Thursday, May 14, 2009

Simplify

...Public transit debates are often a confused mixture of technical information and value judgments. Sometimes, it serves someone's agenda to keep these things mixed up....
As an expert on public transit, let me warn you that the job of developing great transit must never be left entirely to experts. Once a community has expressed its transit goals, experts have a role in designing systems to meet them. But experts shouldn't be the source of the goals themselves. Citizens and their elected officials are entitled to a clear explanation of the underlying choices they face, and a chance to express their views on them. I believe every citizen has a right to debate about their public services in terms that they can understand... -- Jarret Walker, Human Transit