Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

Tell us about it – submit a proposal by Feb 20 to be a speaker at Mpact Transit + Community 2026 in Toronto! mpactmobility.org/speakers

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#MpactTO26

How is AI showing up in more specific, context-driven ways? Are there community-first uses of AI in transportation, especially transit and multimodal? (2/)

Just like transportation includes many modes, with different costs and benefits, AI is various, says journalist Karen Hao, speaking at Hay Festival in Cartagena.

Are we focusing too much on the equivalent of the rocket and not the bicycle ... or the bus? (1/)

www.instagram.com/reel/DUK8ogM...

Be part of the conversation at the 2026 Mpact Transit + Community conference in Toronto! The deadline is coming up: Friday, February 20. Submit today: mpactmobility.org/speakers.

#MpactTO26

Thank you for getting the word out!

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

If you're into in these kinds of discussions, they happen at our conference too! The Call for Speakers for Mpact Transit + Community is open til Feb 20. We're looking for proposals about great work advancing transit, multimodal options, supportive land use + development: mpactmobility.org/speakers

Thanks for the shoutout!

BART ridership sees steady growth—in December it was up 13.5% over previous year, “capping a year of steady growth.” Follow the link for details and efforts toward a better rider experience.

www.bart.gov/news/article...

We're learning more about TTC as part of getting ready for the 2026 Mpact Transit + Community conference, coming to Toronto in September. The Call for Speakers is open from now til February 20. Start gathering your thoughts to be a speaker in Toronto! All the deets at mpactmobility.org/speakers

TTC Board approves 2026 operating and capital budgets with no fare increase The budgets also make way for fare capping and capital improvement projects.

The Toronto Transit Commission approved their 2026 budget, which now goes into the full City of Toronto budget.

It "includes a third consecutive fare freeze, introduces fare capping, adds nearly 200,000 hours of service and invests $16.7 billion in long-term capital projects."

tinyurl.com/3255k87d

Have you seen this in other North American cities? Should it be? Pros/cons?

How Toronto's planning history is influencing its walkable future | CBC News Tucked inside Toronto’s leafy, quiet and private residential neighbourhoods are facades that tell the story of another time in the city’s urban planning history.

"Shops and other businesses in neighbourhoods were an important part of [Toronto's] early history, [...] but mid-20th century policies stopped new ones from opening." Now, that's changing with some detached properties allowed to become a retail store in certain wards.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

If you’re involved in projects like this, especially with connections to transit, tell us about it. The Call for Speakers for Mpact Transit + Community 2026 in Toronto is open until Feb 20. mpactmobility.org/speakers

“These new bike lanes combine physical separation with placemaking, integrating features like public art, landscaping, and transit connections to create vibrant community spaces that benefit everyone, not just those who ride.”

The Best New U.S. Bike Lanes of 2025 | PeopleForBikes Ferst Drive in Atlanta. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Institute of Technology

The round up of best new bike lanes from People for Bikes. A variety of designs in different settings. www.peopleforbikes.org/news/best-ne...

#MpactTO26 Call for Speakers Webinar

The Mpact Transit + Community conference Call for Speakers is open! Looking for tips on crafting the best proposal? Join the Call for Speakers webinar next week on January 29 from 1:00-1:30 pm Central. Register at bit.ly/CFSWebinarMp.... Bring your questions!

The Mpact Transit + Community conference is headed to Toronto, ON, September 14-17. Stay up to date on all things conference at mpactmobility.org/conference. #MpactTO26

#MpactTO26 Call for Speakers Webinar

Looking to get tips on crafting the best proposal? Mark your calendars for the Call for Speakers webinar on January 29 from 1:00-1:30 pm Central. Register at bit.ly/CFSWebinarMp....

Tell us how you are working to invest in stronger communities via transit, connected mobility options, supportive land use policy or development, including housing and economic development.

The Call for Speakers is NOW OPEN for the 2026 Mpact Transit + Community conference in Toronto! We want to hear from you! Submit a proposal by February 20. Get the Call for Speakers information packet, submission timeline, and link to apply at mpactmobility.org/speakers.

From the article:

“[W]hat should the economy be? Where should the housing be? Where are trips going to start and end, and what is the best way to encourage as many of those trips that start and end?”

Leaders in Massachusetts are talking about what transit should look like, as well as funding and road safety.

How is this discussion shaping up where you are? It it a discussion at all?

www.wwlp.com/news/massach...

Mpact Innovators - Mpact Get Involved The Mpact Innovators meet virtually the third Friday of every month.  Interested in joining them and planning activities for the annual Mpact Transit + Community conference and beyond? […...

Want to help plan events like the Poster Session? Join the Mpact Innovators! Learn more and fill out the interest form at the bottom of this page:  www.mpactmobility.org/about/mpact-....

Speakers - Mpact Transit + Community Conference Speakers for the Mpact Transit + Community (formerly Rail~Volution), a conference focused on leveraging mobility and development investments to build great places to live for everyone. Conference spea...

Stay tuned for more on the 2026 Poster Session at Mpact Transit + Community headed to Toronto. We'll be putting out a Call for Posters later this year. (Note: This is different from the Call for Speakers, which opens this week and you can learn more about it at mpactmobility.org/speakers).

Hear from these presenters about their posters:
- Cameron Thompson
- Veronica Mandasari
- Emily D'Antonio
- Eric Gasper
- Daniel Lambert
- Ryan Martyn
- Jules Plotts
- Madelyn Belden

Tune into this #TalkingHeadways podcast episode for a throwback to the 2025 Mpact Innovators Poster Session! Huge thanks to Jeff Wood for featuring this #MpactPDX highlight on the pod.

Project categories for each of the 3 grants include great opportunities for transportation, walkability, bikeability, and housing 🚏🚶‍♀️🚴‍♂️🏘️ AARP.org/CommunityChallenge

Our friends at AARP Livable are accepting applications for their 2026 #AARPCommunityChallenge grant program through March 4. The program aims to spark change & improve quality of life for all with quick-action projects. Learn more and apply: AARP.org/CommunityChallenge!

This new development shows that Toronto can actually build affordable housing — and fast Why a speedily-approved development in Scarborough is reason for hope.

Toronto is making building housing easier. An affordable housing dev shares about:
- Speeding up zoning approvals
- Land from CreateTO, the city’s dev arm
- City council approving a loan program for nonprofits to borrow funds needed to get projects started
& more

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

And, thank you to Kelly Betteridge, Investment Areas Manager at Oregon Metro, for serving as the Board-NSC liaison over the last two years!