Podcast 19 - Jeff Wood - The Overhead Wire & The Direct Transfer

Expanding our focus beyond Boston, we speak with Jeff Wood, a San Francisco-based consultant (The Overhead Wire) and operator of The Direct Transfer, a daily news source on transit, cities and urban design. Jeff also hosts Talking Headways, a weekly transportation podcast, and his work includes media, cartography, data analysis and research on transit modes and land use strategies. He also contributed to a new TCRP report on transit and land use connections (PDF).

Some topics include finding and pursuing a vision for transit, urban politics, gentrification and displacement, big project management, and achieving better bus service. Are private transit and taxis good for cities? Is there a transit space race? And an update on San Francisco's implementation of off-board fare payment on trains and buses.

The Transit Matters Podcast is your source for transportation news, analysis, interviews with transit advocates and more. By offering new perspectives, uniting transit advocates and promoting a level of critical analysis normally absent from other media, we can achieve a useful and effective transportation network.

Transit Matters. Subscribe to the blog/podcast, join as a member, and sign up to volunteer because we can't do this alone. Follow and engage us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or email feedback@transitmatters.info. Save the date for our next Beer & Transit, Dec 9 in Back Bay.

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Transit Funding Panel sponsored by Budget For All MA

On October 24, 2015, Budget For All hosted a discussion on the state of transit in Eastern Massachusetts and strategies to achieve increased state and federal funding for the MBTA and other public transportation services.

TransitMatters believes that while cities should prioritize MBTA operations to make them faster and more efficient, our region is in desperate need of major transit investments to keep pace with soaring population and employment and rapidly growing ridership. These service improvements are not possible without significant additional revenue.

See the full agenda here. My comments, about 22 minutes into Part 1, focuses on existing conditions and our vision for transit in Boston, then we answer some questions. 

NOTE: If you don't see Parts 2 & 3, visit transitmatters.info/podcast.

Let us know your thoughts, ideas and suggestions, and get involved with Budget 4 All or Transit Matters to join the fight for high quality public transit for everyone. Feedback? Use the contact form, email feedback@transitmatters.info or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Podcast 18 - Transit Operations & Public-Private Partnerships with John Attanucci

We sit down with longtime transit consultant John Attanucci at the MIT Transit Lab to discuss some of the deficiencies in our transit network and how we could better design and manage it. We also learn about existing private transportation services and how they might help fill critical gaps in the MBTA network if the T remains unable to add or change its services. And we touch on the revenue question.

Fun fact: The single most important factor affecting bus reliability is leaving the starting point on time. What will it take to have 95% of all trips leaving at their scheduled time (or for the most frequent routes, at an even interval)?

Don't miss this month's Beer & Transit with former Governor Michael Dukakis. Full details and link to RSVP at transitmatters.info.

The Transit Matters Podcast is your source for transportation news, analysis, interviews with transit advocates and more. By offering new perspectives, uniting transit advocates and promoting a level of critical analysis normally absent from other media, we can achieve a useful and effective transportation network.

Transit Matters. Subscribe or sign up to volunteer because we can't do this alone. Follow and engage us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, or email feedback@transitmatters.info. We always love to hearing from fellow transit riders, and we have some very exciting things in the works so stay tuned. 

Like this podcast? Share it around, tell your friends and colleagues, and subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified of new posts and episodes.