A strike that shut down all NJ Transit Strike rail service on Friday has ended, with full service scheduled to resume Tuesday morning, according to state officials and the union representing locomotive engineers. Contingency bus service will remain in effect through Monday, officials said.
“This additional time is critical to ensuring a safe and orderly restart of service,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri stated. “This is an extraordinarily complex operation. We run hundreds of trains a day, and so we have to make sure all the equipment is where it needs to be. All the safety inspections have been done. All the track inspections have been done.”
NJ Transit engineers walked off the job at midnight Friday after contract negotiations broke down, triggering the first major railroad strike in the Garden State since 1983. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET) and Trainmen demanded higher pay, but NJ Transit officials argued the demands were too steep. NJ TRANSIT & the BLET have announced a tentative agreement.
NJ Transit train service will resume on Tuesday, May 20, as it takes approximately 24 hours to inspect and prepare the infrastructure before returning to full scheduled service.
Windels Marx Transportation Practice Group News Feed – Volume 6 (2025), Edition 95
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Prasarana Aims for 40% Public Transport Use by 2030
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd is optimistic about achieving 40% use of public transport in the country by 2030, in line with ongoing efforts to enhance existing facilities and services. Prasarana President and CEO Azharuddin Mat Sah said that with government support, his team was implementing strategic planning to increase ridership numbers from 1.3 million this year to 1.5 million next year.
Karnataka to Receive Electric Buses under PM E-Drive
Karnataka will receive electric buses in a “phased and prioritised manner” under the Centre’s flagship PM E-Drive Scheme, Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy said on Friday. The Ministry of Heavy Industries had received a formal proposal from the Karnataka government seeking allocation of electric buses under the initiative.
Changan Launches NEV Production Hub for Global Markets
Urban Promenade, the weekend program that sees streets open for pedestrians to attend various events, returns on April 12 and will run until October 12. The program, with events as varied as live concerts, street shows, dance, parades, workshops for children, guided tours, and areas for exercise and sports, takes place on Calea Victoriei and various other Bucharest neighborhoods.
NATIONAL NEWS
USDOT Opens $1.5b Funding Round for Transit Buses and Bus Facilities
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced yesterday that $1.5 billion in grants will be available through the Federal Transit Administration’s Buses and Bus Facilities and Low or No Emission bus competitive grant programs. The fiscal year 2025 grants focus on strengthening domestic bus manufacturing.
DOJ Could Drop Boeing Criminal Charge in Deadly 737 Max Crashes
The Trump administration plans to abandon a felony criminal charge against Boeing and instead pursue a no prosecutorial settlement with the aircraft-making juggernaut over two fatal 737 Max plane crashes that killed 346 people, according to the victims’ families. Boeing had been negotiating a guilty plea with the DOJ ahead of a June 23 trial date over a fraud charge for allegedly misleading regulators about flaws in the 737 Max flight system.
Door dash, Wing Bring Drone Delivery to Charlotte
Door Dash has expanded its drone delivery partnership with Wing to Charlotte, North Carolina. Eligible Door Dash customers living within 4 miles of The Arboretum Shopping Center in southern Charlotte can receive drone delivery from a variety of local and national restaurants, and Door Dash is also offering drone delivery from its local delivery-only convenience store, Dash Mart.
LOCAL NEWS
NYC Launches ‘Micro hub’ Pilot to Reduce Truck Delivery Congestion, Pollution
The New York City Department of Transportation is working to reduce air pollution, congestion, and truck deliveries through a “micro hub” pilot program that provides curb space for delivery trucks and couriers. The micropubs will create designated spaces for Amazon, Net Zero Logistics, and UPS on the Upper West Side, allowing those companies’ delivery trucks to transfer packages to cargo bikes, pushcarts and zero-emission vehicles to complete the last leg of deliveries.
A Mexican Navy Training Ship Struck the Brooklyn Bridge, Killing at Least 2
A Mexican Navy training ship on a goodwill tour struck the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge, leaving two crew members dead and over a dozen injured. Now, investigators are looking into exactly how the Cuauhtémoc, which was supposed to fuel up at a Bay Ridge dock before heading to Iceland, lost power and moved in the wrong direction before hitting the Brooklyn Bridge.
NYC Will Expand Weigh-In Program to Reduce ‘Wear and Tear’ on Major Roads
The New York City Department of Transportation will expand a program to fine overweight trucks on major infrastructure. After the New York state budget authorized the program’s growth, the transportation agency will bring its automated weigh-in-motion enforcement program to several bridges and overpasses in the city.
CONGESTION PRICING
NYC’s Controversial Congestion Pricing Policy Is Four Months Old — Here’s How It’s Impacting Commuters
When New York City implemented congestion pricing in January after years of development and delay, critics feared the program would cost the city more in the long term than it would save in commute times. As a result, buses are able to drive their routes 4% faster on average. The Congestion Pricing Now Coalition also found that traffic injuries have dropped by half, while commuters taking the Holland Tunnel from New Jersey to New York can expect a 48% reduction in travel time.
U.S. Says It Has Not Decided Next Steps on NYC’s Congestion Pricing
The Trump administration urged a federal judge to refrain from blocking the government from taking any action against New York’s congestion pricing program, saying it hasn’t actually done anything yet. In a filing late Friday night, the US Department of Transportation told US District Judge Lewis Liman there’s no need for a preliminary injunction, saying the administration hasn’t decided on what measures it will take against the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s “scattershot claims.”
NYC Congestion Pricing Continues to Show Positive Results
Despite continued efforts on the part of the Trump administration to kill the program, New York City’s first-of-its-kind congestion pricing program is having positive results months after going into effect. The results are measurable, and also palpable, with residents reporting noticing less noise, cleaner air, and more birds. Meanwhile, bus travel times are around 15 percent faster, and the program is on track to generate roughly $500 million in revenue for public transit in its first year
Urban Delivery, Reimagined: Innovations in NYC’s Freight Future
From Left: David Chernack, Program Manager, Empire Clean Cities; Vinny Riscica, Section Manager, Medium- and Heavy-Duty Infrastructure Program, Con Edison; Maria Fields, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sprocket Power; Matt Daus; Lauren Kesner O’Brien, Policy and Partnerships Manager, Empire Clean Cities; and Catherine Ponte, Senior Freight Planner, New York City Department of Transportation
Windels Marx was proud to sponsor and support Empire Clean Cities’ (ECC) 16th Annual Stakeholder Meeting on May 15, held in conjunction with the 36th Annual DCAS Equipment and Vehicle Show, in Flushing Meadows Park, panelists convened for a wide-ranging discussion on “Innovations in Urban Goods Movement.” The event brought together public, private, and nonprofit leaders committed to driving down emissions, improving last-mile delivery, and rethinking infrastructure for a cleaner freight future.
Thank you to Joy Gardner, Executive Director at Empire Clean Cities, and the entire ECC team for the invitation to moderate such an excellent panel, and to Keith Kerman, Chief Fleet Officer and Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) for another successful NYC fleet show!
The panel, moderated by Matthew Daus, Founder and Chair of the Transportation Practice Group at Windels Marx, featured the following speakers:
Catherine Ponte, Senior Freight Planner, New York City Department of Transportation, outlined NYC DOT’s freight vision centered around greening and streamlining the last mile through microhubs, e-cargo bikes, off-hour deliveries, and the LockerNYC program. The Blue Highways initiative was also spotlighted, leveraging marine terminals for cleaner middle-mile delivery.
Lauren Kesner O’Brien, Policy and Partnerships Manager, Empire Clean Cities, highlighted the Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery in Dense Metros pilot, which pairs maritime transport with electric cargo bikes to reduce emissions and congestion. Next steps include expanding to Hunts Point and scaling the model citywide.
David Chernack, Program Manager, Empire Clean Cities, shared updates on The Bronx is Breathing initiative, which is electrifying the freight sector in one of NYC’s most polluted neighborhoods. This includes building the nation’s first public electric freight charging hub and supporting worker-owned delivery co-ops.
Vinny Riscica, Section Manager, Medium- and Heavy-Duty Infrastructure Program, Con Edison, provided a utility perspective on fleet electrification, emphasizing the Medium-Heavy-Duty Make-Ready Pilot, which covers up to 90% of utility-side upgrades and 50% of customer-side costs. Special attention is given to disadvantaged communities and zero-emission fleet transitions.
Maria Fields, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sprocket Power, spoke about how microgrids and battery storage systems can lower electricity costs, improve grid resilience, and make electrification more accessible for small and mid-sized fleet operators. She emphasized the need for controls-based infrastructure, turnkey project delivery, and long-term performance support.
A few clear themes emerged from the discussion. First, equity and access are central to many of these programs, with a strong emphasis on addressing environmental justice in underserved neighborhoods and reducing barriers to clean freight technologies. From Bronx-based electric vehicle co-ops to subsidized trade-in programs for fire-safe e-bikes, panelists showcased how targeted investments can deliver health, safety, and economic benefits to the communities most burdened by freight emissions. Second, cross-sector collaboration was cited as essential to advancing these innovations. Public-private partnerships are helping to fund infrastructure, pilot new technologies, and scale up workforce training. Finally, panelists stressed the importance of designing scalable models—whether through third-party capital, bundled service offerings, or data-driven project evaluation—that can be replicated across New York and beyond to build a more sustainable and resilient urban freight system.
