𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇
@taras-grescoe.com
Author of Straphanger, Shanghai Grand, The Devil’s Picnic | Words NY Times Nat Geo Smithsonian WSJ | Latest book Lost Supper | Talks: http://taras-grescoe.com/contact
https://www.highspeed.blog (Transit, trains, bikes)
https://linktr.ee/tarasgrescoe
https://www.highspeed.blog (Transit, trains, bikes)
https://linktr.ee/tarasgrescoe
I still love the winter cycling experience. Here are some confessions of a snow-bike-commuter, from my HIGH SPEED newsletter:
www.highspeed.blog/im-a-winter-...
www.highspeed.blog/im-a-winter-...
November 11, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I still love the winter cycling experience. Here are some confessions of a snow-bike-commuter, from my HIGH SPEED newsletter:
www.highspeed.blog/im-a-winter-...
www.highspeed.blog/im-a-winter-...
Postcard from #Montréal.
Bixis under the snow.
I rode my own winter bike to work. Rough sledding, with few of the streets plowed.
And 20 cm on Nov. 11 is a bit much, ‘stie!
Bixis under the snow.
I rode my own winter bike to work. Rough sledding, with few of the streets plowed.
And 20 cm on Nov. 11 is a bit much, ‘stie!
November 11, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Postcard from #Montréal.
Bixis under the snow.
I rode my own winter bike to work. Rough sledding, with few of the streets plowed.
And 20 cm on Nov. 11 is a bit much, ‘stie!
Bixis under the snow.
I rode my own winter bike to work. Rough sledding, with few of the streets plowed.
And 20 cm on Nov. 11 is a bit much, ‘stie!
November 9, 2025 at 9:56 PM
November 9, 2025 at 9:54 PM
...including #Montpellier and #Dunkerque in France; #Tallinn in Estonia and Kansas City.
With mixed results.
Does "fast and free" work? I take a look...
With mixed results.
Does "fast and free" work? I take a look...
November 9, 2025 at 9:54 PM
...including #Montpellier and #Dunkerque in France; #Tallinn in Estonia and Kansas City.
With mixed results.
Does "fast and free" work? I take a look...
With mixed results.
Does "fast and free" work? I take a look...
🎵 C'mon and take a free ride... 🎵
Edgar Winter pioneered the idea in '73.
Now a mega-city is going down the road, as Mamdani promises to make buses in #NYC fare-free.
Has this worked in the rest of the world?
Other cities have tried it...
🧵
Edgar Winter pioneered the idea in '73.
Now a mega-city is going down the road, as Mamdani promises to make buses in #NYC fare-free.
Has this worked in the rest of the world?
Other cities have tried it...
🧵
November 9, 2025 at 9:54 PM
🎵 C'mon and take a free ride... 🎵
Edgar Winter pioneered the idea in '73.
Now a mega-city is going down the road, as Mamdani promises to make buses in #NYC fare-free.
Has this worked in the rest of the world?
Other cities have tried it...
🧵
Edgar Winter pioneered the idea in '73.
Now a mega-city is going down the road, as Mamdani promises to make buses in #NYC fare-free.
Has this worked in the rest of the world?
Other cities have tried it...
🧵
"Free" is definitely achievable; whether transit will be "fast" is another matter.
I propose a more realistic slogan in the latest HIGH SPEED dispatch :
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
I propose a more realistic slogan in the latest HIGH SPEED dispatch :
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
November 7, 2025 at 2:13 PM
"Free" is definitely achievable; whether transit will be "fast" is another matter.
I propose a more realistic slogan in the latest HIGH SPEED dispatch :
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
I propose a more realistic slogan in the latest HIGH SPEED dispatch :
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
Montpellier is a city of 500,000. Other places that have tried free transit are also small: Tallinn, Luxembourg.
NYC is 8.5 million, so what Mamdani has in mind is on another scale.
NYC is 8.5 million, so what Mamdani has in mind is on another scale.
November 7, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Montpellier is a city of 500,000. Other places that have tried free transit are also small: Tallinn, Luxembourg.
NYC is 8.5 million, so what Mamdani has in mind is on another scale.
NYC is 8.5 million, so what Mamdani has in mind is on another scale.
Since 2023, ridership increased by one third.
Lost revenue was made up for by €124 million "mobility tax" on payroll, for companies with over 11 employees. (They rely on transit to have workers show up at the office!)
"Incidents" (petty crime) is down by 9 %.
usa.streetsblog.org/2025/06/03/f...
Lost revenue was made up for by €124 million "mobility tax" on payroll, for companies with over 11 employees. (They rely on transit to have workers show up at the office!)
"Incidents" (petty crime) is down by 9 %.
usa.streetsblog.org/2025/06/03/f...
November 7, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Since 2023, ridership increased by one third.
Lost revenue was made up for by €124 million "mobility tax" on payroll, for companies with over 11 employees. (They rely on transit to have workers show up at the office!)
"Incidents" (petty crime) is down by 9 %.
usa.streetsblog.org/2025/06/03/f...
Lost revenue was made up for by €124 million "mobility tax" on payroll, for companies with over 11 employees. (They rely on transit to have workers show up at the office!)
"Incidents" (petty crime) is down by 9 %.
usa.streetsblog.org/2025/06/03/f...
"Fast and free!"
That's what Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani promised to make #NYC 's city bus service.
What kind of impact has free transit had in other cities?
#Montpellier , #France is the largest city in Europe to make transit (5 tram lines, 41 bus lines) free for residents...
🧵
That's what Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani promised to make #NYC 's city bus service.
What kind of impact has free transit had in other cities?
#Montpellier , #France is the largest city in Europe to make transit (5 tram lines, 41 bus lines) free for residents...
🧵
November 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"Fast and free!"
That's what Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani promised to make #NYC 's city bus service.
What kind of impact has free transit had in other cities?
#Montpellier , #France is the largest city in Europe to make transit (5 tram lines, 41 bus lines) free for residents...
🧵
That's what Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani promised to make #NYC 's city bus service.
What kind of impact has free transit had in other cities?
#Montpellier , #France is the largest city in Europe to make transit (5 tram lines, 41 bus lines) free for residents...
🧵
I propose a new, more achievable slogan for NYC #transit in the latest HIGH SPEED blog:
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
November 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
I propose a new, more achievable slogan for NYC #transit in the latest HIGH SPEED blog:
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
www.highspeed.blog/fast-and-free/
If this is going to work, it won't be enough to cover up the fareboxes and card-readers and wait for the buses to get faster.
November 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
If this is going to work, it won't be enough to cover up the fareboxes and card-readers and wait for the buses to get faster.
...though I sure am happy that NYC has a #straphanger mayor, not one that rolls around in a white Bronco.
November 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
...though I sure am happy that NYC has a #straphanger mayor, not one that rolls around in a white Bronco.
"Fast and free" is a catchy slogan, and it may have helped #NYC 's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani win the election.
But getting fare-free transit to work is tricky.
I think Mamdani picked the wrong slogan...
🚍🧵
But getting fare-free transit to work is tricky.
I think Mamdani picked the wrong slogan...
🚍🧵
November 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
"Fast and free" is a catchy slogan, and it may have helped #NYC 's mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani win the election.
But getting fare-free transit to work is tricky.
I think Mamdani picked the wrong slogan...
🚍🧵
But getting fare-free transit to work is tricky.
I think Mamdani picked the wrong slogan...
🚍🧵
...though I sure am happy that NYC has a #straphanger mayor, not one that rolls around in a white Bronco.
November 6, 2025 at 3:41 PM
...though I sure am happy that NYC has a #straphanger mayor, not one that rolls around in a white Bronco.
THIS JUST IN: #Spain, #Portugal, EC agree to high-speed rail link.
Getting to #Lisbon from #Madrid by train right now is surprisingly slow: up to 10 hours to travel just over 500 km.
Proposed link would cut travel time to three hours by 2034.
www.euronews.com/travel/2025/...
Getting to #Lisbon from #Madrid by train right now is surprisingly slow: up to 10 hours to travel just over 500 km.
Proposed link would cut travel time to three hours by 2034.
www.euronews.com/travel/2025/...
November 6, 2025 at 2:07 PM
THIS JUST IN: #Spain, #Portugal, EC agree to high-speed rail link.
Getting to #Lisbon from #Madrid by train right now is surprisingly slow: up to 10 hours to travel just over 500 km.
Proposed link would cut travel time to three hours by 2034.
www.euronews.com/travel/2025/...
Getting to #Lisbon from #Madrid by train right now is surprisingly slow: up to 10 hours to travel just over 500 km.
Proposed link would cut travel time to three hours by 2034.
www.euronews.com/travel/2025/...
I'm likin' the vibe in Gotham!
Zohran Mamdani, #Straphanger Mayor of #NYC.
The latest @newyorker.com cover by Edel Rodriguez.
www.newyorker.com/culture/cove...
Zohran Mamdani, #Straphanger Mayor of #NYC.
The latest @newyorker.com cover by Edel Rodriguez.
www.newyorker.com/culture/cove...
November 5, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I'm likin' the vibe in Gotham!
Zohran Mamdani, #Straphanger Mayor of #NYC.
The latest @newyorker.com cover by Edel Rodriguez.
www.newyorker.com/culture/cove...
Zohran Mamdani, #Straphanger Mayor of #NYC.
The latest @newyorker.com cover by Edel Rodriguez.
www.newyorker.com/culture/cove...
#Canada 's high-speed rail project was in yesterday's federal budget, with shovels to go into the ground by 2030.
But @chittimarco.bsky.social is skeptical: "I don’t see Alto taking the necessary planning + public engagement steps that I’ve seen in countries that have developed HSR so far."
But @chittimarco.bsky.social is skeptical: "I don’t see Alto taking the necessary planning + public engagement steps that I’ve seen in countries that have developed HSR so far."
November 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
#Canada 's high-speed rail project was in yesterday's federal budget, with shovels to go into the ground by 2030.
But @chittimarco.bsky.social is skeptical: "I don’t see Alto taking the necessary planning + public engagement steps that I’ve seen in countries that have developed HSR so far."
But @chittimarco.bsky.social is skeptical: "I don’t see Alto taking the necessary planning + public engagement steps that I’ve seen in countries that have developed HSR so far."
Part of Projet Montréal's loss can be attributed to "bikelash."
I took a look at how this ugly phenomenon manifested in Montreal:
www.highspeed.blog/here-comes-t...
I took a look at how this ugly phenomenon manifested in Montreal:
www.highspeed.blog/here-comes-t...
November 5, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Part of Projet Montréal's loss can be attributed to "bikelash."
I took a look at how this ugly phenomenon manifested in Montreal:
www.highspeed.blog/here-comes-t...
I took a look at how this ugly phenomenon manifested in Montreal:
www.highspeed.blog/here-comes-t...
There are plans to allow the tram-trains to carry cargo, as they did in the past.
I wrote about the advantages of using trams and other surface rail modes to carry cargo in this HIGH SPEED dispatch:
www.highspeed.blog/death-to-the...
I wrote about the advantages of using trams and other surface rail modes to carry cargo in this HIGH SPEED dispatch:
www.highspeed.blog/death-to-the...
November 5, 2025 at 2:41 PM
There are plans to allow the tram-trains to carry cargo, as they did in the past.
I wrote about the advantages of using trams and other surface rail modes to carry cargo in this HIGH SPEED dispatch:
www.highspeed.blog/death-to-the...
I wrote about the advantages of using trams and other surface rail modes to carry cargo in this HIGH SPEED dispatch:
www.highspeed.blog/death-to-the...
Here's the map of the Karlsruhe region's rail transit network.
There's more history in this article:
worksinprogress.co/issue/turnin...
There's more history in this article:
worksinprogress.co/issue/turnin...
November 5, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Here's the map of the Karlsruhe region's rail transit network.
There's more history in this article:
worksinprogress.co/issue/turnin...
There's more history in this article:
worksinprogress.co/issue/turnin...
The system goes back to 1957. The real innovation was connecting inner-city tram lines with old freight lines outside the city, allowing "through-running."
This rural-urban service reminds me of the electric Interurbans, once common in the US.
This rural-urban service reminds me of the electric Interurbans, once common in the US.
November 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
The system goes back to 1957. The real innovation was connecting inner-city tram lines with old freight lines outside the city, allowing "through-running."
This rural-urban service reminds me of the electric Interurbans, once common in the US.
This rural-urban service reminds me of the electric Interurbans, once common in the US.
Here's a public transit model a lot more cities need to know about.
It's the #Karlsruhe Stadtbahn. It runs tram-trains, in this metro region in #Germany of 310,000.
Outside town, they run as standard commuter trains. Inside town, they operate as trams (streetcars)—no need to change mode.
🧵
It's the #Karlsruhe Stadtbahn. It runs tram-trains, in this metro region in #Germany of 310,000.
Outside town, they run as standard commuter trains. Inside town, they operate as trams (streetcars)—no need to change mode.
🧵
November 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Here's a public transit model a lot more cities need to know about.
It's the #Karlsruhe Stadtbahn. It runs tram-trains, in this metro region in #Germany of 310,000.
Outside town, they run as standard commuter trains. Inside town, they operate as trams (streetcars)—no need to change mode.
🧵
It's the #Karlsruhe Stadtbahn. It runs tram-trains, in this metro region in #Germany of 310,000.
Outside town, they run as standard commuter trains. Inside town, they operate as trams (streetcars)—no need to change mode.
🧵
Which bike paths are the most-used in the US and Canada?
Two bridges into Manhattan place No. 1 and 2—no surprise there.
But No. 3 is the REV Saint-Denis—and #Montreal bike paths make up half of the top 6 most-used paths on the continent.
Two bridges into Manhattan place No. 1 and 2—no surprise there.
But No. 3 is the REV Saint-Denis—and #Montreal bike paths make up half of the top 6 most-used paths on the continent.
November 4, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Which bike paths are the most-used in the US and Canada?
Two bridges into Manhattan place No. 1 and 2—no surprise there.
But No. 3 is the REV Saint-Denis—and #Montreal bike paths make up half of the top 6 most-used paths on the continent.
Two bridges into Manhattan place No. 1 and 2—no surprise there.
But No. 3 is the REV Saint-Denis—and #Montreal bike paths make up half of the top 6 most-used paths on the continent.