ModeShift – Details, episodes & analysis

The average LA commuter spends five days a year stuck in traffic; pedestrian deaths are the highest they’ve been in 40 years in the U.S.; and the transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in America. They’re all products of a system that has prioritized automobiles over people for decades. 

But ‘car free’ or ‘car light’ approaches to urban planning are taking hold in cities and neighborhoods around the world. From Amsterdam to Barcelona to Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates, officials are getting serious about redesigning their communities for car-free living. 

The concept sounds a bit radical. But it doesn’t mean getting rid of cars altogether. It’s about reimagining communities to shift the balance in favor of new transit options. 

In this episode, Andrei and Tiffany explore what transportation in the U.S. would look like if most of us didn't have to reach for our car keys every day.

Guests:

• Ellen Dunham-Jones, director of the urban design program at Georgia Tech
• Cornelia Dinca, founder of Sustainable Amsterdam
• Peter Norton, associate professor of history at the University of Virginia
• Shyam Kannan, Mid-Atlantic transit lead at HDR
• Transit expert Jerome Horne

We’ve been sold on the idea that a car is the ultimate freedom. But that’s only true for people who can afford it. A system that relies on owning a personal car is not a system that provides freedom to everyone – it’s a system that disproportionately penalizes people of color, people with limited income, or people with disabilities.

So how do we build an affordable, reliable transit system that works for everyone?

In this episode, Andrei and Tiffany dig into the many ways we can incorporate equity into our transportation planning. They’ll cover a wide range of angles: land use, housing, transit choice, and anti-displacement. 

Guests:

• Charles Brown, founder and CEO of Equitable Cities
• Shyam Kannan, Mid-Atlantic transit lead at HDR
• Chad Ballentine, VP of demand response and innovative mobility at Capital Metro
• Transit expert Jerome Horne

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Rapid deployment of new technologies have given consumers more mobility options – but have also caused conflicts with regulators and local planners. 

But that paradigm is shifting. Conflict is turning into collaboration. TransitTech companies are now working more closely with cities and transit agencies in order to make better use of new mobility models.

Collaboration is at the core of TransitTech. The TransitTech sector alone could represent $450 billion in investment opportunities to improve or overhaul public transportation systems. Under this emerging framework, what are the technology areas that offer the most promise?

In this episode, Andrei and Tiffany unpack how TransitTech is reshaping the way transportation agencies plan and adapt – and what it means for riders and the future of mobility in America.

Guests:

• Angela Wynes, transit manager for High Point, North Carolina 
• Shyam Kannan, Mid-Atlantic transit lead at HDR
• Gabe Klein, partner at Cityfi.
• Aaron Bielenberg, partner at McKinsey & Company

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Rural transit needs help. According to analysis from the National Transit Database, 87 percent of the least-productive bus networks are located in rural counties with populations lower than 50,000 residents. 

These “transit deserts” in rural areas have major social, economic, and health consequences. How can technology and better planning solve the problem?

In this episode, Andrei and Tiffany explore the rural transit divide. Across the country, small towns and cities are coming up with new solutions to old mobility problems – making rural transit smarter, more accessible, and more affordable.

Guests: 

• Valdosta, Georgia Mayor Scott Matheson
• Scott Bogren, executive director at Community Transportation for America
• Caroline Rodriguez, executive director of High Valley Transit

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

Breaking our car dependence and reinvigorating our public transit system is not straightforward. It is a complicated and politically controversial process.

But a new generation of political leaders is working to reform how we invest in mobility options at the federal, state, and local levels. 

In this episode, Andrei and Tiffany explore the longstanding obstacles to improving the quality of our transit systems — and how bold leaders are pushing the envelope to improve mobility for Americans.

Guests:

• Boston Mayor Michelle Wu
• Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss
• Yonah Freemark, research director at the Urban Institute’s Land Use Lab
• Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

America’s transit system is struggling. How do we fix it?

A D minus. That’s what the American Society of Civil Engineers gives US transit infrastructure for a grade. There’s a $176 billion repair backlog across the country; nearly half of the population doesn't have access to any transit; and only 5% of US workers use a train or bus to get to work.

Ridership on transit was already declining even before Covid hit. Today, it's still not anywhere close to where it was before the pandemic. Meanwhile, Americans spend more and more on transportation.

In our first episode of ModeShift, co-hosts Andrei Greenawalt and Tiffany Chu talk with experts about the state of transit – exploring the history of transit’s decline, and the economic and environmental impact of car dependency.

Guests:

• Transit expert Jerome Horne
• Peter Norton, associate professor of history at the University of Virginia.
• Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

The modern American economy was built for cars. Outside of major cities, most of us depend heavily on cars to get everywhere. Not having access to one can put a person at a serious disadvantage.

So what will it take to change the way we move around? Can we develop a new transportation framework that cuts dependence on personal cars and creates more options for everyone?

Join hosts Andrei Greenawalt and Tiffany Chu as they dig into the forces that are holding our transit system back — and the forces that could unleash it.

Subscribe anywhere you get podcasts.

America is hooked on parking. There are roughly two billion parking spaces in the United States; that’s about eight spots for every single car. All of that parking takes up a lot of space; roughly a third of the land in our cities. 

For Henry Grabar, the acclaimed author of “Paved Paradise,” our fixation is fueled by what he calls the parking trilemma: our quest for a parking space that is convenient, available and free. Yet, for Grabar, this trilemma has eroded the very communities it aims to make accessible. 

In this episode, Grabar digs into the history of parking to explain our unquenchable thirst for it, the cascading impacts of all that parking and case studies that demonstrate we can change the parking status quo.

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Last year, New York City launched one of the most ambitious and dramatic transportation-related plans America has seen in a quarter-century: congestion pricing. The plan charges most vehicles $9 to enter Manhattan south of 61st Street; those funds are being used to overhaul the region’s transit system, and the reduction in traffic has led to both healthier air and smoother travel.

While the plan ran into some very public friction with the federal government, the drama surrounding congestion pricing actually goes back 20 years. In this episode, we hear from one of the architects of the plan, Kathy Wylde, the former CEO of the influential business organization Partnership for NYC. Kathy walks us through the long road to congestion pricing, pushes back on the criticism it has faced, and highlights its remarkable accomplishments.

Listen to ModeShift on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

When people talk about economic opportunity, they usually focus on jobs, education, or housing.

But there’s another factor that shapes all of those things: how people move.

In season two of ModeShift, host Andrei Greenawalt explores how cities across the U.S. are rethinking transportation — not just as a way to get around, but as a driver of economic growth, safety, and access.

From congestion pricing and integrated transit systems to new technologies like AI, this season looks at the ideas reshaping how cities move — and what that means for opportunity.

Episodes are dropping soon. Subscribe to Modeshift anywhere you get your podcasts.