Happy Thursday in New York, where we’ve got a number of transit-related updates for you.

Starting with chronic reckless drivers. Governor Kathy Hochul, who has long pushed for legislation on this issue, succeeded in folding the Stop Super Speeders Bill into the tardy state budget agreement. The bill will require that drivers with 16 or more speed camera violations in a single year install devices in their vehicles that prevent them from driving past a certain speed. Though details have yet to be finalized, it appears that Gov. Hochul and transit safety advocates may have scored an early victory. 

Then there’s that eternal money funnel — public transportation. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s signature campaign push to make buses free for all New Yorkers suffered a P.R. setback yesterday with the release of the latest report from fiscal watchdog Citizens Budget Commission, which showed that the investment in free buses would be better spent reducing subway fares for low-income residents. 

Households making 150% or less of the poverty line are currently eligible for half-price OMNI cards through the Fair Fares program. According to CBC, raising that threshold to 250% of the poverty line would create a larger impact with a smaller price tag. “This is a more targeted, cost-effective approach that improves transit affordability and allows riders to choose the mode best for them,” the report reads.

Mamdani, meanwhile, is turning his attention to Citi Bikes. According to the Daily News, the Mamdani administration is shutting down an Eric Adams-led initiative to verify riders’ ages using facial recognition technology. Currently, no one under 16 years of age is permitted to access an e-bike. 

“The safety of young New Yorkers is our top priority, whether they’re on a bike or online,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement. “We appreciate Lyft’s efforts to protect young riders and to explore age-appropriate access to Citi Bike that preserves data privacy, security, accuracy and equity.”

Today is National Tourist Day, so it feels appropriate to close on the form of transportation nearest and dearest to the hearts of this city’s millions of tourists: the pedicab. In order to enjoy their chauffeured cycle through the city, tourists currently have to navigate a “Wild West” of overcharges (including prices up to $1000 for a 20-minute ride) and illegal operators. Now, a group of advocates and business groups is urging the city to shift oversight from the NYPD to the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

“Once we go under TLC, it’s going to get rid of a lot of the bad guys and only the good guys are going to remain,” Kenneth Winters, an organizer of the New York Pedicab Alliance, told Gothamist. 

Cars, trains, bikes and pedicabs — with all these complications, maybe we should just stay home.

For the second consecutive year, Bay Ridge hosted “Pizza Wars” on Sunday.

The friendly but fierce competition featured 12 pizzerias within the Merchants of Third Avenue’s district, the Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District and the Bay Ridge 86th Street BID. The pizzerias competed to see who took the top slice or square. 

“This is our second year, and we’ve had a tremendous amount of growth,” James Vavas, president of MOTA, told the Brooklyn Eagle. “We had close to 300 people come out and sample pizza from all over Bay Ridge.”

Read on to learn which pizzeria won the best slice.  

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