Transportopia: Public Transport Stories & Ideas

A podcast and blog about public transportation trends, ideas, challenges and the future hosted by public transit marketing veteran and former broadcast journalist, Rick L’Amie

Transportopia: Public Transport Stories & Ideas is a society podcast hosted by Rick L’Amie, with 44 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Rick L’Amie hosts Transportopia: Public Transport Stories & Ideas, a society show with 44 episodes published.

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  Episode #42

  Transportopia News and Views: Congress Lets $38B in Transportation Funding Lapse — Transit on the Edge

  Aug 18, 20269 minS1

  In this episode of Transportopia News and views, our bonus episode between full programs: Congress failed to renew $38.6 billion in annual transportation advance appropriations, while critics accuse the administration of sitting on another $1.9 billion in transit funds. The Transportation Secretary has moved to remove bike lanes from federal safety guidance and seek funding limits, despite research showing protected bike lanes improve safety and don’t necessarily worsen congestion. We also visit Kansas City, where crews are spraying streetcar tracks to prevent heat warping, and examine rising pedestrian fatalities and a new planning tool that maps walkability to transit. The episode ties these stories together around the strain on large systems and the smaller, human-scale fixes that can help. Show Notes Stopgap bill lets $38.6B in transportation funding lapse - https://www.axios.com/2026/08/08/senate-government-funding-shutdown-stopgap also: https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2026/08/06/us-senate-stopgap-fails-to-renew-more-than-38b-a-year-in-state-transportation-funding/ Democrats accuse FTA/OMB of stonewalling transit grants - https://larsen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4248 also the letter: https://larsen.house.gov/UploadedFiles/2026-08-11_LTR_to_Admin_on_CIG_Grants_Oversight_FINAL.pdf Duffy's bike lane push, and the data against it - https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/07/17/trump-dei-bike-lanes-sean-duffy-fhwa-road-diets-speed-cameras also: https://www.fastcompany.com/91581060/dei-bike-lanes Kansas City waters down its streetcar tracks - https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/08/12/kc-streetcar-water-trucks-extreme-heat World Pedestrian Day - global road safety data - https://www.who.int/news/item/20-07-2026-road-deaths-fall-by-21--globally-but-stronger-action-is-needed-to-save-lives ITDP Atlas of Sustainable City Transport - https://itdp.org/publication/walkability-tool/ Indigo Rosenberg's new Eyes on Board piece https://sf.streetsblog.org/2026/08/12/guest-post-documenting-harassment-on-public-transit

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  Episode #41

  Metroboard: The Moving Subway Map Turning Transit into Wall Art

  Aug 11, 202627 minS1

  Design Rules Company co-founders Kirill Safin and Emily Perkins Rock talk about Metroboard, a live moving subway map that began when a new LA Metro station changed how they experienced the city. They describe the makers’ journey from aerospace to Kickstarter success, building a product that blends design, real-time transit data, and emotional connections to place. The episode covers Metroboard’s origins, customer stories, related projects like transit trading cards and City Sounds, and the company’s broader mission to create physical objects that help people notice and celebrate the movement and life of cities. Want your own Metroboard? We have them available in the new Transportopia store ! Check it out! https://www.transportopia.org/shop Show Notes: The Design Rules Company: https://www.designrules.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designrulesco/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@designrulesco X: https://x.com/designrulescoht

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  Episode #40

  News and Views - Aug. 4, 2026: FTA's Surprise Pivot: Hybrids Win the Bus Grant Battle

  Aug 4, 20269 minS1

  Transportopia News and Views, our bonus episode between full shows, covers a federal shift in bus funding that now favors low-emission buses over zero-emission models and Sacramento's decision to study bus rapid transit to the airport instead of costly light rail. Host Rick L'Amie also examines transit agencies converting station land into housing, Oklahoma City's push for a transit sales tax before congestion worsens, and a playful New York subway newsstand run by a comedian. Across these stories you'll hear how practical funding changes, cost-driven pivots, land-use strategies, and creative community projects are reshaping public transit. Show Notes: 1. FTA bus grant NOFO - https://www.masstransitmag.com/bus/vehicles/news/55394325/federal-transit-administration-fta-fta-issues-nofo-for-610-million-in-bus-grant-funding Sacramento BRT to airport - https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/article/55394625/sacramento-regional-transit-sacrt-sacrt-receives-funding-to-examine-brt-alternative-to-sacramento-international-airport also (national BRT-over-rail trend): https://www.constructiondive.com/news/transit-projects-opening-2026/809814/ Transit agencies as housing partners - https://www.metro-magazine.com/digital-cover-features/what-transit-oriented-development-means-for-the-future-of-public-transportation Oklahoma City transit sales tax - https://usa.streetsblog.org/2026/08/03/oklahoma-city-is-taking-transit-seriously-which-is-what-booming-regions-should-do Subway newsstand (Al Mullen) - https://gothamist.com/news/just-a-pure-weird-moment-art-project-takes-over-manhattan-subway-kiosk also: https://www.amny.com/news/artists-repens-west-4-st-subway-newsstand/ Next week's episode features the founders of Design Rules Company, the creative geniuses behind the Metroboard subway wall art - https://www.designrules.co/

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  Episode #39

  Eyes on Board — Riders Fight Back Against Transit Harassment

  Jul 28, 202624 minS11

  Transportopia host Rick L'Amie visits with Streetsblog USA journalist Ren Zaro Fitzgerald, a young transit reporter and content creator. They discuss the importance of transit safety, funding challenges, innovative grassroots initiatives, and the future of transportation technology. This episode offers insights into community-led transit improvements and policy debates shaping urban mobility. Show Notes Streets Blog - https://streetsblog.org Ren Zaro Fitzgerald on Instagram - https://instagram.com/renzaro Ren Zaro Fitzgerald on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Renzarofitzgerald

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  Episode #38

  News and Views July 21, 2026: World Cup Drives Transit Boom: Record Ridership and Federal Backing

  Jul 21, 20267 minS1

  The 2026 World Cup unexpectedly boosted public transit in U.S. host cities, producing record ridership for systems such as Sound Transit and BART after federal grants funded extra service. Despite this success, proposed federal funding cuts threaten to reverse gains, leaving uncertainty about whether the ridership spike will persist once tournament-related service and attention fade. Podcast host Rick L'Amie explores these topics in Transportopia's biweekly bonus News and Views episode between full-length shows. This is a special News and Views edition focusing on the postive and unexpected impact World Cup 2026 had on public transportation across the country. Visit Transportopia.org for show notes and other resources. Please follow and like us wherever you get your podcast. #worldcup #publictransportation Show Notes Story One — The Surprise MVP Vox, "The most surprising winner of the World Cup was American public transit" — https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/495394/world-cup-public-transit Story Two — Seattle Sound Transit newsroom — https://www.soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/news-releases/sound-transit-set-all-time-records-daily-monthly-ridership KOMO News — https://komonews.com/news/local/how-many-people-rode-the-light-rail-during-the-world-cup-sound-transit-world-cup-ridership-public-transit-king-county-seattle-sounder-train-lumen-field-stadium-station Story Three — BART CBS News San Francisco — https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/bart-june-2026-post-pandemic-ridership-records-world-cup-sf-pride/ NBC Bay Area — https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/bart-highest-ridership-month-since-pandemic/4115323/ Story Four — The $100M in federal grants Federal Transit Administration — https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/news/trumps-transportation-secretary-announces-100-million-funding-enhance-public Story Five — The BUILD Act cut Urban Institute — https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-will-congresss-proposed-cuts-transit-funding-affect-your-state-and-congressional

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