We ride the Thuringian Waldbahn from Gotha through forest and small towns, tracing its history and design while asking why systems like this are rare elsewhere. Along the way we test timed transfers, swap notes on fares, and weigh what rural mobility could look like in the US.

• route overview from Gotha to Waltershausen, Friedrichroda and Bad Tabarz
• single track operations with passing loops
• history from 1894 urban tram to 1929 Waldbahn
• fare simplicity with the Deutschlandticket
• regional rail links and service frequency
• lessons for rural transit in the US
• reflections on identity, tourism and everyday access

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Eight new transit links, one very mobile year. We’re diving into the projects that will actually change how U.S. cities move in 2026—from a light rail that glides over a floating bridge to a long‑awaited people mover that finally tames LAX’s traffic loop.

If you care about frequency, airport access, and walkable neighborhoods, this tour is your roadmap to the projects that matter. Hit play, share with a transit‑curious friend, and tell us which city got it right. Subscribe and leave a review to help more riders find the show.

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A celebratory Silver Line opening collides with city referendums to leave DART, putting service, funding, and future upgrades at risk. We weigh the politics and the human impact, and lay out what residents can do before the 2026 votes.

• Silver Line ridership settling into expectations
• What Plano currently receives from DART
• Land use gaps around stations and jobs
• Why sales tax capture is driving exit talk
• Debt payoff timelines if cities leave
• System impacts of losing Plano and Irving
• Public sentiment and organizing momentum
• Negotiation paths and funding flexibility
• How to track councils and get involved
• Key dates leading to May 2026 votes

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We unpack Seattle’s latest transit surge, from the Federal Way light rail extension to the cross‑lake Two Line testing across the Lake Washington Floating Bridge. We close with the express‑lane BRT buildout and how highway stitches, feeder routes, and frequent service can reshape daily trips.

• Federal Way extension scope, stations, and timeline
• Federal Way retail core and TOD potential toward Tacoma
• Pros and cons of building along I‑5
• Cross‑lake Two Line testing on the floating bridge
• Mercer Island median station and highway stitches
• Judkins Park station access and trail links
• Combined four‑minute headways on the shared trunk
• Reliability risks with limited bypasses
• Ridership growth and network effects
• BRT S1, S2, S3 using express lanes and median platforms
• Service spans and 10–15 minute headways
• Feeder buses and suburban connectivity
• Using highway ROW to accelerate delivery

If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to support us in any way that you can. The biggest and best way that you can do that is by liking and subscribing to the channel, sharing these videos with your friends, family, bus drivers, train drivers, whoever you think is going to enjoy them. We also have our merch store where you can buy t‑shirts and hats and a couple other things, as well as utilizing our Buy Me a Coffee link or joining our Patreon where we try to get episodes out early

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We examine whether night trains can work in the United States by starting with a real sleeper ride from Zurich to Leipzig and then mapping routes where overnight service fits naturally. Dreamstar’s proposed LA–SF sleeper gets a reality check, while Amtrak’s current options and price gaps are unpacked with practical fixes.

• First‑hand review of ÖBB Nightjet Zurich to Leipzig
• Differences between compartments and open‑berth formats
• Snapshot of U.S. sleeper history and Pullman luxury
• Amtrak room types, limitations and high fares
• Why overnight rail saves time, money and stress
• Dreamstar LA–SF feasibility, timelines and obstacles
• Easy pilot candidates on NEC overnight slots
• Route ideas: LA–Phoenix, Chicago–Minneapolis, Chicago–Kansas City, Chicago–Nashville
• Shared berths as a lower‑cost U.S. option
• What it would take to win mode‑shift from flights

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We ride Zurich’s entire transit ecosystem in one day, testing how trams, S-Bahn, buses, funiculars, a cog railway, an aerial cable car, and a lake ferry connect... without a subway. Along the way, we unpack why Zurich never built a U-Bahn and how integration, signage, and frequency keep the city moving.

• highlights from Polybahn to funiculars
• Dolderbahn’s rack system
• Zurich tram network scale, history, and headways
• Stadelhofen’s capacity squeeze and planned fourth track
• aerial cable car to Felsenegg and integrated ticketing
• winter ferry service on Lake Zurich and trip trade‑offs
• network design trade for no U‑Bahn and city size context
• zone passes, app tickets, and excellent wayfinding
• lessons for US cities from Zurich’s layered network

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We mark 100 straight weeks by revisiting our 2025 transit list and tracking which projects delivered results. Chicago’s frequent buses, NYC’s congestion pricing, LA’s push for speed and access, and new lines in Dallas and Honolulu show how funding, design, and frequency reshape cities.

• Chicago launches 10-minute bus corridors and upgrades Red and Purple stations
• Illinois passes SB 211 for governance reform and $1.5bn annual transit funding
• NYC congestion pricing raises hundreds of millions and cuts traffic
• Debate on free buses, with MTA prioritizing signals, fleet, and safety upgrades
• Boston clears slow zones and restores subway speed
• LA overhauls the G Line, expands bus-lane cameras, opens the LAX hub
• Dallas opens the Silver Line orbital to DFW
• Honolulu Skyway reaches the airport with phase two
• Phoenix adds five-plus miles of light rail
• Austin’s Rapid 800 and 837 grow ridership, frequency remains the lever
• Community highlights, advocacy links, and plans for 2026 content

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We ride around Munich from the city center to the suburban palaces. We hit it all, trams, buses, U-Bahn and S-Bahn. Home of BMW, our trip reveals a car capital where transit is still king.

• Major renovations and expansion of the Munich Hauptbahnhof and what it changes
• tram frequency, speed differences versus Vienna, and signage wins
• walkability around Marienplatz and Viktualienmarkt
• cross-town bus to BMW and Olympic Park to test outer links
• U-Bahn service levels, proof-of-payment, and crowd management
• S-Bahn scale today and why a new tunnel under construction matters
• Munich’s centralized rail versus Vienna’s stronger orbitals

If you are not already subscribed to the channel, we’ll have the final part of this European trip from Zurich coming up in just a few weeks. So, subscribe to hear the latest!

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