ATTENTION TO ALL DEM TAX CUT SLOPULISTS

Indisputable proof that angelenos know nothing about New Jersey:

Always such fun to talk with Chuck Marohn of @strongtowns.org. Chuck and I discuss my revised book HUMAN TRANSIT and where US public transit is right now. Pls share. humantransit.org/2026/07/new-...

New Interview of Me on Strong Towns Podcast — Human Transit

Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, just released a new podcast interview of me, where we talk about how to have clearer conversations about public transit.  The invitation was triggered by our rec...

humantransit.org

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Lumpy_Space_Prince @lumpyspacetim.bsky.social · last wk.

@mattyglesias.bsky.social go away. No one is here for your centrist cock gobbling.

LA Metro's rail ridership is 18% White. (buses 9%) And rich people rarely ride. Yet somehow, in all the rider surveys, safety/order emerges as the top issue and security is the top priority. Wanting rules enforced on transit isn't a privileged perspective. It's what most people want.

zota@zota.bsky.social · last wk.

But if you care more about putting on a show for the whiter, more affluent rail riders, because that's the kind of system you *want* to have, then sure. Put up giant gates, drag people off trains, have cops leaning on the turnstiles staring at their phones all day. Who needs better service, amirite

This is crazy. The Surfliner is operating dark through San Clemente because the salt water crashing over the tracks is triggering all the block signals.

US transit agencies using their O/D data, colorized:

Suggestion Box: Printer Shreds Ideas

ALT: Suggestion Box: Printer Shreds Ideas

static.klipy.com

"Someone with a clipboard (not a gun) checks your ticket, gives you a ticket if you don't have one" is the global standard LA going with "someone with a gun asks to see your ticket, but doesn't check it" is darkly funny

If LA Metro's old system was belt-and-suspenders, this is the graph of Metro's pants falling down. www.enforcethefares.org

Alon (they/them)@alonlevy.bsky.social · last wk.

LA installed faregates in the 2010s even while maintaining POP, even though the fare evasion rate was low. Very belts-and-suspenders. There's a case study here: ssti.us/wp-content/u... PDF-pp. 48-55.

yes

zota@zota.bsky.social · last wk.

Opposed to free NYC buses, are you?

I once witnessed an acquaintance get a €95 citation on the tram in Paris for not paying her fare. On Christmas Eve! That’s (part of) what world-class transit looks like.

“As the number of pending projects builds up, so has anxiety about the federal government’s support for major transit infrastructure. Money that Congress designated for that purpose is accumulating too: More than $7 billion hasn’t been obligated to any project.” — www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...

Congress Budgeted Billions for Big Transit Projects. Trump Isn’t Spending It. (Gift Article)

“It’s hard to look at the last year and see anything other than a deliberate slowdown of these grants.”

nytimes.com

Can anyone explain to me why the Flyaway bus makes separate dropoff and pickup loops around LAX? The whole loop + deadhead duplicates 30 minutes of valuable schedule time. Couldn't they just loop around the bottom level once and departing flight pax can just go up the escalators? This feels insane.

When Metro issues the RFP for the long term fare free feasibility study, I will bid on that as the consultant. (Due to my vast subject matter expertise.) And when that doesn't work, I will appeal and formally protest the final contract award. I'm not even totally joking here.

mtsw@mtsw.bsky.social · 2w ago

Bass promoting fare-free LA metro is a really funny example of a politician attempting to pander but instead landing on a proposal that, within the community of people who care a lot about the issue, is a specific shibboleth for not knowing what you're talking about: bsky.app/profile/mayo...

When you look at actual world-class transit cities like London, Paris, Singapore, and Tokyo — None of them have free fares. All of them have an extensive network of trains and buses with some combination of speed, frequency, reliability, etc.

Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov · 2w ago

As Chair, I’ll build a long-term financial plan to make Metro fare-free. I’ve fought for a world-class transit system my entire career because public transit should create opportunity for everyone.

We finally got covered by the LA Times!!! Go watch Brian and Nimesh make the case for fare enforcement on LA Metro. And thanks to reporter Tom Carroll for reaching out in the first place. www.instagram.com/reel/DbMemTe...

404 [by L.A. Times] on Instagram: "A volunteer coalition of metro riders called Enforce the Fares says the biggest safety problem on L.A.’s buses and trains isn’t a shortage of security officers, it’s...

636 likes, 110 comments - latimes.404 on July 24, 2026: "A volunteer coalition of metro riders called Enforce the Fares says the biggest safety problem on L.A.’s buses and trains isn’t a shortage of s...

instagram.com

Ugh, she's actually serious about this.

Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov · 2w ago

As Chair, I’ll build a long-term financial plan to make Metro fare-free. I’ve fought for a world-class transit system my entire career because public transit should create opportunity for everyone.

I'm proud to have a US rep so focused on transit policy. If there were more democrats like her in Congress, BUILD America 250 would look very different.

Rep. Laura Friedman@friedman.house.gov · 3w ago

I talk about transit-oriented housing... a lot. But what is it exactly, and why do we need it? Here’s your quick crash course on why it’s commonsense to build where we’ve already invested in transit:

A good first step towards what?

American Public Transportation Association@apta-info.bsky.social · 2w ago

The BUILD America 250 Act is a good first step, but Congress needs to maintain and build upon guaranteed funding. Greater investment is critically important to our public transit industry and generates enormous long-term economic returns for the nation. > www.apta.com/advocacy-mat...

Not asking people to die but that is what people act like if you tell them to take the bus.

The LA Metro Redditors can see right through Karen Bass's free fare grift, because unlike her, they've actually been paying attention to Metro for the last decade. www.reddit.com/r/LAMetro/co...

From the LAMetro community on Reddit: Mayor Bass said today that one of her top priorities is to make sure LA Metro is set on a path to become free for all. 😳

Explore this post and more from the LAMetro community

reddit.com

Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov · 2w ago

Los Angeles is a public transit city, and we're proving it every day. Today, I was honored to accept the gavel to serve as Chair of the Metro Board, laying out my four priorities over the next year. Metro Affordable — Setting LA on a path to make Metro free for everyone.

Blue Line Feline

It's giving 'please clap' realness.

Lmao how much money did they spend on subway gates? Man

Joe Linton@lintonjoe.bsky.social · 2w ago

Metro Affordable: Bass touts student passes, LIFE program. Says she want a plan to make Metro “fare free”

Oh, HELL to the no we're not going to try to make Metro free again as part of some reheated Mamdani slopulism scheme Karen Bass thought up in the shower this morning. Metro tried this and failed just 4 years ago. The fact Bass is now resurrecting the free fare bs is infuriating and heartbreaking.

Joe Linton@lintonjoe.bsky.social · 2w ago

Metro Affordable: Bass touts student passes, LIFE program. Says she want a plan to make Metro “fare free”

There’s only one news publication that I trust

How it feels to escape my packed, stranded Amtrak train and make it to SD using a $50 emergency uber voucher link I got from Metrolink's commuter alert feed:

damn, BestBus will NEVER hear the end of this, will they open.spotify.com/episode/2GYF...

892: Trapped on a Bus

This American Life · Episode

open.spotify.com

SB79 this situation ASAP. I'm still on about this.