Transportation tips

Under a new rule announced by the Department of Transportation, Southwest Airlines must provide passengers with a $75 travel voucher for certain flight delays and cancellations.

A British railway station can be many things. A place of tended flowers and toytown paintwork. A concourse of shuttered ticket booths and overpriced pasties. A terminus, a meeting spot, a gateway to escape. It can be heart-lifting or drab, bathed in birdsong or heaving with commuters. It can also be the starting point for a properly good walk.

Munich, Germany’s third-largest metropolis, is a city of tankards and tech, artworks and eccentricity. It's generally a safe place to visit, and few travelers have problems.

Thanks to its compact size, Copenhagen is fairly simple and convenient to get around, and travelers have a multitude of options for exploring the city, from hopping on a bike to jumping on the metro or a Harbor Bus boat. 

Travelers to Europe who get behind the wheel may soon be more accountable when they engage in risky driving. The European Union has made a major move to crackdown on foreign drivers who do not follow the rules of the road.

That hottest club in town is Cookbook Club! And whether mom is in one right now, thinking or starting one or joining one, these gifts will help her prep for the most delicious social gathering of the 2020s. Prepare to be lauded as the best child (or spouse) of this cookbook club member, because these gifts are perfect.

Southwest Airlines' settlement terms with the Department of Transportation (DOT) are kicking in — leading to future customers receiving compensation if they experience a significant flight delay. As part of the settlement sparked from the airline’s 2022 holiday meltdown, Southwest has agreed to award $75 or more in transferrable vouchers to travelers who reach their destination at least three hours late due to an airline-caused disruption or cancellation, according to the DOT.

A new rule that will make automatic emergency braking systems (AEB) mandatory, including those that detect pedestrians, was finalized.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a new rule last week detailing when airlines owe travelers a refund and how they have to pay. But like all good things, it comes with a few caveats.

On the shores of the blustery North Atlantic, Nova Scotia is one of Canada’s trio of Maritime Provinces. But you don’t (necessarily) need a boat to get around.

Germany's most expensive city to live in certainly has its fair share of swanky restaurants and five-star hotels but that doesn't mean there aren't ways to visit Munich on a budget.

The Eternal City is well known for its historic sites as well as its eternal traffic jams, as many of Rome’s citizens and tourists get around by individual motorized vehicles. But a new initiative to boost cycling, walking, and public transport and how they all interconnect, hopes to change that.

I moved to Bangkok in 1999, a time when most visitors to Thailand reluctantly did a night in this megacity before beelining to an island or the north. Synonymous with traffic jams, pollution and urban sprawl, the Thai capital was largely seen as an unwanted but obligatory stopover.

On Oct. 3, 2022, I reserved a seat in a Megabus coach for the busy Sunday after Thanksgiving to return to Boston after visiting family in Philadelphia. With a $3.99 booking fee, the total came to $53.98. On Oct. 26, I received an email from Megabus canceling the trip “due to a schedule alteration,” and promising a refund. But I only received $49.99. I wrote every few months demanding my $3.99 back, receiving no response until nearly a year later, when an agent named Danielle wrote back to explain that the service fee was nonrefundable. I understand why a company would keep a fee if I had canceled or rebooked, but this was their decision. Can you help?

Flight delays and cancellations are some of the most un-fun issues to deal with while traveling. Even more of a headache? Trying to get a refund from the airline for your airfare or for any extra fees you paid for, like checked baggage.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) issued new rules Wednesday requiring airlines to disclose all fees upfront as well as “promptly” provide refunds when they are owed. Under the new rule, travelers are entitled to a refund if an airline cancels or significantly changes their flight, like changing the departure or arrival time by more than 3 hours for domestic flights and 6 hours for international flights, the DOT shared with Travel + Leisure. Travelers can also demand a refund if an airline significantly delays their checked bags (more than 12 hours for domestic flights and 15 to 30 hours for international flights), or if the airline doesn’t provide the ancillary services a passenger purchased like Wi-Fi, seat selection, and in-flight entertainment. Airlines will now be required to issue a refund automatically without a passenger having to request one. The refund must be in the form of cash or the original form of payment, and airlines cannot substitute travel vouchers or other forms of compensation unless the passenger willingly accepts it.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced two new rules for airlines in its years-long war on so-called “junk fees.” The White House says the new rules will help consumers save over half a billion dollars every year that they are currently overpaying in airline fees.

The Transportation Department on Wednesday announced new rules taking aim at two of the most difficult and annoying issues in air travel: obtaining refunds and encountering surprise fees late in the booking process.

Under a blazing morning Las Vegas sun, billionaire Wes Edens and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg threw a party this week to mark the start of construction of Brightline West, the first private high-speed railway in the U.S., driving yellow spikes into a section of track.

Austin is a unique and proudly weird city in many ways but one thing it has in common with its Texan neighbors is a heavy reliance on cars to get around.

A major milestone for a high-stakes, high-speed rail project is expected Monday. Brightline West is set to break ground on a new rail system that will someday link Southern California with Las Vegas.