“Longevity doesn’t help if you suck at the job.” It’s the Streetsblog x Janno Lieber interview nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/01/21/i...

I have stayed a couple of times in a hotel in Boston where the shower opens directly into the (tiny) room (there is a door only on the toilet cubicle). I can live with it because I'm usually staying only a night or two and traveling alone, but I was still taken aback the first time I stayed there.

Sometimes I see people who decided to bring their posting into real life in dramatic fashion, and I can only think that in these cases touching grass backfired.

I was out all day/evening and I missed *bus drama*.

This is, technically, the only hovercraft I’ve ever ridden. (I’ll get to the Isle of Wight sooner or later.)

I grew up in a primarily Verizon(/Bell Atlantic/NYNEX) household, like probably most people in the Northeast, but there was a time when my dad had a Verizon/Bell Atlantic cell phone and my mom had an AT&T one for redundancy reasons, and maybe that was a good idea!

As promised, here is a great SEPTA Airport Line map and logo when the service first opened in 1985, and a poster from the 90's advertising the half-hourly service!

Governor Hochul will announce an extension of the Second Avenue Subway to 125th and Broadway in her State of the State address on Tuesday. buff.ly/2qxRQs6

My home river is a tidal strait.

The winter issue of Dissent is live! I wrote an essay for them about Mamdani and the case for why the left should embrace bureaucracy and public service. dissentmagazine.org/article/the-...

In a city with an extensive and well-structured transit system, “transit hubs” naturally occur at transfer points between modes, e.g. an outlying station where several bus routes feed a rapid transit line, or a central intercity/regional rail station that’s also served by rapid transit.

I hate that "right size" has become a synonym for "smaller." For many of our public services the actual "right size" is bigger.

This is excellent news for the future of transit in the US. LA is just too big to rely mostly on buses and light rail and needs to return to building subways. A NIMBY-pleasing highway-median monorail without a direct connection to a major trip generator (UCLA) would have been a huge mistake.

Two Americans working in Hamburg in this documentary about the people who wake up early in the city: - Jacob is a New Yorker who drives the U-Bahn - An eagle scares away birds in the vicinity of the airport to prevent bird/airplane accidents

Rule 35: if it exists, there are people who foam it

Harv Kahn took some neat pictures of Reading Silverliner IVs at the former Spring Garden Station on the Reading Viaduct on July 17, 1976! Don't they look so SLEEK

you know what would be a genuinely useful site? "Was It Better or Were You Younger?" just take various elements of life and look at the actual facts of the past. because it is true of some stuff! but generally much less than nostalgia and aging leads us to believe

Bluesky community! This is my official NYC mayor account. I’ll be posting updates on what’s happening at City Hall and how we’re delivering for New Yorkers. It’s great to be here.

New Baltimore Metro railcars are in service!

There should be an "unsubscribe, but angrily" feature if you receive, say, a fundraising email from a politician you can't stand. Digital equivalent of slamming down the receiver after receiving the equivalent phone call.

Love it when people who should know better (willfully?) misinterpret data to make a point to which it is completely unrelated!

Love when I cough and Teams helpfully tells me I’m muted. Thanks for reminding me of the importance of making sure all my colleagues can hear me cough.

For @ggwash.org, I wrote a fun piece about how DC's built environment has changed over the past 50 years, as seen through images from one of the best DC movies of all time -- ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976). Check it out! ggwash.org/view/101838/...

Congestion pricing is working. The cameras are staying on.

The latest numbers are in: Congestion pricing cut 27M car trips in 2025. Commutes got faster Streets got safer And business went up See more exclusive analysis - and feedback from 600+readers - in our latest collab with @upshot.nytimes.com Free link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Werkwagen in the snow

As the winter holiday season is now over, I have returned to my usual form.

Earlier this fall, I noticed something odd going on with rail service on Los Angeles's C line. So, I wrote about it, because I could not have asked for a more perfect encapsulation of how schedule design can drive service outcomes. homesignalblog.wordpress.com/2026/01/03/a...

I know I’ve said this many times before, but it’s my contention that buses have benefited *far* more from the advent of digital rider tools than trains have.

The retirement of the MetroCard at midnight tonight is bittersweet for me. In 1983, as a young lawyer, I took a year's leave of absence from my law firm to serve as special counsel to Richard Ravitch, chairman of the NY MTA. He gave me the task of leading a study ...

On the eve of the MetroCard's (kind of) retirement, I present to you all the first OMNY Card design prototype.

Folks on the Internet tend to have ~thoughts~ about the design of the MetroCard Vending Machine, too—but there again, that design is the result of explicit choices _which made sense in the context for which the machines were designed_: nextcity.org/features/wha... bsky.app/profile/kurt...

Social media isn't a great place for nuance or context, but despite that I want to take a moment today to talk about some of the things that made the MetroCard special in its day.

I want to echo this. I see so many who I can't help but feel are negatively polarized by the worst "nothing should ever change takes!" But it's healthy to have some romantic feelings about the passing of something so iconic to the city, even if it's being replaced by something better. It's human.

❄️ We are happy to announce that last Sunday’s Holiday Nostalgia Ride—which was postponed due to winter weather conditions—has been rescheduled! We look forward to seeing you this Sunday, January 4 for the last ride of the season. For the full route and schedule, head to nytransitmuseum.org.

I’m not even sure what to say today, so just have this lovely video from the MTA’s creative team.

My friends are in the Times! Reporter Victor Mather and photographer Vincent Alban (neither of whom I see on this platform) did a great job capturing what makes these adventures so much fun. [Gift link]

MTA Admits To Fabricating Large Parts Of Subway Map https://theonion.com/mta-admits-to-fabricating-large-parts-of-subway-map/

From all of us at the MTA, we hope you have a wonderful rest of the holiday season and a happy new year! 🎊

🧠: gondolas for ski 🧠🧠: gondolas for urban transit 🧠🧠🧠🤯: gondolas for apples The gondola connecting the central treatment hub of the largest apple producers consortium in Italy to the underground storage facility. Opened last November.

An R143 off of the L heading up Central Park West for snow storage underground - a pretty rare sight!

Snow + subway = light show!

🌨️ Due to winter weather conditions, the Holiday Nostalgia Train will not run on Sunday, 12/28. We hope to reschedule this final ride of the season. ❄️

Sometimes, no matter how hard it may be, you must resist the urge to help: kurtraschke.com/2025/12/help...

Um

A significant number of NYC apartment buildings use the European convention because they are technically six-story buildings with “basement on ground.” (Various fireproofing requirements used to kick in over six stories.)

MetroCard may be retiring, but it’ll always live on as airport art.

I am not religious or even Christian, but no wait at the airport security line on Christmas Eve (literally none in the Pre-Check line, but even the regular had a whopping five-minute estimated wait) might be some sort of miracle.

OK, here's something I'm annoyed by that I will actually express: I am annoyed if your giant website insists on a username that is, of course, unique, but that *cannot* be an email address because it only allows alphanumeric characters. I am going to be here all night trying permutations of my name!

I should probably log off before I yell at some innocent person who doesn't deserve it.