Episode 18 — OBOR Projects in Kenya

After a bit of a publishing hiatus we are back to regular recording and publishing, and in this episode we discuss the mysterious nature of Greenland and the fascinating variety of transit modes available. Spoiler: it's not all buses. We are particularly interested in niche countries/territories and the transit available, and hopefully some that can translate as you listen! As always, please let us know your thoughts, feedback, or suggestions. 

GO Transit, the Toronto Commuter System, has recently been running trial trains to London, Ontario, a city 4 hours away from Toronto. This route, if implemented, would be GO Transit's longest route, and one of the longest commuter rail routes anywhere in the world. In this episode, we discuss the merits of such a service, and our own thoughts on whether a route like this would be feasible. 

Mauritania's Iron Ore Train has gained recent notoriety and infamy for passengers hitchhiking in the iron ore train cars to get from the rural towns of Zouerat and Choum to Nouadhibou. The train is not only an economic lifeline for Mauritania, but also a major adventure for anyone attempting to ride it. If you want to know what the experience would be like, you've come to the right place! Neither of us have been on the train yet, but in this episode we hope you get a sense of the experience and the purpose of the train. For this episode the audio level is lower than normal, so you may have to raise the volume level; sorry about that! As always, let us know your comments, feedback, and suggestions! 

Transit Review, where we choose a city and discuss its various transit systems, functionality, and accessibility, quality. This week: New York City, including the New York City Subway, Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and more! Stay tuned till the end to see what letter grade we give the city's transit system!

Bolivia, despite being one of the world's poorest countries, has managed to build an impressive, inclusive transit system. In this episode, we discuss Bolivia's successes and weaknesses all over the country, looking at rail transit, road transit, and everything in between! As always, let us know your comments, feedback, or suggestions. 

Ferries! The often forgotten form of public transit. In this episode, we discuss the longest ferries in the world are, and the complications of such a title. As always, let us know your comments, feedback, or suggestions!

China's One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR) has some fascinating implications for transit, so we thought it would be great to kick off our discussion of the initiative with a deep dive into Kenya's rail projects. Tune in for our thoughts on the new Mombasa - Nairobi segment, as well as other thoughts on OBOR generally. As always, let us know your comments, feedback, or suggestions! 

The three major Mexican airlines: Aeromexico, Volaris, and VivaAerobus make up an interesting dynamic within the Mexican aviation market. Following Jiahao's current trip to Mexico with VivaAerobus, we discuss the different airlines' roles in Mexico as well as the implications and future of each. As always, let us know your comments, feedback, and suggestions!

The infrastructure bill in Congress might actually bring a much-needed cash injection to public transit systems around the country, that is, assuming the bill and the associated $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill can get past Joe Manchin, who has argued for a "strategic pause" on federal spending. Listen in for our thoughts! As always, let us know your comments, feedback, and suggestions! 

As the long-standing Italian flag carrier Alitalia is shutting down, we take the time to discuss the history of Alitalia, reasons for its downfall, and the new replacement airline ITA. As always, let us know your comments, feedback, or suggestions!