“The achievements of government in Chicago at times rivaled the feats of the Old Testament God.”

“The Chicago fire of 1871 destroyed an estimated fifteen thousand buildings, devastated three and one-half square miles in the heart of the city, and drove sixty-eight insurance companies into liquidation.”

Really fascinating look at what the IBX could mean for Brooklyn and Queens by a team at Hunter College/CUNY -- www.hunterurban.org/wp-content/u...

“Mr. Adams was required by law…to create 150 miles of bus lanes with barriers or camera enforcement and 250 miles of protected bike lanes over 5 years, a task that now falls to Mr. Mamdani….In the last 4 years, the city installed about 28 miles of bus lanes and 95 miles of protected bike lanes.”

Pedestrian Observations: Fare Practices pedestrianobservations.com/2025/12/31/f... With thanks to people who helped populate the table: @joao-paulouro.bsky.social, @borners.bsky.social, @egoldwyn.bsky.social, @chittimarco.bsky.social, @eensari.bsky.social, @4freedoms.es, and @etany.org.

A PROGRAMMING ALERT (8pm eastern) =>

Since Mamdani won the Dem NYC mayor nomination with a free bus proposal, let's talk about free transit. Research suggests that free transit: a—increases ridership b—doesn't get people out of cars c—benefits youth, elderly & low-income ppl d—doesn't add employment e—maybe ups operational efficiency

in 2024, Seoul Metro's busiest Line 2 completed its tech transfer to ATO and began looking into converting Line 2 into a single-crew operation, as is done for Lines 5,6,7,8. Seoul Metro's largest labor union balked, claiming major safety risks for both employees and riders. 🧵

“[IRT & BRT] would be paid a sum equal to the profit they were getting from existing lines (14-15%) plus 6% on their investment. They would take this ‘preferential’ payment, intended to reduce the risk of expanding into thinly populated areas, out of operating revenues before the city got a dime.”

“You could lead an iron horse to water, it turned out, but you couldn’t make it cross.”

I know there’s a lot of TWU heat because of the recent veto in Albany. I am looking forward to reading Marc Kagan’s new book on the more recent history of the TWU. Marc, I believe, has paid for the book to be completely open access when it comes out: brill.com/display/titl...

Legislating train operations from Albany always seemed like a bad idea: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/n...

Be honest. Does CoYHO mean anything to you??? Should we make shirts?

I wrote about how surprised I still am a candidate for NYC mayor won in large part by talking incessantly about buses, and also about how making them fast as promised will be an immense challenge. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

“Mr. Adams says he is still hammering out his exact plans for the future, but he wants to write a book; go back to school to get a Ph.D.; do international business or nonprofit work to expand on a diversity-building project he started as mayor; and be a commentator with a major network.”

Minus big-bucks lifelines, some U.S. transit systems are facing disaster. 🚇 🚍 But the MTA is *adding* subway and bus service, not cutting it — and has dodged layoffs. 💰 💰 “This is a remarkable turnaround just from a few years ago.” NEW STORY in @thecity.nyc www.thecity.nyc/2025/12/12/m...

“But these can be circumvented by magnets…”

Had a very nice late morning chat with @benschneider.bsky.social about his new book, The Unfinished Metropolis. If you’re interested in why cities are the way they are and how they can become something different, you’ll enjoy Ben’s book. Buy multiple copies for the holidays!

Yesterday a few us chatted with an LA group that recently read our report. I noticed that they seemed to have physical copies of our final report. We have discussed this internally, but have never actually printed and bound one before. Seeing it in the wild, albeit over video conference, was cool!

Thanks to the @nypost.com for letting me check an item off my bucket list (“be the target of a meaty hit piece by a world-class NYC tabloid”) and for highlighting @transalt.org proposals for better walking, biking, & transit! More nice ideas here: transalt.org/road-to-affo...

Come join me and @egoldwyn.bsky.social for a conversation about transit history and innovation next Wednesday 12/3 at 11am in downtown Brooklyn. Should be a rollicking good time. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

“They have even discussed an escape room that would evoke life under the [Franco] dictatorship. A game app called Kill Democracy is on the way.”

@mayorofoakland.bsky.social my son would like to interview you for his class

"Earlier this week, [TWU President John] Samuelsen also referred to the Marron Institute study as 'garbage.'"

New York City is very unusual in relying on two person crews for the subway and should be moving over time to solo operations or automation, but the legislature passed a bill requiring 2PO forever. www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...

Cutting transit and disproportionately taxing EVs won't fix the Highway Trust Fund. We’re in this mess because Congress chose to take money from all taxpayers to prop up a highway program that is failing to deliver on safety, state of repair, and mobility. t4america.org/2025/11/18/a...

Got to see @lostsubways.com drop some knowledge about transit, land-use, and urbanism. He gives a good talk grounded examples you may or may not know. Definitely check out the book and his talks!

Very excited for this! Eric and I have been discussing transit and cities for nearly a decade now — it will be fun to do it in public.

We are hosting @benschneider.bsky.social at our office in Brooklyn on 12/3 at 11am to celebrate the publication of his book, The Unfinished Metropolis. If you'd like to attend please RSVP below. We will have food, books, and Ben! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The biggest chunk of the REM in Montreal has just opened, and I’ve been reflecting not only on what it means for Montreal, but for Canada as a whole. Read my latest article now: open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...

I love that new #transit smell! Getting a press tour of #Montréal’s new REM line this morning. Starting at Edouard-Montpetit station. A clean, light, modern édicule (entry kiosk). And there’s parking for my bicycle… 🧵

Thanks to @stefanoschen.bsky.social and @nytimes.com for picking up our report on global transit operations. It’s clear that the rest of the world has moved toward more automated and leaner operations without the sky falling. Legislating ops from Albany is overreach: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/n...

Does the subway still need conductors? Much of the world say no, but union leaders say it's a safety issue. Gov. Hochul has to decide by year end whether to sign a bill that would mandate two-person train crews, even on lines that already moved to one operator www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/n...

We dropped a new report re: train operations, everyone’s favorite topic. There’s some backstory that we will get too. But, the basic takeaway is modern train systems have moved away from two-person train ops. New York should, too! transitcosts.com/Train_Operat...

“One public servant told me that job title hunting is the main skill HR professionals in NYC government are valued for.” open.substack.com/pub/eatingpo...

I took a shot at placing Mamdani's victory in the long scope of New York City's political history -- in the most recent issue of @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social , alongside a bunch more essays by some really sharp people. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/a-n...

I’m a huge @masonbwilliams.bsky.social fan, and enjoyed this piece about New York’s mayoral history via @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social. La Guardia governed with the waves of the New Deal while Mamdani will have to lead us against the current coming from DC. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/a-n...

"Yes, the score read 72-0 with a little more than 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter."

Momentum is gaining momentum. The railroad infrastructure framework developed by @ndhapple.bsky.social has gone bicoastal. A new report from @calelectricrail.org shows how level boarding and electrified trains would transform transportation in SoCal. benjaminschneider.substack.com/p/how-southe...

Looks like this pipe sprung a leak and this bag of sand (???) plugged the hole

Progressives winning mayor's races is not that rare — what's rare is mayors who progressives continue to like after a term or two of grappling with budgetary tradeoffs. www.slowboring.com/p/now-comes-...

AI be tripping

It’s worth noting that @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social has driven incredible voter turnout growth, and is likely going to be the first mayor to net a million votes since John Lindsay!

“Since the June primary, more than 107,000 first-time voters have registered in New York City.”

Anyone know how many subways the MTA runs per day? Ballpark or precise would be great

Really got this one wrong…

When @alonlevy.bsky.social and i started working together, we both thought that a wall of text with a picture and maybe a chart/table was advanced design. We know that’s wrong. We attempted to take our NEC work and add some good design. We are very happy with how this came out: nec.transitcosts.com

Today is publication day for my book, "The Unfinished Metropolis"! To mark the occasion, the @sfchronicle.com published an excerpt in which I explore what has and hasn't changed in SF's cityscape, and imagine what the city could look like in 50 years. www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

I wrote an op-ed in the daily news advocating for a transit mayor, something New York has not had in generations. While my op-ed is incredible, ***however***, I learned that the daily news publishes a magic eye? enewspaper.nydailynews.com/shortcode/NE...

We have a new website for the Northeast Corridor High-Speed Rail project, with illustrative graphics. nec.transitcosts.com