Who you compare yourself to matters
- “London introduced contactless credit and debit card payment a decade ago, making it easier for locals and tourists alike to ride trains, buses, and trams. And yet, there are still many major cities that do not accept this almost universal type of payment right at the fare gate/fare box.” ⤴️
- “I hear comparisons with places around the world being dismissed because of various perceived or ridiculous differences — “Europe doesn’t have accessibility laws, or Unions!” — and almost no attention is given to all the reasons we should compare.” ⤴️
- “far too often, cost comparisons being given by agencies just compare against other poorly-performing North American agencies: “Well, we are cheaper than these guys who can’t build very efficiently!"" ⤴️
- “I can learn some things from a professional athlete even if I can never train like them in their environment. But unfortunately, learning and trying to get better by placing ourselves in a state of humility just doesn’t seem like common practice.” ⤴️
- “While yes, some international benchmarking happens, and some agencies are at least UITP members, the amount of participation is limited, and it seems highly siloed.” ⤴️
- “North American transit agencies struggle to improve because they for one often don’t see how far behind they are, and for two aren’t regularly exposed to different, and indeed better ways of operating. This insularity and lack of desire to see what’s out there is a big problem if we want our transit systems to be better, and it’s part of why complaints that public transit is bad “because it lacks funding” miss the mark” ⤴️
- “London introduced contactless credit and debit card payment a decade ago, making it easier for locals and tourists alike to ride trains, buses, and trams. And yet, there are still many major cities that do not accept this almost universal type of payment right at the fare gate/fare box.” ⤴️
- “I hear comparisons with places around the world being dismissed because of various perceived or ridiculous differences — “Europe doesn’t have accessibility laws, or Unions!” — and almost no attention is given to all the reasons we should compare.” ⤴️
- “far too often, cost comparisons being given by agencies just compare against other poorly-performing North American agencies: “Well, we are cheaper than these guys who can’t build very efficiently!"" ⤴️
- “I can learn some things from a professional athlete even if I can never train like them in their environment. But unfortunately, learning and trying to get better by placing ourselves in a state of humility just doesn’t seem like common practice.” ⤴️
- “While yes, some international benchmarking happens, and some agencies are at least UITP members, the amount of participation is limited, and it seems highly siloed.” ⤴️
- “North American transit agencies struggle to improve because they for one often don’t see how far behind they are, and for two aren’t regularly exposed to different, and indeed better ways of operating. This insularity and lack of desire to see what’s out there is a big problem if we want our transit systems to be better, and it’s part of why complaints that public transit is bad “because it lacks funding” miss the mark” ⤴️