phriendly neighborhood photojournalist
@phriendlyphotog.bsky.social
insulin belongs to the world | #T1D | will never agree to disagree | best thing you can do for your car is take the bus
A rail line to Ocean City, MARC trains to Virginia, service to Cumberland and Harrisburg, and so much more in my latest @metrodreamin.bsky.social map video on the YouTube channel!
youtu.be/8IZZG5xsve4
youtu.be/8IZZG5xsve4
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
A rail line to Ocean City, MARC trains to Virginia, service to Cumberland and Harrisburg, and so much more in my latest @metrodreamin.bsky.social map video on the YouTube channel!
youtu.be/8IZZG5xsve4
youtu.be/8IZZG5xsve4
Latest on my Substack - my darkhorse for the most important passenger rail project going on in America today, and how it will greatly benefit Amtrak most:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
October 2, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Latest on my Substack - my darkhorse for the most important passenger rail project going on in America today, and how it will greatly benefit Amtrak most:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
London can teach us a lot about transit, but not just us in Baltimore—us in the entire United States 🇺🇸 Had a blast doing this video and visiting family in the UK.
youtu.be/2TY99n5jtmU
youtu.be/2TY99n5jtmU
September 30, 2025 at 7:47 PM
London can teach us a lot about transit, but not just us in Baltimore—us in the entire United States 🇺🇸 Had a blast doing this video and visiting family in the UK.
youtu.be/2TY99n5jtmU
youtu.be/2TY99n5jtmU
We need to stop treating urban and rural America like misbehaving children and spend real money to fix them. And, yes, that means not giving so much to suburbia.
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
September 17, 2025 at 4:07 PM
We need to stop treating urban and rural America like misbehaving children and spend real money to fix them. And, yes, that means not giving so much to suburbia.
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
Urbanists don't talk enough about transit safety - and we need to change that.
The murder of Iryna Zarutska wasn't the 1st murder of a woman on transit by a deranged man, and won't be the last.
We need to fix so many things - and I write about them here:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
The murder of Iryna Zarutska wasn't the 1st murder of a woman on transit by a deranged man, and won't be the last.
We need to fix so many things - and I write about them here:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
September 10, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Urbanists don't talk enough about transit safety - and we need to change that.
The murder of Iryna Zarutska wasn't the 1st murder of a woman on transit by a deranged man, and won't be the last.
We need to fix so many things - and I write about them here:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
The murder of Iryna Zarutska wasn't the 1st murder of a woman on transit by a deranged man, and won't be the last.
We need to fix so many things - and I write about them here:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
The mainstream press in the U.S. candidly don’t know much about trains or passenger rail.
YES—the new Acela IS slow, but you’re not giving the “why,” so here it is.
A stop-by-stop breakdown on WHY the fastest train in the Americas is hardly fast at all:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
YES—the new Acela IS slow, but you’re not giving the “why,” so here it is.
A stop-by-stop breakdown on WHY the fastest train in the Americas is hardly fast at all:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
September 3, 2025 at 10:33 PM
The mainstream press in the U.S. candidly don’t know much about trains or passenger rail.
YES—the new Acela IS slow, but you’re not giving the “why,” so here it is.
A stop-by-stop breakdown on WHY the fastest train in the Americas is hardly fast at all:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
YES—the new Acela IS slow, but you’re not giving the “why,” so here it is.
A stop-by-stop breakdown on WHY the fastest train in the Americas is hardly fast at all:
open.substack.com/pub/phriendl...
Rode the Penn Shuttle and timed how long the light rail takes to get thru the much maligned Howard Street corridor. Red light stops alone lead to lots of people saying they may never take the mode again, and who can blame them?
youtu.be/6p9ZbX68nrw?...
youtu.be/6p9ZbX68nrw?...
August 25, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Rode the Penn Shuttle and timed how long the light rail takes to get thru the much maligned Howard Street corridor. Red light stops alone lead to lots of people saying they may never take the mode again, and who can blame them?
youtu.be/6p9ZbX68nrw?...
youtu.be/6p9ZbX68nrw?...
This graphic is from a group OPPOSED to transit funding.
See that green line? If you blink, you’ll miss it.
That’s what’s needed to keep public transit afloat in PA.
Condition funding, fine, but don’t act like it was ever going to sink PA. That’s a lie not even the transit detractors can sell.
See that green line? If you blink, you’ll miss it.
That’s what’s needed to keep public transit afloat in PA.
Condition funding, fine, but don’t act like it was ever going to sink PA. That’s a lie not even the transit detractors can sell.
August 12, 2025 at 12:18 PM
This graphic is from a group OPPOSED to transit funding.
See that green line? If you blink, you’ll miss it.
That’s what’s needed to keep public transit afloat in PA.
Condition funding, fine, but don’t act like it was ever going to sink PA. That’s a lie not even the transit detractors can sell.
See that green line? If you blink, you’ll miss it.
That’s what’s needed to keep public transit afloat in PA.
Condition funding, fine, but don’t act like it was ever going to sink PA. That’s a lie not even the transit detractors can sell.
Boston's MBTA can teach us a lot of what to do and what not to do when it comes to mass transit - still loved riding it tho:
youtu.be/PKICgzDlh7s?...
youtu.be/PKICgzDlh7s?...
August 4, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Boston's MBTA can teach us a lot of what to do and what not to do when it comes to mass transit - still loved riding it tho:
youtu.be/PKICgzDlh7s?...
youtu.be/PKICgzDlh7s?...
You didn't choose driving. The U.S. government did for you.
phriendlyphotog.substack.com/p/you-didnt-...
phriendlyphotog.substack.com/p/you-didnt-...
July 15, 2025 at 2:38 PM
You didn't choose driving. The U.S. government did for you.
phriendlyphotog.substack.com/p/you-didnt-...
phriendlyphotog.substack.com/p/you-didnt-...
I was only in England a little more than a week, and @mta.maryland.gov is doing diesel cab locomotives on the Penn Line?
June 2, 2025 at 12:07 PM
I was only in England a little more than a week, and @mta.maryland.gov is doing diesel cab locomotives on the Penn Line?
An idea as to what platform screen doors would look like at a DC metro stop, that isn’t a rendering.
This is Westminster station on London’s Jubilee Line.
This is Westminster station on London’s Jubilee Line.
May 26, 2025 at 10:55 AM
An idea as to what platform screen doors would look like at a DC metro stop, that isn’t a rendering.
This is Westminster station on London’s Jubilee Line.
This is Westminster station on London’s Jubilee Line.
Folks—
May 23, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Folks—
Shot. Chaser.
May 20, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Shot. Chaser.
Never forget that Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) walked the walk—on subway platforms, at bus stops, at tram stations—he understood the value of good public transportation, and you should, too.
April 21, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Never forget that Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) walked the walk—on subway platforms, at bus stops, at tram stations—he understood the value of good public transportation, and you should, too.
Caught it yesterday!
March 2, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Caught it yesterday!
"Baltimore isn't segregated anymore."
These are the homes listed on Zillow as for sale "by foreclosure, by-owner, or other."
They're almost all foreclosures.
These are the homes listed on Zillow as for sale "by foreclosure, by-owner, or other."
They're almost all foreclosures.
February 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
"Baltimore isn't segregated anymore."
These are the homes listed on Zillow as for sale "by foreclosure, by-owner, or other."
They're almost all foreclosures.
These are the homes listed on Zillow as for sale "by foreclosure, by-owner, or other."
They're almost all foreclosures.
Overall—fantastic visit to Boston for a long weekend.
Spent too much money, but only spending $45 total on local travel while we were here helped cushion that lol
Can’t wait to take the Amtrak back up again soon.
Spent too much money, but only spending $45 total on local travel while we were here helped cushion that lol
Can’t wait to take the Amtrak back up again soon.
February 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Overall—fantastic visit to Boston for a long weekend.
Spent too much money, but only spending $45 total on local travel while we were here helped cushion that lol
Can’t wait to take the Amtrak back up again soon.
Spent too much money, but only spending $45 total on local travel while we were here helped cushion that lol
Can’t wait to take the Amtrak back up again soon.
4) USE!
To say transit was packed is an understatement. It was nice to see ppl constantly using it to get around, and we were far from the only couples on Valentine’s Day dressed up for dinner on the T.
With weekend/holiday frequency so awful in Baltimore we were spoiled here!
To say transit was packed is an understatement. It was nice to see ppl constantly using it to get around, and we were far from the only couples on Valentine’s Day dressed up for dinner on the T.
With weekend/holiday frequency so awful in Baltimore we were spoiled here!
February 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
4) USE!
To say transit was packed is an understatement. It was nice to see ppl constantly using it to get around, and we were far from the only couples on Valentine’s Day dressed up for dinner on the T.
With weekend/holiday frequency so awful in Baltimore we were spoiled here!
To say transit was packed is an understatement. It was nice to see ppl constantly using it to get around, and we were far from the only couples on Valentine’s Day dressed up for dinner on the T.
With weekend/holiday frequency so awful in Baltimore we were spoiled here!
3) Fares!
Charlie Cards are pretty nice. We got a 7-day pass for $20/per and every mode took a mobile tap-pay. BIG plus side.
In Baltimore, we have CharmPass, but fares are hardly checked, and it’s arguably an honors system for everything, if you use the app, but I like it.
Charlie Cards are pretty nice. We got a 7-day pass for $20/per and every mode took a mobile tap-pay. BIG plus side.
In Baltimore, we have CharmPass, but fares are hardly checked, and it’s arguably an honors system for everything, if you use the app, but I like it.
February 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
3) Fares!
Charlie Cards are pretty nice. We got a 7-day pass for $20/per and every mode took a mobile tap-pay. BIG plus side.
In Baltimore, we have CharmPass, but fares are hardly checked, and it’s arguably an honors system for everything, if you use the app, but I like it.
Charlie Cards are pretty nice. We got a 7-day pass for $20/per and every mode took a mobile tap-pay. BIG plus side.
In Baltimore, we have CharmPass, but fares are hardly checked, and it’s arguably an honors system for everything, if you use the app, but I like it.
2) Connections!
Boston has solid connections to all modes, with great wayfinding.
In Baltimore, the buses connect to everything, but rail modes hardly ever intersect, and there’s no connection that makes travel seamless.
We’d commonly get off the green and right on a subway.
Boston has solid connections to all modes, with great wayfinding.
In Baltimore, the buses connect to everything, but rail modes hardly ever intersect, and there’s no connection that makes travel seamless.
We’d commonly get off the green and right on a subway.
February 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
2) Connections!
Boston has solid connections to all modes, with great wayfinding.
In Baltimore, the buses connect to everything, but rail modes hardly ever intersect, and there’s no connection that makes travel seamless.
We’d commonly get off the green and right on a subway.
Boston has solid connections to all modes, with great wayfinding.
In Baltimore, the buses connect to everything, but rail modes hardly ever intersect, and there’s no connection that makes travel seamless.
We’d commonly get off the green and right on a subway.
#Boston transit observations:
1) FREQUENCY!!
Even on outer branches of the green line, we hardly waited more than 5-6mins *on a weekend* for a train, and they were always packed.
In Baltimore, we sometimes have 30+ minute frequencies on the light rail, even more on weekends.
1) FREQUENCY!!
Even on outer branches of the green line, we hardly waited more than 5-6mins *on a weekend* for a train, and they were always packed.
In Baltimore, we sometimes have 30+ minute frequencies on the light rail, even more on weekends.
February 17, 2025 at 3:11 PM
#Boston transit observations:
1) FREQUENCY!!
Even on outer branches of the green line, we hardly waited more than 5-6mins *on a weekend* for a train, and they were always packed.
In Baltimore, we sometimes have 30+ minute frequencies on the light rail, even more on weekends.
1) FREQUENCY!!
Even on outer branches of the green line, we hardly waited more than 5-6mins *on a weekend* for a train, and they were always packed.
In Baltimore, we sometimes have 30+ minute frequencies on the light rail, even more on weekends.