents of ACCII claim." ⚡🚘@davereichmuth.bsky.social blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmu...
What the Auto Industry Isn’t Telling You About California’s Clean Vehicle Rules
Economic benefits for drivers and reduced air pollution
blog.ucsusa.org
February 28, 2025 at 8:46 PM
"The truth is that standards can be met, and with fewer sales than the opponents of ACCII claim." ⚡🚘@davereichmuth.bsky.social blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmu...
On Thursday at noon ET, I'll be speaking with folks at ACE and CLF about our report Freedom to Move -- and what the fight looks like on the ground in Massachusetts for more transportation options. See you there?
RSVP: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
RSVP: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
February 24, 2025 at 5:25 PM
On Thursday at noon ET, I'll be speaking with folks at ACE and CLF about our report Freedom to Move -- and what the fight looks like on the ground in Massachusetts for more transportation options. See you there?
RSVP: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
RSVP: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
I have not stopped thinking about this chart since my @ucsusa.bsky.social colleague @ucsdave.bsky.social dropped it last year (part of the Freedom to Move report lead-authored by @kevshen.bsky.social - www.ucsusa.org/resources/fr...).
February 12, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I have not stopped thinking about this chart since my @ucsusa.bsky.social colleague @ucsdave.bsky.social dropped it last year (part of the Freedom to Move report lead-authored by @kevshen.bsky.social - www.ucsusa.org/resources/fr...).
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
Today is #TransitEquityDay! More transportation options—like transit, walking & biking—benefit the environment, economy, and social equity. Yet, our system prioritizes car dependence due to outdated policies and lobbying. It’s time to invest in a cleaner, fairer future.
@4transitjustice.bsky.social
@4transitjustice.bsky.social
Why Transit Equity Matters: Investing in a Cleaner, Fairer Future
YouTube video by Union of Concerned Scientists
youtu.be
February 4, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Today is #TransitEquityDay! More transportation options—like transit, walking & biking—benefit the environment, economy, and social equity. Yet, our system prioritizes car dependence due to outdated policies and lobbying. It’s time to invest in a cleaner, fairer future.
@4transitjustice.bsky.social
@4transitjustice.bsky.social
Come work with us -- UCS is hiring a Campaign Manager to support our equitable mobility campaign for clean and just transportation options. These are some tough times, and there's lots of work for us to do, together-- apply.workable.com/union-of-con...
Campaign Manager - Union of Concerned Scientists
Campaign ManagerPermanentClean TransportationUnion of Concerned ScientistsRemote Bargaining Unit Position: NoOur organization The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is an independent nonprofit that p...
apply.workable.com
February 3, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Come work with us -- UCS is hiring a Campaign Manager to support our equitable mobility campaign for clean and just transportation options. These are some tough times, and there's lots of work for us to do, together-- apply.workable.com/union-of-con...
At #TRBAM? Come stop by our booth 1128 and learn about how to use your expertise to push for a sustainable and just transportation system to help all of our communities thrive!
January 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM
At #TRBAM? Come stop by our booth 1128 and learn about how to use your expertise to push for a sustainable and just transportation system to help all of our communities thrive!
Reposted by Kevin Xu Shen 沈志文
A recent UCS report shows that by investing in battery recycling, EV efficiency, charging infrastructure, battery innovation, and diverse transportation options, we can electrify cars and trucks while reducing the need for newly mined lithium by nearly 50% through 2050.
How Many Minerals Do We Really Need for EV Batteries?
Reducing electricity use and new minerals will create a more sustainable, resilient, and just transportation system
blog.ucsusa.org
December 21, 2024 at 5:12 PM
A recent UCS report shows that by investing in battery recycling, EV efficiency, charging infrastructure, battery innovation, and diverse transportation options, we can electrify cars and trucks while reducing the need for newly mined lithium by nearly 50% through 2050.