Everything can be changed in a positive way, especially for transit/urbanism but ONLY if we have hope that things can change and get better. (which it definitely can!) Hopium >>>> Doomium
@skysthelimitvideos well, what did he expect? And that's not getting into the inherent racism in his tweet - he must know that not everyone is a privileged white guy like him that can afford to move to another country.
One fascinating thing about the USA is how fast it can move mountains when it wants to. The country can go in one direction in a seemingly unalterable fashion. But when the country decides to pivot, it’s world-class at fast and total transformation. It’s not a country to write off in any way.
@@tianzhou1244 The second industrial revolution in the late 19th century that the us absolutely dominated, overnight we went from a country of farmers isolated from another to a country of rapidly growing urban cities populated from people around the world and connected to eachother with the greatest most extensive rail network in the world at that point
I agree with this fully. Pessimism gets us nowhere. I just wanna say that Dutch cities used to be really bad. Cars everywhere, pollution rampant. People were furious and demanded change, protests everywhere (sometimes even resorting to violence) but as a result, Dutch cities are praised nowadays for their bike frendliness. Even then, public tansport needs improving. Every place can change, and every place has something to improve. (A certain dude has somethings to learn from your optimism)
i agree with you but here in chicago i definitely feel like the number of people who are angry and demanding change is much smaller than the number of people who want to be be able to park their car anywhere :(( it seems likely that improvement is going to be lumpy across the country, moving faster in places like portland and seattle and requiring more of a fight in the midwest. still i think younger people are more conscious of the benefits of urbanism and the harms of car culture, and a better future awaits 💪
However tbh, Netherlands situation is very different, such as how Netherlands has always had narrow streets, and lack large parking lots thus the growth of car ownership post WW2 caused tremendous pressure on Dutch infrastructure with the narrow streets built before cars being constantly clogged and parking becoming an absolute nightmare, which definitely put pressure on politicians to come up with solutions to reduce car dependence. Furthermore, single family homes with large backyards were never the norm in the Netherlands, and they never had American style zoning which completely segregated residential and commercial, which makes transition to bike and public transit much easier due to closer distances and higher density already
Reece, your balance between constructive criticism and positivity is the reason yours is the first and still only channel I support on Patreon. We need a good mix to improve transit in North America.
@@RMTransit Awesome channel! Can you do a video if there is anything new happening with the Richmond Hill subway expansion and also how all day 2 way services COULD be achieved on the Richmond Hill GO line if you were to design it?
It is the grand falsity of life that either A or B is universally better than the other. Every technology (yes even cars) have situations where they are the best solution, and what we should be arguing about is not whether A > B but when is the best time to use A and when is the best time to use B.
@@tortellinifettuccine progress is good. Parking lots can be developped, those same highways that destroyed cities are being taken down again, their space being used for community areas, parks and new development. Never give up, ever
@@tortellinifettuccine There are many places that are seeing the light, but there are also places like Texas, though Austin is working hard to upgrade its transit service. Houston has a rail line, but I would be surprised if anywhere near 10-20% of the population have ever used it. Same with Dallas's DART. The reality in many western and southern cities (SFO, Portland and Seattle being the obvious exceptions) is that they have low-density-sprawled so much that whatever rail or high-speed bus transit they have, will serve only a small group of residents. LA for example has more rail transit now than at any time since the heyday of the Pacific Electric, but their ridership is less than it was when it was mainly buses.
Washingtonian here! We are on a transit and bicycle RAMPAGE! So much good news lately out of DC, extending the NE corridor south, new bicycle lanes and bicycle parking, 7 new metro stations opened this year, reautomation, a soon to be completed purple line, BRT being designed, new metro lines in the plans… you’re right. We have so much to be optimistic about in America. I love living car free here!
Fellow Washingtonian here, I am surprised that WMATA is willing to go headlong into another ambitious project just after finishing the Silver Line expansion. I hope the new lines being discussed become a reality, that Blue loop line could be a great expansion to the Metro system
Something people forget is that everything that is built (or not built) is thanks to decisions. If you want change, contact your councillor/mayor/rep/etc. Voice your support for mobility freedom. Don’t let it just be the people against who show up to city council meetings. If you don’t have a seat at the table, make one for yourself. Cities take a long time to build, get involved now.
People in Europe love to bash North America as if they're perfect while ignoring their own problems! While of course, North American transit systems are by no means perfect, they're still doing something and addressing the needs of its citizens and that's the point! East Side Access/Grand Central Madison in NYC for example, as long as it took and as overbudget as it was, the project helps so many people who live and work on the east side of Manhattan, and it's about time that this crucial connection exists. Things are getting better, and it's very obvious that there are many people focused on making NA's built environment get better too. It's not happening overnight, we have to remember the classic phrase that Rome wasn't built in a day! But writing off people like doomers do ain't the way to inspire confidence in those actively doing a ton of work
you just gave a perfect example of Not Just Bikes' videos 💀 literally his whole channel is just bashing about americans and how horrible the continent is. He thinks that because he lives in the netherlands then he is superior to americans lol
@@gzassets that is a trap that I feel a lot of "urbanists" on UA-cam fall into. That is why I like RMTransit and City Beautiful videos they generally avoid the blind hate.
Living in the Northeast corridor, I have to say that by far the biggest transit impact I've seen to my life is GC Madison to be able to arrive in Grand Central and immediately transfer to Long Island is such a game changer.
It’s a game changer for my buddies who want to go from Long Island to Putnam county, and not have to deal with the stress of booking it through three transfers
I am from Mumbai, India the public transport system is going under a transformation. in 2021, we had 1 metro line and 4 commuter train lines (those extremely crowded ones that people are hanging on the doors) . we are about to replace those with Fully AC upgraded to the global standard commuter trains with faster speeds. we are also making 14 metro lines of which 2 got integrated in jan. 1 is built fully, undergoing trails and will open in 2024. 3 under construction are expected top open in 2025 along with extension of 2 new ones. we just got the similar to London style red double decker AC electric buses on road. you made a video on the indian metros back in 2022, after that a lot has changed in all the cities you covered. almost all have expanded their network. The national railways are now at 90% electrification along with 2 new electric double stack capable freight corridors. Both combined of 3000 kms. Mumbai is about to also get 1 new international airport soon in 2025, construction at very fast pace. the existing airport is overcrowded with no space to expand. this new one will be linked with old airport with metro and will also have its own airport metro to downtown. So, just like US, India and a lot of places in asia are going through a big change in the public transport infrastructure.
India is probably a good inspiration to look to. Looking at countries that already have established transit systems is hard to replicate due to a difficult transition. But seeing how India managed to push these projects through so quickly is something the US can learn from. Same with China, who also rapidly grew its network and modernized its city in general. All things to learn from instead of thinking we in the US is unique or does things better.
@@neurofiedyamato8763 to be fair the workforce is quiet cheap in India. And since too many people are using the transport (people hanging outside the doors) the people have no problem with the gov to invest heavily into this. Which both is not the case in the US. :/
I don't want to take away from the positivity of the video and all the small changes and improvements in the USA, but what India is doing is a much more dramatic change and it's a lot more impressive! India and China are in their own league right now, no other countries are developing so much transport infrastructure.
We've been hearing about India's rapid buildout of the metro lines in Mumbai, Delhi, and beyond and wish you the greatest success in your endeavors. Best regards, from the USA
@@neurofiedyamato8763 Problem of US is its extreme levels of NIMBY culture and a broken down jurisdiction of a metro area. In US, most of the cities are not 1 big city with under 1 city council or even 1 state. There are hundreds of small towns that are actually neighbourhoods, that you classify as "suburbs". All these towns have their different mayor, different jurisdiction, different way of managing their city. 95% of the management is similar, but there is lack of coordination among the entire metro area. What you actually need is a separate entity that is for the entire metro area. Eg :- Entire NYC area with suburbs of NJ, westchster, rockland county and the northern part, Connecticut' south west part and long island along with the NYC itself should have some city planning body that looks at the entire metro area as 1 place and designs the needs of metro area as 1 big city. India has that, each city has its own Regional development authority whose jobs is city planning, drafting up infrastructure projects from transit, water supply, electricity, etc (anything this needed to run the region). Mumbai has MMRDA which is Mumbai metropolitan region development authority, Which overseas 12 cities and towns that are in the metro area. They have a very long term plan for the city of 20 years down the line what will be needed. I think something like this is needed for the American cities. Also london has this thing of a greater London area where not just london but surrounding towns are also counted as a 1 big city.
Absolutely! I have as much hope for American transit as you do! More cities are realizing destroying their streetcar systems was bad, and that's a good thing! Those who say that the US is doomed ignores the progress many cities have made, and the fact the urbanist movement is thriving. Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City are three examples in just NJ that have made great change to make people’s lives much better. If you compare pictures of when the HBLR first opened in Downtown JC to now, you'd see a lot of development has popped up because more and more people are interested in living next to the light rail! Newark's downtown has transformed since the 70s, with new housing, a sports arena, and performing arts center all steps away from Newark Penn. Not to mention the Newark Light Rail exists connecting northern Newark, Bloomfield, and Belleville as well as both Rutgers Newark and NJIT to Newark Penn! Those who say we should just give up and move to Europe...do realize not everyone can afford to go to another continent, right? They know we still appreciate the US, right? Many of us are stuck here, and passionately want to make this country a better place for ALL. I love my country, I love its freedoms, but I acknowledge it’s not perfect and I want to make it the place it’s meant to be! Instead of dooming, the doomers should be motivating American urbanists to keep striving for change!
Thank you for bringing this up. Many urbanists like myself love this country, what it stands for, and it’s unique qualities that don’t exist anywhere else and we want to keep these qualities while also living car free, so it needs to be realized that we can have both and that more and more US cities can and are being transformed
As a Seattlite, for as much as I agree I wish Seattle was building out a true metro system instead of light rail; the reality still stands that it's been an incredible success so far. And I'm of the mind that even the wrong transit is still the transit, so it still trends in the right direction. So many projects across the country do get me quite excited for the future, so I do like to remain optimistic about things. I hope that others can come to appreciate this kind of optimism too.
At least they're running it relatively frequently (every 8 mins) during peak times and the trains are twice as long as Portland's, but yeah still not the high capacity of metro running every 3-5mins with longer trains. Will be interesting to see how capacity issues are mitigated as the system grows (every 5-6 mins would be cool especially once the eastside line fully opens)
@@andrewswanson4819 Definitely! I really hope they increase the frequency, stuffs already bad during rush hour and will only get worse when the eastside link opens. Hopefully frequency increases are down the line. Would also love if it actually ran 24/7, but im doubtful of that changing tbh.
@ETJeanMachine yeah I ride it almost every day during the week for work and damn it's so packed going south through Seattle around 5pm, even finding standing room can be a challenge...getting off can be even harder. The current transit tunnel through downtown works great imo, once they open the full northern extension and Ballard/W. Seattle pieces then there'll be a second line on the north segment (2 line Lynnwood -> Redmond) which will eliminate the need for everyone southbound north of Seattle to take the same train. How they'll manage capacity given they aren't adding any additional tracks on that segment (as of now) will be interesting - passing lanes/tracks or something maybe?
A skytrain like Vancouver's would be perfect for both Seattle and Portland. I don't think either has the population density to support a regular heavy rail subway or el.
This is a verrrrry pointed response to a certain cyclist UA-camr and I’m here for it! Doomerism isn’t good for anyone, thanks for your amazing content Reese!
@@RMTransit wait really? That’s hilarious 😂 I can already see NJB blowing a gasket at this one, and to be honest, he needs to. His increasing negativity really turned me off his content and I’m more here for the good and the hope I see going forward. Thanks again, from a subscriber who remembers when you had
@@LondonTransport466he made a tweet saying pretty much the US is a lost cause and you should leave it. That's the screenshot causing the drama, but he also gave more context which is important. His channel is and always has been for people that are able to leave. He recognized not everyone can but that's not the reason he makes his videos. I think some of his videos, especially the strong towns series, brought a lot of people into his channel and people expected every video to be like that, while some of the newer ones are much more "America bad, Netherlands good"
Glad you have hope for the USA! As a native Dallas resident I have lots of faith in DART to improve. DART has been making some great moves with their train and bus networks as of recent. Sadly D2 has been pushed back (but not canceled) and DART has been reusing that money to purchase new trains (probably Siemens S700s) and upgrade track and junctions. They have plans for 15 minute service frequencies all day, and eventual plans for 10 minute frequencies! It may not sound like a lot but DART interlines for most of the system, so instead of getting 15 minute frequencies for most of the line you're looking at 7.5 minute frequencies on most of the system and 3.75 minute frequencies in Downtown. There's also going to be more bus network frequency increases and likely more routes added to better serve communities in the north suburbs. We're getting there!
I live in Irving, Tx and I am very exited for DART's future. Hidden Ridge Station is my home station plus I own a E Scooter. It is possible to live in the DFW without a car. As a native born DFW resident from Grand Prairie, I can't believe this is happening!
Hey fellow Dallasite. I’m optimistic too here. I bought a house near the new Silver Line specifically so I could go to DFW, even though I know the line is controversial. The push back of D2 now allows DART to really up bus frequency as well. 15-20 headways are planned for a few more routes, down from 30-40. Bus stops need a huge improvement as well. I’m also glad DART is trying to get some TOD around stations as well, although that should have happened years ago.
If you think about it, yes this is a setback, but if they can improve service (better trains, better tracks, better throughput) you can increase ridership and then that will increase demand to build out further.
Being able to pay with credit/debit is such a huge quality of life thing, especially if you’re visiting a city. One of the nicest things about London’s system.
I left LA a number of years ago when the public transit was almost literally non-existent. I went back a month ago and was incredibly surprised by how far it has developed in just a few years. Now it's very reasonable in parts of LA to never use a car - something I never thought would be possible.
Yeah sometimes the pace of change is frustrating, but I am starting to think LA has a path to weaning itself off car dependence especially in the most central areas (roughly stretching from Santa Monica to downtown). Finish up the purple line, more TOD, a northern extension of the Crenshaw line, tons of bus only lanes, more mixed use buildings. Piece by piece, brick by brick, LA can be better.
Indeed. The latest project that opened a little over a month ago, the Regional Connector, is a game changer. And last year the K line along Crenshaw opened which will connect to LAX next year. Very exciting stuff.
@@Cyrus992 At grade lines and even light rail in general are not the best option in ideal circumstances. The best option are subways but LA is very spread out so building subways only is not realistic. That is why LA has more light rail lines. And except for the first light rail built in 1990, all the other light rail lines are, at least partially grade separated. They either have aerial or underground stations and in some cases both. There is also one line that is fully grade separated and it runs in the middle of a freeway. Though LA is currently extending a subway line as well. Also, the grade separations usually are built to avoid the busiest of intersections or where there isn't enough room to run the line at grade. LA Metro has done a good job in designing their light rail lines with a few exceptions. Smartly building partially grade separated light rail lines is a necessary compromise in order to build more lines and have a comprehensive enough system to serve not only the city of LA but the county too. And, of course, that's directly related to the limited funds available over the next few decades.
After NJB comments about the US I appreciate this video. America might now be perfect but we've improved a lot in the last decade and made so monumental changes and have so much more to come.
With the way the birth rate is going in America right now, i think we should try kicking it into high gear so WE can experience that. A lot of people are not going to have grandkids or even kids lol
Not to mention all the great stuff happening in smaller cities. Like SLC planning more Frontrunner service, a new TRAX line (sort of), and streetcar expansion. Or Boise redesigning their bus network to increase service to an upzoned city. Or even Greensboro NC running their entire bus network at 30 minutes of better weekday frequencies with the goal of being a car-optional city by 2030. Even smaller towns like Logan, UT are planning a BRT and Asheboro NC is actually getting Transit service. There's a lot to be hopeful for!
I love taking the Trax to the airport in SLC! 5 bucks round trip beats paying for an Uber or parking anyday! Only downside is that o wish it ran later, but progress is progress! Now if only they’d implement more busses up the canyons instead of building a gondola
A Logan Utah mention! The thing that’s holding them back right now is they don’t have facilities to add more buses but they’re building a new one out by a certain roller coaster factory. I also think they need to start running on Sunday. There’s also some great density projects. New apartment in downtown, the owner of the small wants to replace it with apartments one large retail space (rumor is target) couple hundred apartments and like a 120room hotel with shops in it. The university also acquired new buses and UTA wants to study the possibility of a direct bus to Ogden. I also heard that the ski buses will return to operating normally.
Thanks for finally mentioning Minneapolis! We are also building a massive Public Transit expansion through BRT and LRT lines, with regional and intercity rail projects in the pipeline such as Northern Lights Express, to connect Duluth and Minneapolis with 90mph/145kmh trains!
I do wish we had been able to get the higher speed for the NLX train from the cities to Duluth. But it's still a win to get it and it taking the about the same amount of time to travel that distance via train v. personal vehicle. I didn't know about our BRT lines but am looking forward to the LRT lines when they are finally finished
@@m.r.6264 having friends who have taken buses or driven up to Duluth recently, as well as having done the trip myself, I seriously cannot wait for passenger rail. The trip will substantially compete with I-35 travel times since road traffic can make it easily take up to 3+hours, but NLX could do the trip in just 2.5 hours. The local transit situation across Minnesota is looking great, even Rochester MN is building a BRT network with dedicated lanes and 5-10 minute frequencies!
@@goldenstarmusic1689 agree. The NLX is looking great. I think the drive time, under ideal conditions, they are the same. But I-35 is always under construction when I’ve headed up to the north shore. That’s great about Rochester. I really glad we are making strides. I’m in the west metro and didn’t know about the BRT lines. I’m hoping those and the light rail continue their expansion out my way
RMTransit: computer scientist; UA-cam vlogger; transit journalist; transit blogger; now transit emotional support counselor! Thanks RMTransit as an Amtrak/LIRR/ MTA/SEPTA rider I need all the US mass transit positivity that I can get.
As a European, this doomerism from *certain* circles in North America is pretty cringe, looks like its desperation to justify life decisions, and the general "America bad" trope peddled everywhere. Advocating for change is the way forward. Despite the narrative, many European cities turned things around. The grass always looks greener on the other side, with many in Europe, outside the transit sphere viewing America in a similar way 💀
Agreed completely, and I think doomerism completely misses that many European cities used to be way more car-dependent. Even the american cities that have transit had to fight car lobbies and highway construction. Doomerism seems fueled by this baseless notion that nothing can be improved, ever, in spite of the many many things that have been improved over the course of history.
Love that you put out this video, particularly right after probably the biggest urban planning youtuber, NotJustBikes, went on a big social media (Bluesky) rant about how he believes that the US and Canada are permanently doomed, that he doesn't want people watching his channel who want to improve North America and instead he only wants people who are in a financially viable situation to move and who are considering moving to Europe watching, and how his entire goal with the channel is to try to convince people how hopeless America and Canada are and how the only solution is to give up and flee the country. Seeing one of the most prominent urban planning youtubers being actively hostile towards anyone who believes we should try to improve American and Canadian cities was honestly extremely depressing, and I'm glad you made this video that timing wise ended up being a counter to NotJustBikes' mindset.
Ever since I started following transit developments around the world, I thought all of the criticism for America was a bit overkill, in no small part because so many people in America seem to be talking about this stuff. I hope moving forward we see more videos like this in the urbanist sphere of youtube, examining what's good and could be better in the US instead of just repeating 'US transit sucks, cars suck, and everywhere else is better'. Great video like always, Reese!
@tortellinifettuccine I am lucky enough to have dual citizenship with the Czech Republic. As such, I’ve spent a great deal of time outside the US, something which I concede is not common for many Americans. In that time, I’ve had the joy of riding the Istanbul Metro, the London Underground, the Paris Metro, the Milan Metro, and the Vienna Metro. I’ve had the chance to take the TGV from Paris to Nice, Deutsche Bahn from Dresden to Berlin to Hamburg, and the Frecciarossa from Bari to Milan. Trust me, I am well aware of how great things could be and how bad they look by comparison. Nevertheless, when channels like NotJustBikes, CityNerd, or Alan Fischer cover the state of transit in this country, it is always presented with condescension and endless negativity. Car oriented cities like Houston, LA, and Phoenix serve as low hanging fruit to mock and ridicule (rightfully so), while our most transit-oriented cities like New York or my hometown of Chicago are praised only backhandedly. News of setbacks in transit development or budget cuts are met with snorts of ‘Ha! The rest of the world built transit just fine, and yet the richest country can’t!’. All this to say, yes American transit is subpar. Yes urban-sprawl and endless suburban development was a disastrous movement of urban planning. Yes we should do better since, as you point out, we are so wealthy and large. That’s why I see it is counterproductive, and frankly infuriating to sit around posting video after video on youtube titled something like ‘Why American Cities Suck’ or ‘American Cities are Broken’ or ‘Top 10 Most Sprawling Cities’. It doesn’t help anyone, and I guarantee you the ‘majority’ of Americans you point to as not caring about transit won’t take it as constructive criticism. They’ll take it as an insult, and roll up their eyes and car windows. That’s what I think is great about this video. It doesn’t pretend that America is doing just fine when it comes to sustainable development, but doesn’t waste time by snarkily admonishing the urban planners of the past. It points to avenues through which we can tangibly improve the situation through collective effort and advocacy, and presents a hopeful viewpoint that contrasts with the fashionable youtube argument of ‘haha america stupid, cars bad, europe great, japan heaven’. That's the only way we can make American transit not suck anymore: through the belief that we can.
@@tortellinifettuccinewhat major passenger rail service does Chile have after some quick research it looks like the national rail company doesn’t offer passenger rail service, many of the tracks are narrow gauge and the system doesn’t fully connect if I’m missing something could you direct me somewhere I can find this information
@@tortellinifettuccine I found some more information but I think it's a stretch to call the system better than the US passenger rail system. Most of the services could be compared to commuter rail as they appear to act in large part as a commuter rail with the fastest intercity route only being 160 kmh while a lot of Amtrak state-funded routes and bright line travel 200 kmh while in the NEC trains can go 240 kmh. America's passenger rail may be lacking but so is every country in the Americas.
You are right: no system is perfect. Any thing that would get me out of my car is a major goal. Especially one that would make it easier to take my bike with me. 😊
Although I'm not American, I'm happy to see a channel that's positive about transit in North America unlike a certain other youtuber that lives in the Netherlands...
I like to think of driving cars as a mean of going to somewhere for recreation rather than day to day basis for work or shop. Similar to eating birthday cakes for weddings or birthdays, I think that the experience of driving should be reserved too for when I finally get to do so
Many families in places like Japan and Western Europe have cars, but they are usually for non essential trips - which is certainly a good thing to aim for
It shouldn't be a either or. I seen some people quite literally don't want cars to exist which is going to alienate the majority of people and hurt the cause. Ofc the opposite is also true and some still think transit is for the poor. The goal is for a diversity of transportation methods so the most amount of people have the freedom to go wherever they want. Transit is ideal in urban settings while cars are better in rural farmlands or for work related reasons like construction and electrician. On the other transit should be priority because it serves the most people. Cars would still have a place as it is the only reasonable method of going to the wilderness for camping. By having multiple modes, those that are blind can still go to places without being driven. While someone who has difficulty walking can still drive point to point.
@@RMTransit YESS. exactly my pt. america (and canada) should be getting along w this. my home and class in vancouver is conveniently next to the canada line which im so lucky for. so i think i could get away in a car to a nature park or somewhere only a few people go to. (i was early af to this vid after completing my hw at 6am. and ty for replying)
Yep. I don't know why people leap to some insane CARS WILL BE BANNED panic. I have a car, and I like it (a fun little stick-shift hatchback), but crucially, I drive it when I want to, and basically no other time. If I drive twice in a week, that's a lot.
So much of the Urabnism/no cars/cycling/public transit/whatever else you can come up with community consists of 20-minute videos basically complaining with no real purpose. It's so refreshing to see someone talk about things that are actually happening right now. We need more content that's just "Hey, this city is proposing this, go support it!" or "Hey, this city passed this, yay!" Hadn't seen your channel until now, happily subscribing with the hope of more positive urbanism videos!
Thank you so much. Even though I'm 16, I've watched the CTA transform from an outdated tourist attraction to something that has the potential to be amazing. Yes, we do have our faults, such as old infrastructure and a lack of platform gates/screen doors, but there's hope. The CTA is making me proud to live in Chicago again.
Hey, kid! I went to university in Chicago a mere 50 years ago... and there were NO trains to EITHER airport! Looks to me like Chicago is well along the make-it-useful track!
Three years ago I moved from the UK to Frederick, MD. The UK is hardly a public transport paradise but moving to the US has been really eye opening. Downtown Frederick is exactly the sort of walkable urbanism that twitter urbanists love to post pictures of, but looks can be deceiving. The city is heavily car-dependent, the bus service is abysmal, hourly service if you're lucky, less than that on Saturday and zero service at all on Sunday. The buses don't serve surrounding towns and cities, so if you want to leave town you'll need a car. There's the Marc train, but that is a strictly commuter only service, 3 (slow) early morning trains to DC and 3 trains back in the evening, no weekend service of course. There are deprived towns in the north of England that have better public transport service than this booming small city on the edge of the DC metro. Frederick is growing rapidly but almost all the construction is on the edge of town or in-fill in already car-dependent suburbs, there is no expansion of transit or active travel infrastructure beyond a few mixed use paths that are primarily recreational. Every day there seems to be more drive-thrus opening and more massive trucks on the roads. I get that people want to be optimistic, but it can be difficult when faced with the reality of trying to survive without a car in much of the US. Feel free to cancel me :)
I think your frustration is very valid. Ultimately, it’s a personal decision whether someone decides to stay where they are and try to improve things or move to a place where they feel their quality of life would be better. The US has plenty of problems and there are many places that aren’t moving fast enough (or not moving at all) towards dense, transit-oriented walkable and cyclable urbanism. But quite a few cities in the US and in Canada are indeed dense and walkable and have transit systems that many people use. And many places are making some progress, even if it’s a not always a lot of progress, towards building the infrastructure to allow people to comfortably live car-free or car-lite. For many people living in car-oriented places in the US and Canada, there are often dense, walkable cities nearby where they can move to if they feel it will improve their quality of life. Living in a place that’s not perfect but is actively trying to improve its urbanism can also be very nice. And even if things aren’t improving as fast as you’d like in the city where you live, it can often be good for your mental health to think about all of the positive things about where you live and about how there are places that are even worse when it comes to urbanism.
i don’t think anyone is mad at justified frustration like yours. you’re absolutely right, and your observations all make sense. what people are upset about is simply saying that it will *never* get better and there’s no point in trying
@@ethandanielburg6356 " But quite a few cities in the US and in Canada are indeed dense and walkable and have transit systems that many people use." - And by "quite a few cities" you mean one or two small parts of the city with "walkable" and (crappy) "transit systems that many people use"
Of course you cant forget the Red/Purple Modernization in Chicago, which is coming along well! And the Forest Park branch work on the Blue line! And rumors of a new 9000-series are in the works too!
Ever since the start of TexRail in Fort Worth, TX, my hope for transit in America has grown. The train runs nearly 24 hours except for a few hours in the late night and early morning, and its frequency is at least every hour, at times more. Its connection to an urban center from a far away airport is perfect. Mixed with stops along the way that allow you to step right into smaller Main Street areas, how can one complain? It is just about the best one can get in the US as far as a good example goes!
Great video! I too have hope for North American transit after seeing more transit plans come to life and seeing automation and platform screen doors with HART and the REM. I’m a little surprised there was no mention of Chicago. While they might not be doing as much as some other cities, the CTA has been doing a lot of work modernizing infrastructure on the existing lines and there are plans for a red line extension to improve connectivity in the South Side.
@@RMTransit 100% agree. As a resident and frequent CTA user I think Chicago is still in a state where it has regressed (compared to its former capacity). I think the cta deserves more funding (and PRESSURE) to improve things at more than the snails pace it is currently running at... especially since like you said it has the benefit of preexisting decent ridership
Viewing from Europe, there is something, I think, potentially very positive about USA and Canadian cities. They have very wide roads with multiple lanes. Now, of course this is due to them having been built in the era of the automobile, however because of these wide roads it would be relatively easy to use them for bus routes. In four lane roads the two outside lanes can be used entirely for buses. A big problem in Europe with their narrow streets is that separating buses from main traffic is difficult and usually impossible. However US/Canadian cities could be converted from being primarily car cities to primarily bus cities very easily, no extra physical infrastructure required.
Except often when reserving the outside two lanes on a 4, 6 or 8 lane road the carbrained people come out to the public meetings in force and often compel a change to operating in mixed traffic.
For what it's worth, I've also noticed that since childhood, the messaging about bikes/cyclists on the road has become much more positive. I see so many more "BEGIN BIKE LANE", "SHARE THE ROAD", "WATCH FOR CYCLISTS" signs than I did even 4 years ago. And this is all across the US - the Midwest, Appalachia, and even the South from what I observed on a recent road trip. And then you've got the restoration of former intercity rail - like Metra re-opening the route from Chicago to Rockford!
This is why I like your channel, StrongTowns, and City Beautiful way more than NotJustBikes. NJB is clearly the most knowledgeable of all Urbanism channels, and I think he was among the first to really draw attention to the problem during COVID, and the footage he has of Dutch urbanism really gets me excited for what we _could_ have. But I can't stand his constant negativity, sarcasm, and snark whenever he talks about transit projects and densification efforts anywhere in North America. Even Alan Fisher at least ends his videos with a note of encouragement or optimism. Yeah, we all hate the giant pickup trucks and SUVs that I see everywhere and have only gotten more common over the last 15 years, but being a doomer about it is entirely unhelpful.
That is quite a tone of voice in which Reece said "Dallas" at 4:20. I lived in Dallas from 2019-2021. And was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the LRT system. It was high-end LRT operating on heavy rail lines, like GO trains. The LRT network is quite extensive and took me wherever I wanted to go. The biggest problem in Dallas was the poor quality of feeder routes supporting the LRT. I was fortunate in that there was an excellent bike path that took me to the local LRT station in only five minutes riding over two kilometres. And there were also good bike paths at my daily destinations that were only 5-10 minutes from the LRT station. Of course, this being Dallas, the overall bike network is terrible. I was fortunate that there happened to be good bike infrastructure to get to and from the LRT stations where I wanted to go. But Dallas has good potential to build upon its LRT system. All it needs is good transit feeder routes and good bicycle infrastructure to get people to and from the LRT stations.
In Portland that connection to Vancouver with our MAX trains will be coming in the next few years with the building of the new I5 bridge over the Columbia river. There will be light rail integrated into the bridge design and as of now it will just be a 2-3 stop extension of the yellow line from expo center to downtown Vancouver. It’s a good start but it would be interesting to see if TriMet works with c-Tran on expanding it further. It will connect to the BRT “Vine” line that c-Tran has across fourth plain Blvd so it should get decent ridership on those downtown stations. As for the downtown tunnel… we can only hope. That will be a very expensive project though and would require a load of local bonds and mainly federal money to get that done. I’d rather have the green line extension happen first.
I agree that a downtown tunnel would be wonderful (maybe stretching from the Convention Center or Moda Center all the way to Providence Park), giving Portland a real subway while significantly decreasing travel times on the red and blue lines from the west side (Goose Hollow, Beaverton, Hillsboro) to the east (to the Airport particularly, and to the east side and Gresham as well), but I doubt that downtown Portland really has the density or traffic needed for a subway. There wasn't exactly a bustling downtown office-type culture even before the pandemic, and now, well... But on the other hand, maybe a subway line would spur new development and make downtown a more bustling place? Extending Max to Vancouver seems a higher priority, but I doubt we'll even see that within a decade...
Really cool things in Boston are happening despite the problems. connecting Pittsfield, Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Manchester and Concord to Boston with frequent service and the success of the fare free bus routes pilot.
I think the system had to finally hit rock bottom for anyone to take its problems seriously. I really hope the new manager can fix the slow zones, as well as push forward the cross-state transit. That being said, don't hold out any hope for Manchester and Concord - New Hampshire's gonna New Hampshire.
And let’s also talk about progress in various smaller regions. Birmingham, Milwaukee, Spokane & St. Pete Beach among others unveiling their initial BRT lines Omaha getting ready to construct a streetcar through the densest region of their town, with neighboring KC constructing extensionS (plural) to their starter line, with Downtown Milwaukee likely to qualify for FEDERAL funding for at least one extension once the last piece of the Hop’s initial phase completes construction. And let’s not forget about BRT construction/plans in Madison WI, Indianapolis, Tulsa AND OKC, San Antonio, among other markets… I think even smaller markets like Waco TX were starting to seriously spitball such things. Be it basic/Lite or silver/gold standard, it’s better than what existed beforehand…
Here in Seattle our new and slowly expanding light rail has shown huge increases in ridership. It can often be very crowded. A huge improvement over a crowded bus pushing slowly through city traffic, or worse, driving through that traffic.
It feels like Ive been watching this channel for a couple of years now. Nice contrast to NJB but also fills its own niche (like the other urbanism UA-camrs do as well). I appreciate the hopium honestly, and I think we really do need it in North America. Its finally becoming more mainstream to be able to say "oh lets take the train so we dont have to deal with parking and can go out and drink instead of driving" to friends and family now without sounding weird.
I agree with you completely. Within the last ten years, I've seen the attitude of public transportation and densification change. More and more people are talking about it and want it, which is a far cry from the 80s and 90s. I think we are in that pained period where we are starting to build, but haven't felt the results just yet. As more of our public transportation plans go live, and people experience it, it will push new projects and just get better. Finally, a lot of our old systems have been getting updated with new trains (as you mentioned) or new rails. These projects aren't 'sexy' like a brand new route, but in many ways they are even more important. You can't expand if your current system is backlogged with needed projects. The biggest problem in the US is how expensive these projects are and how long they take. But as we build more, gain that experience and figure out what works best for us, I'm hoping those two issues will fix itself.
I went to Singapore their transit is perfection! You just tap your credit card and pay and you get on and go tap out to exit. Can't get easier than that. And it connects to their airport so we were able to get out into the city in less than 15 mins and vice versa back to airport to leave. My family was so impressed
there's a lot to look forward to! i'm personally really excited about hawaii's transit future. the government has demonstrated a strong commitment to transit development (and honestly many may argue too strong). the areas around existing future train stations for the new commuter line have been zoned as TOD districts, with some of these districts having been built basically from scratch within the last few years with TOD specifically in mind. these districts have parking and setback maximums instead of minimums, and parking space is required to be inside buildings and convertible to human-usable space as parking requirements diminish in the future. a lot of bike development has been happening as well. despite all the bumps, the future is bright!
Good job, as usual. Thanx for your positive views on transit development in the States. I just hope I get to live to see some of them. Like HSR in my home state of Calif.
I moved to Seattle in 2015 and since then two major Link expansions have happened that have had massive positive effects on my ability to live here without a car. I live nearish to one of the new stations and I can see three construction cranes from my apartment window. Not all transit or housing decisions here are optimal but it's hard not to be optimistic when change is so visibly happening around me.
I also have hope for transit in America, where live in St Paul, Minnesota, there are a lot of plans for new BRT lines for the Minneapolis St Paul area. next year there will be a new BRT line going from Selby avenue to Marshall avenue to lake street in Minneapolis for the A line and the E line in 2025 for southwest Minneapolis. The Gold line BRT for the East side of St. Paul and for other suburbs that are near the east side of St paul like Maplewood in 2025. The Purple Line BRT in 2026 which will serve more of the East side of St. Paul going north from downtown on Robert street to phalen boulevard and eventually going north on some street I’m not sure about and will serve suburbs like Maplewood and White Bear Lake. The green line extension LRT in 2027 which will serve suburbs like Edina and Eden Prairie and St Louis Park and South west minneapolis. The blue line extension in 2029 for light rail which will serve North Minneapolis and will serve suburbs near North Minneapolis like Robbinsdale and Golden Valley and will even go all the way out to Oak Grove and serve Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn center. We also got 3 new BRT lines in the past 5 years So I do think transit in the US has potential to improve
The DC Metro is fantasizing (and crunching numbers) on five different expansion plans, all of which would add more in-city stations. A few more decades of bickering, a few more tens of billions of dollars, and billions more in delays and cost overruns.... and we're there!
I appreciate your videos for being optimistic and positive. There are a few other urban planning/transit UA-camrs that desperately need to take a page out of your book.
The city I live in now, about 1hr 30 mins northwest from Chicago, is finally planning a transit system to connect to Chicago downtown and it's so exciting! Driving into Chicago is the worst. I've gotten into NYC quicker than getting into DT Chicago.
As someone who lived for years in the US without a car as an adult, you're my favorite channel on this kind of topic. Similar channels are often naive and/or has a snarky attitude to the point of being insufferable. I like your balanced, level-headed approach, along with your healthy dosage of optimism
I’m in the south bay & take CalTrain to BART to work in the city 2 days a week & it’s so cool to be able to just tap my phone on a till to buy a ticket on both lines. AND I can relax; I don’t have to drive or pay for car insurance, I can bust out my switch, read, look out the window, or get started on my work early. Autonomous car guys’ minds would be blown if they realized the experience they’re looking for already exists. And then my hometown San Diego has expanded its trolley making it way easier to get in & out of Downtown for Padres games & the like, & soon they’re expanding it to the airport so my mom doesn’t have to deal with the hectic lines waiting to pick people up!
This video came right on time (no pun intended lol). It’s so easy to look at what’s wrong with mass transit in America, while totally overlooking the good things that are happening and as your video pointed out, there’s a whole lot more good than bad that’s going on and we need to celebrate that. We don’t forget the flaws that need repairing, but how can you build on anything if you don’t look at the good that’s there so that you can make what already exist even better? The video reminded me to keep on being optimistic about mass transit because change is happening and it will continue to happen. I’m hopeful for the future.
Excellent video. It is important to counter the narrative about transit in the US with facts and this is an excellent example of that. I use the DC Metro and while not perfect, it is usually a pleasant experience and a great way to get from the suburbs to the city. I also use the Acela regularly between DC and NYC and it is mostly a very positive experience. I’m excited about the new train sets that are supposed to be launched this fall. Amtrak has done a number of track upgrades and thanks to the infrastructure bill, the new tunnels in Baltimore and NYC will go a long away. Thanks for sharing.
One thing that enjoy looking at is a document Denver’s RTD put together that listed every TOD building that was built along its rail network. Its a pretty long document.
If everything goes according to the plan, Dallas and Houston will be connected by high speed rail. Also, Dallas is constantly looking for better ways to improve its transit system
You and others have helped increase peoples awareness of public transit. I always took the bus as a kid to my late teens.. and relied on rail in New York, Seoul and Tokyo to get around. Its just way better than driving more often than not. So I definitely appreciate the information you provide... definitely learned some things myself. Keep up the good work.
Reece proving he is one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject. There's no way you could put together a script like this (in a reasonable amount of time) without already having a list both in your head and in your files.
Hello from Cincinnati, the place Mark Twain recommended for postponing the end of the world. We're digging out of a deep hole here, and as a retiree who doesn't need a downtown commute (so many fewer of those anyway), my first observation is the need for more frequent buses along existing routes. People need first to believe that not driving can be efficient for non-commute purposes. Once we get the mindset that we're letting the city do the driving, we'll be more willing to upgrade our vehicle types.
While I can't really speak on anything outside the New York City area personally (being a local from Long Island, so even more away from the rest of the country than most) I can say Subway and LIRR investment has been a massive push recently. New York City has vast improvements to the Subway and various Regional rail systems. The second avenue subway being the biggest thing, but new rolling stock, Penn station renovations, along with an expansion, East side access, all of that are big changes. The notion that the East river and Hudson river both will be getting new tunnels (started) in the near future was something you never would have heard even a few years ago. Meanwhile on Long Island the LIRR has been expanding its service with new stations built, expanding large portions of the mainline and improved electrification across its lines. Its not perfect, but even then its signs that spending on public transport is become much more popular. There's talk of both LIRR and Subway expansions to aid in public transport out here. With lines to La guardia airport, and lines running North-south on Long Island in addition to the long-standing East-west lines.
The House GOP has proposed cutting Amtrak's operating budget by 64%. Fortunately, I do not see this going anywhere in the Senate, but it still shows that a significant portion of the body politic opposes further investment in rail transit
@@tonywalters7298 Yes. Most Americans, even democrats who want to increase government spending, don't know the first thing about what good public transit looks like. Neither does the leadership.
@@JasmineTeaEnjoyer plenty of dems are car loving suburbanites too. Probably not helped by the fact that the big three car manufacturers are union employers and unions tend to align with the Democratic Party
This video was a great message full of optimism. I think it's important to show what's good even if lots of things still remain to do. Not showing that and only bashing what doesn't work is kind of admitting everything is lost. This video is going out exactly at the right time after the rather defeatist messages from NotJustBikes on Mastodon which I can understand but can't really agree with, even as a European.
I swear to god I'm gonna ride that first "questionably useful" California HSR section the year it opens. I will road trip from Utah to central valley California and back, to show support in riding a train back and forth... and go do other things while I'm out that way as well. This video did boost my spirits on state of US transit. Things are happening slowly, but they are happening. "Car brain" no longer has complete and total power here.
I’m currently on day 5/30 of using amtraks cross county trains and using intercity transportation (on one of seattles bus right now). I absolutely love watching all of you videos, and I just wanted to say thanks for what you do.
I love transit systems! And though I can understand the annoyance and inconvenience of scheduling and lack of connection that comes with actually needing to get somewhere, I continue to support my local transit in anyway I can. Recently I attended the inauguration of SMART Connect, a bus connection between the Sonoma County SMART train and the Sonoma County Airport. And now that there is discussion about a tunnel connecting SMART to BART, I can’t help but be excited for the future.
Dallas is making good progress with the Silver Line which should help improve East/West movement since many of the lines go North and South. Looking forward to it since it’s will be a viable option to get to DFW airport since the only way from the North part of the metroplex is to travel South and back North which adds a lot to the travel time. Unfortunately, not much is heard about the Texas Central Railway. I was looking forward to the Dallas to Houston high speed rail. Funding seems to be running low due to all the lawsuits they had to fight.
I heard the lawsuits consumed so much of their money that they had to abandon the project. Maybe that's why the state is building the main HSRy in California and Brightline stuck to existing railroad and highway rights of way in Florida and will also in California.
Totally with you on the Silver Line, I live nearby the construction in Addison and I'm very excited for it. Plus since you posted this, Amtrak announced it's partnering with Texas Central! I'm still skeptical that it'll get off the ground but it's still a great sign that it won't just be allowed to die.
Houston voters back in 2019 approved a transit measure to see major expansion of BRT and LRT. This is after having gotten rid of a congressman who stalled LRT expansion into the western half of Houston. The University Line BRT when built will be the longest BRT route in the country.
In an effort to stay positive, Green Line Extension and the MBTA Zoning Bill are also good things to happen in the Boston area recently. As well as a lot of long overdue routine maintenance that hopefully once complete drives more ridership to a currently crippled system.
I always love your videos, man. i live in dallas, and many transit UA-camrs are downright hostile to our, to put it lightly, inefficient lrt and i love people like you who arent hostile to cities who are trying and are constructive and kind. You really make me love trains. Thank you for being so cool
@crowmob-ii2ng I agree, but also I agree with him. The DFW is not on a course to be a transit contender in the US. Those of us in the know love it for what it is and appreciate that it tries at all
I understand that positivism (?) can make certain movements lose momentum, but I have seen in recent times that people REALLY bash any positive results from environmental law changes. Some even want any news about positive change to be censored, like how the prediction of temperature rise by 2100 went from 4C to 3C, because "we must not let people know we progressed". Complete doomerism can halt a movement just as much as positivism can, and it is enlightening to see change happen. Or rather, it is a bit depressing that some people actually instigate anxiety and depression into movements because "this is the only way to move forward".
Re: Netherlands (and implied OV-Chipkaart): And as of a few months ago, Dutch transit operators have started accepting contactless pay as an alternative. You'll still need an OV-Chipkaart if you want to use some special fares (think off-peak reduced fares, monthly or yearly passes, or student cards, who may use some transit services for free), intend to use other services from the transit services (NS' OV-Fiets comes to mind), or you plan to travel first class (limited to trains). But if you have nothing but still need to take a bus or train, just tap your contactless debit card or your Google or Apple Pay, and you're good.
Thanks, Reece! I’m glad that America deserves better public transportation and it’s clear that transit agencies are doing everything in their power to gain mobility for Americans.
The biggest thing for me is getting Byford on Amtrak. That international name on the most nationally visible passenger rail network is bound to mean good things for future funding. These new airo sets are gonna be the ticket to getting people excited about Amtrak and trains in general
Thank you for your informative and enthusiastic video. I couldn't agree more with you conclusions that a transformation is happening and for many it's completely under the radar. My only critique: How you could do an entire video on American Transit without even mentioning the city of Chicago. We have a fully built out, extensive train system that reaches almost everywhere in the city especially when coupled with a bus system that fills the gaps. Also most of the main Chicago suburbs are connected to the City via the Metra train system.
one thing I've loved seeing more and more in the US is a focus on ADA compliance and station rebuilds. Even here in Philly, SEPTA is rebuilding stations all over the system that haven't been refurbished in decades (sometimes 100 years or more...) and converting to level platforms. there are countries with much more modern systems that STILL don't have level boarding and it's awesome to see the pretty new stations we get here because of ADA (Paoli Station in PA is a wonderful example)
I'm pretty excited! my area is getting an updated line that was discontinued in 1986. It's using the existing 1880s building that was a museum and into a Class 6 (i know no HSR) line that terminates to Target Field in Minneapolis. That has a connection to both the Blue and Green lines that take you to the city or the MPLS International Airport. I think rolling stock will be Siemens Chargers which are diesel but have an add-on car for electrification if we can convince BNSF to do so. The line isn't perfect and funding was scaled back a bit with the last 70 miles not being dual track but we're getting it and the funds have been appropriated! This has been attempted over and over since 2003 and it's finally happening! It's a good time to be into transit oriented development.
With all that's been going on in transit/urbanism world, we needed this hopium!
The world is very changeable imo
Everything can be changed in a positive way, especially for transit/urbanism but ONLY if we have hope that things can change and get better. (which it definitely can!)
Hopium >>>> Doomium
Been high on hopium for the last year. I'm gonna fight for things getting done!
NotJustBikes tweeted that people should give up on North America and everyone got mad at him and are posting optimistic takes
@skysthelimitvideos well, what did he expect? And that's not getting into the inherent racism in his tweet - he must know that not everyone is a privileged white guy like him that can afford to move to another country.
One fascinating thing about the USA is how fast it can move mountains when it wants to. The country can go in one direction in a seemingly unalterable fashion. But when the country decides to pivot, it’s world-class at fast and total transformation. It’s not a country to write off in any way.
Exactly. It’s just we need the stars to align for it to happen. Once it FULLY happens, though, it won’t stop.
This is the most important thing about the US that people ignore
I think this is only in your mind, give me an example...
@@tianzhou1244 The second industrial revolution in the late 19th century that the us absolutely dominated, overnight we went from a country of farmers isolated from another to a country of rapidly growing urban cities populated from people around the world and connected to eachother with the greatest most extensive rail network in the world at that point
@@blushdog valid, but I'm referring to recent times, we have not been a force like that since late 19th century..
I agree with this fully. Pessimism gets us nowhere. I just wanna say that Dutch cities used to be really bad. Cars everywhere, pollution rampant.
People were furious and demanded change, protests everywhere (sometimes even resorting to violence) but as a result, Dutch cities are praised nowadays for their bike frendliness. Even then, public tansport needs improving. Every place can change, and every place has something to improve.
(A certain dude has somethings to learn from your optimism)
i agree with you but here in chicago i definitely feel like the number of people who are angry and demanding change is much smaller than the number of people who want to be be able to park their car anywhere :((
it seems likely that improvement is going to be lumpy across the country, moving faster in places like portland and seattle and requiring more of a fight in the midwest. still i think younger people are more conscious of the benefits of urbanism and the harms of car culture, and a better future awaits 💪
The bike dude? 😂
However tbh, Netherlands situation is very different, such as how Netherlands has always had narrow streets, and lack large parking lots thus the growth of car ownership post WW2 caused tremendous pressure on Dutch infrastructure with the narrow streets built before cars being constantly clogged and parking becoming an absolute nightmare, which definitely put pressure on politicians to come up with solutions to reduce car dependence. Furthermore, single family homes with large backyards were never the norm in the Netherlands, and they never had American style zoning which completely segregated residential and commercial, which makes transition to bike and public transit much easier due to closer distances and higher density already
Don't kid yourself, the Netherlands has never been remotely as bad as most US cities are today.
@@PhilHug1not just that
Reece, your balance between constructive criticism and positivity is the reason yours is the first and still only channel I support on Patreon. We need a good mix to improve transit in North America.
Thanks for your support and I absolutely agree, you need to mix both for effective progress
@@RMTransit Awesome channel! Can you do a video if there is anything new happening with the Richmond Hill subway expansion and also how all day 2 way services COULD be achieved on the Richmond Hill GO line if you were to design it?
It is the grand falsity of life that either A or B is universally better than the other. Every technology (yes even cars) have situations where they are the best solution, and what we should be arguing about is not whether A > B but when is the best time to use A and when is the best time to use B.
Looking FORWARD to all these progress in transit. How do we kludge our politicians to move on this and faster?
This is a dose of optimism that we all need as urbanists and transit enthusiasts. And it's true that we've made a lot of progress.
@@tortellinifettuccine progress is good. Parking lots can be developped, those same highways that destroyed cities are being taken down again, their space being used for community areas, parks and new development. Never give up, ever
@@tortellinifettuccine There are many places that are seeing the light, but there are also places like Texas, though Austin is working hard to upgrade its transit service. Houston has a rail line, but I would be surprised if anywhere near 10-20% of the population have ever used it. Same with Dallas's DART. The reality in many western and southern cities (SFO, Portland and Seattle being the obvious exceptions) is that they have low-density-sprawled so much that whatever rail or high-speed bus transit they have, will serve only a small group of residents. LA for example has more rail transit now than at any time since the heyday of the Pacific Electric, but their ridership is less than it was when it was mainly buses.
We will build an America for everyone
Washingtonian here! We are on a transit and bicycle RAMPAGE! So much good news lately out of DC, extending the NE corridor south, new bicycle lanes and bicycle parking, 7 new metro stations opened this year, reautomation, a soon to be completed purple line, BRT being designed, new metro lines in the plans… you’re right. We have so much to be optimistic about in America. I love living car free here!
Fellow Washingtonian here, I am surprised that WMATA is willing to go headlong into another ambitious project just after finishing the Silver Line expansion. I hope the new lines being discussed become a reality, that Blue loop line could be a great expansion to the Metro system
didn’t know people from D.C called themselves Washingtonians - a Washingtonian from Washington State
im a baltimorian, but i go to dc a lot with my dad. i really hope we can get what yall have down there up north
Something people forget is that everything that is built (or not built) is thanks to decisions. If you want change, contact your councillor/mayor/rep/etc.
Voice your support for mobility freedom. Don’t let it just be the people against who show up to city council meetings.
If you don’t have a seat at the table, make one for yourself.
Cities take a long time to build, get involved now.
And there’s joy in that involvement and steering of the ship!
exactly! Whenever people try to use the excuse of “well politicians don’t care” This is the kind of thing they need to realize!
100%!
People in Europe love to bash North America as if they're perfect while ignoring their own problems! While of course, North American transit systems are by no means perfect, they're still doing something and addressing the needs of its citizens and that's the point! East Side Access/Grand Central Madison in NYC for example, as long as it took and as overbudget as it was, the project helps so many people who live and work on the east side of Manhattan, and it's about time that this crucial connection exists. Things are getting better, and it's very obvious that there are many people focused on making NA's built environment get better too.
It's not happening overnight, we have to remember the classic phrase that Rome wasn't built in a day! But writing off people like doomers do ain't the way to inspire confidence in those actively doing a ton of work
Of course it will never match the public transportation in glorious North Korea
you just gave a perfect example of Not Just Bikes' videos 💀 literally his whole channel is just bashing about americans and how horrible the continent is. He thinks that because he lives in the netherlands then he is superior to americans lol
@@gzassets that is a trap that I feel a lot of "urbanists" on UA-cam fall into. That is why I like RMTransit and City Beautiful videos they generally avoid the blind hate.
@@gzassets I don’t get that at all from the channel. Everywhere has its pros and cons, it’s just that the USA is one big con 🤷🏽♀️
Living in the Northeast corridor, I have to say that by far the biggest transit impact I've seen to my life is GC Madison to be able to arrive in Grand Central and immediately transfer to Long Island is such a game changer.
It’s a game changer for my buddies who want to go from Long Island to Putnam county, and not have to deal with the stress of booking it through three transfers
It only took 113 years for it to happen. LIRR has been serving Penn station since 1910
I am from Mumbai, India the public transport system is going under a transformation. in 2021, we had 1 metro line and 4 commuter train lines (those extremely crowded ones that people are hanging on the doors) . we are about to replace those with Fully AC upgraded to the global standard commuter trains with faster speeds. we are also making 14 metro lines of which 2 got integrated in jan. 1 is built fully, undergoing trails and will open in 2024. 3 under construction are expected top open in 2025 along with extension of 2 new ones. we just got the similar to London style red double decker AC electric buses on road. you made a video on the indian metros back in 2022, after that a lot has changed in all the cities you covered. almost all have expanded their network. The national railways are now at 90% electrification along with 2 new electric double stack capable freight corridors. Both combined of 3000 kms. Mumbai is about to also get 1 new international airport soon in 2025, construction at very fast pace. the existing airport is overcrowded with no space to expand. this new one will be linked with old airport with metro and will also have its own airport metro to downtown. So, just like US, India and a lot of places in asia are going through a big change in the public transport infrastructure.
India is probably a good inspiration to look to. Looking at countries that already have established transit systems is hard to replicate due to a difficult transition. But seeing how India managed to push these projects through so quickly is something the US can learn from. Same with China, who also rapidly grew its network and modernized its city in general. All things to learn from instead of thinking we in the US is unique or does things better.
@@neurofiedyamato8763 to be fair the workforce is quiet cheap in India. And since too many people are using the transport (people hanging outside the doors) the people have no problem with the gov to invest heavily into this. Which both is not the case in the US. :/
I don't want to take away from the positivity of the video and all the small changes and improvements in the USA, but what India is doing is a much more dramatic change and it's a lot more impressive! India and China are in their own league right now, no other countries are developing so much transport infrastructure.
We've been hearing about India's rapid buildout of the metro lines in Mumbai, Delhi, and beyond and wish you the greatest success in your endeavors. Best regards, from the USA
@@neurofiedyamato8763 Problem of US is its extreme levels of NIMBY culture and a broken down jurisdiction of a metro area. In US, most of the cities are not 1 big city with under 1 city council or even 1 state. There are hundreds of small towns that are actually neighbourhoods, that you classify as "suburbs". All these towns have their different mayor, different jurisdiction, different way of managing their city. 95% of the management is similar, but there is lack of coordination among the entire metro area. What you actually need is a separate entity that is for the entire metro area. Eg :- Entire NYC area with suburbs of NJ, westchster, rockland county and the northern part, Connecticut' south west part and long island along with the NYC itself should have some city planning body that looks at the entire metro area as 1 place and designs the needs of metro area as 1 big city. India has that, each city has its own Regional development authority whose jobs is city planning, drafting up infrastructure projects from transit, water supply, electricity, etc (anything this needed to run the region). Mumbai has MMRDA which is Mumbai metropolitan region development authority, Which overseas 12 cities and towns that are in the metro area. They have a very long term plan for the city of 20 years down the line what will be needed. I think something like this is needed for the American cities. Also london has this thing of a greater London area where not just london but surrounding towns are also counted as a 1 big city.
Absolutely! I have as much hope for American transit as you do! More cities are realizing destroying their streetcar systems was bad, and that's a good thing! Those who say that the US is doomed ignores the progress many cities have made, and the fact the urbanist movement is thriving. Newark, Hoboken, and Jersey City are three examples in just NJ that have made great change to make people’s lives much better. If you compare pictures of when the HBLR first opened in Downtown JC to now, you'd see a lot of development has popped up because more and more people are interested in living next to the light rail! Newark's downtown has transformed since the 70s, with new housing, a sports arena, and performing arts center all steps away from Newark Penn. Not to mention the Newark Light Rail exists connecting northern Newark, Bloomfield, and Belleville as well as both Rutgers Newark and NJIT to Newark Penn!
Those who say we should just give up and move to Europe...do realize not everyone can afford to go to another continent, right? They know we still appreciate the US, right? Many of us are stuck here, and passionately want to make this country a better place for ALL. I love my country, I love its freedoms, but I acknowledge it’s not perfect and I want to make it the place it’s meant to be! Instead of dooming, the doomers should be motivating American urbanists to keep striving for change!
Jersey residents 100% need to advocate for the HBLR to actually go to Bergen County and for the Newark light rail to be extended to Elizabeth.
Thank you for bringing this up. Many urbanists like myself love this country, what it stands for, and it’s unique qualities that don’t exist anywhere else and we want to keep these qualities while also living car free, so it needs to be realized that we can have both and that more and more US cities can and are being transformed
I think they should demand grade separated extension of the NLR to Elizabeth. Of course it will be called the Elizabeth Line like the one in London.
As a Seattlite, for as much as I agree I wish Seattle was building out a true metro system instead of light rail; the reality still stands that it's been an incredible success so far. And I'm of the mind that even the wrong transit is still the transit, so it still trends in the right direction. So many projects across the country do get me quite excited for the future, so I do like to remain optimistic about things. I hope that others can come to appreciate this kind of optimism too.
At least they're running it relatively frequently (every 8 mins) during peak times and the trains are twice as long as Portland's, but yeah still not the high capacity of metro running every 3-5mins with longer trains. Will be interesting to see how capacity issues are mitigated as the system grows (every 5-6 mins would be cool especially once the eastside line fully opens)
@@andrewswanson4819 Definitely! I really hope they increase the frequency, stuffs already bad during rush hour and will only get worse when the eastside link opens. Hopefully frequency increases are down the line. Would also love if it actually ran 24/7, but im doubtful of that changing tbh.
@ETJeanMachine yeah I ride it almost every day during the week for work and damn it's so packed going south through Seattle around 5pm, even finding standing room can be a challenge...getting off can be even harder. The current transit tunnel through downtown works great imo, once they open the full northern extension and Ballard/W. Seattle pieces then there'll be a second line on the north segment (2 line Lynnwood -> Redmond) which will eliminate the need for everyone southbound north of Seattle to take the same train. How they'll manage capacity given they aren't adding any additional tracks on that segment (as of now) will be interesting - passing lanes/tracks or something maybe?
A skytrain like Vancouver's would be perfect for both Seattle and Portland. I don't think either has the population density to support a regular heavy rail subway or el.
@@edwardmiessner6502 What's the difference between Vancouvers sky train and Seattle's link rail? And what makes it better?
This is a verrrrry pointed response to a certain cyclist UA-camr and I’m here for it! Doomerism isn’t good for anyone, thanks for your amazing content Reese!
Written & recorded before all of this drama but optimism is always what I strive for!
@@RMTransit wait really? That’s hilarious 😂 I can already see NJB blowing a gasket at this one, and to be honest, he needs to. His increasing negativity really turned me off his content and I’m more here for the good and the hope I see going forward. Thanks again, from a subscriber who remembers when you had
I'm kinda confused, what drama has NJB gotten into?
@@LondonTransport466he made a tweet saying pretty much the US is a lost cause and you should leave it. That's the screenshot causing the drama, but he also gave more context which is important. His channel is and always has been for people that are able to leave. He recognized not everyone can but that's not the reason he makes his videos. I think some of his videos, especially the strong towns series, brought a lot of people into his channel and people expected every video to be like that, while some of the newer ones are much more "America bad, Netherlands good"
@@ryanbryla3087 I see, thanks for letting me know.
Glad you have hope for the USA! As a native Dallas resident I have lots of faith in DART to improve. DART has been making some great moves with their train and bus networks as of recent. Sadly D2 has been pushed back (but not canceled) and DART has been reusing that money to purchase new trains (probably Siemens S700s) and upgrade track and junctions. They have plans for 15 minute service frequencies all day, and eventual plans for 10 minute frequencies! It may not sound like a lot but DART interlines for most of the system, so instead of getting 15 minute frequencies for most of the line you're looking at 7.5 minute frequencies on most of the system and 3.75 minute frequencies in Downtown. There's also going to be more bus network frequency increases and likely more routes added to better serve communities in the north suburbs. We're getting there!
Would be impressive to see ~4 minute headways on the core of DART
I live in Irving, Tx and I am very exited for DART's future. Hidden Ridge Station is my home station plus I own a E Scooter. It is possible to live in the DFW without a car. As a native born DFW resident from Grand Prairie, I can't believe this is happening!
Hey fellow Dallasite. I’m optimistic too here. I bought a house near the new Silver Line specifically so I could go to DFW, even though I know the line is controversial. The push back of D2 now allows DART to really up bus frequency as well. 15-20 headways are planned for a few more routes, down from 30-40. Bus stops need a huge improvement as well. I’m also glad DART is trying to get some TOD around stations as well, although that should have happened years ago.
If you think about it, yes this is a setback, but if they can improve service (better trains, better tracks, better throughput) you can increase ridership and then that will increase demand to build out further.
Please!Please!Please!
Being able to pay with credit/debit is such a huge quality of life thing, especially if you’re visiting a city. One of the nicest things about London’s system.
I left LA a number of years ago when the public transit was almost literally non-existent. I went back a month ago and was incredibly surprised by how far it has developed in just a few years. Now it's very reasonable in parts of LA to never use a car - something I never thought would be possible.
Yeah sometimes the pace of change is frustrating, but I am starting to think LA has a path to weaning itself off car dependence especially in the most central areas (roughly stretching from Santa Monica to downtown).
Finish up the purple line, more TOD, a northern extension of the Crenshaw line, tons of bus only lanes, more mixed use buildings. Piece by piece, brick by brick, LA can be better.
Indeed. The latest project that opened a little over a month ago, the Regional Connector, is a game changer. And last year the K line along Crenshaw opened which will connect to LAX next year. Very exciting stuff.
@@Cyrus992 At grade lines and even light rail in general are not the best option in ideal circumstances. The best option are subways but LA is very spread out so building subways only is not realistic. That is why LA has more light rail lines. And except for the first light rail built in 1990, all the other light rail lines are, at least partially grade separated. They either have aerial or underground stations and in some cases both. There is also one line that is fully grade separated and it runs in the middle of a freeway. Though LA is currently extending a subway line as well.
Also, the grade separations usually are built to avoid the busiest of intersections or where there isn't enough room to run the line at grade.
LA Metro has done a good job in designing their light rail lines with a few exceptions. Smartly building partially grade separated light rail lines is a necessary compromise in order to build more lines and have a comprehensive enough system to serve not only the city of LA but the county too. And, of course, that's directly related to the limited funds available over the next few decades.
@@Cyrus992 Yeah but it's better than nothing
@@Cyrus992 I'm unsure what your point is here
After NJB comments about the US I appreciate this video. America might now be perfect but we've improved a lot in the last decade and made so monumental changes and have so much more to come.
Time for those of us unable to leave to prove that we can start the restoration process. With luck, our grandkids can finish what we started.
This is why I still try to use the busses in place that way my city would be more inclined to build more transit.
With the way the birth rate is going in America right now, i think we should try kicking it into high gear so WE can experience that. A lot of people are not going to have grandkids or even kids lol
Not to mention all the great stuff happening in smaller cities. Like SLC planning more Frontrunner service, a new TRAX line (sort of), and streetcar expansion. Or Boise redesigning their bus network to increase service to an upzoned city. Or even Greensboro NC running their entire bus network at 30 minutes of better weekday frequencies with the goal of being a car-optional city by 2030. Even smaller towns like Logan, UT are planning a BRT and Asheboro NC is actually getting Transit service. There's a lot to be hopeful for!
I love taking the Trax to the airport in SLC! 5 bucks round trip beats paying for an Uber or parking anyday! Only downside is that o wish it ran later, but progress is progress! Now if only they’d implement more busses up the canyons instead of building a gondola
A Logan Utah mention! The thing that’s holding them back right now is they don’t have facilities to add more buses but they’re building a new one out by a certain roller coaster factory. I also think they need to start running on Sunday. There’s also some great density projects. New apartment in downtown, the owner of the small wants to replace it with apartments one large retail space (rumor is target) couple hundred apartments and like a 120room hotel with shops in it. The university also acquired new buses and UTA wants to study the possibility of a direct bus to Ogden. I also heard that the ski buses will return to operating normally.
Thanks for finally mentioning Minneapolis! We are also building a massive Public Transit expansion through BRT and LRT lines, with regional and intercity rail projects in the pipeline such as Northern Lights Express, to connect Duluth and Minneapolis with 90mph/145kmh trains!
Yep, there’s a lot of positive stuff going on! And of course room to improve
I do wish we had been able to get the higher speed for the NLX train from the cities to Duluth. But it's still a win to get it and it taking the about the same amount of time to travel that distance via train v. personal vehicle. I didn't know about our BRT lines but am looking forward to the LRT lines when they are finally finished
@@m.r.6264 having friends who have taken buses or driven up to Duluth recently, as well as having done the trip myself, I seriously cannot wait for passenger rail. The trip will substantially compete with I-35 travel times since road traffic can make it easily take up to 3+hours, but NLX could do the trip in just 2.5 hours. The local transit situation across Minnesota is looking great, even Rochester MN is building a BRT network with dedicated lanes and 5-10 minute frequencies!
Minnesota is doing great things!
@@goldenstarmusic1689 agree. The NLX is looking great. I think the drive time, under ideal conditions, they are the same. But I-35 is always under construction when I’ve headed up to the north shore. That’s great about Rochester. I really glad we are making strides. I’m in the west metro and didn’t know about the BRT lines. I’m hoping those and the light rail continue their expansion out my way
RMTransit: computer scientist; UA-cam vlogger; transit journalist; transit blogger; now transit emotional support counselor! Thanks RMTransit as an Amtrak/LIRR/ MTA/SEPTA rider I need all the US mass transit positivity that I can get.
As a European, this doomerism from *certain* circles in North America is pretty cringe, looks like its desperation to justify life decisions, and the general "America bad" trope peddled everywhere. Advocating for change is the way forward. Despite the narrative, many European cities turned things around. The grass always looks greener on the other side, with many in Europe, outside the transit sphere viewing America in a similar way 💀
European cities are great, but they also aren’t perfect! There are certainly ways that North American cities are better!
@@RMTransitNow I‘m curious. Which ways are those?
Agreed completely, and I think doomerism completely misses that many European cities used to be way more car-dependent. Even the american cities that have transit had to fight car lobbies and highway construction. Doomerism seems fueled by this baseless notion that nothing can be improved, ever, in spite of the many many things that have been improved over the course of history.
and the european cities weren’t car dependent *that* long ago either, like 1-2 generations ago in some cases
@@bahnspotterEUI can walk into a store 1 block away from me and buy weed like a law abiding citizen.
Love that you put out this video, particularly right after probably the biggest urban planning youtuber, NotJustBikes, went on a big social media (Bluesky) rant about how he believes that the US and Canada are permanently doomed, that he doesn't want people watching his channel who want to improve North America and instead he only wants people who are in a financially viable situation to move and who are considering moving to Europe watching, and how his entire goal with the channel is to try to convince people how hopeless America and Canada are and how the only solution is to give up and flee the country. Seeing one of the most prominent urban planning youtubers being actively hostile towards anyone who believes we should try to improve American and Canadian cities was honestly extremely depressing, and I'm glad you made this video that timing wise ended up being a counter to NotJustBikes' mindset.
Ever since I started following transit developments around the world, I thought all of the criticism for America was a bit overkill, in no small part because so many people in America seem to be talking about this stuff. I hope moving forward we see more videos like this in the urbanist sphere of youtube, examining what's good and could be better in the US instead of just repeating 'US transit sucks, cars suck, and everywhere else is better'. Great video like always, Reese!
I feel like its more to sting the people into action if anything. Americans can't stand being worse than anyone else
@tortellinifettuccine I am lucky enough to have dual citizenship with the Czech Republic. As such, I’ve spent a great deal of time outside the US, something which I concede is not common for many Americans. In that time, I’ve had the joy of riding the Istanbul Metro, the London Underground, the Paris Metro, the Milan Metro, and the Vienna Metro. I’ve had the chance to take the TGV from Paris to Nice, Deutsche Bahn from Dresden to Berlin to Hamburg, and the Frecciarossa from Bari to Milan. Trust me, I am well aware of how great things could be and how bad they look by comparison.
Nevertheless, when channels like NotJustBikes, CityNerd, or Alan Fischer cover the state of transit in this country, it is always presented with condescension and endless negativity. Car oriented cities like Houston, LA, and Phoenix serve as low hanging fruit to mock and ridicule (rightfully so), while our most transit-oriented cities like New York or my hometown of Chicago are praised only backhandedly. News of setbacks in transit development or budget cuts are met with snorts of ‘Ha! The rest of the world built transit just fine, and yet the richest country can’t!’.
All this to say, yes American transit is subpar. Yes urban-sprawl and endless suburban development was a disastrous movement of urban planning. Yes we should do better since, as you point out, we are so wealthy and large. That’s why I see it is counterproductive, and frankly infuriating to sit around posting video after video on youtube titled something like ‘Why American Cities Suck’ or ‘American Cities are Broken’ or ‘Top 10 Most Sprawling Cities’. It doesn’t help anyone, and I guarantee you the ‘majority’ of Americans you point to as not caring about transit won’t take it as constructive criticism. They’ll take it as an insult, and roll up their eyes and car windows.
That’s what I think is great about this video. It doesn’t pretend that America is doing just fine when it comes to sustainable development, but doesn’t waste time by snarkily admonishing the urban planners of the past. It points to avenues through which we can tangibly improve the situation through collective effort and advocacy, and presents a hopeful viewpoint that contrasts with the fashionable youtube argument of ‘haha america stupid, cars bad, europe great, japan heaven’. That's the only way we can make American transit not suck anymore: through the belief that we can.
@@tortellinifettuccine
A lot of words to say essentialy nothing.
@@tortellinifettuccinewhat major passenger rail service does Chile have after some quick research it looks like the national rail company doesn’t offer passenger rail service, many of the tracks are narrow gauge and the system doesn’t fully connect if I’m missing something could you direct me somewhere I can find this information
@@tortellinifettuccine I found some more information but I think it's a stretch to call the system better than the US passenger rail system. Most of the services could be compared to commuter rail as they appear to act in large part as a commuter rail with the fastest intercity route only being 160 kmh while a lot of Amtrak state-funded routes and bright line travel 200 kmh while in the NEC trains can go 240 kmh. America's passenger rail may be lacking but so is every country in the Americas.
You are right: no system is perfect. Any thing that would get me out of my car is a major goal. Especially one that would make it easier to take my bike with me. 😊
Although I'm not American, I'm happy to see a channel that's positive about transit in North America unlike a certain other youtuber that lives in the Netherlands...
I for one can't wait for Caltrain's new electrified rail service starting in 2024. It means a lot faster travel between San Jose and San Francisco.
I like to think of driving cars as a mean of going to somewhere for recreation rather than day to day basis for work or shop. Similar to eating birthday cakes for weddings or birthdays, I think that the experience of driving should be reserved too for when I finally get to do so
Many families in places like Japan and Western Europe have cars, but they are usually for non essential trips - which is certainly a good thing to aim for
It shouldn't be a either or. I seen some people quite literally don't want cars to exist which is going to alienate the majority of people and hurt the cause. Ofc the opposite is also true and some still think transit is for the poor.
The goal is for a diversity of transportation methods so the most amount of people have the freedom to go wherever they want. Transit is ideal in urban settings while cars are better in rural farmlands or for work related reasons like construction and electrician. On the other transit should be priority because it serves the most people. Cars would still have a place as it is the only reasonable method of going to the wilderness for camping.
By having multiple modes, those that are blind can still go to places without being driven. While someone who has difficulty walking can still drive point to point.
@@RMTransit YESS. exactly my pt. america (and canada) should be getting along w this. my home and class in vancouver is conveniently next to the canada line which im so lucky for. so i think i could get away in a car to a nature park or somewhere only a few people go to. (i was early af to this vid after completing my hw at 6am. and ty for replying)
Yep. I don't know why people leap to some insane CARS WILL BE BANNED panic. I have a car, and I like it (a fun little stick-shift hatchback), but crucially, I drive it when I want to, and basically no other time. If I drive twice in a week, that's a lot.
So much of the Urabnism/no cars/cycling/public transit/whatever else you can come up with community consists of 20-minute videos basically complaining with no real purpose. It's so refreshing to see someone talk about things that are actually happening right now. We need more content that's just "Hey, this city is proposing this, go support it!" or "Hey, this city passed this, yay!"
Hadn't seen your channel until now, happily subscribing with the hope of more positive urbanism videos!
The timing is just gold with this one.
Not intentional 😅
Thank you so much. Even though I'm 16, I've watched the CTA transform from an outdated tourist attraction to something that has the potential to be amazing. Yes, we do have our faults, such as old infrastructure and a lack of platform gates/screen doors, but there's hope. The CTA is making me proud to live in Chicago again.
Chicago is a great city and it can and should have a great transit system
Hey, kid! I went to university in Chicago a mere 50 years ago... and there were NO trains to EITHER airport! Looks to me like Chicago is well along the make-it-useful track!
Chicago has every potential to have the best transit in the hemisphere. We just need the will. We should not be a car city.
Imagine Chicago's El running driverless and automatically like Vancouver's Skytrain. It can be done.
Thanks for the optimism, unlike some other "expat" UA-camrs with a large bankbook. I love your content boss.
Jeez put down your pitchforks guys
@@averagejoe6031 no mob justice here boss:) I'm voting with the subscribe button.
Three years ago I moved from the UK to Frederick, MD. The UK is hardly a public transport paradise but moving to the US has been really eye opening. Downtown Frederick is exactly the sort of walkable urbanism that twitter urbanists love to post pictures of, but looks can be deceiving. The city is heavily car-dependent, the bus service is abysmal, hourly service if you're lucky, less than that on Saturday and zero service at all on Sunday. The buses don't serve surrounding towns and cities, so if you want to leave town you'll need a car. There's the Marc train, but that is a strictly commuter only service, 3 (slow) early morning trains to DC and 3 trains back in the evening, no weekend service of course.
There are deprived towns in the north of England that have better public transport service than this booming small city on the edge of the DC metro.
Frederick is growing rapidly but almost all the construction is on the edge of town or in-fill in already car-dependent suburbs, there is no expansion of transit or active travel infrastructure beyond a few mixed use paths that are primarily recreational. Every day there seems to be more drive-thrus opening and more massive trucks on the roads.
I get that people want to be optimistic, but it can be difficult when faced with the reality of trying to survive without a car in much of the US. Feel free to cancel me :)
I think your frustration is very valid. Ultimately, it’s a personal decision whether someone decides to stay where they are and try to improve things or move to a place where they feel their quality of life would be better. The US has plenty of problems and there are many places that aren’t moving fast enough (or not moving at all) towards dense, transit-oriented walkable and cyclable urbanism. But quite a few cities in the US and in Canada are indeed dense and walkable and have transit systems that many people use. And many places are making some progress, even if it’s a not always a lot of progress, towards building the infrastructure to allow people to comfortably live car-free or car-lite.
For many people living in car-oriented places in the US and Canada, there are often dense, walkable cities nearby where they can move to if they feel it will improve their quality of life. Living in a place that’s not perfect but is actively trying to improve its urbanism can also be very nice. And even if things aren’t improving as fast as you’d like in the city where you live, it can often be good for your mental health to think about all of the positive things about where you live and about how there are places that are even worse when it comes to urbanism.
i don’t think anyone is mad at justified frustration like yours. you’re absolutely right, and your observations all make sense. what people are upset about is simply saying that it will *never* get better and there’s no point in trying
@@ethandanielburg6356 " But quite a few cities in the US and in Canada are indeed dense and walkable and have transit systems that many people use." - And by "quite a few cities" you mean one or two small parts of the city with "walkable" and (crappy) "transit systems that many people use"
Of course you cant forget the Red/Purple Modernization in Chicago, which is coming along well! And the Forest Park branch work on the Blue line! And rumors of a new 9000-series are in the works too!
Ever since the start of TexRail in Fort Worth, TX, my hope for transit in America has grown. The train runs nearly 24 hours except for a few hours in the late night and early morning, and its frequency is at least every hour, at times more. Its connection to an urban center from a far away airport is perfect. Mixed with stops along the way that allow you to step right into smaller Main Street areas, how can one complain? It is just about the best one can get in the US as far as a good example goes!
Great video! I too have hope for North American transit after seeing more transit plans come to life and seeing automation and platform screen doors with HART and the REM. I’m a little surprised there was no mention of Chicago. While they might not be doing as much as some other cities, the CTA has been doing a lot of work modernizing infrastructure on the existing lines and there are plans for a red line extension to improve connectivity in the South Side.
I think for me Chicago is an example of needing to be bolder because they truly are large and already fairly transit oriented
@@RMTransit 100% agree. As a resident and frequent CTA user I think Chicago is still in a state where it has regressed (compared to its former capacity). I think the cta deserves more funding (and PRESSURE) to improve things at more than the snails pace it is currently running at... especially since like you said it has the benefit of preexisting decent ridership
Viewing from Europe, there is something, I think, potentially very positive about USA and Canadian cities. They have very wide roads with multiple lanes. Now, of course this is due to them having been built in the era of the automobile, however because of these wide roads it would be relatively easy to use them for bus routes. In four lane roads the two outside lanes can be used entirely for buses.
A big problem in Europe with their narrow streets is that separating buses from main traffic is difficult and usually impossible. However US/Canadian cities could be converted from being primarily car cities to primarily bus cities very easily, no extra physical infrastructure required.
Except often when reserving the outside two lanes on a 4, 6 or 8 lane road the carbrained people come out to the public meetings in force and often compel a change to operating in mixed traffic.
After that not just bikes stuff this is nice to see. I believe he's smart enough to come to his senses
For what it's worth, I've also noticed that since childhood, the messaging about bikes/cyclists on the road has become much more positive. I see so many more "BEGIN BIKE LANE", "SHARE THE ROAD", "WATCH FOR CYCLISTS" signs than I did even 4 years ago. And this is all across the US - the Midwest, Appalachia, and even the South from what I observed on a recent road trip.
And then you've got the restoration of former intercity rail - like Metra re-opening the route from Chicago to Rockford!
This is why I like your channel, StrongTowns, and City Beautiful way more than NotJustBikes. NJB is clearly the most knowledgeable of all Urbanism channels, and I think he was among the first to really draw attention to the problem during COVID, and the footage he has of Dutch urbanism really gets me excited for what we _could_ have. But I can't stand his constant negativity, sarcasm, and snark whenever he talks about transit projects and densification efforts anywhere in North America. Even Alan Fisher at least ends his videos with a note of encouragement or optimism. Yeah, we all hate the giant pickup trucks and SUVs that I see everywhere and have only gotten more common over the last 15 years, but being a doomer about it is entirely unhelpful.
I bet this isn’t even a response to NJB, but urbanism/transit YT discourse is beautifully thoughtful.
The LA Union Station project is great. It’s called LinkUS!
That is quite a tone of voice in which Reece said "Dallas" at 4:20. I lived in Dallas from 2019-2021. And was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the LRT system. It was high-end LRT operating on heavy rail lines, like GO trains. The LRT network is quite extensive and took me wherever I wanted to go. The biggest problem in Dallas was the poor quality of feeder routes supporting the LRT. I was fortunate in that there was an excellent bike path that took me to the local LRT station in only five minutes riding over two kilometres. And there were also good bike paths at my daily destinations that were only 5-10 minutes from the LRT station.
Of course, this being Dallas, the overall bike network is terrible. I was fortunate that there happened to be good bike infrastructure to get to and from the LRT stations where I wanted to go. But Dallas has good potential to build upon its LRT system. All it needs is good transit feeder routes and good bicycle infrastructure to get people to and from the LRT stations.
In Portland that connection to Vancouver with our MAX trains will be coming in the next few years with the building of the new I5 bridge over the Columbia river. There will be light rail integrated into the bridge design and as of now it will just be a 2-3 stop extension of the yellow line from expo center to downtown Vancouver. It’s a good start but it would be interesting to see if TriMet works with c-Tran on expanding it further. It will connect to the BRT “Vine” line that c-Tran has across fourth plain Blvd so it should get decent ridership on those downtown stations.
As for the downtown tunnel… we can only hope. That will be a very expensive project though and would require a load of local bonds and mainly federal money to get that done. I’d rather have the green line extension happen first.
The downtown tunnel would be so dreamy 😍
I agree that a downtown tunnel would be wonderful (maybe stretching from the Convention Center or Moda Center all the way to Providence Park), giving Portland a real subway while significantly decreasing travel times on the red and blue lines from the west side (Goose Hollow, Beaverton, Hillsboro) to the east (to the Airport particularly, and to the east side and Gresham as well), but I doubt that downtown Portland really has the density or traffic needed for a subway. There wasn't exactly a bustling downtown office-type culture even before the pandemic, and now, well... But on the other hand, maybe a subway line would spur new development and make downtown a more bustling place?
Extending Max to Vancouver seems a higher priority, but I doubt we'll even see that within a decade...
Really cool things in Boston are happening despite the problems. connecting Pittsfield, Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Manchester and Concord to Boston with frequent service and the success of the fare free bus routes pilot.
New Bedford/Fall River seems like a great Idea. I can leave Bristol, R.I. to catch a train in Fall river.
Bostons future is bright!
I think the system had to finally hit rock bottom for anyone to take its problems seriously. I really hope the new manager can fix the slow zones, as well as push forward the cross-state transit.
That being said, don't hold out any hope for Manchester and Concord - New Hampshire's gonna New Hampshire.
And let’s also talk about progress in various smaller regions.
Birmingham, Milwaukee, Spokane & St. Pete Beach among others unveiling their initial BRT lines
Omaha getting ready to construct a streetcar through the densest region of their town, with neighboring KC constructing extensionS (plural) to their starter line, with Downtown Milwaukee likely to qualify for FEDERAL funding for at least one extension once the last piece of the Hop’s initial phase completes construction.
And let’s not forget about BRT construction/plans in Madison WI, Indianapolis, Tulsa AND OKC, San Antonio, among other markets… I think even smaller markets like Waco TX were starting to seriously spitball such things. Be it basic/Lite or silver/gold standard, it’s better than what existed beforehand…
Here in Seattle our new and slowly expanding light rail has shown huge increases in ridership. It can often be very crowded. A huge improvement over a crowded bus pushing slowly through city traffic, or worse, driving through that traffic.
I know that this was probably unintentional since I saw this video last night on nebula, but this is crazy timing
It feels like Ive been watching this channel for a couple of years now. Nice contrast to NJB but also fills its own niche (like the other urbanism UA-camrs do as well). I appreciate the hopium honestly, and I think we really do need it in North America. Its finally becoming more mainstream to be able to say "oh lets take the train so we dont have to deal with parking and can go out and drink instead of driving" to friends and family now without sounding weird.
I agree with you completely.
Within the last ten years, I've seen the attitude of public transportation and densification change. More and more people are talking about it and want it, which is a far cry from the 80s and 90s. I think we are in that pained period where we are starting to build, but haven't felt the results just yet. As more of our public transportation plans go live, and people experience it, it will push new projects and just get better.
Finally, a lot of our old systems have been getting updated with new trains (as you mentioned) or new rails. These projects aren't 'sexy' like a brand new route, but in many ways they are even more important. You can't expand if your current system is backlogged with needed projects.
The biggest problem in the US is how expensive these projects are and how long they take. But as we build more, gain that experience and figure out what works best for us, I'm hoping those two issues will fix itself.
I went to Singapore their transit is perfection! You just tap your credit card and pay and you get on and go tap out to exit. Can't get easier than that. And it connects to their airport so we were able to get out into the city in less than 15 mins and vice versa back to airport to leave. My family was so impressed
there's a lot to look forward to! i'm personally really excited about hawaii's transit future. the government has demonstrated a strong commitment to transit development (and honestly many may argue too strong). the areas around existing future train stations for the new commuter line have been zoned as TOD districts, with some of these districts having been built basically from scratch within the last few years with TOD specifically in mind. these districts have parking and setback maximums instead of minimums, and parking space is required to be inside buildings and convertible to human-usable space as parking requirements diminish in the future. a lot of bike development has been happening as well. despite all the bumps, the future is bright!
This positivity is great! Tired of seeing the sort of doomsday outlook on America filled with just complaining and complaining
Good job, as usual. Thanx for your positive views on transit development in the States. I just hope I get to live to see some of them. Like HSR in my home state of Calif.
I moved to Seattle in 2015 and since then two major Link expansions have happened that have had massive positive effects on my ability to live here without a car. I live nearish to one of the new stations and I can see three construction cranes from my apartment window. Not all transit or housing decisions here are optimal but it's hard not to be optimistic when change is so visibly happening around me.
I also have hope for transit in America, where live in St Paul, Minnesota, there are a lot of plans for new BRT lines for the Minneapolis St Paul area. next year there will be a new BRT line going from Selby avenue to Marshall avenue to lake street in Minneapolis for the A line and the E line in 2025 for southwest Minneapolis. The Gold line BRT for the East side of St. Paul and for other suburbs that are near the east side of St paul like Maplewood in 2025. The Purple Line BRT in 2026 which will serve more of the East side of St. Paul going north from downtown on Robert street to phalen boulevard and eventually going north on some street I’m not sure about and will serve suburbs like Maplewood and White Bear Lake. The green line extension LRT in 2027 which will serve suburbs like Edina and Eden Prairie and St Louis Park and South west minneapolis. The blue line extension in 2029 for light rail which will serve North Minneapolis and will serve suburbs near North Minneapolis like Robbinsdale and Golden Valley and will even go all the way out to Oak Grove and serve Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn center. We also got 3 new BRT lines in the past 5 years So I do think transit in the US has potential to improve
The DC Metro is fantasizing (and crunching numbers) on five different expansion plans, all of which would add more in-city stations. A few more decades of bickering, a few more tens of billions of dollars, and billions more in delays and cost overruns.... and we're there!
i feel like a route 29 line starting at white oak, going downtown and then to national harbor would yield a lot of riders
@@blushdog Mo Metro, mo betta. Especially more downtown DC stations. Our great-grandchildren will take the first train! ;-)
I appreciate your videos for being optimistic and positive. There are a few other urban planning/transit UA-camrs that desperately need to take a page out of your book.
The city I live in now, about 1hr 30 mins northwest from Chicago, is finally planning a transit system to connect to Chicago downtown and it's so exciting! Driving into Chicago is the worst. I've gotten into NYC quicker than getting into DT Chicago.
Terrific video. Philadelphia needs the love! Build the Roosevelt Blvd subway!
4:18 "and.. Dallas??!?!" Just about sums up DART
time traveler?
Indeed it does 😂
As someone who lived for years in the US without a car as an adult, you're my favorite channel on this kind of topic. Similar channels are often naive and/or has a snarky attitude to the point of being insufferable. I like your balanced, level-headed approach, along with your healthy dosage of optimism
I’m in the south bay & take CalTrain to BART to work in the city 2 days a week & it’s so cool to be able to just tap my phone on a till to buy a ticket on both lines. AND I can relax; I don’t have to drive or pay for car insurance, I can bust out my switch, read, look out the window, or get started on my work early. Autonomous car guys’ minds would be blown if they realized the experience they’re looking for already exists. And then my hometown San Diego has expanded its trolley making it way easier to get in & out of Downtown for Padres games & the like, & soon they’re expanding it to the airport so my mom doesn’t have to deal with the hectic lines waiting to pick people up!
Thanks for featuring my local transit on the thumbnail
This video came right on time (no pun intended lol). It’s so easy to look at what’s wrong with mass transit in America, while totally overlooking the good things that are happening and as your video pointed out, there’s a whole lot more good than bad that’s going on and we need to celebrate that. We don’t forget the flaws that need repairing, but how can you build on anything if you don’t look at the good that’s there so that you can make what already exist even better? The video reminded me to keep on being optimistic about mass transit because change is happening and it will continue to happen. I’m hopeful for the future.
Excellent video. It is important to counter the narrative about transit in the US with facts and this is an excellent example of that. I use the DC Metro and while not perfect, it is usually a pleasant experience and a great way to get from the suburbs to the city. I also use the Acela regularly between DC and NYC and it is mostly a very positive experience. I’m excited about the new train sets that are supposed to be launched this fall. Amtrak has done a number of track upgrades and thanks to the infrastructure bill, the new tunnels in Baltimore and NYC will go a long away. Thanks for sharing.
One thing that enjoy looking at is a document Denver’s RTD put together that listed every TOD building that was built along its rail network. Its a pretty long document.
Thanks, Reece! You have boosted my outlook on transit for the US.
If everything goes according to the plan, Dallas and Houston will be connected by high speed rail. Also, Dallas is constantly looking for better ways to improve its transit system
San Diego is embracing an APM connecting Downtown to the airport with 2 minute frequencies over an LRT branch with 15 min frequencies!
You and others have helped increase peoples awareness of public transit. I always took the bus as a kid to my late teens.. and relied on rail in New York, Seoul and Tokyo to get around. Its just way better than driving more often than not. So I definitely appreciate the information you provide... definitely learned some things myself. Keep up the good work.
Reece proving he is one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject. There's no way you could put together a script like this (in a reasonable amount of time) without already having a list both in your head and in your files.
I’m so excited about Philly’s trolley modernization project. Not only are they buying new trolleys but they’re expanding many of the routes
Hello from Cincinnati, the place Mark Twain recommended for postponing the end of the world. We're digging out of a deep hole here, and as a retiree who doesn't need a downtown commute (so many fewer of those anyway), my first observation is the need for more frequent buses along existing routes. People need first to believe that not driving can be efficient for non-commute purposes. Once we get the mindset that we're letting the city do the driving, we'll be more willing to upgrade our vehicle types.
This video actually made me unexplainably happy; its good to see that we're finally moving in the right direction
The first American transit video from you that makes me feel good rather than upset 😅 not your fault btw
Finally, a positive urbanism channel.
has anyone else been completely obsessed with following American public transportation projects and commentary recently, because I sure have 😂
Breath of fresh air
While I can't really speak on anything outside the New York City area personally (being a local from Long Island, so even more away from the rest of the country than most) I can say Subway and LIRR investment has been a massive push recently. New York City has vast improvements to the Subway and various Regional rail systems. The second avenue subway being the biggest thing, but new rolling stock, Penn station renovations, along with an expansion, East side access, all of that are big changes. The notion that the East river and Hudson river both will be getting new tunnels (started) in the near future was something you never would have heard even a few years ago.
Meanwhile on Long Island the LIRR has been expanding its service with new stations built, expanding large portions of the mainline and improved electrification across its lines. Its not perfect, but even then its signs that spending on public transport is become much more popular. There's talk of both LIRR and Subway expansions to aid in public transport out here. With lines to La guardia airport, and lines running North-south on Long Island in addition to the long-standing East-west lines.
The House GOP has proposed cutting Amtrak's operating budget by 64%. Fortunately, I do not see this going anywhere in the Senate, but it still shows that a significant portion of the body politic opposes further investment in rail transit
Exactly. There is no hope so long as the GOP exists.
@@JasmineTeaEnjoyer You also have to contend with a more universal belief that cars = freedom
@@tonywalters7298 Yes. Most Americans, even democrats who want to increase government spending, don't know the first thing about what good public transit looks like. Neither does the leadership.
@@JasmineTeaEnjoyer plenty of dems are car loving suburbanites too. Probably not helped by the fact that the big three car manufacturers are union employers and unions tend to align with the Democratic Party
Let's be clear, it's conservatives and Republicans who are the problem.
This video was a great message full of optimism.
I think it's important to show what's good even if lots of things still remain to do. Not showing that and only bashing what doesn't work is kind of admitting everything is lost.
This video is going out exactly at the right time after the rather defeatist messages from NotJustBikes on Mastodon which I can understand but can't really agree with, even as a European.
I think we need both realism about the serious problems we need to fix and optimism that they can be fixed!
@@RMTransit 100% true. We can still be critical but constructive. And showing the good aspects is just showing others that they can improve.
I swear to god I'm gonna ride that first "questionably useful" California HSR section the year it opens. I will road trip from Utah to central valley California and back, to show support in riding a train back and forth... and go do other things while I'm out that way as well.
This video did boost my spirits on state of US transit. Things are happening slowly, but they are happening. "Car brain" no longer has complete and total power here.
I’m currently on day 5/30 of using amtraks cross county trains and using intercity transportation (on one of seattles bus right now). I absolutely love watching all of you videos, and I just wanted to say thanks for what you do.
i really like how positive & good vibe you're when it comes to transit like in TTC in Toronto where i live or the MTA Subway :D
I love transit systems! And though I can understand the annoyance and inconvenience of scheduling and lack of connection that comes with actually needing to get somewhere, I continue to support my local transit in anyway I can. Recently I attended the inauguration of SMART Connect, a bus connection between the Sonoma County SMART train and the Sonoma County Airport. And now that there is discussion about a tunnel connecting SMART to BART, I can’t help but be excited for the future.
Dallas is making good progress with the Silver Line which should help improve East/West movement since many of the lines go North and South. Looking forward to it since it’s will be a viable option to get to DFW airport since the only way from the North part of the metroplex is to travel South and back North which adds a lot to the travel time. Unfortunately, not much is heard about the Texas Central Railway. I was looking forward to the Dallas to Houston high speed rail. Funding seems to be running low due to all the lawsuits they had to fight.
The CEO of Texas Central, who really masterminded the whole thing, also resigned unexpectedly. That derailed things too.
@@garybacon659 I see what you did there. 🙂
In all seriousness, yeah that was definitely a major factor in the project delays.
I heard the lawsuits consumed so much of their money that they had to abandon the project. Maybe that's why the state is building the main HSRy in California and Brightline stuck to existing railroad and highway rights of way in Florida and will also in California.
Totally with you on the Silver Line, I live nearby the construction in Addison and I'm very excited for it. Plus since you posted this, Amtrak announced it's partnering with Texas Central! I'm still skeptical that it'll get off the ground but it's still a great sign that it won't just be allowed to die.
Houston voters back in 2019 approved a transit measure to see major expansion of BRT and LRT. This is after having gotten rid of a congressman who stalled LRT expansion into the western half of Houston. The University Line BRT when built will be the longest BRT route in the country.
Been keeping an eye on Boston’s Mbta and their TOD developments.
Lots of progress happening in New England!
In an effort to stay positive, Green Line Extension and the MBTA Zoning Bill are also good things to happen in the Boston area recently. As well as a lot of long overdue routine maintenance that hopefully once complete drives more ridership to a currently crippled system.
I always love your videos, man. i live in dallas, and many transit UA-camrs are downright hostile to our, to put it lightly, inefficient lrt and i love people like you who arent hostile to cities who are trying and are constructive and kind. You really make me love trains. Thank you for being so cool
@crowmob-ii2ng I agree, but also I agree with him. The DFW is not on a course to be a transit contender in the US. Those of us in the know love it for what it is and appreciate that it tries at all
As an American who just visited Vancouver, rode the Skytrain and it was so cool.
I understand that positivism (?) can make certain movements lose momentum, but I have seen in recent times that people REALLY bash any positive results from environmental law changes. Some even want any news about positive change to be censored, like how the prediction of temperature rise by 2100 went from 4C to 3C, because "we must not let people know we progressed".
Complete doomerism can halt a movement just as much as positivism can, and it is enlightening to see change happen. Or rather, it is a bit depressing that some people actually instigate anxiety and depression into movements because "this is the only way to move forward".
Re: Netherlands (and implied OV-Chipkaart):
And as of a few months ago, Dutch transit operators have started accepting contactless pay as an alternative. You'll still need an OV-Chipkaart if you want to use some special fares (think off-peak reduced fares, monthly or yearly passes, or student cards, who may use some transit services for free), intend to use other services from the transit services (NS' OV-Fiets comes to mind), or you plan to travel first class (limited to trains). But if you have nothing but still need to take a bus or train, just tap your contactless debit card or your Google or Apple Pay, and you're good.
Thanks, Reece! I’m glad that America deserves better public transportation and it’s clear that transit agencies are doing everything in their power to gain mobility for Americans.
The biggest thing for me is getting Byford on Amtrak. That international name on the most nationally visible passenger rail network is bound to mean good things for future funding. These new airo sets are gonna be the ticket to getting people excited about Amtrak and trains in general
Thank you for your informative and enthusiastic video. I couldn't agree more with you conclusions that a transformation is happening and for many it's completely under the radar. My only critique: How you could do an entire video on American Transit without even mentioning the city of Chicago. We have a fully built out, extensive train system that reaches almost everywhere in the city especially when coupled with a bus system that fills the gaps. Also most of the main Chicago suburbs are connected to the City via the Metra train system.
one thing I've loved seeing more and more in the US is a focus on ADA compliance and station rebuilds. Even here in Philly, SEPTA is rebuilding stations all over the system that haven't been refurbished in decades (sometimes 100 years or more...) and converting to level platforms. there are countries with much more modern systems that STILL don't have level boarding and it's awesome to see the pretty new stations we get here because of ADA (Paoli Station in PA is a wonderful example)
I'm pretty excited! my area is getting an updated line that was discontinued in 1986. It's using the existing 1880s building that was a museum and into a Class 6 (i know no HSR) line that terminates to Target Field in Minneapolis. That has a connection to both the Blue and Green lines that take you to the city or the MPLS International Airport. I think rolling stock will be Siemens Chargers which are diesel but have an add-on car for electrification if we can convince BNSF to do so.
The line isn't perfect and funding was scaled back a bit with the last 70 miles not being dual track but we're getting it and the funds have been appropriated!
This has been attempted over and over since 2003 and it's finally happening! It's a good time to be into transit oriented development.
Bro finally says something positive about CA High-Speed Rail ;)
1:09 superb display of dominance
I always love it when I see a brand new BART railcar headed west on I-80 loaded on the back of an oversize semi