NTSB says that Level 2 systems like Ford Blue Cruise and Tesla Autopilot don't improve road safety, In fact, they may worsen it b/c automakers overestimate their capabilities. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy: “These systems function primarily as convenience features rather than safety enhancements."

the ultimate reason of why I do not support free transit is that transit funding has tradeoffs, and using the money to improve service is almost always going to be more valuable enabling people to go from car ownership to transit is always going to be more valuable than cutting their fares

The economic impact of public transit reaches far and wide, from employing workers and supporting a broad supplier network, to encouraging spending in the local economy. Learn more ⬇️ www.apta.com/wp-content/u... #PublicTransitImpact

An earlier 20th century vision a park and resort at "Big Rock." Part of a broader vision of a railway to Moran Prairie and beyond from downtown Spokane. It would take nearly 120 years for the landmark to be purchased for public use and conservation. www.spokesman.com/stories/2019...

Transit ridership in the Paris region is now 5% higher than it was in the pre-Covid period, as car traffic along the Paris ring highway & within the center city is 15 to 20% lower than pre-Covid. www.institutparisregion.fr/mobilite-et-...

Happy Transit Employee Appreciation Day! Spokane Transit's greatest asset is its employees. I am thankful for the great people who serve our community every day and night throughout the year, providing mobility to tens of thousands daily. youtu.be/oaCmDsNIG44?...

As they scale, autonomous vehicles are likely to cause crippling congestion. Two reasons: 1) Their users will take more and longer car trips 2) They often drive around empty Result: More vehicles on the road, more pollution, and more traffic Me in @bloomberg.com 🧵

The printed timetable (c. 2021) is helping compensate for my wardrobe missteps for this 17th of March.

👀 "the recession had extended Americans’ life spans — in part because people ended up driving less, and therefore had fewer fatal accidents, and because less driving and economic activity translated into less air pollution."

Currently working through Nicholas Dagen Bloom’s excellent book “The Great American Transit Disaster” and this is definitely an underlying thread… private owners either underinvested, exited aggressively at the slightest hint of adversity, or were treated by shortsighted cities as tax cows to milk.

I think it's underappreciated how prolonged private ownership of transit systems in America is among the primary roots of its poor positioning in our cities relative to other developed countries.

The Trump administration has yet to sign a contract for a single new transit project www.urban.org/urban-wire/r... Even so, Congress designated 21 transit projects for funding in a recent spending bill. I did a little more investigation to understand the status of some of these projects 🧵

APTA’s new economic report shows how investing in public transit creates jobs, boosts tax revenue, and benefits the economy! #PublicTransitImpact Learn about the impacts: www.apta.com/wp-content/u...

I had lunch with Ben Tobin, a local street photographer, and picked up two prints I ordered from him (personal purchase, FYI). I am really pleased with how these turned out.

Spokane Transit quietly served over 15,200 passenger boardings on Sunday, March 1, the first time ever surpassing 15k passengers for STA on a non-Bloomsday Sunday. Overall, Sunday ridership is running 33% higher than pre-COVID levels, representing the highest growth rate among service days.

I was on a panel last week where I was posed the question, "how are you going to get us out of our cars?" The audience was made up of several hundred developers and real estate brokers. I basically said, "I'm focused on the 80%, not you." 1/2

New meta-analysis of 26 published studies concludes that AVs will lead people to use cars a lot more — which would thicken congestion and worsen pollution (even if AVs are electric). "AV deployment is anticipated to lead to an overall increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled." doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...

Another amazing sunset tonight.

Spokane is Downtown. Just left the Downtown Spokane Partnership meeting and captured this view before hopping on my bus to go home. I love this city!

The 1 and the 4 pacing each other on Sprague Avenue during my commute to work this morning.

Posting this an hour later, but here is the new safety stop and dispatch check-in (with an extra pause to accommodate a stair climb by an employee filming the event). The bus makes an automatic call to dispatch when approaching the viaduct and the operator confirms the street and height.

Good morning EWU Eagles!

Operator is doing his final checks before departure. I will be a passenger on the top deck of the first double decker bus in revenue service in over a month. Additional operating and safety protocols in place to prevent off route occurrences and increase height awareness.

"you look happier" thanks i took the bus here

Weather and traffic conditions can be disruptive to our service, so it's satisfying to see that investments in digital displays and real time data quality are making timely information available to our customers.

The Empire Lines bus network in 1970.

Spokane Transit's fare policy includes the recognition that fare collection is a decidedly "pro ridership" effort.

👇 Metro Ridership continues to grow! Biggest Feb day in 6 yrs, highest day ever @ NoMa Station, almost 1m🚇🚌/day. Traffic is getting worse and worse, join those in the know and speed past all those stuck in their cars. Thanks for riding America’s Metro System.

Walking to the office from the bus stop and noticed they're offering a reduced price on this fantasy-themed estate! 😅

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that public transportation can reduce airport road congestion, benefiting travelers, airline workers, and airport staff. The study reviews public transit availability, use, and strategies at 51 airports. aptapassengertransport.com/gao-reports-...

Myst - Spokane Edition

Where is transit expansion happening around the world? Basically everywhere! Brand new on The Transport Politic: The hundreds of metro, light rail, bus, & aerial tram projects planned to open in 2026. 🛤️ 🚋 🚌 www.thetransportpolitic.com/2026/01/20/t...

On my way to the Cheney City Council meeting. From the top deck!

Reaching the first meeting of the day included riding City Line and crossing the Spokane River on the Iron Bridge. Positive momentum for my day.

Sorry, but triumphant claims about autonomous vehicle safety are wildly exaggerated. It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans. And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question. My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵

I logged 762 bus trips on Spokane Transit buses in 2025, a 13.9% increase over 2024, and my highest post-COVID personal ridership. I rode 36 different routes over the course of 241 days of riding. Lots of opportunities to experience the service, see how it can improve, and thank our drivers!

My final transit ride of 2025! Will have my personal annual ridership report out this weekend. It was a good year for me on Spokane Transit's buses.

I was able to use a vending machine to make donations to local non-profit organizations today. And of course, my vending order included bus passes. A great way to make giving simple and fun. Available at the Spokane Valley Mall through January 1 by the food court.

One salient point the author makes is that more robust service generates greater affordability for riders than fare free transit that operates less service when it means less funding overall.

Good morning from my commute on the northbound 4.

I've been looking through old state transit reports recently, and was astounded at the fact that in 1976 Washington's intercity bus network carried 30 million passengers, half as many as every transit agency in the state at that time. Spokane had nearly 40 daily one way trips to different cities.

One can dream. 79 years ago today, Santa delivered big time for Spokane.

WSDOT has some interesting concepts for expansions of existing Travel Washington bus routes, but I’d really like to see full cross-state connectivity as well as services spanning into Idaho, Montana, and B.C.

Christmas gift uddate: no intercity bus network under the tree this year, but I did receive a @bart.gov holiday sweater!

The buses were having a long-winter's nap when I dropped by to visit drivers, mechanics and dispatchers this Christmas morning before the first bus hit the road. 🎄🎅

All I want for Christmas is a robust intercity bus network, connecting Spokane to every sizable city within two hundred miles, including great interior cities of British Columbia, featuring multiple daily departures.

Happy Almost Christmas! Taking the day off but went for a run that brought me through the Plaza for an opportunity to greet employees and to capture a Christmas scene near Bay 6. 🎄

Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan… * Vehicle traffic: -11% * Foot traffic: +3.4% * Storefront vacancy: -0.9% * Pollution: -22% * Revenue for mass transit: $548M So YES this has been a huge success.

With more APC data retrieved and processed from the coaches that operated on Saturday Dec. 13, ridership actually topped 20,000 that day. Transit really is an accelerant for downtown activation.

The number of Avista Utilities customers without power grew from 3,800 at 5am to nearly 70,000 at 7:15am. Power was out around Manito Park and as pictured, 14th Ave at Grand Blvd when I passed by on northbound 4. Gusts remain problematic. Stay safe out there!