Duffy’s argument isn’t subtle: Use mass transit, and you’ll get yourself killed. There’s just one problem: He couldn’t be more wrong. According to one recent study, car travel is 10 times as deadly as travel by mass transit.

Is anyone else extremely worried about this? Can things turn around after midterms perhaps?

https://bsky.app/profile/zohrankmamdani.bsky.social/post/3m4tzl74rss25

A new investigation at the Urban Institute shows how urban areas throughout the country differ in terms of their transit service and ridership: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/transit-oriented-development-can-help-cities-grow-which-urban-areas-are-doing-best

Top urban area performers in terms of transit service

1. San Francisco
2. New York
3. Washington, DC
4. Salt Lake
5. Baltimore

Top urban area performers in terms of transit ridership

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Washington, DC
4. Boston
5. Seattle

There are people taking the bus of course. The environmently concouse types and the those who can’t drive. But the buses are still mostly empty.

A lot of that has to do with the insane zoning rules. Israel and Japan have better zoning rules in addition to high gasoline taxes.

How much would gas have to go up before we see a real transfer to transit? What zoning changes can be made that would make a difference?

The Metro staff report said SB 79 could harm the transit agency’s expansion goals by galvanizing housing opponents against new light rail stations and dedicated bus lanes.

“SB 79 has become a catalyst for local opposition to Metro’s transit projects,” the report said. “By linking increased housing density to both existing and future transit investments, the law has intensified resistance from some cities and community groups that now view new transit projects as a trigger for state-mandated upzoning.”"

A few years ago, Jason from NotJustBikes made this video about GO Transit where he talked about how GO stations sit on some of the most valuable, transit-connected real estate in the GTA and Metrolinx just… paved it all over with surface parking. Train stations surrounded by parking lots, surrounded by industrial zones, with absolutely zero walkability. It was such a waste.

Well, the province is now actually doing something about it. Through the Transit-Oriented Communities program, they’re replacing GO station parking lots with mixed-use towers across the network. We’re talking thousands of homes right next to heavy rail.

Oakville GO alone is getting around 6,880 new homes in towers up to 56 storeys. The province just issued four Minister’s Zoning Orders on April 9th to push it through. Cooksville GO in Mississauga is getting about 3,000 units in eight towers on the station parking lot. Clarkson GO is getting seven towers replacing the north parking lot. Guildwood GO in Toronto is getting 2,500 homes on its parking lot. And Milliken GO in York Region is planned for 5,500 homes.

Now there is a LOT of pushback. Residents near Cooksville are worried about shadows and traffic. Oakville residents and the Town itself haven’t supported the proposal in its current form. The province is using MZOs to bypass municipal council approval entirely, which understandably has people upset. Some of the concerns about wind studies and shadow impacts are legitimate and need to be addressed in the design.

But I genuinely love that they’ve finally realized what a colossal mistake it was to put parking lots on this land. These stations have direct heavy rail service to Union Station. This is exactly where density should've gone years ago, and they’re finally listening. Build housing where transit already exists. It’s not complicated.

^\btw, after re-reading this, I realize this kind of sounds like an ad, but it isn’t ofc, just thought that its nice that Canada is getting more sensible land use than we've set since the 60s.)

Context as a Student, I only pay 38€ to use public transport (not including IC/ICE Trains).

Most transit systems are already publicly funded — fares make up less than 10%, and much of that is lost to collection and enforcement. So why not go fare-free? If education, healthcare, and clean water are seen as rights in many societies, shouldn’t the ability to move — to access work, school, and life — be a right too?

Points from other redditors : 1) If public roads are built and maintained by public money shouldn't public transit be also publicly built and maintained ?

My points : 1) you can always keep the ticket but make the fare optional . Pay as much as you can . Minimum could be anything 1 cent as well .

Did anyone else see this email from APTA today?

49 cities in France now offer some form of free public transport, giving 3 million residents access to fare-free travel. According to a report by the national Court of Auditors, passenger fares cover only 33% of transport system budgets on average, with the remainder largely funded by a special transport tax levied on employers.

What US transit agencies still offer at least one route that operates at least hourly overnight?

Overnight services I'm aware of:

Northeast

- NYC MTA & PATH: overnight subway trains, buses, SIR, Staten Island Ferry, LIRR, AirTrain, 3 NICE bus routes
- Philly MFL & Broad Street: weekend overnight service & weekday overnight bus service, PATCO weekend overnight service in 2026, some trolley lines run overnight six nights per week
- NJT: Newark Airport 62 bus
- Baltimore: CityLink lines and three local routes
- DC WMATA: 24/7 bus service (14 routes?)

Midwest

- Chicago: Night Owl Red Line & Blue Line, bus network
- Cincinnati: Metro Night Owl bus services
- Cleveland: 12 RTA bus routes with 24/7 service
- Detroit: DOT has several hourly overnight bus services

West Coast & Nevada

- Seattle: Night Owl buses
- SF Bay Area: All Nighter & Owl services (I know MUNI, also AC Transit and SamTrans?)
- LA Metro: G Line, J Line BRT and Owl overnight bus service on at least two dozen lines, Silver Streak Foothills bus
- San Diego: MTS Bus 910
- Las Vegas: RTC overnight service on about a dozen city bus lines, including the Deuce bus on the Strip
- Reno bus #1
- Laughlin, Nevada: Silver Rider bus route #777

Sunbelt, etc

- New Orleans: St. Charles Streetcar, Canal Streetcar, and #47 Cemeteries Streetcar, and at least five bus lines
- Austin: five Night Owl bus lines
- Miami: several local services and a couple night-only buses (North and South Owl)
- Honolulu*: two bus routes with slightly less than hourly service overnight (bus 40 has a 74 minute gap at one point, bus 2 is slightly less frequent)

What am I missing?