What is happening at the airlines is what’s happening at transit agencies. They are both asking what they should focus on if they simply can’t afford enough service. 1/

Because transit agencies are public utilities, the painful conversation about how to shrink their services needs to involve the public. But this is not a good time to just yell at transit agencies. What’s needed is to help them think about some very hard choices. 2/

For example, if you care about transit equity as I do, It’s reasonable to ask that any service cuts cause some rebalancing of service toward greater equity. But without more national funding, shrinking transit service will still cause some pain for everyone. 3/

I'm as outraged as anyone about the state of transit in the US. But before you lash out at your transit agency, please understand the situation they're facing. This is the biggest nationwide disaster since WWII, esp. for cities. 4/4