Mike Buda

Transit agencies do this a lot and the responses are pretty clear: a free bus that doesn't show up isn't useful. Of course, a fast, frequent, reliable AND free bus is better than one that isn't free, but lower income transit users mostly say that good bus service needs to come first.

What transit experts generally tell you is: the highest use of scarce resources is making transit service more *frequent & reliable*. That's what actually boosts ridership.

Everything else -- free point-of-use fare, electric buses, fancy new trolleys, architecturally fancy stations -- matters less.

very clear explanation from @davidzipper.bsky.social about why fast buses are better than free buses slate.com/business/202...

Since we are discussing free transit again, let me tell you why I'm sympathetic in theory but skeptical in practice.

It's not only about the trade-offs between service increase and fare money or the questionable decision of targeting only buses.

It's more broadly about redistributive policies.

To conclude, the reason I'm not a supporter of generalized free transit is because I think that other redistributive policies on housing and education are more important.

Especially in a country like the US, with no universal healthcare and a ludicrously expensive higher education system.

Congratulations to the Capital Regional District Board for creating a regional transportation agency for Greater Victoria. Welcome to the club! www.crd.ca/news/regiona...

As you know, elevated metros aren't a huge issue in most of Metro Vancouver: it is the default (thank god). But there are still critics, so new defenses are always needed. Your point #2 is not one I have seen used here, and it is brilliant! (and similar to the rationale for bus lanes)

Failed B.C.-Alberta transmission line holds lessons for a national grid The cross-border intertie has never met capacity, offering lessons on what stands in the way of the Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan for an east-to-west grid

Failed B.C.-Alberta transmission line holds lessons for a national grid

Mayors’ Council Chair Brad West & @metrovancouverorg.bsky.social Chair Mike Hurley were in Ottawa talking to new Housing and Infrastructure Minister @gregorrobertson.bsky.social (a former MC Chair!) about the importance of local housing-supportive infrastructure like transit, water and waste water.

Transit advocates need to grow our power to the point where we can create big problems for elected officials if they *don’t* save transit.

Lessons from the 2024 Transit Service Performance Review | Movement TransLink’s 2024 stats show huge growth where service is increased and huge declines where service is cut If true, this means transit investments can reduce congestion and boost affordability almost i...

A summary of our thoughts on the 2024 Transit Service Performance Review. More to come! movementyvr.ca/lessons-from...

Globe editorial: How to end the free ride of street parkers Car owners should pay full freight for their use of city streets, or cede the space to public transit

"Some residents are pushing back on a plan to create transit priority lanes on a few of the city’s busiest surface routes ... a version of NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) that might be dubbed NIMPS: not in my parking spot."
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...

Speaking just to the comments on "why not amalgamate?!" I would suggest perusing the extensive academic research on this subject - led by UVic's Bob Bish (i.e. "Local Government Amalgamations: Discredited Nineteenth-century Ideals Alive in the Twenty-first"). No need to reinvent the wheel.

Trump Sued for Holding States’ Disaster Relief Hostage Donald Trump is increasing pressure on states that refuse to join his war on immigration.

Trump is holding hostage the emergency disaster relief and transit funding of states that don’t agree with his immigration demands, according to two lawsuits filed by several states this week.

Great thread. So many gotchas out there right, but housing policy is complex and ever changing which you underline well here.

As we're finally witnessing in 2025, regional governments at the state level in the US or the Provincial level in Canada are taking region-wide action on housing supply because micro-regional changes do not significantly impact housing markets.

Who was most responsible for Vancouver's housing rents + prices by 2018?

(a) Fed Minister Diane Finley
(b) Fed Minister Jason Kenney
(c) Prov Minister Rich Coleman
(d) Mayor Gregor Robertson

(Reminder: Vancouver represented only 25% of the population of the Metro Vancouver region in 2018.)

Congratulations to former Mayors’ Council Chair,
Gregor Robertson, on your appointment as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada. A huge accomplishment.

As you can imagine, we have some ideas for your new gig!

Congestion pricing has improved life in New York City by: reducing cars on the street, speeding traffic (especially at peak hours), speeding buses and making them more reliable, expanding transit ridership, reducing car crashes, reducing noise complaints, and increasing the number of visitors.

Fire response times fell in the NYC congestion zone, even as they increased in the rest of the city.

Car crashes with injuries fell citywide, but they fell especially dramatically in the congestion pricing zone from 2024 to 2025

Local buses have sped up dramatically in the congestion pricing zone.

NYC’s congestion pricing is a policy miracle: Less traffic, less noise, faster transit, more business sales, more transit revenue. And it hasn’t produced the negative effects outside the cordon zone we were afraid of.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Great listen!

More frequent buses means more ridership.

"there is no such thing as tailoring service to demand — demand is not fixed. The phenomenon of induced demand is as real for transit as it is for highways: If you provide a more attractive service, more people will use it.
#transit #urbanism

Access for Everyone The new plan for expanding public transit across B.C.'s Lower Mainland and improving infrastructure for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

*We still have work to do*. The Access for Everyone Plan is NOT fully funded & this IP only puts off our structural deficit for 2 more years. We need a new funding model, and a new funding tool, & that will be the centre of the work of the Mayors Council in the year ahead. 4/4 accessforeveryone.ca

I am excited that the @translink.ca Board and @mayorscouncil.bsky.social both unanimously ratified a new Investment plan today. It's not the perfect plan, and every compromise in it reflects the challenges of the negotiations that occurred between the Mayors & the Provincial Government... 1/n

Mayors’ Council chair Brad West says that “noted left-wing premier Doug Ford” funds infrastructure for Toronto transit at twice the per capita rate as the B.C. government does for TransLink.

the line gets laughs but the canada proud comment section might agree

wow so when i show pictures travelling the world or give information on who will rule canada people are interested but when i’m like “here’s an empty room where regional politicians will confirm their commitment to moderate transit increases through marginal increases in taxes” it’s the BIG SNOOZE

How Did This Suburb Figure Out Mass Transit? Transit ridership is off the charts in Brampton, Ontario, despite its typical low-density suburban layout. Here’s how the city got residents to get on the bus.

This is the most exciting story in North American public transit right now because it is so simple, and so affirming

make transit good -> people ride transit

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Thank you @jonathanenglish.bsky.social

Correct. It is a 0.5% increase on the total median tax bill, which is about $20. But, as a % of the TL property tax, this is a 20% increase. On top of a 26% increase last year. The beginnings of a new funding model (on the prop tax side, anyway; other sources still to be sorted).

ANALYSIS | TransLink's 3-year funding agreement reflects political compromise more than a new era for transit | CBC News The tentative agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the Mayors' Council and TransLink board at the end of the month, is based on modest increases in transit fares and property taxes, in excha...

No new funding model, or more money for megaprojects, or more transit oversight or accountability.

Nobody really got exactly what they wanted out of yesterday’s TransLink announcement.

But for the next three years, they got what they needed.

www.cbc.ca/news/

What does "insurance" against Trumpism look like for Canada? In my most recent post, I suggested that Canada's best plan for the foreseeable future is a policy that leans into "insurance" in our…

I wrote a two-part thing to make sense of everything I've been reading about how Canada can generate insurance for itself against Trumpism in the next phases. And I offer 3 reasons for retaliatory tariffs that aren't about emotional reactions, but strategy.
medium.com/@jennifer.ro...
#cdnpoli

Armine Yalnizyan: ‘Victory bonds’ were vital to funding the First and Second World wars. Let’s not wait for the storm to hit before bringing them back It’s time to shift gears from “Buy Canadian” to “Save Canada.” Victory bonds are a citizen-driven wartime funding effort that worked before, and it can work again.

Heading into this election: we know we have to spend more but nobody wants to raise taxes.
Because you asked, I wrote a column on how we faced that moment before in Canada and how we could do it again.
www.thestar.com/business/vic...
#cdnecon