Trains, Buses, People

In some US and Canadian cities, transit has quietly been expanding and improving over the last few years, despitefunding and ridership challenges. How do we assess the advances and failures of our current systems to move forwardstrategically and wisely?The first edition of Trains, Buses, People was dubbed “a transit wonk’s bible” and guided “a smarter conversation abouturban transit” in the US. This second edition is fully updated and expanded to include eight Canadian cities and two newUS cities (Indianapolis and San Juan, Puerto Rico).In Trains, Buses, People, Second Edition: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit, transit expert and “transportationhero” Christof Spieler provides a new section on inclusivity to help agencies understand how to welcome riders regardless of race, gender, income, or disability. Select cities include new maps overlaying transit and poverty data, andsystems that have started construction since the first edition in 2018 have been added. Other new sections addressnetwork typologies, guideway types, station types, and fares.Spieler has spent over a decade advocating for transit as a writer, community leader, urban planner, transit boardmember, and enthusiast. He strongly believes that just about anyone—regardless of training or experience—can identifywhat makes good transit with the right information. In the fun, accessible, and visually appealing Trains, Buses, People,Second Edition: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit, Spieler shows how cities can build successful transit. Heprofiles the 49 metropolitan areas in the US and eight metropolitan areas in Canada that have rail transit or BRT, usingdata, photos, and maps for easy comparison. Spieler ranks the best and worst systems and he offers analysis of howgeography, politics, and history complicate transit planning. He shows how the unique circumstances of every city haveresulted in very different transit systems.Trains, Buses, People, Second Edition is intended for non-experts—it will help any citizen, professional, or policymaker witha vested interest evaluate a transit proposal and understand what makes transit effective. It shows that it is possible, withthe right tools, to build good transit.

"Expertly written, thoroughly 'user friendly' in commentary tone, organization and presentation, this new second edition of Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US and Canadian Transit is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college and university library Travel collections."-- "Midwest Book Review"

Christof Spieler, PE, AICP, LEED AP, is a Vice President and Director of Planning at Huitt-Zollars and a Lecturer inArchitecture and Engineering at Rice University. He was a member of the board of directors of Houston METRO from2010 to 2018.