Noah 🚎
@noahsbwilliams.com
Union transit advocate ✊ | Electric Trolley / Zero Emissions | Parallel hybrid bike operator 🔋🚲 | Observability Engineer / SRE | Your friendly neighborhood fleet guy 🚌
Pinned
Good evening, Transit Riders!
Man, am I glad to be back in the land of frequent transit!
Man, am I glad to be back in the land of frequent transit!
December 27, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Good evening, Transit Riders!
Man, am I glad to be back in the land of frequent transit!
Man, am I glad to be back in the land of frequent transit!
Reposted by Noah 🚎
It’s #CriticalMass Seattle again. Meeting at Westlake Center right now. We are rolling to honor Alley’s life and recent death on Beacon Ave S in Beacon Hill. Fuck cars. 🎄🫶 🚲
December 27, 2025 at 2:55 AM
It’s #CriticalMass Seattle again. Meeting at Westlake Center right now. We are rolling to honor Alley’s life and recent death on Beacon Ave S in Beacon Hill. Fuck cars. 🎄🫶 🚲
Reposted by Noah 🚎
Some of the concerns expressed in Justin's thread I definitely share, and I hope TransLink gets two things in order:
- Bus lanes throughout RapidBus routes to do something meaningful about bunching
- Fixing the ridiculously out of date technology that underpins the bike system and making it cheaper
- Bus lanes throughout RapidBus routes to do something meaningful about bunching
- Fixing the ridiculously out of date technology that underpins the bike system and making it cheaper
The mobi system barely exists outside of Downtown/Fairview belt.
The bikes rely on you manually punching a code to unlock.
Pricing is $1 unlock + 29c/min vs 12c/min in Toronto meaning a 15 min ride is less than a transit fare. Annual pass which is $169 vs $105.
The bikes rely on you manually punching a code to unlock.
Pricing is $1 unlock + 29c/min vs 12c/min in Toronto meaning a 15 min ride is less than a transit fare. Annual pass which is $169 vs $105.
December 27, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Some of the concerns expressed in Justin's thread I definitely share, and I hope TransLink gets two things in order:
- Bus lanes throughout RapidBus routes to do something meaningful about bunching
- Fixing the ridiculously out of date technology that underpins the bike system and making it cheaper
- Bus lanes throughout RapidBus routes to do something meaningful about bunching
- Fixing the ridiculously out of date technology that underpins the bike system and making it cheaper
Reposted by Noah 🚎
Congestion pricing is keeping stores from going out of business:
December 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Congestion pricing is keeping stores from going out of business:
Reposted by Noah 🚎
We need an intense propaganda campaign just like....telling people what government spending does & how it benefits them, to undo the decades of the right brainwashing people that it's all fucking waste
December 21, 2025 at 11:37 PM
We need an intense propaganda campaign just like....telling people what government spending does & how it benefits them, to undo the decades of the right brainwashing people that it's all fucking waste
Reposted by Noah 🚎
We love to see it!
I rolled by this exact corral minutes ago! They look great!
I rolled by this exact corral minutes ago! They look great!
We are more than tripling the number of parking corrals in Downtown Seattle for shared bikes and scooters, making it clearer and easier for everyone to get around. (1/4)
December 20, 2025 at 12:32 AM
We love to see it!
I rolled by this exact corral minutes ago! They look great!
I rolled by this exact corral minutes ago! They look great!
Reposted by Noah 🚎
We are more than tripling the number of parking corrals in Downtown Seattle for shared bikes and scooters, making it clearer and easier for everyone to get around. (1/4)
December 20, 2025 at 12:29 AM
We are more than tripling the number of parking corrals in Downtown Seattle for shared bikes and scooters, making it clearer and easier for everyone to get around. (1/4)
The current discourse includes little discussion of the extent of the renovations the tunnel requires.
Ventilation isn't all.
Regardless of the decision on the second tunnel, Sound Transit needs to present a plan with a price tag for replacing the rails and adding crosstracks in the first one.
Ventilation isn't all.
Regardless of the decision on the second tunnel, Sound Transit needs to present a plan with a price tag for replacing the rails and adding crosstracks in the first one.
This morning on @theurbanist.org we offered an alternate view from former SDOT Director Scott Kubly that argues that the board should give the idea a much closer look in order to preserve the rest of the ST3 program.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/18/o...
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/18/o...
Op-Ed: Defer Seattle’s Second Downtown Rail Tunnel to Save ST3 » The Urbanist
# Tabling a second light rail tunnel through Downtown Seattle and redesigning Ballard Link to use the existing tunnel could save $4.5 billion, and Sound Transit has been too quick to dismiss the idea,...
www.theurbanist.org
December 19, 2025 at 12:35 AM
The current discourse includes little discussion of the extent of the renovations the tunnel requires.
Ventilation isn't all.
Regardless of the decision on the second tunnel, Sound Transit needs to present a plan with a price tag for replacing the rails and adding crosstracks in the first one.
Ventilation isn't all.
Regardless of the decision on the second tunnel, Sound Transit needs to present a plan with a price tag for replacing the rails and adding crosstracks in the first one.
Reposted by Noah 🚎
NEWS: Katie Wilson will swap out current interim SDOT Director Adiam Emery for a new interim Director in Angela Brady, who currently serves as head of the Office of the Waterfront and Sound Transit. A search for a permanent Director is expected next year.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/17/k...
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/17/k...
Katie Wilson Taps Angela Brady as Interim SDOT Director » The Urbanist
# Waterfront revamp veteran Angela Brady is taking over as Seattle's transportation department head, replacing Adiam Emery, who previously served as one of Bruce Harrell's deputy mayors. The Wilson Ad...
www.theurbanist.org
December 17, 2025 at 11:27 PM
NEWS: Katie Wilson will swap out current interim SDOT Director Adiam Emery for a new interim Director in Angela Brady, who currently serves as head of the Office of the Waterfront and Sound Transit. A search for a permanent Director is expected next year.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/17/k...
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/17/k...
Looking forward to the appointment of an enthusiastically pro-bus lane, pro-bike, pro-pedestrianization leader!
I'm hearing Katie Wilson plans to announce a leadership transition at the Seattle Department of Transportation today.
December 17, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Looking forward to the appointment of an enthusiastically pro-bus lane, pro-bike, pro-pedestrianization leader!
It's official.
The Hub has been penetrated.
A list of all signed up users has been leaked by hackers.
youtu.be/TX_FqZ2ZlC8
The Hub has been penetrated.
A list of all signed up users has been leaked by hackers.
youtu.be/TX_FqZ2ZlC8
200 Million User Records Stolen! Hackers Breach P***Hub
YouTube video by Seytonic
youtu.be
December 17, 2025 at 5:25 PM
It's official.
The Hub has been penetrated.
A list of all signed up users has been leaked by hackers.
youtu.be/TX_FqZ2ZlC8
The Hub has been penetrated.
A list of all signed up users has been leaked by hackers.
youtu.be/TX_FqZ2ZlC8
EMU rail operators:
In your experience, does a longer train perform differently than a shorter one, assuming similar load per-car?
In your experience, does a longer train perform differently than a shorter one, assuming similar load per-car?
December 17, 2025 at 1:49 AM
EMU rail operators:
In your experience, does a longer train perform differently than a shorter one, assuming similar load per-car?
In your experience, does a longer train perform differently than a shorter one, assuming similar load per-car?
I'm often grateful I don't have to drive in my daily life, but particularly so on days like this.
Buses are ridiculously safe, with rates of injury closer to air travel than driving.
32 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled - 0.4% - in 2023.
www.bts.gov/content/bus-...
Buses are ridiculously safe, with rates of injury closer to air travel than driving.
32 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled - 0.4% - in 2023.
www.bts.gov/content/bus-...
December 16, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I'm often grateful I don't have to drive in my daily life, but particularly so on days like this.
Buses are ridiculously safe, with rates of injury closer to air travel than driving.
32 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled - 0.4% - in 2023.
www.bts.gov/content/bus-...
Buses are ridiculously safe, with rates of injury closer to air travel than driving.
32 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled - 0.4% - in 2023.
www.bts.gov/content/bus-...
Reposted by Noah 🚎
From a friend a few minutes ago whose family member works at an Amazon warehouse in the south Puget Sound:
> [Worker] is currently at work around that area and surprise surprise, Amazon isn't letting anyone evacuate.
> [Worker] is currently at work around that area and surprise surprise, Amazon isn't letting anyone evacuate.
December 15, 2025 at 10:21 PM
From a friend a few minutes ago whose family member works at an Amazon warehouse in the south Puget Sound:
> [Worker] is currently at work around that area and surprise surprise, Amazon isn't letting anyone evacuate.
> [Worker] is currently at work around that area and surprise surprise, Amazon isn't letting anyone evacuate.
Reposted by Noah 🚎
"The ability to speak [or narrate] does not make you intelligent."
ICYMI: Important Context broke a story this week.
Liam Neeson narrated an anti-vax, pro-RFK documentary.
A spox for Neeson, tried to distance him from it, saying he’s not anti-vax, citing his work as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, and noting he didn’t have anything to do with the editorial content
Liam Neeson narrated an anti-vax, pro-RFK documentary.
A spox for Neeson, tried to distance him from it, saying he’s not anti-vax, citing his work as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, and noting he didn’t have anything to do with the editorial content
Liam Neeson Narrates Anti-Vax, Pro-RFK Documentary
The Taken actor can be heard calling COVID vaccines “dangerous experiments.”
www.importantcontext.news
December 15, 2025 at 12:37 AM
"The ability to speak [or narrate] does not make you intelligent."
I love the bus 🚌✨
December 14, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I love the bus 🚌✨
Good afternoon from the jumpseat!
I love hybrid artics!
🚌🔁🚌💨
I love hybrid artics!
🚌🔁🚌💨
December 13, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Good afternoon from the jumpseat!
I love hybrid artics!
🚌🔁🚌💨
I love hybrid artics!
🚌🔁🚌💨
I'm glad to hear this. All of the feedback I've hard from Metro employees has been positive, even interspersed with "this agency sucks at <x thing> and I wish they'd change it".
Mainly, because she listens, and cares.
Mainly, because she listens, and cares.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay just announced he's keeping King County Metro GM Michelle Allison on in her role as head of Washington's largest transit agency.
Allison has been on personal leave in recent weeks, with Deputy GM Ernest Kandilige serving in her stead.
Allison has been on personal leave in recent weeks, with Deputy GM Ernest Kandilige serving in her stead.
December 13, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I'm glad to hear this. All of the feedback I've hard from Metro employees has been positive, even interspersed with "this agency sucks at <x thing> and I wish they'd change it".
Mainly, because she listens, and cares.
Mainly, because she listens, and cares.
Genuine question for followers:
What do airport-wide announcements do?
"Attention in the terminal, Airline flight 1234 is in final boarding."
Were the target passengers actually going to make that flight? When the haptic reminders on the phone they're buried in not do the trick, why will this?
What do airport-wide announcements do?
"Attention in the terminal, Airline flight 1234 is in final boarding."
Were the target passengers actually going to make that flight? When the haptic reminders on the phone they're buried in not do the trick, why will this?
December 13, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Genuine question for followers:
What do airport-wide announcements do?
"Attention in the terminal, Airline flight 1234 is in final boarding."
Were the target passengers actually going to make that flight? When the haptic reminders on the phone they're buried in not do the trick, why will this?
What do airport-wide announcements do?
"Attention in the terminal, Airline flight 1234 is in final boarding."
Were the target passengers actually going to make that flight? When the haptic reminders on the phone they're buried in not do the trick, why will this?
Reposted by Noah 🚎
This is such a big @ttcriders.bsky.social and @mayoroliviachow.ca win!!
The Scarborough Subway extension isn’t going open until past 2030 and people would have been stuck on buses in traffic.
Now the busway will provide fast and reliable service for riders!
The Scarborough Subway extension isn’t going open until past 2030 and people would have been stuck on buses in traffic.
Now the busway will provide fast and reliable service for riders!
Y'all are giving us whiplash with all these announcements this week! This is going to make a massive difference to transit riders in Scarborough and we are thrilled!
It's also a testament to what can be accomplished without provincial meddling. Metrolinx, take note.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/sca...
It's also a testament to what can be accomplished without provincial meddling. Metrolinx, take note.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/sca...
Scarborough busway to open earlier than expected, says Mayor Olivia Chow
Construction for the $93.8-million project to convert the defunct Scarborough Rapid Transit corridor into a busway began this year and wasn’t expected to finish until at least 2027.
www.thestar.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
This is such a big @ttcriders.bsky.social and @mayoroliviachow.ca win!!
The Scarborough Subway extension isn’t going open until past 2030 and people would have been stuck on buses in traffic.
Now the busway will provide fast and reliable service for riders!
The Scarborough Subway extension isn’t going open until past 2030 and people would have been stuck on buses in traffic.
Now the busway will provide fast and reliable service for riders!
Let's make a wild, unsubstantiated overestimate of Sound Transit's inflation-adjusted deficit: $50 billion over the next 10yrs.
Or, expressed in more real terms, 1.3927576601671%% of Microsoft's 3.59 TRILLION market cap.
Yeah, I think we can afford that, and I have a pretty good idea about how.
Or, expressed in more real terms, 1.3927576601671%% of Microsoft's 3.59 TRILLION market cap.
Yeah, I think we can afford that, and I have a pretty good idea about how.
Major takeaway from this meeting: It's a $4 billion savings and not a $20 billion one.
Mitigating $4B/$34B of the fiscal deficit is something, but it's not such a savings that it'd be worth the reliability loss IMO.
Mitigating $4B/$34B of the fiscal deficit is something, but it's not such a savings that it'd be worth the reliability loss IMO.
"It doesn't really solve the financial issue we have," Somers says, citing dropping the tunnel as just 10% of the total project cost. He also notes that the tunnel is being paid for regionally, which means cost savings wouldn't necessarily go toward other Seattle projects.
December 12, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Let's make a wild, unsubstantiated overestimate of Sound Transit's inflation-adjusted deficit: $50 billion over the next 10yrs.
Or, expressed in more real terms, 1.3927576601671%% of Microsoft's 3.59 TRILLION market cap.
Yeah, I think we can afford that, and I have a pretty good idea about how.
Or, expressed in more real terms, 1.3927576601671%% of Microsoft's 3.59 TRILLION market cap.
Yeah, I think we can afford that, and I have a pretty good idea about how.