A celebratory Silver Line opening collides with city referendums to leave DART, putting service, funding, and future upgrades at risk. We weigh the politics and the human impact, and lay out what residents can do before the 2026 votes.

• Silver Line ridership settling into expectations
• What Plano currently receives from DART
• Land use gaps around stations and jobs
• Why sales tax capture is driving exit talk
• Debt payoff timelines if cities leave
• System impacts of losing Plano and Irving
• Public sentiment and organizing momentum
• Negotiation paths and funding flexibility
• How to track councils and get involved
• Key dates leading to May 2026 votes

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We unpack Seattle’s latest transit surge, from the Federal Way light rail extension to the cross‑lake Two Line testing across the Lake Washington Floating Bridge. We close with the express‑lane BRT buildout and how highway stitches, feeder routes, and frequent service can reshape daily trips.

• Federal Way extension scope, stations, and timeline
• Federal Way retail core and TOD potential toward Tacoma
• Pros and cons of building along I‑5
• Cross‑lake Two Line testing on the floating bridge
• Mercer Island median station and highway stitches
• Judkins Park station access and trail links
• Combined four‑minute headways on the shared trunk
• Reliability risks with limited bypasses
• Ridership growth and network effects
• BRT S1, S2, S3 using express lanes and median platforms
• Service spans and 10–15 minute headways
• Feeder buses and suburban connectivity
• Using highway ROW to accelerate delivery

If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to support us in any way that you can. The biggest and best way that you can do that is by liking and subscribing to the channel, sharing these videos with your friends, family, bus drivers, train drivers, whoever you think is going to enjoy them. We also have our merch store where you can buy t‑shirts and hats and a couple other things, as well as utilizing our Buy Me a Coffee link or joining our Patreon where we try to get episodes out early

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We examine whether night trains can work in the United States by starting with a real sleeper ride from Zurich to Leipzig and then mapping routes where overnight service fits naturally. Dreamstar’s proposed LA–SF sleeper gets a reality check, while Amtrak’s current options and price gaps are unpacked with practical fixes.

• First‑hand review of ÖBB Nightjet Zurich to Leipzig
• Differences between compartments and open‑berth formats
• Snapshot of U.S. sleeper history and Pullman luxury
• Amtrak room types, limitations and high fares
• Why overnight rail saves time, money and stress
• Dreamstar LA–SF feasibility, timelines and obstacles
• Easy pilot candidates on NEC overnight slots
• Route ideas: LA–Phoenix, Chicago–Minneapolis, Chicago–Kansas City, Chicago–Nashville
• Shared berths as a lower‑cost U.S. option
• What it would take to win mode‑shift from flights

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We ride Zurich’s entire transit ecosystem in one day, testing how trams, S-Bahn, buses, funiculars, a cog railway, an aerial cable car, and a lake ferry connect... without a subway. Along the way, we unpack why Zurich never built a U-Bahn and how integration, signage, and frequency keep the city moving.

• highlights from Polybahn to funiculars
• Dolderbahn’s rack system
• Zurich tram network scale, history, and headways
• Stadelhofen’s capacity squeeze and planned fourth track
• aerial cable car to Felsenegg and integrated ticketing
• winter ferry service on Lake Zurich and trip trade‑offs
• network design trade for no U‑Bahn and city size context
• zone passes, app tickets, and excellent wayfinding
• lessons for US cities from Zurich’s layered network

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We mark 100 straight weeks by revisiting our 2025 transit list and tracking which projects delivered results. Chicago’s frequent buses, NYC’s congestion pricing, LA’s push for speed and access, and new lines in Dallas and Honolulu show how funding, design, and frequency reshape cities.

• Chicago launches 10-minute bus corridors and upgrades Red and Purple stations
• Illinois passes SB 211 for governance reform and $1.5bn annual transit funding
• NYC congestion pricing raises hundreds of millions and cuts traffic
• Debate on free buses, with MTA prioritizing signals, fleet, and safety upgrades
• Boston clears slow zones and restores subway speed
• LA overhauls the G Line, expands bus-lane cameras, opens the LAX hub
• Dallas opens the Silver Line orbital to DFW
• Honolulu Skyway reaches the airport with phase two
• Phoenix adds five-plus miles of light rail
• Austin’s Rapid 800 and 837 grow ridership, frequency remains the lever
• Community highlights, advocacy links, and plans for 2026 content

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We ride around Munich from the city center to the suburban palaces. We hit it all, trams, buses, U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Home of BMW, our trip reveals a car capital where transit is still king. 

• Major renovations and expansion of the Munich Hauptbahnhof and what it changes
• tram frequency, speed differences versus Vienna, and signage wins
• walkability around Marienplatz and Viktualienmarkt
• cross-town bus to BMW and Olympic Park to test outer links
• U-Bahn service levels, proof-of-payment, and crowd management
• S-Bahn scale today and why a new tunnel under construction matters
• Munich’s centralized rail versus Vienna’s stronger orbitals

If you are not already subscribed to the channel, we’ll have the final part of this European trip from Zurich coming up in just a few weeks. So, subscribe to hear the latest!

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We revisit Kansas City to mark the opening of the Main Street streetcar extension and map the next moves that could turn a single corridor into a connected, free-to-ride system. From mixed-traffic tradeoffs to dedicated lanes, riverfront housing, hospitals, and historic districts, we trace how rails can reshape daily life.

• original two-mile streetcar purpose and performance
• how free fares drive ridership and small business gains
• Main Street extension to UMKC, Plaza, and midtown
• operational upgrades with dedicated lanes and frequency
• riverfront link to new housing, park, and KC Current stadium
• East–West line goals, anchors, and MAX bus ties
• equity impacts for lower income neighborhoods

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We explore Vienna using only public transit, testing the city’s frequency, coverage, and ease of use while visiting multiple transit hubs, Schönbrunn Palace, the museum district, and many destinations along the way. Using buses, trams, U-bahn, S-Bahn, and 
bike share, we reflect on how Vienna supports true Freedom of Mobility. 

Some highlights: 

• a full day using U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams, buses, bike share
• honor-system fares, all-door boarding, and ticket options
• U-Bahn frequency, station design, and transfers
• tram network scale, rolling stock mix, accessibility
• S-Bahn variety and major interchange hubs like Wien Meidling
• bus coverage, night service, and network redundancy
• street design that prioritises people over cars
• bike share usability, costs, and lane continuity
• contrasts with US systems and practical takeaways
• upcoming travel to Munich and Zurich

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We mark the launch of DART’s Silver Line with a first-hand ride, a look at the trains and stations, and frank talk about service levels, airport access, and what success would look like. Local leaders and advocates weigh in on ridership, TOD, and how policy shaped the project’s path.

• Why the Silver Line matters for regional mobility  
• Route overview and service span  
• Airport access and frequency trade-offs  
• Opening day impressions and rider experience  
• Planning history, funding, and political hurdles  
• Ridership recovery and demand forecasts  
• Enrique McGregor on economic growth and connectivity  
• Tyler Wright on TOD, housing near stations, and perception  
• Next steps: messaging, partnerships, and bus signal priority

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What if the fastest way to speed up buses isn’t a new gadget, but removing a ritual that steals minutes at every stop? We dig into the push for fare-free buses—why the idea is surging in New York City, what Kansas City learned after rolling it back, and how speed, safety, and budgets collide when the farebox goes quiet.

We start with the tangible wins: all-door boarding, shorter dwell times, and less anxiety for occasional riders who don’t know the local payment dance. Then we press into the hard limits. Many U.S. agencies still rely on fare revenue to keep buses running, and political whiplash can turn “free” into a yo-yo policy that undermines trust. We talk frankly about safety perceptions and why staffing, cleanliness, and consistency build confidence for the average rider. And we compare that to European cities, where higher fares often buy rock-solid reliability that people value every day.

If you care about public transit policy, urban mobility, and how to make buses faster right now, this conversation brings examples, and practical tradeoffs. Listen, share your city’s experience, and tell us where you land: free fares, better frequency, or both with a stable funding plan? 

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