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Tod Newcombe
@tnewcombe
Managing editor at Governing.com and contributing editor at Govtech.com.
Massachusetts, USAgoverning.comJoined January 2010

Tod Newcombe’s Tweets

My bearishness on transit’s future in America, reinforced
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It's clearer every day that cities' 2010s-era ambitions are crashing against the rocks of 2020s-era cost increases and behavior shifts. In Atlanta, MARTA says it can only move ahead on about half the projects in a voter-approved expansion plan. governing.com/community/atla
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“There’s a concern of that crowding out capital projects,” Shipman says. “There’s also a question about just their ability to deliver…. in an inflationary environment, you have even more incentive to move quickly”
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It's not enough to just revive the Baltimore Red Line LRT. We also need to change the governance structure of transit so that Baltimore and it's surrounding counties have greater local control of transit decisions independent of the State of Maryland.
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The first good article I have seen on the Austin mayoral runoff.
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Austin, still growing like gangbusters, is going through a big political shakeup, and the mayor's race that concludes next week is just a small part of it. governing.com/now/austin-wil @ConnollyJoao @AndrewRHairston @juliogatx @MayorAdler @ALTERforATX @iamstevenpedigo @BillFultonVta
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Good article on fare-free transit in Kansas City from . “[Fare-free transit] is something that can be really beneficial,” says , “But if it’s a net loss of operating dollars and results in no improvement, it just doesn’t help anybody.”
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“Fare elimination dramatically reduces the friction of using transit. More than 85% of Kansas City residents said free fares had made them feel that local leaders were concerned about their needs.” @kclightrail @KCRTA 🚊 @jaredbrey @GOVERNING governing.com/community/what
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Eliminating fares has improved KC bus operations and reduced costs, like a $10M farebox upgrade. But most still can't rely on the service. “Kansas City used to have not-very-good transit that charged $1.50. Now it has not-very-good transit that’s free."
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So thrilled that some reporters really do their job to communicate accurate information: governing.com/next/are-wildf. this article corrects the misinformation spread by & others who took the bait on fatalism framing for a catchy & inaccurate soundbite
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1/🧵: I'm going to follow up on my opinions about this latest soundbite being circulated in the media about a recent article that came out "Up in smoke: California's greenhouse gas reductions could be wiped out by 2020 wildfires" sciencedirect.com/science/articl
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“Maybe there’s a bit more delay for a few drivers during peak time, but we’re perfectly happy to accept a bit of delay for private cars if it means that 10,000 people who ride the bus have a few more minutes back in the day.” 🚍
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Four years ago, New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney survived a $25 million fight with the teachers union, the most expensive legislative race in American history. On Tuesday, he lost his seat to a truck driver who spent $153 on his challenge
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.: "Some systems are going back to the services they once provided, but this is clearly an all-out effort from the Metro Board to say that building ridership is important to us. It’s a model for other parts of the country." (via )
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