Kenya's president met with informal transport leaders and said all the right things.
Millions of Kenyans rely on boda bodas (motorcycle taxis) daily. If Ruto follows through, inclusive mobility policy will protect workers, expand access to credit and training, and integrate — not erase — informality.
via xitter @peopledailyke
https://peopledaily.digital/news/ruto-meets-boda-boda-leaders-vows-safety-and-credit-access
Breaking: Irish #billionaire tells Dublin to cancel public transit project because AI means everyone will have self driving cars.
“AI will make Dublin’s MetroLink obsolete, says Dermot Desmond”
Three days ago 9-year-old Nadir Gavarrete and his brother were hit by a driver at 4th & New Hampshire in Ktown. Nadir died and his brother is hospitalized. LA city officials are well aware of the dangers of this intersection and have done nothing.
Four crosswalks painted at 4th & New Hampshire.
1/4
Rutland’s The Bus operator relocates due to health and safety concerns https://www.byteseu.com/1243066/ #Health #PublicTransit #RutlandCity #VermontAgencyOfTransportation
FYI - The Monterey-Salinas IT department issued a RFI (Request For Information) this last Friday to gather data ahead of plans to replace our closed, proprietary GoPass Bus Pass with one that uses an open, non-proprietary cEMV solution.
RFI #26-01 can be found here.
https://mst.org/about-mst/procurement/
#PublicTransportation #PublicTransit #OpenTechnology #OpenStandards
(I'll be adding to this thread as I get time today on why this matters)
“ #Albuquerque adopted zero-fare #Buses in 2023. It’s made a world of difference for the people who ride them.”
https://www.fastcompany.com/91372556/what-happened-when-albuquerque-made-riding-its-buses-free
“… free #PublicTransit serves as a lifeline, a vital mobility option when money is tight or other transportation falls through.”
Public Transport on Minecraft
Even in virtual worlds, people create accessible, functional mobility networks.
by Reddit u/Few-Decision5798
A Malian photographer chooses buses over galleries to make art accessible to all Bamako residents. Informal transport as exhibition spaces.
xitter @Nybeponzio
Did you miss this webinar on Africa’s electric transport future? The video’s up, and the message is clear: informal transport can’t be an afterthought.
New video!
Milwaukee may be America's most underrated urbanist city. The video covers MKE’s "Sewer Socialist" history, its modern transit innovations (and struggles), and affordablity.
Watch here: https://urbanists.video/w/uST3RybwqGm5meYPdvSZgA
#Milwaukee #MKE #Urbanism #PublicTransit #Cities #Midwest
Apparently, some millionaires moved out of the state. Imagine what would happen if EVERY state (and country) TAXED THE RICH PROPORTIONALLY!
#Massachusetts - Here’s how much the new ‘#MillionairesTax’ has raised this year (it’s a lot)
The tax on the rich is bringing in more than expected and will fund transportation and education initiatives.
By Beth Treffeisen
May 21, 2024
"The '#MillionairesTax,' which went into effect for the first time last year, is set to bring in billions.
"State officials announced Monday that the surtax on high earners had generated more than $1.8 billion in revenue this fiscal year, with three months left to go, according to the State House News Service.
"This means state officials could have millions of dollars to spend on transportation and education initiatives.
"Any additional money raised beyond the $1 billion already budgeted would go to a reserve account, where state policymakers can ask for one-time investments in projects or programs.
"The SHNS reported that the revenue from the tax is already $800 million more than the Legislature and Gov. #MauraHealey planned to spend in surtax revenue for all of the fiscal year 2024.
"The Department of Revenue won’t certify the official amount raised until later this year.
"However, the estimates supported claims that the surtax would generate significant revenue for the state, despite fears that it would drive out some of its wealthiest residents.
"In 2022, voters approved the ballot initiative that levies an additional 4 percent tax on annual earnings over $1 million.
" 'Opponents of the Fair Share Amendment claimed that multi-millionaires would flee Massachusetts rather than pay the new tax, and they are being proven wrong every day,' Andrew Farnitano, a spokesperson for #RaiseUpMassachusetts, the union-backed group that pushed the 2022 ballot initiative, told the Boston Globe.
" 'With this money from the #UltraRich, we can do even more to improve our public #schools and #colleges, invest in roads, bridges, and #PublicTransit, and start building an economy that works for everyone,' Farnitano said.
"But Massachusetts has struggled with residents leaving the state recently, taking their taxable income with them.
"The announcement from the latest DOR quarterly report, described during Senate proceedings, is welcome news for budget writers who had been seeing declines in tax revenues for months.
"State tax collections have lagged behind projections for most of the 2024 fiscal year, SHNS reported, even after Healey implemented spending cuts.
"According to an analysis by the Pioneer Institute, Massachusetts lost $4.3 billion in adjusted gross income in 2021, 40 percent more than the prior year. The data shows that nearly 25,200 more tax filers had moved out of the state than moved in."
#PayYourFairShare! #BillionaireTax #MillionaireTax or else #EatTheRich !
In Rwanda an 82 million Euro public transport investment shows how modern mobility planning can build on informal networks rather than replace them.
via xitter @NewTimesRwanda
Via #CBC @ 2:43pm ET on July 07, 2025
A convicted #alQaeda supporter who allegedly threatened to kill a large number of people in #Montreal has now been charged with a #terrorist offence
#MohamedAbdullahWarsame, 51, was charged last month after allegedly telling an employee at a Montreal homeless shelter that he wanted to build #bombs and detonate them on #PublicTransit.
A federal #CrownProsecutor has now upgraded a charge of uttering threats to a #terrorism offence
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/al-qaeda-montreal-abdullah-warsame-1.7578993
Kenya's new digital database tackles annual losses to boda boda and matatu theft. Protecting informal transport assets protects entire communities.
One of the things I've been most impressed about in Chicago is how much more reliable the bus system is compared to WMATA, and how many people take it.
In addition to maps and apps, digitizing informal transport can chip away at the corruption and petty crime that plague the sector in some countries.
via xitter @GuardianNigeria
Took a few minutes to ride Ottawa’s Line 2 and Line 4 trains this week. Didn’t have time for the full line so it’s an incomplete adventure.
Line 2: looong new diesel trains. Nice. Still has absurd single-track segments limiting service frequency.
Line 4: little stub to airport from South Keys station. Uses the original O-Train diesel trains. Nice but absurd single track segments and mega-absurd that airport to Parliament Hill requires two transfers.
