Our Mission

We advocate for high-quality, accessible, and forward-looking transit through technically oriented and internationally inspired analysis in the New York metropolitan area.

 Our Principles

  • We believe that growing transit ridership is fundamental to a more just and fair society.

  • We understand that increased transit usage is a key strategy for reducing carbon emissions and securing the future of our region.

  • We advocate for policies and projects that expand transit ridership on a sustainable basis.

  • We call for project analysis to be technically driven and for elected and professional leaders to collaboratively make decisions based on expertise and a deep commitment to the long-term public good.

  • We believe that the New York region must pursue and adopt global best practices for public transportation.

  • We believe that transit planning should be done at a regional level, with buses, subway, commuter rail, and paratransit treated as part of a cohesive system.

Get Involved

  • Evolving Organizations

    Our perspective combines technical excellence with a pragmatic focus on what can be achieved organizationally and politically. Our transit providers and political authorities were designed to deal with the midcentury era of disinvestment. We go beyond recommending changes to physical construction, and push our authorities to evolve for the new generation of challenges.

  • Spending money wisely

    New York spends a lot of money on public transportation. Compared to peer cities of similar size and wealth, we get far less infrastructure, maintenance, and service, with record-setting project costs each and every decade. We do not endorse reducing our society’s fiscal commitment to transit; we advocate for specific design, bidding, and construction reforms to get the most transit per dollar spent.

  • Infrastructure for equality

    There is severe inequality and inequity in mobility across our region. Accessibility for people with disabilities is poor. Schedules are primarily written around 9-to-5 white-collar workers. Our proposals push for a future in which everyone has access to world-class transit for many types of trips.

  • International Perspective

    Over time, New York’s transit has fallen behind that of the rest of the world. We believe this is a fixable situation. We examine transit industry best practices from all over the world in search of a better way.