trolley

Episode 34: Transit News, Listener Feedback, Lessons from Pittsburgh

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Finally a new episode with your feedback as well as some thoughts on recurring transit strikes and worsening climate change. I share some lessons from my experience riding buses and trains in Pittsburgh, including what kinds of information is important to visitors, new residents and seasoned transit users.

Links to people, places and systems mentioned on this episode:

San Francisco BART transit strike; flooding in Calgary and Toronto; train explosion in Quebec; good news for wildfires; Progressive Podcast Australia; Bikes on Metra commuter rail (The Chainlink forum); riding Divvy bike share (Chicago); Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh bus/rail operator); Bike PGH; struggling city of Braddock; ("mini-Detroit"); Stockholm congestion pricing; Bill Lindeke, GaryRidesBikes, Copenhagenize, StrongTowns, walking_boston, bostonrailfan, TheTAdventure.

UPDATE: Walking Bostonian (@walking_boston) wrote a great summary of the transit situation in Pittsburgh.

Please contribute to the growing conversation about sustainable transportation and spread the word by sharing my work on your favorite social media outlets.  Send in your feedback by emailing feedback@criticaltransit.com or using the contact form at criticaltransit.com.

All about transit in Boston

Boston is a great place to visit (and live) and offers lots of great lessons on transit service design and operation. It has one of the most diverse transit fleets in North America -- heavy rail (subway/metro), light rail (trolley/streetcar/tram), local and express buses (diesel/CNG/hybrid), electric trolley buses (trackless trolleys), regional commuter rail and a handful of commuter ferry routes in Boston Harbor.  The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), known locally as "the T", provides service throughout the region and operates all of these modes. You can read all about the MBTA on Wikipedia and the transit history and vehicle roster page maintained by local transit fan Jonathan Belcher. This week's super long show explores only a fraction of the system, including the Green Line light rail/trolley network, Blue Line heavy rail line, Silver Line bus rapid transit (BRT) lines, and the bus network in Harvard Square.

Please send in questions or comments on anything you hear to feedback@criticaltransit.com or comment on this page.