Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
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bryanculbertson.com
Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
@bryanculbertson.com
1.4K followers 1.3K following 3.8K posts
he/him

Living the car-free life in Oakland, CA. Don't make me drive.

https://mastodon.social/@bryanculbertson
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Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„ @bryanculbertson.com Β· 17d
ICE will continue to murder us until we abolish them
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
warrenjwells.bsky.social
Median driver in 2026.
sky.skymarchini.net Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net Β· 12h
yeah I got a question: what the fuck?
February 10, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
prinzrob.bsky.social
Check out all the speed limit reductions Emeryville staff brought to their council transportation committee today!
February 10, 2026 at 11:25 PM
bryanculbertson.com
I would have thought so too from my experience, but perhaps we just aren't noticing since people pay at stations?
February 11, 2026 at 2:30 AM
bryanculbertson.com
Buses are low cost to operate per-hour or per-mile, they are just not as efficient per-passenger because they carry fewer passenger per-vehicle than trains

When demand is high enough to fill a train it becomes efficient to upgrade to rail
Hourly cost to operate vehicles Per-mile cost to provide service
February 11, 2026 at 12:16 AM
bryanculbertson.com
Thanks for clarifying!
February 11, 2026 at 12:09 AM
bryanculbertson.com
Yep, Tempo ranges from 15k to 17.5k per-day

public.tableau.com/app/profile/...
February 10, 2026 at 11:29 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Tempo has basically the same farebox recovery rate (8.3%) as the rest of the AC Transit service (8.5%)

Which is higher than most bay area bus services like SFMTA (7.6%) and VTA (7.3%)
Golden Gate Transit Ferry 31.1% BART Airport Connector 31.0% AC Transit Transbay 25.6% BART 24.9% Caltrain 24.3% SFMTA Cable Car 22.3% WestCAT Commuter Bus 21.6% SF Ferry 21.3% BART eBART 17.5% SolTrans Commuter Bus 4.8% AC Transit Dumbarton 13.1% LAVTA Wheels 12.3% Vacaville City Coach Bus 11.0% SFMTA Trolleybus 9.8% Marin Transit Bus 8.8% Santa Rosa CityBus Bus 8.7% AC Transit Local 8.5% AC Transit Tempo 8.3% Concord County Connection Bus 8.3% Golden Gate Transit Bus 8.2% SFMTA Bus 7.6% VTA Bus 7.3% WestCAT Bus 7.0% Petaluma Transit Bus 6.9% Napa NVTA Commuter Bus 6.5% SamTrans Bus 6.4% SMART 6.2% SFMTA Historic Streetcars 6.1% SFMTA MUNI Metro 5.9% Tri Delta Transit Bus 5.1% Fairfield FAST Bus 4.8% Sonoma County Transit Bus 4.6% Napa NVTA Bus 4.5% SolTrans Bus 4.2% Union City Transit Bus 4.2% VTA Light Rail 3.6%
February 10, 2026 at 11:21 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Haha, which reminds me, I need to clarify these charts are operating cost to the transit operator, not cost to the rider, and clarify which direction is better
February 10, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
rebeccaforec.bsky.social
Bus rapid transit on San Pablo Avenue from Oakland to Richmond (and beyond) would be a game changer.

So many folks would replace car trips with bus trips, and BRT would support the housing and commercial development that's happening up and down San Pablo.

Let's approve, fund it and make it happen!
bryanculbertson.com Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„ @bryanculbertson.com Β· 1d
One single local BRT line in Oakland (AC Transit Tempo) serves more riders than the entire VTA Light Rail system, and has a Cost Effectiveness that rivals our top *regional* transit services

Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
SFMTA Bus Bus 77,857,337 BART Heavy Rail 53,222,212 SFMTA Trolleybus Trolleybus 46,447,945 AC Transit Local Bus 33,931,071 SFMTA MUNI Metro Light Rail 28,230,682 VTA Bus Bus 22,626,518 SamTrans Bus Bus 9,991,507 Caltrain Commuter Rail 7,405,005 AC Transit Tempo Bus Rapid Transit 4,798,970 VTA Light Rail Light Rail 4,723,010 SFMTA Cable Car Cable Car 3,925,803 SFMTA Historic Streetcars Streetcar Rail 3,828,113 Marin Transit Bus Bus 2,823,735 Concord County Connection Bus Bus 2,572,370 SF Ferry Ferryboat 2,388,379 Golden Gate Transit Bus Bus 1,432,232 Santa Rosa CityBus Bus Bus 1,423,226 Golden Gate Transit Ferry Ferryboat 1,421,356 LAVTA Wheels Bus 1,353,810 BART eBART Hybrid Rail 1,273,133 Tri Delta Transit Bus Bus 1,129,025 SMART Commuter Rail 850,270 Sonoma County Transit Bus Bus 744,550 AC Transit Transbay Commuter Bus 536,641 WestCAT Bus Bus 509,486 SolTrans Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 491,870 SolTrans Bus Bus 461,550 BART Airport Connector Monorail 432,021 Napa NVTA Bus Bus 398,093 Petaluma Transit Bus Bus 272,852 Union City Transit Bus Bus 269,375 AC Transit Dumbarton Bus 197,510 Vacaville City Coach Bus Bus 196,473 Fairfield FAST Bus Bus 185,764 WestCAT Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 149,525 Napa NVTA Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 57,376 WestCAT Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $0.61 SolTrans Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $0.89 BART Heavy Rail $1.15 Caltrain Commuter Rail $1.34 AC Transit Transbay Commuter Bus $1.48 Napa NVTA Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $1.49 AC Transit Dumbarton Bus $1.61 SF Ferry Ferryboat $1.71 AC Transit Tempo Bus Rapid Transit $1.85 SMART Commuter Rail $1.93 Sonoma County Transit Bus Bus $1.98 BART eBART Hybrid Rail $2.50 Marin Transit Bus Bus $2.58 Santa Rosa CityBus Bus Bus $2.67 Golden Gate Transit Ferry Ferryboat $2.88 LAVTA Wheels Bus $2.98 Napa NVTA Bus Bus $3.00 SFMTA Bus Bus $3.04 VTA Bus Bus $3.05 SFMTA Trolleybus Trolleybus $3.61 SFMTA MUNI Metro Light Rail $3.65 Concord County Connection Bus Bus $3.91 Tri Delta Transit Bus Bus $4.06 AC Transit Local Bus $4.16 Petaluma Transit Bus Bus $4.31 Golden Gate Transit Bus Bus $4.42 WestCAT Bus Bus $4.91 SamTrans Bus Bus $5.01 VTA Light Rail Light Rail $5.59 SolTrans Bus Bus $5.64 SFMTA Historic Streetcars Streetcar Rail $6.19 BART Airport Connector Monorail $6.47 Fairfield FAST Bus Bus $10.29 SFMTA Cable Car Cable Car $16.62
February 10, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
calelectricrail.org
CDMX has electric regional rail every 5-7 minutes but SoCal can't electrify the Surfliner? Get it together, California!
railmag.bsky.social RAIL Magazine @railmag.bsky.social Β· 10h
So much new passenger rail going on in Mexico these days (compared to prior decades). On February 2nd, the El Insurgente line (previously known as Tren Interurbano) extended 8.4 km to connect with the Mexico City Metro Line 1 at Observatorio station. It uses CAF EMUs in serving 57 km to Toluca.
El Insurgente creates an interchanage with Mexico City’s metro
MEXICO: The El Insurgente suburban rail service in Mexico City has been extended from Santa Fe to Observatorio, where meets metro Line 1.
www.railwaygazette.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:56 PM
bryanculbertson.com
4. Do you have corrective maintenance tracked by month for the last couple years like other metrics reported in the Quarterly Performance Reports: www.bart.gov/about/reports
Reports | Bay Area Rapid Transit
www.bart.gov
February 10, 2026 at 9:45 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Can you provide details about this, like:
1. What is "corrective maintenance"? What are examples of tasks? Does repairing the gates themselves count?
2. What is the timeframe? Some gates haven't been installed for 6mo yet
3. How many hours of maintenance overall? Is 961 hours 1% or 10%?
February 10, 2026 at 9:30 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Not trying to bash VTA Light Rail here, just trying to use an comparison for how much ridership Tempo has

Another comparisons, Tempo BRT has more ridership than all the Ferries, and more ridership than the Cable Cars!
February 10, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
bencollins.bsky.social
Listen to this. Not a penny more for this. Abolish and prosecute anyone who had anything to do with it.
davidrvetter.bsky.social Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social Β· 19h
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
jasonkoebler.bsky.social
Ring is a wildly dangerous company. Always has been. But it has sort of flown under the radar the last couple years as it tried to soften its image. Make no mistake that this is an extremely dangerous surveillance dragnet:

www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
obcycler.bsky.social
Absolutely damning study documenting the rate of drivers breaking the law

"extrapolated, the data projects a staggering 200,000 daily violations at just these intersections"

Confirms what everyone has experienced since Covid. All it took was to set up cameras and document it
#safestreets #bikesky
Colorado driver behavior study captures alarming habits
YouTube video by CBS Colorado
youtu.be
February 9, 2026 at 5:10 PM
bryanculbertson.com
And it isn't just the low ridership, regular BART and AC Transt buses with human operators are lower cost than the automated OAK Airport Connector

The route was better as a human operated bus
Hourly cost to operate vehicles
February 10, 2026 at 2:38 AM
bryanculbertson.com
I was most impressed with the high ridership

I don't think Tempo gets the regional recognition that other systems do when they have more ridership than systems with significantly more funding
February 10, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
brooklynspoke.bsky.social
In 2014, New York City lowered its citywide default speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph. In the year that followed:

- Traffic fatalities fell by more than 22 percent

- Pedestrian fatalities fell by more than 25 percent

transalt.org/reports-list...
anubisthejackal.bsky.social One Who Walks Among the Dead @anubisthejackal.bsky.social Β· 1d
Also, most car crashes occur at intersections, and not because a car was exceeding the speed.

My bet is that even if you made it so no one could speed anywhere, it would only marginally lower traffic fatalities.
February 9, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
suldrew.bsky.social
We need Tempo lines all around the Bay!!
bryanculbertson.com Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„ @bryanculbertson.com Β· 1d
One single local BRT line in Oakland (AC Transit Tempo) serves more riders than the entire VTA Light Rail system, and has a Cost Effectiveness that rivals our top *regional* transit services

Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
SFMTA Bus Bus 77,857,337 BART Heavy Rail 53,222,212 SFMTA Trolleybus Trolleybus 46,447,945 AC Transit Local Bus 33,931,071 SFMTA MUNI Metro Light Rail 28,230,682 VTA Bus Bus 22,626,518 SamTrans Bus Bus 9,991,507 Caltrain Commuter Rail 7,405,005 AC Transit Tempo Bus Rapid Transit 4,798,970 VTA Light Rail Light Rail 4,723,010 SFMTA Cable Car Cable Car 3,925,803 SFMTA Historic Streetcars Streetcar Rail 3,828,113 Marin Transit Bus Bus 2,823,735 Concord County Connection Bus Bus 2,572,370 SF Ferry Ferryboat 2,388,379 Golden Gate Transit Bus Bus 1,432,232 Santa Rosa CityBus Bus Bus 1,423,226 Golden Gate Transit Ferry Ferryboat 1,421,356 LAVTA Wheels Bus 1,353,810 BART eBART Hybrid Rail 1,273,133 Tri Delta Transit Bus Bus 1,129,025 SMART Commuter Rail 850,270 Sonoma County Transit Bus Bus 744,550 AC Transit Transbay Commuter Bus 536,641 WestCAT Bus Bus 509,486 SolTrans Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 491,870 SolTrans Bus Bus 461,550 BART Airport Connector Monorail 432,021 Napa NVTA Bus Bus 398,093 Petaluma Transit Bus Bus 272,852 Union City Transit Bus Bus 269,375 AC Transit Dumbarton Bus 197,510 Vacaville City Coach Bus Bus 196,473 Fairfield FAST Bus Bus 185,764 WestCAT Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 149,525 Napa NVTA Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 57,376 WestCAT Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $0.61 SolTrans Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $0.89 BART Heavy Rail $1.15 Caltrain Commuter Rail $1.34 AC Transit Transbay Commuter Bus $1.48 Napa NVTA Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $1.49 AC Transit Dumbarton Bus $1.61 SF Ferry Ferryboat $1.71 AC Transit Tempo Bus Rapid Transit $1.85 SMART Commuter Rail $1.93 Sonoma County Transit Bus Bus $1.98 BART eBART Hybrid Rail $2.50 Marin Transit Bus Bus $2.58 Santa Rosa CityBus Bus Bus $2.67 Golden Gate Transit Ferry Ferryboat $2.88 LAVTA Wheels Bus $2.98 Napa NVTA Bus Bus $3.00 SFMTA Bus Bus $3.04 VTA Bus Bus $3.05 SFMTA Trolleybus Trolleybus $3.61 SFMTA MUNI Metro Light Rail $3.65 Concord County Connection Bus Bus $3.91 Tri Delta Transit Bus Bus $4.06 AC Transit Local Bus $4.16 Petaluma Transit Bus Bus $4.31 Golden Gate Transit Bus Bus $4.42 WestCAT Bus Bus $4.91 SamTrans Bus Bus $5.01 VTA Light Rail Light Rail $5.59 SolTrans Bus Bus $5.64 SFMTA Historic Streetcars Streetcar Rail $6.19 BART Airport Connector Monorail $6.47 Fairfield FAST Bus Bus $10.29 SFMTA Cable Car Cable Car $16.62
February 9, 2026 at 11:01 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Tempo alone serves more riders then all ferry service in the bay area combined!
February 9, 2026 at 10:31 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Source: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
2024 FTA NTD - Bay Area
docs.google.com
February 9, 2026 at 10:26 PM
bryanculbertson.com
One single local BRT line in Oakland (AC Transit Tempo) serves more riders than the entire VTA Light Rail system, and has a Cost Effectiveness that rivals our top *regional* transit services

Bay Area should be super-funding East Bay BRT if they distributed funding based on objective metrics
SFMTA Bus Bus 77,857,337 BART Heavy Rail 53,222,212 SFMTA Trolleybus Trolleybus 46,447,945 AC Transit Local Bus 33,931,071 SFMTA MUNI Metro Light Rail 28,230,682 VTA Bus Bus 22,626,518 SamTrans Bus Bus 9,991,507 Caltrain Commuter Rail 7,405,005 AC Transit Tempo Bus Rapid Transit 4,798,970 VTA Light Rail Light Rail 4,723,010 SFMTA Cable Car Cable Car 3,925,803 SFMTA Historic Streetcars Streetcar Rail 3,828,113 Marin Transit Bus Bus 2,823,735 Concord County Connection Bus Bus 2,572,370 SF Ferry Ferryboat 2,388,379 Golden Gate Transit Bus Bus 1,432,232 Santa Rosa CityBus Bus Bus 1,423,226 Golden Gate Transit Ferry Ferryboat 1,421,356 LAVTA Wheels Bus 1,353,810 BART eBART Hybrid Rail 1,273,133 Tri Delta Transit Bus Bus 1,129,025 SMART Commuter Rail 850,270 Sonoma County Transit Bus Bus 744,550 AC Transit Transbay Commuter Bus 536,641 WestCAT Bus Bus 509,486 SolTrans Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 491,870 SolTrans Bus Bus 461,550 BART Airport Connector Monorail 432,021 Napa NVTA Bus Bus 398,093 Petaluma Transit Bus Bus 272,852 Union City Transit Bus Bus 269,375 AC Transit Dumbarton Bus 197,510 Vacaville City Coach Bus Bus 196,473 Fairfield FAST Bus Bus 185,764 WestCAT Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 149,525 Napa NVTA Commuter Bus Commuter Bus 57,376 WestCAT Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $0.61 SolTrans Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $0.89 BART Heavy Rail $1.15 Caltrain Commuter Rail $1.34 AC Transit Transbay Commuter Bus $1.48 Napa NVTA Commuter Bus Commuter Bus $1.49 AC Transit Dumbarton Bus $1.61 SF Ferry Ferryboat $1.71 AC Transit Tempo Bus Rapid Transit $1.85 SMART Commuter Rail $1.93 Sonoma County Transit Bus Bus $1.98 BART eBART Hybrid Rail $2.50 Marin Transit Bus Bus $2.58 Santa Rosa CityBus Bus Bus $2.67 Golden Gate Transit Ferry Ferryboat $2.88 LAVTA Wheels Bus $2.98 Napa NVTA Bus Bus $3.00 SFMTA Bus Bus $3.04 VTA Bus Bus $3.05 SFMTA Trolleybus Trolleybus $3.61 SFMTA MUNI Metro Light Rail $3.65 Concord County Connection Bus Bus $3.91 Tri Delta Transit Bus Bus $4.06 AC Transit Local Bus $4.16 Petaluma Transit Bus Bus $4.31 Golden Gate Transit Bus Bus $4.42 WestCAT Bus Bus $4.91 SamTrans Bus Bus $5.01 VTA Light Rail Light Rail $5.59 SolTrans Bus Bus $5.64 SFMTA Historic Streetcars Streetcar Rail $6.19 BART Airport Connector Monorail $6.47 Fairfield FAST Bus Bus $10.29 SFMTA Cable Car Cable Car $16.62
February 9, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Reposted by Bryan Culbertson πŸ₯„
prinzrob.bsky.social
I love the ferries but these zero-information op-eds are dangerous & frustrating. Ferries will only ever serve a very small % of potential rail/bus passengers & they’re among the most subsidized transit systems.

www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/arti...
β€œOPINION San Francisco Bay Area traffic is worse than ever. Could a ferry boom make a difference? By Allison Arieff, Opinion Columnist Feb 9, 2026 Doorey Chung of Oakland rides a ferry from San Francisco to Oakland in 2023. Traveling by ferry was common in the Bay Area until car ownership became widespread. Guy Wathen/S.F. Chronicle” β€œFerry service can be expanded fairly quickly. It is more cost-effective than capital-intensive infrastructure projects. It reduces carbon emissions, traffic congestion and causes zero pedestrian fatalities. It could expand access for underserved and growing waterfront communities in areas like Treasure Island in San Francisco and parts of Berkeley. And it provides transit redundancy, meaning it helps offer multiple ways to get to the same place, ensuring that if one route or service fails, others can handle the demand. This is especially critical during emergencies like earthquakes.”
February 9, 2026 at 4:19 PM
bryanculbertson.com
Average cost/passenger-mi for ferry service in the US is $2.33/pmt, so SF Ferry having $1.71/pmt is an example of your great success at attracting passengers and keeping costs low!
Commuter Rail $1.03 Heavy Rail $1.07 Commuter Bus $1.09 Light Rail $1.88 Bus Rapid Transit $1.94 Ferryboat $2.33 Bus $2.45 Hybrid Rail $2.48 Trolleybus $3.48 Streetcar Rail $4.64 Monorail $5.64 Cable Car $16.62 Commuter Bus $11.82 Bus $16.32 Heavy Rail $17.96 Commuter Rail $25.45 Bus Rapid Transit $26.34 Light Rail $30.04 Hybrid Rail $37.14 Trolleybus $39.96 Monorail $39.96 Streetcar Rail $52.33 Ferryboat $203.83 Cable Car $406.14
February 9, 2026 at 9:31 PM