iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Up to double the capacity… that’s huge! Also saw the improvements for people bringing bikes.

California's Brilliant State Rail Plan

Go watch @nickandert.bsky.social’s video on the plan. It goes over the service-led planning model, a lot of the dysfunction on how regional/intercity transit is governed and planned in California and what needs to be done.

youtu.be

YouTube video by nandert

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Being able to go anywhere in the state on an hourly or bi-hourly pulse with seamless connections and ticketing would be a game changer.

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One thing I’m excited for (aside from the excellent California State Rail Plan) is the long desired “Coast Daylight” pilot between LA and the Bay Area. www.slocog.org/programs/pub...

2028 Olympics Pilot Service Fact Sheet

The Summer Olympics are coming to Los Angeles in July 2028 and are expected to host athletes and visitors from around the world. Without direct intercity passenger rail service between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, California would be ill-positioned to capitalize on the sudden influx of economic opportunities generated by tourism during this major event.

The Coast Rail Coordinating Council (CRCC) is proposing a temporary state-supported, limited-stop rail connection between Oakland and San Luis Obispo which could run between June and August of 2028. There are minimal infrastructure needs and the Pacific Surfliner train would provide a convenient mid-day transfer point in San Luis Obispo for travelers seeking transportation down to the 2028 Olympic Games in Southern California.

Altogether, the California rail and transit network stands to benefit in the short-and long-term by implementation of a pilot service which previews future regular Central Coast passenger rail service. This temporary service offers an alternative to statewide travel for those seeking to experience the unrivaled scenery and culture of Coastal California while also lessening traffic congestion on highways and around Southern California's airports.

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projects.seattletransitmap.com

For reference: WSDOT 2006 Amtrak Cascades Long Range Plan projects.seattletransitmap.com/library/Amtr...

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Rachael @r343l.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This summer I tried to book a PDX trip and the train was sold out for a whole week. Being able to do spontaneous day trips on the Surfliner spoiled me so I’m kinda “meh” on these. Can someone give me hope that there’s concrete progress toward service improvements like in the 2006 Cascades plan?

Timetable F with hourly trains between Seattle and Portland from 6 am to 8 pm and 4 trains every 3-4 hours between Seattle and Vancouver from 6:45 am to 5:45 pm with one Portland-BC through train

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This "minor" story is buck wild. It's got: - elected officials calling folks are reporting on public meeting agendas to be due to "leaks" - electeds not reading agendas - electeds overseeing a major airport not seemingly knowing about their own airport lounges - one not knowing Chase is a bank??

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Also, the Seattle Monorail Green Line (Ballard-West Seattle) was a thing they were going to build through downtown, elevated of course.

That curve (and whole downtown subway) predates Sound Transit. It was designed for buses in the 1980s.

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Lines 4 and 17 connect downtown with City College, where they are through routed. 4 serves the Mesa and 17 serves the lower Westside. Most routes are on a 30-minute pulse so you don’t get increased frequency from downtown but you can access any point on the ‘loop’ without a transfer.

SBMTD network map of Santa Barbara showing the core of the system

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Express lines 12x and 24x both end at the shopping center and are through-routed to their counterparts. That means you can get to the university from the business parks without a transfer by riding the outbound 12 that turns into an inbound 24.

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Lines 6 & 11 combine for frequent service between SB and Goleta’s downtowns, split to serve UCSB (11) and business parks (6), then meet up at a major shopping center, where they continue as lines 23 and 25 looping through residential areas before returning to town as 6 and 11 from the shopping ctr.

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 24/09/2026

Santa Barbara MTD uses a similar design to this for many of its local and express lines. Routes are operated like a loop at the outer end to but presented as linear services between ridership anchors for legibility.

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Looking again at the interactive map on mobile I think the zoom controls should be moved to the right bottom corner. It is awkward with them furthest away from where most hold their phone. I’m open to reconsidering the default view on first load.

Oran โอม @oranv.com · 20/09/2026

Kessoku Band dominating the anisong section in Kinokuniya.

Kessoku Band LP and 4 CDs prominently displayed with other CDs from anime

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 20/09/2026

Golden Gate ravens and a seagull

Raven with the city of San Francisco and the bay in background

Two ravens and a seagull with the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco in background

Close up of a raven and seagull interacting

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Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ @padresj.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

It's strange how Democratic Socialists - who are being denounced by both parties - turned major deficits into balanced budgets in both New York and Seattle.

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 20/09/2026

Mewni Catbus and now Muni bunnybus

Drawing of a purple rabbit that’s also a Muni vehicle at Judah St & 28th Ave stop. A red carpet leads to the entrance. Various animals are waiting and riding. It’s an elementary school winner of the 2026 Ride Muni to School Week Art Contest.

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Jarrett Walker @humantransit.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This post may be the most effective argument right now for letting public transit wither. It may not make sense to you, but it feels right to many, many people. So in a short new post, I talk through what's going on here, and how to engage with it. humantransit.org/2026/09/the-...

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Nick Brumfield @nickjbrumfield.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Oooh, I already like this book It opens with a spooky retelling of the first time the Mae Nak story was broadcast on Bangkok radio in 1928 Thailand's most famous ghost story, it's been adapted into at least 20 films, with 1998's Nang Nak being particularly influential for Millennials

In 1928 those Siamese lucky enough to own or live close to a radio heard,
through intermittent static and crackly dialogue, a sinister tale of loss, ven-
geance, and murder. A female ghost terrifi ed a small village in the still thickly
forested suburbs of Bangkok. With her long fi ngernails she gutted any person
who attempted to tell her husband that she was merely the specter of his wife.
All the while her husband, Mak, a poor soldier and woodsman, lived unaware
that his beautiful and caring wife was indeed a ghost whose throat was coated
with the blood of his friends and neighbors. When he realized her true nature,
he was torn between the love for his departed and the fear of her ghost. In the
end, a Buddhist monk used Pali incantations to release the ghost, thus freeing
Mak and his village of her misguided love.
This was the story “Mae Nak Phrakhanong” (Mother Nak of Phrakhanong
District) broadcast from Bangkok. Radio was not new to Siam, but it certainly
was not a widespread medium. This was the fi rst time the story of Mae Nak had
been performed over the airwaves. The story itself was an old and well-known
one. It had been told and retold by Siamese of all classes for decades. There
were many versions with different characters and name changes. Even without
access to a radio, most Siamese children had heard this story

A poster for the 1959 ghost film Mae Nak Phra Khanong

A 1970s poster for the film Mae Nak Phra Khanong

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California Transit Nerd @catransitnerd.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

There are locomotives that perform better, more reliable, cheaper to buy & maintain. It just involves not sending hundreds of billions to shareholders and instead investing in electrification. India in less than a 15 years put 31k route miles under wire

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 15/09/2026

It’s the last week of summer and I’m all for it.

MTD buses and Ventura County bus near the transit center on an overcast morning

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 14/09/2026

Three bunnies and a squirrel this morning

Squirrel on big branch with bushy tail raised

Big bunny resting like a loaf, semi hidden

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 12/09/2026

It’s not easy to get to the Earl Warren Showgrounds by bicycle. Las Positas is a hilly speedway. Lots of traffic going to and from the 101. There is no place to park your bike.

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K.H.I. @sheridesabike.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Side note! A quick glance suggests that on a per capita basis a lot of smaller cities in Washington state well outside the thrall of SEA have seen impressive transit growth over the last year. Pretty sure that’s because we started funding it better!

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 10/09/2026

The iPhone Duo calling attention to the 1:√2 (1.414) aspect ratio reminds me how nice it would be if North America adopted ISO 216 paper sizes. An open Duo is about a C6, between A6 and B6. A4 (slightly taller and narrower than 8.5x11” US Letter size) folds in half to A5, which folds in half to A6.

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Warren Wells, AICP @warrenjwells.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Because my wife is a home birth midwife, we will likely never be car-free. But our cargo bike is 100% our 2nd car. We put 3500 miles on a Radwagon and are now 1200 miles into our R&M just 200 days into owning it. Nearly all of those are replacing car miles.

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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 09/09/2026

State and local leaders need to figure out a long-term solution here - the LA to SD rail corridor, second busiest in the country, is getting washed away by the Pacific Ocean

ocregister.com

Rail line closes due to big wave, high tide damage in south Orange County

No timeline for reopening Metrolink or Pacific Surfliner was given Tuesday.

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 08/09/2026

Getting sick of this heat and humidity

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 08/09/2026

JR East just released the 3 candidate mascots vying to succeed the iconic Suica penguin: a squirrel, a purple rabbit, and a mole. Perhaps the penguin should pull a Hayao Miyazaki and “unretire”.

jreast.co.jp

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Californians for Electric Rail @calelectricrail.org · 08/09/2026

More disruption on the Surfliner due to high surf. CalSTA is supposed to be working on a study to relocate the tracks away from rising seas, but when? The US' 2nd busiest rail corridor deserves more urgency around disruptions.

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James everything is analog @analogist.net · 03/09/2026

Instead of being situated at TWO golf courses, an interstate freeway, and 2.2 miles of barbed wire fencing, 130th Pinehurst station could be the site of thriving highrises and businesses, surrounding a flagship nature park. Imagine a Discovery Park the whole city can get to by light rail!

130th Pinehurst station, golf in the background

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 06/09/2026

On this day 150 years ago, Southern Pacific completed its San Francisco-Los Angeles rail line via the San Joaquin Valley. It was built by 3,000 Chinese immigrants. A golden spike was driven in a ceremony at Lang Station near Santa Clarita, connecting SoCal to NorCal and the transcontinental railroad

chssc.org

Lang Station 150th Anniversary Commemoration – Chinese Historical Society of Southern California

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Oran โอม @oranv.com · 04/09/2026

Meanwhile King County Metro just launched battery electric 40-foot buses on the RapidRide F Line (and the whole fleet was equipped for all door boarding a couple years ago).