@hahlen.bsky.social
The VIA Rail Canada ritual: passengers standing in line half an hour before departure, 7 employees standing by as if guarding the baggage scale
December 21, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The VIA Rail Canada ritual: passengers standing in line half an hour before departure, 7 employees standing by as if guarding the baggage scale
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Blows my mind it hasn't even been a full year of congestion pricing in NYC yet. Years of cranks whining about it and then you just DO IT and everything is instantly better and everyone gets used to it and moves on. We should do good things more often!
PS - T-minus 12 days to Streets Mayor Mamdani!
PS - T-minus 12 days to Streets Mayor Mamdani!
I refuse to shut up about this: NYC started charging $9 to bring a car into our most transit-rich zone, the haters & trolls predicted doom, but traffic evaporated instantly and here’s Times Square tonite (even after the holiday tourists have left). For a better future, build transit & price driving!
December 20, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Blows my mind it hasn't even been a full year of congestion pricing in NYC yet. Years of cranks whining about it and then you just DO IT and everything is instantly better and everyone gets used to it and moves on. We should do good things more often!
PS - T-minus 12 days to Streets Mayor Mamdani!
PS - T-minus 12 days to Streets Mayor Mamdani!
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Anyway, I think Dems are right to believe subsidy expiration, because many Americans will suffer and maybe die, is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. A less harmful way to do well in elections, though, is to offer voters a compelling vision for why they should vote, affirmatively, for you.
November 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Anyway, I think Dems are right to believe subsidy expiration, because many Americans will suffer and maybe die, is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. A less harmful way to do well in elections, though, is to offer voters a compelling vision for why they should vote, affirmatively, for you.
I believe that car dependence and suburbia are significant causes of American political decline. Day to day benign interactions with different people build trust. Seeing them do the same things as you and the emotions on their faces build empathy. Interactions in traffic are hostile, impersonal.
i think if you ride public transit enough you learn that most weird behavior is not dangerous, and conversely i think driving a car teaches you that everyone is trying to kill you at all times
October 29, 2025 at 5:59 PM
I believe that car dependence and suburbia are significant causes of American political decline. Day to day benign interactions with different people build trust. Seeing them do the same things as you and the emotions on their faces build empathy. Interactions in traffic are hostile, impersonal.
I blame TikTok for normalizing this behavior and also making it so much more obnoxious. Everyone’s scrolling endless looping videos instead of silent posts now, with their brains completely off. And the noise pollution of TikTok sounds meta is so much worse than a regular video or music.
people playing music/videos on their phone speakers in public is more than just mildly annoying and is instead a leading indicator of the decline of community and empath
Do you have any extremely niche, but serious, ethical stances?
October 20, 2025 at 9:20 AM
I blame TikTok for normalizing this behavior and also making it so much more obnoxious. Everyone’s scrolling endless looping videos instead of silent posts now, with their brains completely off. And the noise pollution of TikTok sounds meta is so much worse than a regular video or music.
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The American centrist punditocracy has decided that what the US transit industry needs are endless lectures about the importance of security.
These writers misunderstand the problem, and are making things worse. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
These writers misunderstand the problem, and are making things worse. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The Other Reason Americans Don’t Use Mass Transit
People will take buses and trains only if they feel safe while riding them.
www.theatlantic.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The American centrist punditocracy has decided that what the US transit industry needs are endless lectures about the importance of security.
These writers misunderstand the problem, and are making things worse. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
These writers misunderstand the problem, and are making things worse. 1/
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
There is literally no good that comes from this. Why do we let a couple freaks get mega rich by creating society destroying technology
Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon sext with verified adults
Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon sext with verified adults
ChatGPT is about to get flirty.
buff.ly
October 15, 2025 at 2:30 AM
There is literally no good that comes from this. Why do we let a couple freaks get mega rich by creating society destroying technology
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The #1 piece of advice that TransLink's CEO offers other North American transit agencies:
Provide frequent service
Provide frequent service
October 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The #1 piece of advice that TransLink's CEO offers other North American transit agencies:
Provide frequent service
Provide frequent service
The transition from Norfolk Southern track to Amtrak/SEPTA track at Harrisburg should instantly convince anyone that railway nationalization is necessary and important. It feels like stepping forward in time a half century or entering a proper country.
October 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
The transition from Norfolk Southern track to Amtrak/SEPTA track at Harrisburg should instantly convince anyone that railway nationalization is necessary and important. It feels like stepping forward in time a half century or entering a proper country.
On a completely sold out Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Almost like there should be more than one (1) train per day between two dense cities with high transit ridership 250 miles apart. FlixBus/Greyhound has 16-18 daily trips charging a minimum of $46 a month in advance.
October 11, 2025 at 11:27 AM
On a completely sold out Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Almost like there should be more than one (1) train per day between two dense cities with high transit ridership 250 miles apart. FlixBus/Greyhound has 16-18 daily trips charging a minimum of $46 a month in advance.
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Daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda Williams 💔
October 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda Williams 💔
One of the City Center rail stations of all time
October 4, 2025 at 5:02 PM
One of the City Center rail stations of all time
Final thoughts on SLC. The UTA is a really impressive transit agency and there’s lots of good TOD recently completed and under construction around the region. But the walkability and overall urban fabric is still pretty bad thanks to being masterplanned with slavish devotion to cars.
October 3, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Final thoughts on SLC. The UTA is a really impressive transit agency and there’s lots of good TOD recently completed and under construction around the region. But the walkability and overall urban fabric is still pretty bad thanks to being masterplanned with slavish devotion to cars.
UTA has a new “BRT” service in Ogden branded as OGX. It connects the Frontrunner regional rail station to Weber State University and a major hospital. It features a mixture of mixed traffic running, dedicated center-running lanes and a dedicated ROW on the university campus.
September 30, 2025 at 12:42 PM
UTA has a new “BRT” service in Ogden branded as OGX. It connects the Frontrunner regional rail station to Weber State University and a major hospital. It features a mixture of mixed traffic running, dedicated center-running lanes and a dedicated ROW on the university campus.
Sacramento LRT uses high-floor vehicles, but many stations are on street, while even stations on dedicated ROW use this tram-style design without platforms and with the ‘inner’ track closer to the entrance paved over to facilitate access to the ‘island platform’ and ‘outer’ track.
September 29, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Sacramento LRT uses high-floor vehicles, but many stations are on street, while even stations on dedicated ROW use this tram-style design without platforms and with the ‘inner’ track closer to the entrance paved over to facilitate access to the ‘island platform’ and ‘outer’ track.
In approximate order
The Yard
Bootleg Football
The Layover
Fantasy Football with Josh & Hayden
The Urbanist Agenda
The Yard
Bootleg Football
The Layover
Fantasy Football with Josh & Hayden
The Urbanist Agenda
dating apps should just make men list their top 5 podcasts
September 17, 2025 at 6:56 AM
In approximate order
The Yard
Bootleg Football
The Layover
Fantasy Football with Josh & Hayden
The Urbanist Agenda
The Yard
Bootleg Football
The Layover
Fantasy Football with Josh & Hayden
The Urbanist Agenda
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My sense is that most Americans had not heard of Charlie Kirk until yesterday. The first and perhaps only thing they're going to hear about him from the most trusted and important voices in American politics is that he was a model and constructive participant in good-faith political discourse.
September 11, 2025 at 1:03 PM
My sense is that most Americans had not heard of Charlie Kirk until yesterday. The first and perhaps only thing they're going to hear about him from the most trusted and important voices in American politics is that he was a model and constructive participant in good-faith political discourse.
Hoping for more of this and less talk of free bus fares. Follow the Swiss model, not the failing American suburb model!
Mamdani: We need to make public transportation so good that “no matter how much money is in your pocket, you say: I’m gonna use this.”
September 7, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Hoping for more of this and less talk of free bus fares. Follow the Swiss model, not the failing American suburb model!
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Not sure I've ever written anything that has made men so mad. badfaithtimes.com/self-censors...
Self Censorship Is Actually Good
Being an asshole is a choice.
badfaithtimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Not sure I've ever written anything that has made men so mad. badfaithtimes.com/self-censors...
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Trump-supporting economist who is anti-union is also at the Abundance conference as a speaker lmao
September 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Trump-supporting economist who is anti-union is also at the Abundance conference as a speaker lmao
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it should be at least 400 times harder to get a driver's license
September 1, 2025 at 8:20 PM
it should be at least 400 times harder to get a driver's license
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I still can't believe Councilmember Padilla used *forcing a developer to reduce the size of an affordable housing project* as an example of how she is making housing more affordable for the people in her district!
August 28, 2025 at 1:12 AM
I still can't believe Councilmember Padilla used *forcing a developer to reduce the size of an affordable housing project* as an example of how she is making housing more affordable for the people in her district!
Juneau gave final approval to the Telephone Hill redevelopment (210 units of new TOD right next to downtown replacing 13 decrepit old units, been in planning for over a decade) and it’s got the NIMBYs so mad they’re starting out with the dictionary definition arguments lmaooooo
August 17, 2025 at 5:37 AM
Juneau gave final approval to the Telephone Hill redevelopment (210 units of new TOD right next to downtown replacing 13 decrepit old units, been in planning for over a decade) and it’s got the NIMBYs so mad they’re starting out with the dictionary definition arguments lmaooooo
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it's pretty frustrating how republicans can just spew endless lies about city life with zero repercussions but the moment a dem disparages a pickup truck it's open season
August 11, 2025 at 5:59 PM
it's pretty frustrating how republicans can just spew endless lies about city life with zero repercussions but the moment a dem disparages a pickup truck it's open season
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MOTHAAFUCKING FIRETRUCK COMING 🚒 🚒 🚒 NYEAHA 🚒 🚒AAAAAARAH 🚒 🚒 🚒HAHAHOO WHAYUSHOUTAUH 🚂🚂 HAHAHA
August 2, 2025 at 4:22 AM
MOTHAAFUCKING FIRETRUCK COMING 🚒 🚒 🚒 NYEAHA 🚒 🚒AAAAAARAH 🚒 🚒 🚒HAHAHOO WHAYUSHOUTAUH 🚂🚂 HAHAHA