Our daily transit pass around the world

🇬🇧💥 Buckingham Palace police conducted a controlled explosion after arresting a man for throwing items onto palace grounds. Officials said the man threw what they believe were shotgun shells over the fence encircling Buckingham Palace property, after which law enforcement took the man into custody and carried out a controlled explosion of a bag he was carrying. Nobody was injured and no shots were fired as part of the situation, which is being treated as an isolated mental health incident per the BBC.

🇦🇺🚭 Australia enacted new laws that essentially ban all vaping without a prescription. Nicotine vapes already required a prescription under national law, but the ban on recreational vaping was mostly ignored by law enforcement prior to yesterday’s announcement. Aussie officials say the new laws were enacted due to the growing trend of vape users later transitioning to cigarettes – especially among those under the age of 25.

🇩🇪 Germany’s $54/month public-transit pass officially went live this week. The public transport subscription covers all rail, metro, tram, and bus travel across Germany, with the exception of long-distance trains. The German government has set aside $3.3 billion per year to subsidize the program, which is aimed at getting passengers to switch away from cars for environmental reasons.