Washington Post taps Siddiqui to cover tech and transportation

Washington Post business editor David Cho, deputy business editor Zachary Goldfarb, and technology editor Christina Passariello sent out the following announcement on Friday:

We are excited to announce that Faiz Siddiqui will be The Washington Post’s new technology reporter covering automation and future of transportation.

Faiz will cover how Uber, Waymo, Tesla and other technology companies are transforming the way we get around. He also will explore how advances in automation and robotics are changing factories, hospitals, offices and retail establishments, with profound consequences for employment and the economy.

Faiz has spent nearly four years covering transportation for the Local section. He helped chronicle Metro’s efforts to rebuild itself in the wake of the fatal L’Enfant Plaza smoke incident – an effort that continues today.

Faiz pushed Metro officials to answer tough questions on safety. When they declined to give him satisfactory answers, he tracked down documents that did. His work helped explain why the system was struggling at basic tasks such as getting commuters to their jobs on time.

When he wasn’t badgering Metro officials, Faiz wrote with a critical eye on the emergence of transportation alternatives, such as ride-sharing, dock-less bikes and e-scooters. During the heat of the #DeleteUber movement, he broke the story that a notorious Koran-burning pastor not only had been driving for Uber, but also carrying a gun in his vehicle, an incident that raised questions over the quality of Uber’s driver screening.

Before joining The Post as an intern in 2015, Faiz attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he majored in journalism. He grew up in the suburbs of Cincinnati, where he nurtured an appreciation for hip-hop and basketball while spending a lot of time in the local Barnes & Noble.

Faiz will join our growing technology team in San Francisco. He starts on the Business desk on March 18. Please join us in congratulating him on his new role.