FitchburgLine
@fitchburgline.bsky.social
Reposted by FitchburgLine
Trump in a room with a very charismatic person results in like half a day of Trump agreeing with everything that person said, so this has the potential to be very, very funny.
Trump says he’s meeting with “communist” Mamdani at the White House on Friday
November 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Trump in a room with a very charismatic person results in like half a day of Trump agreeing with everything that person said, so this has the potential to be very, very funny.
Reposted by FitchburgLine
Updated for 2025: timeline maps of every metro system in the world transit-timelines.github.io
Rapid Transit Timelines and Scale Comparison
Maps every 5 years, 1840-2025
transit-timelines.github.io
November 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Updated for 2025: timeline maps of every metro system in the world transit-timelines.github.io
Requesting @alonlevy.bsky.social take on this article as it relates to transit construction worksinprogress.co/issue/the-de...
The developing world needs more roads
The cities of the developing world could be their growth engine, but they need wider roads.
worksinprogress.co
November 12, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Requesting @alonlevy.bsky.social take on this article as it relates to transit construction worksinprogress.co/issue/the-de...
The perfect NYC street: completely covered by scaffolding, allows cars for zero reason, trash
November 11, 2025 at 7:11 PM
The perfect NYC street: completely covered by scaffolding, allows cars for zero reason, trash
open seats on the red line leaving Kendall at 5pm. US transit = MTA
November 5, 2025 at 9:53 PM
open seats on the red line leaving Kendall at 5pm. US transit = MTA
F&M swap meeting: literally all public comments are complaints
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMVM...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMVM...
F & M Swap Zoom Meeting
YouTube video by R42ToMoffat
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:39 PM
F&M swap meeting: literally all public comments are complaints
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMVM...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMVM...
WMATA single tracking with 45 minute station holds seems worse than shuttle buses but saves operating costs so props
October 16, 2025 at 1:22 AM
WMATA single tracking with 45 minute station holds seems worse than shuttle buses but saves operating costs so props
First new Acela trip, progressively falls 45min behind schedule with random stops in CT where Amtrak is only user. more funding will fix this!
October 14, 2025 at 6:35 PM
First new Acela trip, progressively falls 45min behind schedule with random stops in CT where Amtrak is only user. more funding will fix this!
.@besttrousers.bsky.social can we have the "what is NYC median rent" discussion here with the NYC Housing Knower community? I admit to basically not believing these numbers
@stephenjacobsmith.com
@stephenjacobsmith.com
October 7, 2025 at 6:22 PM
.@besttrousers.bsky.social can we have the "what is NYC median rent" discussion here with the NYC Housing Knower community? I admit to basically not believing these numbers
@stephenjacobsmith.com
@stephenjacobsmith.com
Non-enforcement approach to safety
For years, transit users have called for an inclusive, non-enforcement approach to safety based on evidence & care.
This is why we are celebrating the pilot to deploy Community Crisis Workers on the TTC, bringing much-needed supportive staff presence on transit. Read more:
www.ttcriders.ca/tccs
This is why we are celebrating the pilot to deploy Community Crisis Workers on the TTC, bringing much-needed supportive staff presence on transit. Read more:
www.ttcriders.ca/tccs
TTCriders celebrates expansion of Community Crisis Workers, urges for more investment in transit safety
www.ttcriders.ca
September 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Non-enforcement approach to safety
Reposted by FitchburgLine
The Boston Globe Editorial Board is running a whole series on the state’s excessive building code regulation over the next three weeks – single-stair, Massachusetts’s unusually low high-rise definition, and the mess of different septic system rules www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/21/o...
Roll back regulations to lower housing costs - The Boston Globe
The sheer volume of Massachusetts’ regulations can drive up the total cost of construction in significant ways. But some rules are no longer necessary.
www.bostonglobe.com
September 21, 2025 at 11:20 PM
The Boston Globe Editorial Board is running a whole series on the state’s excessive building code regulation over the next three weeks – single-stair, Massachusetts’s unusually low high-rise definition, and the mess of different septic system rules www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/21/o...
GO inspectors are so slow at writing fines, massively irrational to pay the fare
August 2, 2025 at 12:01 PM
GO inspectors are so slow at writing fines, massively irrational to pay the fare
Subway ads that explain what’s wrong with public sector compensation
July 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Subway ads that explain what’s wrong with public sector compensation
NJT conductor kicks people off the train for lack of space, despite tons of standing room. Next train from EWR: 40 minutes. World class!
July 6, 2025 at 8:35 PM
NJT conductor kicks people off the train for lack of space, despite tons of standing room. Next train from EWR: 40 minutes. World class!
Mainland Europe PoP questions: since checking doesn’t link ticket to you, do families/friends share passes?
July 5, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Mainland Europe PoP questions: since checking doesn’t link ticket to you, do families/friends share passes?
United: The United App can plan your own wedding with no human intervention
Lao Airlines: Send us an email(!!!) to change a flight
Lao Airlines: Send us an email(!!!) to change a flight
June 15, 2025 at 2:48 AM
United: The United App can plan your own wedding with no human intervention
Lao Airlines: Send us an email(!!!) to change a flight
Lao Airlines: Send us an email(!!!) to change a flight
The Toronto streetcar “payment makes you a chump” fare system seems suboptimal
May 15, 2025 at 11:02 PM
The Toronto streetcar “payment makes you a chump” fare system seems suboptimal
Reposted by FitchburgLine
The fact that the US has a bimodal density distribution where one of the modes is just New York urban center is crazy
September 2, 2024 at 1:08 AM
The fact that the US has a bimodal density distribution where one of the modes is just New York urban center is crazy
Reposted by FitchburgLine
It probably helps reliability that escalator manufacturers in Japan haven’t signed agreements with their union that requires them to take escalators assembled in precise factory conditions apart and reassemble them on-site admin.centerforbuilding.org/wp-content/u...
![Kone's development of the ECO-3000 escalator in the early 2000s kicked off a grievance by the company against the union regarding disassembly and reassembly, specifically regarding the work aligning the "balustrade brackets," which hold the balustrade in place and are
"important to the safety and operation of the escalator," in the arbitrator's words. The escalator was designed, primarily in Germany, to meet
"new tighter tolerance safety standards," redesigning an older model to "[reduce] the likelihood that items and/or people might be caught" between the elevator skirt and the step — a common issue with esca-lators, which are responsible for far more injuries per device than ele-vators. This design involved some alignment in the factory, which the union believed was in contravention of their agreement with the com-pany, and which the union directed its employees to remove and rein-stall. The arbitrator ultimately sided with the union, concluding that "[t] he Company's design and factory alignment may well promote efficiency and safety," but the contract nevertheless forbade it and the contract terms needed to be changed if the company wanted to continue with its preassembly practices.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5uahexd6wlinp35ly2m4zgnn/bafkreihk5nri64ugi6yoyq3pwohwnybiszdvnepjr37q2j3jfhlmjshvny@jpeg)
![North America's International Union of Elevator Constructors, on the other hand, fiercely resists labor-saving innovations in preassembly and prefabrication. "We can't afford to sit back and see our trade dumbed down through factory prefabrication and preassembly to a point where all our members will have to do on the job is simply uncrate the eleva-tor, set it, and plug it in," wrote IUEC's General President Dana Brigham in 2011. The union is the strongest fighter among the trades against efficiency, with Brigham writing that elevator and escalator companies
"look around and ask why, when no other trade is fighting over pre-fab, they have to allow our members to take sheaves off and put them back on, or to take a complete escalator apart on the job. And, believe me, it's not an easy task convincing an impartial arbitrator, who may be more familiar with other industries where that kind of thing never occurs, to allow us [to] do it."63](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5uahexd6wlinp35ly2m4zgnn/bafkreicd7hjjymm7c43b625mgbngugpcrgqnkspfbo7n6idsvhyi5cn2eq@jpeg)
April 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
It probably helps reliability that escalator manufacturers in Japan haven’t signed agreements with their union that requires them to take escalators assembled in precise factory conditions apart and reassemble them on-site admin.centerforbuilding.org/wp-content/u...
China is catching up in every branch of tech except making a non-awful airline website
April 9, 2025 at 5:20 PM
China is catching up in every branch of tech except making a non-awful airline website
Reposted by FitchburgLine
TTC audit shows growing safety concerns, high turnover among non-union staff
In 2022 and 2023, some TTC departments saw a voluntary staff turnover rate of up to 62 per cent, with exit surveys reporting concerns over mental and physical safety
www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-h...
In 2022 and 2023, some TTC departments saw a voluntary staff turnover rate of up to 62 per cent, with exit surveys reporting concerns over mental and physical safety
www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-h...
TTC audit shows growing safety concerns, high turnover among non-union staff
In 2022 and 2023, some TTC departments saw a voluntary staff turnover rate of up to 62 per cent, with exit surveys reporting concerns over mental and physical safety
www.torontotoday.ca
April 6, 2025 at 11:13 PM
TTC audit shows growing safety concerns, high turnover among non-union staff
In 2022 and 2023, some TTC departments saw a voluntary staff turnover rate of up to 62 per cent, with exit surveys reporting concerns over mental and physical safety
www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-h...
In 2022 and 2023, some TTC departments saw a voluntary staff turnover rate of up to 62 per cent, with exit surveys reporting concerns over mental and physical safety
www.torontotoday.ca/local/city-h...
They took (this thing that absolutely still exists) from you
March 24, 2025 at 3:16 PM
They took (this thing that absolutely still exists) from you
Reposted by FitchburgLine
What a fascinating chart
This is a nice reminder that Vision Zero is not incompatible with typical North American development patterns.
Just the very basic provision of universal sidewalks plus will-designed pedestrian crosswalks plus quality bus service for “last mile” connections in the suburbs goes a long way.
Just the very basic provision of universal sidewalks plus will-designed pedestrian crosswalks plus quality bus service for “last mile” connections in the suburbs goes a long way.
March 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
What a fascinating chart
Rural/suburban areas with ~0 transit usage as share of VMT can have HUGE differences in how nice being a car-free tourist is (are there 0, 1, or 10 trains per day). Distorts urbanism discussions imo
February 23, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Rural/suburban areas with ~0 transit usage as share of VMT can have HUGE differences in how nice being a car-free tourist is (are there 0, 1, or 10 trains per day). Distorts urbanism discussions imo
Reposted by FitchburgLine
New paper: Simulating Time With Square-Root Space
people.csail.mit.edu/rrw/time-vs-...
It's still hard for me to believe it myself, but I seem to have shown that TIME[t] is contained in SPACE[sqrt{t log t}].
To appear in STOC. Comments are very welcome!
people.csail.mit.edu/rrw/time-vs-...
It's still hard for me to believe it myself, but I seem to have shown that TIME[t] is contained in SPACE[sqrt{t log t}].
To appear in STOC. Comments are very welcome!
people.csail.mit.edu
February 21, 2025 at 10:19 PM
New paper: Simulating Time With Square-Root Space
people.csail.mit.edu/rrw/time-vs-...
It's still hard for me to believe it myself, but I seem to have shown that TIME[t] is contained in SPACE[sqrt{t log t}].
To appear in STOC. Comments are very welcome!
people.csail.mit.edu/rrw/time-vs-...
It's still hard for me to believe it myself, but I seem to have shown that TIME[t] is contained in SPACE[sqrt{t log t}].
To appear in STOC. Comments are very welcome!