Transit Tangents

License plates for e-bikes sound...ridiculous.  Imagine: DMV trips, new fees, insurance quotes, and a bigger wall between people and the cheapest form of electric transportation in the US. With gas prices climbing and more riders looking for alternatives to driving, we dig into why some states are moving in the opposite direction and what that could mean for e-bike adoption, affordability, and climate goals. 

We start with New Jersey’s newly passed law, which combines registration, plates, licensing requirements, and insurance expectations, plus a shift away from the familiar three-class e-bike standard used by much of the country. Then we look at California’s proposal and the broader pattern: policies that treat bikes like cars, even when most riders are just trying to get to work, school, or the grocery store without another car payment. 

Safety is the hard part, and we don’t dodge it. We talk about fast riders, illegal modifications, and those “not really an e-bike” machines that behave like low-speed motorcycles. But we also make the case that smarter enforcement and clearer rules on trails can address bad behavior without punishing everyone. We even revisit class 3 e-bikes and the 28 mph cap, explaining why higher assisted speed can be risky in crowds but genuinely safer in mixed traffic where cars move at 30 mph. 

If you’re curious about going car light, we share practical ways to combine e-bikes with public transit and why that middle ground can save thousands per year. Subscribe, share with your most opinionated e-bike friend, and leave a review with your take: should states regulate behavior or regulate the bike?

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“Passenger rail is dead” gets thrown around like it’s a fact, but the ridership numbers keep refusing to cooperate. We zoom out to Amtrak’s systemwide performance first, including record highs of 32.8 million rides in FY24 and 34.5 million trips in FY25, then we go route-by-route to see what happens when new service meets real demand.

We break down five recent Amtrak projects and compare early ridership to the projections that justified each launch. The Ethan Allen Express extension to Burlington shows how a simple 68-mile extension on existing track can produce a meaningful jump and hold it over time. The Mardi Gras Service between Mobile and New Orleans looks like a genuine breakout, blowing past its annual estimate in about six months while delivering strong customer satisfaction and enough demand that trains can sell out. Not every pilot shines though: the Berkshire Flyer’s seasonal tourism model struggles with low and declining ridership, while the Valley Flyer appears to be a quieter success as it recovers from the COVID shock and inches toward its original target.

Our biggest “wow” moment is the Borealis from Chicago to St. Paul, which beats its long-range forecast quickly and helps drive massive growth in the broader corridor. That success also points to the next problem: if demand is there, can we actually add frequency when there’s a multi-year backlog for trainsets? We close by kicking around a practical bridge solution while rail capacity catches up: better regional bus connections and how Amtrak already plays a bigger role in bus service than many people realize.

Subscribe for more transit deep dives, share this with a friend who still thinks nobody rides trains, and leave a review if you want more data-driven route breakdowns. What corridor should we analyze next?

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Pittsburgh doesn’t usually come to mind as a “big transit city,” but once you look closely, it has some of the most practical and inventive transit infrastructure in the U.S. We dig into how Pittsburgh’s hills, rivers, and industrial rail legacy shaped a network that still punches above its weight, and why a brand new Bus Rapid Transit line to Oakland and the universities could be a major quality-of-life upgrade.

We start by walking through Pittsburgh’s light rail: the Red, Blue, and Silver lines, their frequencies, and the odd-but-fascinating detail that some segments operate with request stops like a bus. From there we get into the real story behind the system, including how old railway tunnels and former streetcar rights of way still carry riders today, plus the downside of aging infrastructure and vehicles. We also talk transit-oriented development, because when we see station-area parking lots, we see real potential for more housing and better neighborhoods.

Then we switch to what might be Pittsburgh’s secret weapon: the busways. These grade-separated corridors let tons of local bus routes funnel into a fast, reliable approach to downtown, more like a bus highway than a simple painted lane. Finally, we break down the University Line BRT scheduled for 2027, including dedicated lanes, upgraded signals, all-door boarding, new stations, and why the $291M price tag is more than “just paint.”

If you enjoy smart transit planning, Pittsburgh transit, bus rapid transit, and real-world tradeoffs between BRT and rail, subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves cities, and leave a review with the next city you want us to cover.

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A strange transit showdown is brewing in Berlin: build a practical tram that stitches together everyday trips, or elevate a sleek maglev that sprints between a handful of stations. Louis spent the day on the ground from Spandau to the former Tegel Airport, walking the corridors, riding the buses, and mapping where people actually live, work, and wait. What he found is a city on the cusp of major growth with Urban Tech Republic rising at TXL and a vast new neighborhood at Gartenfeld, while current buses already strain under midday crowds.

Politics heats the debate, CDU and AfD push maglev, while SPD, the Left, and Greens favor the tram. The tram comes in around €120 million with strong federal co-funding; the maglev is already spending €80 million on a study and test track, with line estimates of €300–500 million and fuzzier funding. We also revisit Berlin’s brief M-Bahn maglev from 1989–91, and consider a gondola wildcard: useful in spots, but not a backbone for Spandau’s all-day demand.

If the story resonates, subscribe, share with a transit-minded friend, and leave a review—your support helps us bring more on-the-ground reporting to your feed.

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What happens when you hand teams a stack of clues, the Transit App, a free bus pass, and then issue one non-negotiable rule—no rideshare? Urban Quest turns Austin into a living classroom where kids and adults learn to navigate Cap Metro, discover hidden gems, and build confidence through exploration. We tag along with two teams racing between the Texas Capitol, the UT campus, and Amy’s Ice Cream, racking up points with museum puzzles, hula hooping, and mural photo hunts, all while showing how transit skills translate into real-world independence.

Tammy Miller, executive director of ATX KIDS CLUB, shares how the nonprofit teaches children as young as four to ride public transit safely. Along the way, parents describe the pride that comes from their kids recognizing bus lines, reading a city map, and moving through public spaces with ease. 

This story is bigger than a scavenger hunt. Urban Quest raises funds that open camp access for kids across all income levels, ensuring more kids learn vital mobility skills. 

You can check out more about ATX KIDS CLUB and Urban Quest here: 

 https://www.atxkidsclub.org/

Enjoyed the ride? Subscribe, rate, and share this episode with a friend who loves transit—or someone who needs a nudge to try the bus.

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We break down Miami’s fast-evolving transit network and spotlight the new Northeast Corridor commuter rail that links Miami Central to Aventura. From BRT with crossing arms to Tri-Rail’s downtown link and funding twists, we weigh benefits, risks, and what success looks like.

• Metrorail’s elevated spine and airport spur
• Metromover’s fare-free downtown coverage
• Tri-Rail’s 72-mile reach and downtown access
• Brightline’s influence on public investment
• Bus network redesign toward higher frequency
• South Dade Transitway BRT speed and priority
• SMART Plan context and North Corridor setback
• Northeast Corridor scope, funding, and timeline
• Station-by-station TOD potential and feeders
• Safety at crossings, flood resilience, capacity
• Why 30-minute peaks could shift behavior

If you have any ideas for us or know of people we should talk to, please reach out to us via email or on Instagram. 

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Starting at Notre Dame and ending at the Eiffel Tower sounds like a classic Paris day. In between, we set a challenge: cross the city using only public transit and discover what makes a system feel truly effortless.

The result is a rapid tour through metros, trams, the RER, buses, bike share, and even the Montmartre funicular—from Châtelet’s maze to La Défense and Saint-Lazare—highlighting lessons on frequency, fares, automation, and street design. With a look at Line 14 and the sweeping Grand Paris Express expansion, this episode captures why Paris remains one of the world’s most navigable transit cities.

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We weigh the $150 million St. Louis MetroLink extension to MidAmerica Airport against projected ridership and explain how Illinois state funding, decades of pre-planning, and significant optimism have made this project a reality. 

• cost, scope and context of the MidAmerica Airport extension
• ridership at Lambert versus MidAmerica and what it implies
• lack of anchors near the new terminus and first-mile gaps
• Illinois’s Rebuild Illinois funding and shovel-ready advantage
• development logic behind building into empty fields
• the Green Line corridor, voter backing, and federal hurdles
• pivot from light rail to dedicated-lane BRT and timelines
• risks of BRT creep and ways to protect speed and reliability
• how to engage with local planning and share feedback

If you are in the St. Louis area or in Illinois and you want to give your thoughts about these two projects, the BRT line and the Mid-America Airport extension of the Red Line out of St. Louis, please send us an email. If you want to support the show, the best way to do so is via our Patreon. You can also just subscribe, like the episode, all that good stuff.

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We travel to the edge of Paris to ride a new five-station urban gondola that extends Metro Line 8, showing how aerial transit can beat ground constraints, cut commute times, and invite better station design. Along the way, we talk with David Rambert, Project Manager for Architecture and BIM Manager at Atelier Schall, the agency responsible for the C1 station designs. He gives us more insight about accessibility, costs, and why gondolas fit this corridor.

• reasons a gondola beats a rail extension (in this scenario)
• six-year design–build timeline and lower capital costs
• right-sized capacity around 1,600–2,000 people per hour per direction (pphpd) with strong ridership
• accessibility choices, including level boarding and tactile paths
• station design that blends into the  landscape and supports TOD
• travel time cut from 35 to 18 minutes with 30-second headways
• quieter operations and lower operating costs than buses
• global context from Colombia to La Paz and Mexico City
• where gondolas fit between bus and rail in a network

If you want to see more from our interview with David, we posted a longer version of the interview on Patreon, where you can support the show directly. Send us an email if you've got something like this that you want us to go check out in the future. 

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What does a city feel like after it cuts car traffic in half and gives the streets back to people? We take you onto Paris’ bike lanes, into its buses and metros, and through the policies that turned a car-choked capital into a place where movement feels easy, human, and fast.

We break down how temporary “COVID paths” grew into a citywide Plan Vélo, backed by a major budget and an audacious goal: make every neighborhood bike-accessible. That meant building more than 1,000 kilometers of bikeways, re-striping streets, adding protection, and coordinating signals so cycling works at all ages and abilities. Pair that with bus-only lanes, filtered residential streets, and the removal of 50,000 parking spaces, and the result is a network that moves more people with less noise and danger. 

Ready to rethink your city’s playbook? Listen, share with a friend who bikes or rides the bus, and subscribe to support more people-first urban stories.

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