Boris Lipkin

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Today the Mineta Trabsportation Institute published a special feature that I wrote describing the key lessons I took away from my time working on California’s high-speed rail project.

transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/defaul...

This is a common challenge for megaprojects in today’s political environment. Almost by definition they take longer than single political terms but ongoing support is uncertain at best leading to much more complex decisions on how and what to advance.

Trolleybuses have to be the most underrated vehicle types. They’re the best and for places that kept the wires up for them, massively invaluable.

This is mostly not a sports account but how did the 0-4 UCLA football team just beat the #7 Penn State??

In Europe, yes. But in North America…

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.” -Gustavo Petro (as mayor of Bogota)

This is my two worlds colliding. Drastic cuts in transit mean more kids missing/late to school. Attendance is hugely important for learning and kids who miss school fall further and further behind as time goes on. Very sad to see on all sides - fund transit, help kids learn! 🚍🚎🚇🎓🏫🧑🏼‍🏫

I guess it wasn’t a ham sandwich (maybe turkey?) since the grand jury failed to indict it.

Hmmm… what happened last year to give Caltrain such a huge jump? Oh yeah, electrified service started on new trains! 🚊

Metrolink’s capital program and operating agreements are largely driven by the counties. Start there.

It’s all about leverage in negotiation and who has it and it’s not the transit operators running on freight lines.

It’s not about whether it’s technically feasible. It’s that the freights get to say no. So until you get them to change their tune that’s why it won’t happen unless the corridor is publicly owned.

Take turns finding each letter from A to Z on signs outside the train. Usually lasts at least 20/30 minutes and keeps them actively engaged. Q is hard.

I’m in Richmond, VA today and this is definitely something you don’t see in California. Alley mural of the language from a statute passed over 200 years ago.

🛎️ 🛎️ 🛎️ spot on! Not to mention that in what world is 72 hours high speed?

extremely common congestion pricing W

Yesterday my 2.5 year old giddily grabs my phone off the bed and runs off with it.

5 seconds later… my six year old: “uhhh dad, he threw it in the bath.”

Somehow after being fully submerged the phone works fine. How far that particular technology has come.

Tweet from the Trump Administration's Federal Transit Administration: "Transit ridership is surging across the Bay Area. From January to March 2025, transit agencies in the region recorded 3.2 million more trips than during the same period last year. @Caltrain, @smarttrain, @SFBayFerry, @SFBART, @SFMTA_Muni, and more have all seen strong ridership growth. FTA is proud to support these improvements as the Bay Area continues to build a more connected, rider-focused future."

Glad to see the Trump Administration finally get on board with a key piece of California's @cahsra.bsky.social high-speed rail project!

It’s about time.

New Supreme Court opinion gives agencies more autonomy in determining the appropriate analysis and alternatives for NEPA and takes a pretty big swipe at how environmental clearance has become much more than it was intended to be.

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

Let’s compare the safety of different modes. One of these things is not like the others… hmmm🧐

injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-com...

Also be ware of the NYT views on California issues. Read local news.

The highway trust fund isn’t on life support—it’s been dead since 2008 - Transportation For America Our failing federal transportation program is supposed to be completely paid for with gas taxes, but since 2008, Congress has taken an additional $275 billion from taxpayers (on top of all gas taxes) ...

Good analysis and interesting conclusion from T4A on the insolvency of the highway trust fund. My only question is how do you ensure that new programs are created if you scale this down? Otherwise, it’ll be transit facing the cuts while highways keep their funding.

t4america.org/2025/05/22/t...

www.goldengate.org/district/dis....

Read: About the Golden Gate Bridge Wind Retrofit

Well this seems like an explicitly anti-health measure. More sickness, more impact to families. And for what?

No other way to say it - congestion pricing is a grand slam of positive policy outcomes.

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/...

CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL LEAVES TEXAS IN THE DUST California: 494 MILES, San Francisco to Los Angeles / Anaheim via Central Valley; 171 MILES BEING DEVELOPED, 119 MILES BEING BUILT, 50 BUILT STRUCTURES; EARLY OPERATING SEGMENT OPENS 2030 – 2033; 15K JOBS Texas: 240 MILES, Dallas to Houston via Brazos Valley; NOT STARTED; NO OPENING DATE; 0 JOBS REPORTED

In California, we dream big — and despite Washington's outrageous attacks, our @cahsra.bsky.social high-speed rail is becoming a reality.

While we've broken ground on our transformative rail project here in California, Texas' high-speed rail has been a failure to launch.

Learning comes alive in San Carlos Students at Arroyo and Mariposa upper elementary schools in the San Carlos School District are taking control of their learning, and the results are impressive.

Great recognition of the amazing work being done in our upper elementary schools in San Carlos to prepare students for middle school.

www.smdailyjournal.com/opinion/gues...

California would be the 4th largest economy in the world if it was its own country. Wow!