Jarrett Walker @humantransit Twitter profile

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@douglichten

@sebassfernandez

Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

This chart hurts to look at.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

Bombs didn’t destroy American cities in World War II, so America came home and did this.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

In cities, @elonmusk 's hatred of sharing space with strangers is a luxury (or pathology) that only the rich can afford. Letting him design cities is the essence of elite projection.

The Dangers of Elite Projection — Human Transit

(Leer en español aquí.) Elite projection is the belief, among relatively fortunate and influential people, that what those people find convenient or attractive is good for the society as a whole....

humantransit.org

Yonah Freemark

@yfreemark

6 years

To summarize Elon Musk's views on transit: It's terrible. You might be killed. Japanese trains are awful. Individualized transport for everyone! Congestion? Induced demand? Climate change impacts? Unwalkable streets? Who cares!

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

The purpose of highways into cities is to pump cars into the city faster than city streets can absorb them. It's the definition of congestion.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

Can we stop using the word "closure" to describe *opening* a street to everyone other than motorists? It's car-centric language.

Bloomberg CityLab

@CityLab

4 years

Will cities consider street closures to give restaurants space to open outdoor dining areas?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

The poor performance of bad public transit is not an argument against good public transit.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 months

Every time I point out that efficient public transit relies on people walking to a stop, someone asks how I factor in the weather. And yet the data always show us that people do walk to public transit in all kinds of climates, from Edmonton to Singapore. 1/

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

. @elonmusk wishes to remind you that he lacks the most basic grasp of how urban transportation works.

Sean O'Kane

@sokane1

2 years

Elon Musk at the @FT conference just now: “I have to say the this this notion of induced demand is one of the single dumbest notions I've ever heard in my entire life."

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

1 year

Siri, show me the most inefficient possible use of space, infrastructure, and labor. #ElonMusk #LasVegas #TheBoringCompany

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

This is the essence of what great Bus Rapid Transit is. It's not the aesthetics, branding, or technology, helpful as those can be. It's this.

Jerome Alexander Horne

@jahorne

4 years

@IndyGoBus Red Line BRT brings me joy! All these people in their single occupancy vehicles...

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

The tragic waste of human potential.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 months

Nationalize Greyhound and merge with @Amtrak perhaps? Maybe the US should have an intercity public transit system where rail and bus work together, just as they do in effective urban networks.

Jacobin

@jacobin

5 months

Nationalize Greyhound. A publicly owned intercity bus service with dedicated highway lanes could do for travelers what the US Postal Service does for letters and packages: let them criss-cross the country cheaply and quickly at their own convenience.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

The last thing you need to read about parking, by the great @DonaldShoup .

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

In Chile you can build this.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 months

This is the most common anti-transit statistic in the US. Most Americans have no access to useful public transit, so the rate of ridership among all Americans is meaningless.

Mackinac Center

@MackinacCenter

4 months

Mass transit isn't the commuter magnet it's thought to be. Despite massive spending, only 3% of Americans use it for daily commutes.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

1 year

Let’s add one nuance to this popular cartoon. The dude in his car taking 1/3 of the street space might also be a victim of oppression. He might be a low-income person who’s forced to own and drive a car for lack of options, and who is poorer as a result … 1/

Cycling Professor 🚲 

@fietsprofessor

1 year

'When you're accustomed to #privilege , any demand for more equality feels like oppression.' (cartoon by @fabiantodorovic )

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

While our staff is working at home, we'll be paying them US$200/month "rent" (as a bonus) for the use of their personal space. Should this be a standard practice?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

The more people use cars, the worse cars work. The more people use transit, the better transit works. (Exceptions for extreme urban crowding, but true across most urban/suburban settings.)

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

A provocative term. Carsplaining: When urban mobility and safety is explained by someone who never uses public transport or a bike, and walks only to get to their car. Hmm.

Xavier Treviño Theesz

@xtrevi

5 years

Carsplaining. Cuando alguien que no usa el transporte público ni la bici y solo camina cuando tiene que llegar a su auto, te explica sobre movilidad urbana y seguridad vial.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

Being called an idiot by @elonmusk caused a 15% increase in Twitter followers and sustained 500% growth in blog traffic. He's welcome to call me an idiot as often as he likes.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

This is what useful transit looks like. Rails optional.

Investing in Place

@InvestinPlace

5 years

This bus only lane got us like 🥰 Today the @metrolosangeles bus only lane opened on Flower #betterbusesforla #GoMetro @CurrenDPriceJr @josehuizar @MayorOfLA @LADOTofficial @metrolosangeles

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

I wonder why people are retweeting this again.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

Elon Musk would like to remind you that he can’t think of any solution to urban congestion that hasn’t been tried unsuccessfully 100 times already.

David Zipper

@DavidZipper

2 years

Elon Musk yesterday: "In cities that are congested we've got to do something about extreme traffic, which is some combination of double-deckering freeways and building tunnels." Policy advice that is clearly unrelated to his roles at Tesla & Boring Co.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

When New York’s 14th St. was closed to cars the traffic didn’t divert to other streets. It simply disappeared. 14th St. is now a fast street for buses and the occasional truck, and a much nicer place to be.

TransitCenter

@TransitCenter

5 years

What happened to traffic on side streets after cars were routed off 14th Street to make way for buses?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Urban. Passenger. Transport. Is. Not. A. Profitable. Business.

The Verge

@verge

5 years

Ford’s on-demand bus service Chariot is going out of business

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

The most important single fact about urban transportation. Everything else is footnotes.

Simon Kuestenmacher

@simongerman600

6 years

How much space do 200 people take up in different modes of transport?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

For almost a decade, Important People have told me that we shouldn't make major investments in public transit because we're about to have self-driving cars.

Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere

They were supposed to be the future. But prominent detractors—including Anthony Levandowski, who pioneered the industry—are getting louder as the losses get bigger.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

Uber would like to remind you that their business model relies on increasing congestion and emissions, by shifting people from public transit to private cars.

Asher 🚶🏰🐌🌳🔰🧢

@AsherDeMontreal

3 years

Uber notification: "Skip the public transport and arrive in style and comfort."

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

12 days

At the @APTA_info conference, a Vancouver, Canada public transit planner said that they keep increasing frequencies to address overcrowding, but it just induces more ridership so the crowding comes back. We haven't begun to saturate the market for fixed route bus service in…

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

The universal advice that public transit is dangerous during Covid appears to be wrong. I have to wonder if this idea spread so fast only because it fits with prevailing anti-urban cultural prejudices. @JSadikKhan @transitcenter

Fear of Public Transit Got Ahead of the Evidence

Many have blamed subways and buses for coronavirus outbreaks, but a growing body of research suggests otherwise.

www.theatlantic.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

"Forcing people out of their cars?" I would expect this line from Breitbart but not from a @nytimes writer. The point of transit oriented development is to stop forcing people into cars. The point is to give people choices; no forcing required.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Transport justice.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

8 months

In the world's most populous nation, waterfront highways are the tech industry's vision of the future?

Indian Tech & Infra

@IndianTechGuide

8 months

Mumbai on the verge of huge transformation. 📸 - ompsyram

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

1 year

Spectacular ridership recovery in Vancouver, Canada. Back to 80% of pre-pandemic. Why? A network optimized for the all-day, all-direction, all-purpose trips that people are making now.

TransLink ridership has recovered to over 80% of pre-pandemic volumes | Urbanized

TransLink's Metro Vancouver public transit ridership has further recovered to over 80% of pre-pandemic volumes.

dailyhive.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

Some quick notes about Chile's amazing new Minister of Transport, @JuanCaMunozA . Chile is reinventing itself as few countries dare to do, and I am so optimistic about the country's future.

Great News for Chile — Human Transit

My friend Professor Juan Carlos Muñoz Abogabir is Chile’s new Minister of Transport. He is a Bus Rapid Transit expert and an eloquent advocate for sustainable and just transport planning, and is...

humantransit.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

Transit is not trying to be faster than driving. It is trying to be a better use of your time. (And money, and mental energy)

Dale Bracewell

@Dale_Bracewell

4 years

“It turned out that driving a car was still faster than a #RapidBus while on the road, but all the extra things you have to do taking your own vehicle add up... It may not be scientific, but on day one... the #RapidBus lived up to its name” @j_mcelroy

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

Induced demand. When you make something easier, people do it more.

Louie Mantia, Jr.

@Mantia

6 years

What‘s something that seems obvious within your profession, but the general public seems to misunderstand?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

A big deal for efforts to run US commuter rail at high frequency so that it can function like a metro.

U.S. Finally Legalizes Modern, European-Style Train Cars — Streetsblog USA

Finally, U.S. trains will no longer have be be designed like “high-velocity bank vaults" thanks to long-awaited changes in federal regulations.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

Why Americans can't have nice things: the whole point of US environmental laws is to make everything impossible. This is by design. 1/.

Opinion | There Has to Be a Better Way to Run the Government (Published 2022)

Congestion pricing in Manhattan should have happened years ago. The reason it hasn’t is instructive.

www.nytimes.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

The best time to paint a bus lane was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

Abundant Transit BC

@abundanttransit

5 years

RT if you agree that transit-riders should never have to be stuck in traffic. There is more than enough space on our roads to move busses and trains quickly, even during peak hours. We need to start building dedicated transit lanes now.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

@elonmusk @ALilling I'm an idiot for writing this?

The Dangers of Elite Projection — Human Transit

(Leer en español aquí.) Elite projection is the belief, among relatively fortunate and influential people, that what those people find convenient or attractive is good for the society as a whole....

humantransit.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Slip lanes encourage cars to speed around corners right where they should be watching for pedestrians. They also push bus stops further from the intersection, requiring longer walks. Except for a few places where buses need them to turn, they're hard to defend.

𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇

@grescoe

5 years

"Rather than design a transportation system to get the most out of America’s cities, America redesigned the cities to get the most out of the automobile." —Richard Moe ban #SlipLanes

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

1 year

Traffic engineers: Please stop designing decoratively curved pedestrian paths. People walking are in a hurry too, and people in a hurry walk in straight lines. (or as @lennartnout would say, "Go home, traffic engineer, you're drunk!")

Lid blowing off Eastside landscape dispute

The state and the cities disagree on who should tend to the green space on the 520 lids. And to think, the lids were intended as a peace offering.

www.seattletimes.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

@kaitlancollins This is not an apology. In an apology, you are very specific about what you did wrong, and to whom, and what that caused, and why you're sorry.

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@humantransit

5 months

When people set out to create an image of the beauty of a city, they usually leave out cars.

Marco

@marcorasi1960

5 months

Rain, Chartres at St Ann, New Orleans

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

Yes, bus lanes look mostly empty to a stopped motorist. But here’s what they look like to all the people on the bus.

Ken Zatarain

@Ken_Zatarain

6 years

30 seconds of bus priority on B-H Highway eastbound approaching Hillsdale

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

14 days

US public transit advocates: Don't just envy Europe. Start by envying Canada.

Alex Glista 🇨🇦

@AlexanderGlista

14 days

At Mimico GO, I just missed my train. Thankfully, today’s brand new 15-minute weekend service on the Lakeshore West Line means that you don’t really need to check a schedule - you just show up and ride! Great job @GOtransit !

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

You can also generate jobs by paying people to move piles of sand with tweezers.

CBC Calgary

@CBCCalgary

3 years

Hyperloop feasibility study forecasts project generating 140,000 jobs in Alberta

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Like so much journalism about @uber , this piece is long on drama but never quite says the most important thing: You always need one driver hour per customer hour. So growth is irrelevant to profitability. The model will never scale. (1/)

How Uber Got Lost (Published 2019)

The once-swaggering company is losing more money and growing more slowly than ever. What happened?

www.nytimes.com

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@humantransit

5 years

A basic rule of equitable urban transport: If it doesn't scale, it doesn't matter.

Elon Musk's Tunnel: It Doesn't Scale, so it Doesn't Matter — Human Transit

Elon Musk just gave the media a tour of his 1.5 mile prototype tunnel under Los Angeles, which he spent US$10m to build. Why are Elon Musk’s tunnels so cheap? Because they’re tiny. As media photos...

humantransit.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 months

Look what came in the mail today! You'll be able to buy them on February 7.

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@humantransit

4 years

Shocking: When @Uber or @Lyft come to town, more people die. [If you see anything refuting this, please share it with me]

Are Uber and Lyft Increasing Traffic Deaths? — Human Transit

[Update: Joe Cortright of City Observatory has published a critique of this study] When Uber or Lyft starts serving a city, more people die in crashes. This is the horrifying finding of a new...

humantransit.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

9 days

Calgary refutes every US stereotype about what a high transit city looks like. It's sprawling. It's culturally associated with cowboys and oil drilling. To help its SUV drivers feel they are in touch with nature, its freeways are called trails. And yet ...

Peter Schryvers

@PeterSchryvers

10 days

I say this all the time but here is a good reminder. Calgary has incredible transit ridership. More than Chicago, Boston, San Francisco or Washington. We are one of the best transit cities in the US and Canada. Let’s build on that!

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

I go to art museums in every city I visit, so I can be jaded, but I was floored by Kansas City's @nelson_atkins . Not huge, but every thing is excellent, all cleanly organized by period/region for an easy chronological browse. Curation serves the art, not vice versa. 10 stars.

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@humantransit

9 months

Rush-hour commuter rail systems like Chicago's Metra will be challenging to convert to all-day operation, but there's no other way to make them relevant -- Chicago Sun Times.

To boost ridership, take Metra beyond the 9-to-5 commute

If officials have to take out the pencils and banker’s eyeshades to solve the $730 million fiscal cliff anyway, why not find the will to fund a transformation of Metra?

chicago.suntimes.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

This. US city gov'ts often pass the buck by saying they don't control transit, but if you control land use and streets, you control transit at least as much as the transit agency does.

TransitCenter

@TransitCenter

6 years

City governments set the table for public transit’s success. TransitCenter’s *All Transportation is Local* guidebook is a monster policy menu for city leaders

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

San Francisco abolishes minimum parking requirements for development, following Minneapolis's similar action last week. Parking requirements make housing unaffordable and lock in car-dependence.

Patrick Siegman

@PatrickSiegman

5 years

1/ It's official: by a 7-4 vote, #SF Board of Supervisors gives final passage to an ordinance abolishing all minimum #parking regulations, and thereby votes to make our fair city less congested, less polluted, more beautiful and more affordable.

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@humantransit

6 years

Yes! Paris wins the court case allowing them to ban cars from the banks of the river, so it can be a space for people walking, or just existing. Great news.

Anne Hidalgo

@Anne_Hidalgo

6 years

Chères Parisiennes, chers Parisiens, je suis très heureuse de vous annoncer que la Justice nous a donné raison et que les #berges de Seine sont définitivement piétonnes. C’est grâce à vous et à votre mobilisation. Merci ! Vive le Parc Rives de Seine et vive #Paris ! #BergesDeSeine

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@humantransit

5 years

Uber and Lyft can appear cheap because drivers rely on tips. Public transit drivers with labor contracts don’t need tips, because agencies pay them decently. Great ⁦ @DKThomp ⁩ piece about the fake meritocracy of tipping. ⁦ @APTA_Transit ⁩

The American System of Tipping Makes No Sense

If you want to understand how meritocracy acts as a cover for inequality, look no further than our broken understanding of gratuity.

www.theatlantic.com

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@humantransit

2 months

Amazing post suggesting that Vancouver, Canada should envy our transit in Portland, Oregon. Portland's light rail is adorable but painfully slow across downtown. Vancouver's driverless rapid transit is underground downtown and is far more frequent ... (1/)

Michael Geller

@michaelgeller

2 months

As I study this Portland Oregon train/tram map I can't help but think we may have made a terrible mistake in Vancouver building underground subways and SkyTrain. Hopefully we will build light rail to UBC and elsewhere throughout the region.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

8 months

A city without a freeway is like a fish without a bicycle.

Aaron M. Renn 🇺🇸

@aaron_renn

8 months

Austin is probably the most under-freewayed city in America

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

Canadian cities have higher ridership than comparable US cities because they just run more buses.

Tom Hewitt

@thewyjr18

3 years

Can we “induce demand” for transit? I mean, provide frequent, all day service? It works for roads, why not buses?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

Tfw a publication you trust on topics you don't know well publishes a deeply ignorant piece about a topic you know well. It devastates my ability to trust. (If it's satire, it needed clearer markers) @JeffreyGoldberg @JamesFallows @dccdudley (1/)

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Looks like the @WSJ respects transit customers more than the @nytimes does.

Mitchell Reardon

@MitchellReardon

5 years

It’s not a tale of two cities, just two views of the same the street. One from people who need to move through the city regularly & the other from that uncle in the suburbs who likes moving in a giant metal box, no matter the setting.

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@humantransit

3 years

Road tunnels do not “solve traffic,” @elonmusk . Only pricing+alternatives can do that. Technology never changes geometry.

Ryan Mac 🙃

@RMac18

3 years

He’s doing his tunnel bit again

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

“Affordable housing” in inaccessible places is not affordable housing.

Beth Osborne

@BethOsborneT4A

2 years

"Residents of affordable housing are not often well served by basic transit service, with only a third of respondents reporting that most neighborhoods with high levels of affordable housing had transit service with 30-minute frequency or less." @MZStrat

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@humantransit

6 years

Elite tastes are a terrible guide to what makes a good transit system.

Why Transit Advocates Just Went to War With Elon Musk

The Tesla CEO’s recent comments about public transportation triggered a firestorm of criticism. Here’s why.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

US traffic engineers have discovered roundabouts, but these big ones don't belong in cities. They force pedestrians to cross with a poor line of sight and too high a traffic speed, and they push bus stops much too far from the intersection. (1/2)

FDOT District 5

@MyFDOT_CFL

5 years

Today marks the start of National Roundabouts Week! Did you know that modern roundabouts can dramatically reduce severe crashes? Learn how here: #RoundaboutsWeek

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 months

In a diverse culture, winning requires working with people on things you agree on even as you fight them on things you don't.

rust belt city enjoyer

@rustbeltenjoyer

2 months

There's absolutely no room in the urbanist movement for conservatives. The fight for equitable, climate conscious cities, worker's rights, reproductive rights, racial justice, wealth equality, and LGBTQ rights are all the same fight. It's the fight for our future.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

A double bus lane can reliably move ~150 buses per hour with various stopping patterns. An important tool where many bus services converge. Proud to have worked on one of these in Minneapolis.

BeyondDC

@beyonddc

5 years

Denver is giving two downtown streets *two* bus lanes each, one for stops and one for passing.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

@NateSilver538 Actually, this is ranked choice voting working exactly as intended. Nothing about these mailers is frustrating the people’s right to make their own choices, including taking cues from leaders that they trust.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

Every plague in history has briefly boosted the argument against cities. But in the long run, density solves so many problems, and meets so many human and economic needs, that the city is always reborn.

Emily Badger

@emilymbadger

4 years

Density is normally good for us. That will be true after coronavirus too.

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@humantransit

1 year

@mattyglesias Wrong. The added capacity is inducing movement, which is not the same as access to actual destinations that is the real purpose of most travel. for example, freeways will induce things to be built further apart, increasing the need for movement without increasing access.

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@humantransit

4 years

Slip lanes are evil.

Cities Are Replacing Dangerous Slip Lanes With Space for People — Streetsblog USA

What a difference some paint makes.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Auckland, New Zealand is on track to *double* public transport ridership over 10 years. They did it with rail frequency upgrades, one great busway, and a total bus network redesign that ⁦I was honored to be part of. h/t ⁦ @AklDesignChamp ⁩

An 'outrageous' public transport goal

A goal of doubling public transport use in Auckland within a decade is suddenly no longer "outrageous".

www.stuff.co.nz

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

Motorists: Imagine a freeway where every exit is marked not by where it goes, but by the name of some corporation, and the signs keep changing every few years as naming deals expire and corporations merge. Would that help you find your way around?

Bloomberg CityLab

@CityLab

4 years

Should D.C. Metro sell naming rights to public transit stations?

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

At this moment, @elonmusk calling me an idiot has 1100 retweets. His apology that follows has 50.

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

6 years

@humantransit You’re an idiot

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

No endorsement implied, but has a US presidential candidate ever made such a strong statement about traffic violence before? Interesting to imagine how a president who was sensitive to this issue might change Federal transport spending.

Elizabeth Warren

@ewarren

4 years

Traffic violence kills thousands and injures even more Americans every year. On World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Crash Victims, I'm sending my love to the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones. It's time to #EndTrafficViolence .

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

Driving into a big city at rush hour, you should always see something like this ...

Paul Supawanich 🚎

@tweetsupa

6 years

Specific example of State DOT and transit creative collaboration.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

For almost a decade, Very Serious People have told me that we shouldn't invest in public transit because we'll soon have driverless cars.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

I was so ready to let this rest. But if people find the story useful, so be it.

Elon Musk Calls Transit Expert “An Idiot,” Says Public Transport “Sucks”

You might be on the subway with a serial killer, according to the maker of expensive cars.

fortune.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

The environmentally friendly car has finally been invented.

Paolo Pinzuti

@ilpinz

4 years

A cosa servono le auto in città spiegato bene

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

There is no such thing as "not enough room for public transit." There is only "deciding what's important." (Same is true for micromobility.)

Oliver Moore

@moore_oliver

4 years

Rome opted not only to put light rail on the surface but also, evidently blessed with more room and less congestion than Etobicoke, in many places gave it its own space

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@humantransit

7 months

The capital city of the most powerful nation on earth finally has overnight public transit.

Tom Roussey

@tomroussey7news

7 months

NEW: Metro says it expects to begin 24-hour bus service on 13 routes in DC on December 17. Metro says from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am the following routes will run at least every 20 minutes: 32, 33, 52, 70, 80, 92, A6/A8, B2, H4, S2, V2, W4, X2. #wmata

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

In Switzerland, rural public transit also carries the mail. (h/t Tracy Alvarez)

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

In the NYT's focus group of 8 conservative men in the US, note this interesting detail: (1/2)

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

If you have friends who think @Uber (and its competitors) will permanently transform urban transportation, here's a good read. Bottom line: Urban transportation is a low-profit industry.

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@humantransit

6 years

I am amazed at how many technologists who supposedly want a better world are working to destroy high-efficiency public transit. The result is a world where the fortunate go fast by private taxi, and most are trapped, hopeless, and angry. That's what the math says. (6/6)

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

The draft relief bill in the US Congress: $15b for public transit, $21b for the aviation industry. US transit ridership is around *10 times* US airline ridership, but I guess it matters who those riders are.

New COVID-19 Relief Bill Starves Transit — Again — Streetsblog USA

But it's better than nothing at all.

usa.streetsblog.org

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

2 years

Fine words from the @VP , but the problem of poor bus frequency isn't about infrastructure funding. It's about operations funding.

Kamala Harris

@KamalaHarris

2 years

We all know what it means to miss a bus by just one minute—being at least an hour late to work, school, or visiting family during the holidays. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest in our public transit systems to ensure folks can get where they’re going.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 months

The problem with N American “commuter rail” isn’t the planners. The whole model, manifested in both labor contracts and contracts with railroads, is built on the assumption that peak commuters are ppl who matter most. Changing all that is a big political/legal task. … 1/

Matt Robare

@MattRobare

6 months

@humantransit Too many service planners, especially where the country's commuter rail systems are concerned, are stuck in the 50s, planning entirely around people commuting to work at 9 and home at 5.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

6 years

Hmm. @elonmusk just posted and then deleted another tweet insulting my education. I don't get how this works as a PR strategy.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

If pedestrians don't have enough space, they can't do social distancing. Especially if motorists on empty streets are driving more recklessly. Narrower streets are safer streets. You can do it with Jersey barriers.

Shawn Micallef 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

@shawnmicallef

4 years

The Karl Jilg illustration has been shared a lot lately, for good reason.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

The common US rule requiring speed limits to be set at 85% of actual average car speeds amounts to crowdsourcing the value of human life, on a platform where only motorists have a voice. @JeffSpeckAICP @mattyglesias @BrentToderian @jen_keesmaat @seletajewel #VisionZero

Jim Charlier

@TheCharlier

5 years

Another safety failure based on 85th percentile speed "analysis," which has been officially discredited by National Highway Safety Board. @kgabradio

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

The first and last mile is a vast problem created by poor land use planning and poor pedestrian infrastructure. It must be attacked at its root cause. 1/2

Marlon Boarnet

@Marlon_Boarnet

5 years

Your periodic reminder that the first-last mile problem in transit is an equity issue. Connecting persons better to/from transit stops can double transit job access from lower-income census tracts.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

The great @elonmusk has invented the paved road tunnel.

Elon Musk Says ‘Hyperloop’ Tunnel Is Now Just a Normal Car Tunnel Because ‘This Is Simple and Just...

Back in 2017, Elon Musk had grand visions for the test track built by The Boring Company, his tunneling firm, in Los Angeles. The Boring Company’s tunneling work was closely linked to Musk’s Hyperl...

jalopnik.com

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

3 years

US transit advocates: Don't just envy Europe. Start by envying Canada. (Vancouver in this case.)

Brent Toderian

@BrentToderian

4 years

3 minute Skytrain headways (minutes between trains) on a Sunday afternoon mean I don’t even bother running if I see a train already on the platform. The next one’s already close. As my friend ⁦ @humantransit ⁩ always reminds us, FREQUENCY IS FREEDOM. Thanks @TransLink .

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Scooters are increasing my optimism that with more options for travel under 2 miles (3km), public transit can be allowed to specialize in faster service for longer distances. That means slightly wider stop spacing, more limited stop services.

Marc Schlossberg

@MarcSchlossberg

5 years

Space efficient, point to point, and great for the 40% of our trips that are under 2 miles. Scooters are definitely a welcome part of the new mobility mix.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

5 years

Seattle's transit ridership is soaring, faster than pop growth. Here's why: (a) City leadership on transit speed/reliability and transit-oriented land use (b) investment across the network, not just rail, (c) actively engaged leaders and citizens. Read whole thread:

Dongho Chang

@dongho_chang

5 years

From 2006 to 2017, people living in Seattle increased by 23%, transit ridership increased 46%, police reported traffic collisions decreased 21%, and daily traffic volumes declined slightly by 5%.

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Jarrett Walker

@humantransit

4 years

Setting speed limits at 85% of the speed people actually drive — the “85th percentile rule” — is a way of crowdsourcing the value of human life with only motorists having a voice. Here’s some of the history.

David Zipper

@DavidZipper

4 years

Fascinating history of the controversial "85th percentile rule" for setting US speed limits. The "rule" can be traced to 1937, when @NSCsafety suggested it for rural, open roads-- not urban streets that have many users beyond automobile drivers.

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