Connect 2035 • The Next 10-Year Strategic Plan YouTube video by Spokane Transit

Happy #WorldPublicTransportDay! Learn how Spokane Transit is pursuing its vision to connect everyone to opportunity. youtu.be/l-62DulQ3UM?...

Right now, our members are headed to DC for APTA’s Legislative Conference! Public transportation is one of the smartest investments America can make, and this week is about protecting that progress and keeping our economy moving forward. Follow along at #PublicTransitImpact #APTAleg26 #ThatsTransit

A photo of the book entitled "Deciding to See | The View from Nathan's Bus" by Nathan Vasa with model buses and several books on a shelf, as well as a birthday cars.

It was my birthday the other day and a work colleague gifted me several books by King County Metro coach operator Nathan Vass. Each stor, an entry recalling experiences driving the bus, is moving and reaffirms to me how transit embodies community in a way that can't be replicated by other means.

On the flip side, it means Spokane exerts some economic and cultural influence in three states. Not bad for our size.

Systems that let drivers take their hands off the wheel don't improve safety, NTSB head says The head of the National Transportation Safety Board says the systems that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel are convenient but don’t improve safety because people who use them often pay...

NTSB says that Level 2 systems like Ford Blue Cruise and Tesla Autopilot don't improve road safety, In fact, they may worsen it b/c automakers overestimate their capabilities.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy: “These systems function primarily as convenience features rather than safety enhancements."

the ultimate reason of why I do not support free transit is that transit funding has tradeoffs, and using the money to improve service is almost always going to be more valuable

enabling people to go from car ownership to transit is always going to be more valuable than cutting their fares

The economic impact of public transit reaches far and wide, from employing workers and supporting a broad supplier network, to encouraging spending in the local economy.

Learn more ⬇️ www.apta.com/wp-content/u... #PublicTransitImpact

The Spokane Chronicle, January 1, 1903 Talk of a Big Park. An interesting plan is being discussed involving the establishment of a park on the prairie about 11 miles from the city. This would take in the land known as the "Big Rocks," located on Moran mountain about 11 miles from Spokane. It is stated that on this piece of ground a fine park could be made, the scenery being of a picturesque character. While there is no lake upon the property, living springs are said to be there affording a water supply. The idea is that an attractive park or summer resort, containing perhaps 1000 acres, would be established here.

An earlier 20th century vision a park and resort at "Big Rock." Part of a broader vision of a railway to Moran Prairie and beyond from downtown Spokane. It would take nearly 120 years for the landmark to be purchased for public use and conservation. www.spokesman.com/stories/2019...

Trend in transit ridership, Paris region, 2019–2026

Trend in car traffic on the Paris ring highway (in blue) and within the center city (in red), 2020–2026

Transit ridership in the Paris region is now 5% higher than it was in the pre-Covid period, as car traffic along the Paris ring highway & within the center city is 15 to 20% lower than pre-Covid. www.institutparisregion.fr/mobilite-et-...

Riverside Avenue in Spokane next to the STA Plaza. A banner is hung inside the sky walk in the center of the photo, that reads, TRANSIT EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY

Happy Transit Employee Appreciation Day! Spokane Transit's greatest asset is its employees. I am thankful for the great people who serve our community every day and night throughout the year, providing mobility to tens of thousands daily.
youtu.be/oaCmDsNIG44?...

Here Comes the Self-Driving Traffic Surge Autonomous vehicles from companies like Waymo and Zoox are set to trigger an increase in car usage that clogs urban streets. Cities should prepare now.

As they scale, autonomous vehicles are likely to cause crippling congestion. Two reasons:
1) Their users will take more and longer car trips
2) They often drive around empty

Result: More vehicles on the road, more pollution, and more traffic

Me in @bloomberg.com 🧵

The author in a blue suit, blue shirt and blue and purple tie, with a green printed timetable in his front suit pocket.

The printed timetable (c. 2021) is helping compensate for my wardrobe missteps for this 17th of March.

A good way to understand current coverage based on population instead of geography:
wsdot.wa.gov/construction...

Several of the report’s authors previously studied the effects on American life spans of the Great Recession beginning in 2008. In a surprising finding, they concluded that the recession had extended Americans’ life spans — in part because people ended up driving less, and therefore had fewer fatal accidents, and because less driving and economic activity translated into less air pollution.

👀

"the recession had extended Americans’ life spans — in part because people ended up driving less, and therefore had fewer fatal accidents, and because less driving and economic activity translated into less air pollution."

Currently working through Nicholas Dagen Bloom’s excellent book “The Great American Transit Disaster” and this is definitely an underlying thread… private owners either underinvested, exited aggressively at the slightest hint of adversity, or were treated by shortsighted cities as tax cows to milk.

The American City: a Problem in Democracy Delos F. Wilcox 1904 (page 28) Chapter II THE STREET THE problems of the street are the first, the last, and the greatest of the material problems of the city. It is the street that makes the city possible to begin with, that permits the city's growth year by year, and that finally must check the increase of population and business by sheer inability to provide opportunity for movement. In the street we have the first and the best example of the purposes of city government. Here, by the coöperation of the whole community, a free way is provided, an "open road," a channel for traffic and transportation for the use of all alike. It is seldom realized how large a share of municipal activity is carried on in the street. Besides the work of making and improving the street itself, besides the work attendant upon the service of public utilities upon, over, and under the street, we must remember that the police department is mainly a street department, and that the fire department is absolutely dependent upon the street for its efficiency. The street is the symbol of the free city wherein all coöperate to secure opportunity for all. Democracy as a means to liberty and as a method of law finds its expression in the street. It is no wonder that the curtailment of the people's rights in the street through the grant of special privileges to individuals and corporations is widely regarded as a menace to popular institutions and a step toward the overthrow of the principles of free government. The control of the streets means the control of the city.

In his writings from 1904, Delos F. Wilcox said it so succinctly: "he who controls the streets controls the city." A good reminder if we want to have civilization succeed, a clear and active advancement of the public's right-of-way in the public interest is essential.

Delos F. Wilcox, August 1920

Following the conclusion of the Federal Electric Railways Commission final hearing, Delos F. Wilcox took it upon himself to publish the proceedings and analyses of the commission, the provide his own conclusions. A copy of his report has been on my desk for many years.

New York Times, August 30, 1920: FOR CITY OWNERSHIP OF STREET RAILWAYS Federal Commission's Own Expert Criticises Report Favoring Service-at-Cost Plan. SAYS IT IS BOUND TO FAIL Municipal Operation Only Solution of Problems; Private Management Ruinous, Asserts D. F. Wilcox.

In 1920 the Federal Electric Railway Commission floundered in their final conclusion, agreeing to a recommendation favored by the corporations over municipal experts who insister transit needed to be municipally owned.

Spokesman-Review, Jan 21, 1915: FORD RESPONSIBLE FOR JITNEY Mr. Everett on the Competition Facing the Street Cars. To the Editor of The Spokesman-Review: I want to lift my voice against this man Ford, who makes that measley little cant-afford auto. He is a disturber; an innovator, who is upsetting all our fondest traditions. First he made a gas wagon so cheap that ownership of one is no more a sign of respectability than wearing suspenders. Next he put foolish ideas in the heads of workingmen in his factory by helping them to get enough to eat, and common report is that these men, even down to floor sweeper, get as much per day as a perfectly respectable member of the legislature of Washington. Not content with these acts he has taken the general public, his customers, into his business and established a system of rebates. But all these things are as nothing compared to the effect of his perfectly ridiculous conduct in our fair city. The cheapening of his machine has made it possible for men to enter into competition with our largest corporation in the carrying trade of the city. The "jitney bus" insolently slips in and begins grabbing nickels without saying so much as "by your leave." It's preposterous; it's unthinkable. The street car company saw these nickels first; they belong to the company by right of discovery. The jitney bus must be busted, no matter if the people do like it. This is no concern of the people. But how are we going to stop it? Hanged if I know. Ask Ford. WILL EVERETT. Spokane, Wash.

Too many cities actively worked against the private companies, or else the private companies were too occupied with dividends than infrastructure modernization.

Spokane Press, January 25, 1915: The quickest and easiest way for American cities to free themselves from the ruthless tyranny of their street car monopolies would be to many American cities for motor bus transportation.

I think it's underappreciated how prolonged private ownership of transit systems in America is among the primary roots of its poor positioning in our cities relative to other developed countries.

List of projects Congress has identified for FY 2027 funding. Source: https://www.congress.gov/119/crec/2026/01/22/172/15/CREC-2026-01-22-pt2-PgH1353-2.pdf

The Trump administration has yet to sign a contract for a single new transit project www.urban.org/urban-wire/r...

Even so, Congress designated 21 transit projects for funding in a recent spending bill.

I did a little more investigation to understand the status of some of these projects 🧵

You're welcome and I admit I started to chuckle as I reached the end of your first sentence then guffawed for the second sentence and then grew inspired for the third. Service design, route numbering and map symbology have long involved an integrated model of what makes for good transit.

🙋‍♂️In the late 90s the buses in Salvador, Brazil had a cobrador with a till stationed at the back door turnstile. Never saw someone make change as fast as a cobrador de ônibus! If the till had less revenue than the turnstile count called for, the $$ was taken from the cobrador's wages (so I was told).

APTA’s new economic report shows how investing in public transit creates jobs, boosts tax revenue, and benefits the economy! #PublicTransitImpact

Learn about the impacts: www.apta.com/wp-content/u...

Framed photographs of street scenes near the STA Plaza. Books and counter top in background.

I had lunch with Ben Tobin, a local street photographer, and picked up two prints I ordered from him (personal purchase, FYI). I am really pleased with how these turned out.

I love it!

Spokane Transit quietly served over 15,200 passenger boardings on Sunday, March 1, the first time ever surpassing 15k passengers for STA on a non-Bloomsday Sunday. Overall, Sunday ridership is running 33% higher than pre-COVID levels, representing the highest growth rate among service days.

Later, during a break between sessions, the chair of the event (a regional real estate market forum) introduced herself to me as an avid, dedicated bus rider. Reminded me you can't entirely dismiss the 20%! 2/2

I was on a panel last week where I was posed the question, "how are you going to get us out of our cars?" The audience was made up of several hundred developers and real estate brokers. I basically said, "I'm focused on the 80%, not you." 1/2

New meta-analysis of 26 published studies concludes that AVs will lead people to use cars a lot more — which would thicken congestion and worsen pollution (even if AVs are electric).

"AV deployment is anticipated to lead to an overall increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled."

doi.org/10.1016/j.tb...