Just finished @shigashide's Better Buses, Better Cities (I'm late, I know). I recommend it as a grounded reality-check amidst the hype about new transportation technologies. My key takeaways: 1/?

1. We have failed, as a society, to take full advantage of a technology that already exists: the bus. City buses move many times more people than even the most advanced #AutonomousVehicles. We don't need to reinvent the wheel (pun intended). 2/?
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2. City, state, and federal policies stack the deck against bus riders -- thru the amount of money allocated to transit projects and restrictions on how local governments can spend it. Transit advocates should challenge the basic assumptions of federal spending. 3/?

3. Small interventions add up to high quality service. Improving bus stops, expanding sidewalks, adding queue jump lanes, optimizing signal timing for buses: these are low-capital projects with high impact. What they require is vision and leadership. 4/?

4. Before building new networks, let's focus on making the networks we have better. Frequency & reliability >> coverage & reach. This implies a centering in transportation planning spaces of (often low-income and BIPOC) communities who already ride the bus. 5/?

5. The devil is in the details. Policies like Title VI and EO 12898 are ostensibly aimed at 'equity' - but how they are implemented decides who benefits. Equity demands that we put women, non-binary & BIPOC folks in power, to create real accountability & follow-through. 6/?

Finally - and most importantly - follow & act on the advice of women of color in transportation. @TamikaButler @Bici_Urbana @yanisatech @DrDesThePlanner @Jay_Pitter and @AyannaPressley inspire me every day.

#transportation #mobility #urbanism