Turns out you can actually pose for a picture with the Milky Way galaxy if you're willing to go somewhere with no human civilization, wait until the moon sets and then stand completely still for 4+ minutes. Totally worth it, IMO.

Thankful that I get to spend Thanksgiving in Death Valley with Erica.

Unlike The Atlantic, I support turkey trots and the detours required to make them happen. But fellas, is it really necessary to prevent the entire east SF Valley bus network from accessing North Hollywood?? This is VASTLY disruptive in a way LA politicians would understand if they rode transit.

Me when the streetcars are bunching so I wait an extra minute to get on the second empty one right behind the sardine packed first one:

Here's the now public clip of LA Metro CEO Wiggins and Chief Bill Scott at the 11/20 Ops, Safety and Customer Exp Meeting responding to our LA Daily News article [How LA Metro quietly stopped enforcing fares]. Let me respond to the key quote: Source: metro.granicus.com/player/clip/...

Today, at the @metrolosangeles.bsky.social Ops meeting, CEO Stephanie Wiggins mentioned the recent op-ed I co-authored documenting Metro's 5-year suspension of regular fare enforcement. While she dismissed the piece as "erroneous", she could not point to one factually incorrect thing in the op-ed.

@whstancil.bsky.social is technically right that right now, a small majority of Americans say they want to live in the suburbs. But in a country where only 16% walked somewhere for transportation in the last week, this is a strange, irrelevant point to push on. Walkable cities are vastly underbuilt.

Huge thanks to @damientypes.bsky.social and @lintonjoe.bsky.social for putting our op-ed in the Monday headlines of Streetsblog Cal and LA. Whether you agree or disagree with our thesis, it's good to get us all on the same page about what's really been happening at Metro Transit Security since 2020.

Angelenos, have you ever felt like LA Metro literally doesn't care about collecting fares? Well, it's not your imagination! In the LA Daily, we break down LA Metro's quiet 5-year suspension of fare and code of conduct enforcement, and how Metro can reverse course. www.dailynews.com/2025/11/16/h...

This website lets you monitor California's reservoir levels and see how close we are to running out. Thanks to all this rain, we are like Scrooge McDuck with the money pool, except with water instead, so actually just a normal pool. This analogy is breaking down. cdec.water.ca.gov/resapp/Resco...

Car Size xkcd.com/3167/

😳

Now to figure out whether the tanks will arrive in Miracle Mile Los Angeles or Magnificent Mile Chicago. Somebody get a Kalshi pool going.

How to spot a transplant from the East Coast:

TOD opportunity site? Definitely not. But don't be so quick to judge this questionable use of dwell time. Caleb and I head out to Link Belt to get some clues about what's going on here. youtu.be/hSFEXFgOH0k?...

Apparently in post-Trump v. CASA America, you can still get nationwide injunctions. You just have to get plaintiffs from lots of different states to make plaintiff-specific relief impractical.

I can't believe it. Inyo County, a red-leaning county in Kevin Kiley's district, voted for Prop 50. They must REALLY hate that guy.

Guys, I think I found VIA Rail's employee handbook. Simple Sabotage Field Manual 1944: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184

Academics’ and planners’ single-minded focus on making *brand new* homes affordable to the poorest people has been a disaster for poor people’s’ ability to afford housing.

Do you support bringing fare enforcement back to Los Angeles? I need your help with something in DTLA on Nov 14th. DM me if you want to help!

MAKE MY DAY

SEPTA's 260 transit cops catch a total of ~24 fare evaders and ~6.5 smokers a day. They call this "enforcement" 🙃 If SEPTA riders want to fight antisocial behavior, the first step is demanding transparency on what the hell SEPTA's 260 police actually *do* all day. wwww.septa.org/news/first-h...

Long Beach is on the hook for some big crimes when they find out this type of smart, walkable, mixed-use neighborhood is illegal to build today.

me on the 14 when it used to run to inglewood

I'm deeply saddened that despite my years of dedicated service as an Antifa supersoldier and 2020 Pennsylvania ballot mule, I have not received one (not one!) visit from federal authorities. @homelandgov.bsky.social 👏Do 👏Better

LA Metro, LADOT, etc have made it impossible to attend all the board meetings and hold down a day job. That's why we have a guy whose job *is* to attend the board meetings. 🧠🧠🧠🧠 So please consider setting a small recurring donation to keep Joe Linton on the job. la.streetsblog.org/make-a-donat...

impeccable

Thank you @jimspeedy.bsky.social for singlehandedly stopping this Atlantic author from churning out another libertarian fever dream about magical free market innovation choo choos. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Takes 5 seconds to tell them you like protected bike lanes ⬇️ form.typeform.com/to/mKQsn7LQ

Here's a picture of the incident that made a 48 y/o Sound Transit rider end her life-long car-free streak and buy a Subaru Outback. We shouldn't be surprised. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Los Peñasquitos Lagoon as seen from a Surfliner train on the NCTD Surf Line.

Do you know a local politician or bureaucrat who really needs to read Human Transit, Trains Buses People or Better Buses Better Cities, but is just way too busy and also is afraid of paper cuts? Don't worry. Zaref is delivering the solution, 15 minutes at a time.

This is a really great idea! @keawilson.bsky.social, if you have time, can you try to figure out what DDOT's plan for the rolling stock is after the line is decommissioned?

Reminds me. I once went to Cherry Hill, NJ to pick up a Craigslist bike from an old couple. I'm about to ride off on the bike and they say "Where's your car?" "Oh, I came on the bus." Wife: "Oh dear god" Husband: "Is there a way to know if a bus will show up and go back the other way?" -->

When people in SoCal find out that I don't have a car, I think it's really funny that some people react by saying "Oh, right, you're from the Northeast..." like I've brought some strange foreign culture with me. This has happened to me like five times. It's CRAZY.

“Whose streets?” Me: PBOT’s “Whose streets?” Me: well now this is Multnomah County’s bridge

Furloughed Federal Workers can now ride @mtamaryland MARC Train and Commuter Buses for free. Note this does not apply to local Baltimore MTA CityLink Buses, Light Rail or Metro. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Catalpa Sphinx Moth

Today I was on an A Line train to Long Beach, and a person-experiencing-crackheadness had his bike blocking the door to the employee platform at Division 11. The train couldn't move until they made the shift change, but you already know what happened when passengers tried to politely tell him.

California distracted driving bounty program when?

In direct violation of federal law, Trump is using the powers of his office to campaign for Mikie Sherrill.

Here in LA, same problem but even worse. Contracted security can intervene in crimes, but only the 200 Transit Security Officers can issue citations/warnings for code of conduct violations. The problem: They basically don't. Read more here: bit.ly/enforcethefares

While this news might break your heart, I've got some good news to soften the blow. Remember that video of the La Brea to Western speed test that got deleted off YouTube? Guess who downloaded a copy.

17%? That's nothing. Here in Los Angeles, thanks to LA Metro's 5-Year suspension of fare enforcement, 46% of boardings are unpaid. And on some routes, evasion is over 60%. While ridership has recovered, farebox recovery has plummeted into the single digits. Read more here: bit.ly/enforcethefares

The exhilarating thrill of being reminded that rain exists:

Fine. But @mnolangray.bsky.social, surely the Grove trolley DOES qualify as a Tier 2 light rail service, right?. Unlike the Disneyland rides, anyone can walk up off the street and ride it. It's public transportation. Do we have a case here?