Why transit projects fail

Matt is joined by professor and transit researcher Eric Goldwyn to talk about why transit projects in the U.S. often fail. They discuss several high-profile cases, including the Second Avenue subway line in New York, the Green Line Extension in Boston, and the DC Streetcar. Why do cities spearhead redundant transit lines on top of existing rights-of-way? Why do cities in other countries spend so much less per mile on transit than American cities do? And, how can the political opposition to mass transit be met, to build the more accessible and environmentally-conscious transit infrastructure of the future? Resources: The Transit Costs Project "The Boston Case: The Story of the Green Line Extension" by Eric Goldwyn, Alon Levy, and Elif Ensari (Dec. 9, 2020) "Costly Lessons from the Second Avenue Subway" by Eric Goldwyn, New York Review of Books (Sep. 22, 2020)

Guest: Eric Goldwyn (@ericgoldwyn), Program Director at the Marron Institute of Urban Management and Associate Professor in the Transportation and Land-Use program, NYU Marron Institute.

Host: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Credits: Erikk Geannikis, Editor and Producer

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