The San Diego Trolley is the most ridden Light Rail system in the US yet there doesn't seem to be any new expansions planned. The last extension was the Blue Line extension to UCSD which opened in 2021 and has been a success. Ridership on the trolley is almost 10% higher than pre-pandemic.

I know San Diego has been historically anti-transit yet the transit system seems to be relatively successful. Why aren't there more efforts to build out the system more?

I was reading just now a question in this subreddit about big expansions of public transports on US cities and someone mentioned metro and then got me wondering if there are cases in the US like we have in Europe where cities have to be very careful where and how they build the metro lines because in cities like Rome for example you barely have any room due to lots of archeological sites and historial value.

It seems like this would be a much more cost effective way to get meaningful transit in a city core, rather than waiting until there's enough funding to get just one subway or light rail line started.

Hi everyone, I've recently been thinking about how my bus systems paper schedules could be made more comprehendible. Are there any good examples of well-designed timetables you guys have seen? With low frequencies and many deviations, our system does not make it easy, but I know many people who rely on physical schedules, rather than GTFS data. Thanks for any help!

Edit: Added example of our current layout below

https://preview.redd.it/o951mr8q8sid1.jpg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd99effd14821fb9717530644c2c3e586087b958

https://preview.redd.it/s0kt6t8q8sid1.jpg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=81234e859b056e939733276560d65e7fb3b01bd1

https://apnews.com/article/dnc-rnc-chicago-milwaukee-cleveland-infrastructure-transit-a2a12a1b3772b6e333ae13ded818dc73

I'd love to hear about expansion of transit systems in America, and which are really popping off with ambitious plans.

Locally for me, Metro Transit, of the St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan area, is currently expanding the red line 5.2 miles further east to Mid-America Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois.

They also have plans for a 5.8-mile street-running light rail line, the Green Line, in the city of St. Louis, MO. It will bridge north and south city while cutting through the growing Downtown West and Midtown neighborhoods. It likely won't open until 2030 or even 2031.

St. Louis County also is the discussion stages for future lines. A line to Ferguson, MO could be an option.

Across the state, I know Kansas City, MO is currently expanding their streetcar 3.5 miles south to UMKC and the Plaza. They also have ambitions for taking it north to North Kansas City. I also believe they'd like to add an east-west corridor at some point.

What else?

Moving to LA in a few weeks for school and I was just wondering when in 2025 you all think the Wilshire/La Brea station is opening as the first stop on the new purple line extension. I live a few blocks away and it would be a godsend to get to ktown/dtla/pasadena but I'm only gonna be there thru June so I'm not really getting my hopes up lol

I see around the world, commuter rail systems (not intercity systems, but ones that serve a specific metro and its suburbs/outer city) average about 25-35 mph, even in countries with very well-respected rail networks.

My question is, with all of the stops involved - which to my understanding is included in those average speed calculations - how fast could it actually get, assuming state-of-the-art investment?

It's my opinion that if we could enhance the speed of commuter rail significantly, like by 50%+, it would have an amazing impact on not only people's commutes, but also greatly expand access to affordable housing within commuting distance of downtown jobs. I'm wondering if that's impossible though.

I apologize if this is the wrong sub to ask this, MODs please take this down if it is

What future career paths do I have to take to become someone who plans new high speed rail routes?

What would that position title even be called?

I would greatly appreciate if anyone could point me in the right direction (Im currently a Planner 1 in land use)

https://archive.ph/XROUS

I've observed that, like Los Angeles has Las Vegas as an inland city in Nevada that could reasonably be connected by high-speed rail to California, San Fransisco has a similiar relationship with Reno, and with Sacramento between the two possibly making it easier to break even with the project.

Now, I'm not referring to a potential extension by California High-Speed Rail from the Sacramento to Merced line (the one connecting to the San Fransisco-to-Los Angeles backbone corridor), even though Nevada itself has publicly contemplated plans for such a c-shaped connection for Nevada's cities through California (Here's a link to my source), but rather a line that goes straight from San Fransisco to Reno. What do you guys think?

Specifically the bus running between Albuquerque and El Paso? Considering taking this bus instead of renting a car but want to avoid if it's like Greyhound, thanks!

https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2024/08/12/septa-budget-deficit-pennsylvania-lawmakers