Jedwin Mok
@jedwinmok.com
Transport Planner & Researcher
Creative Director | cityux.com
Research Lead | infrastoryinsights.com
https://youtu.be/vAygH6SZg28?si=lY-5xtbZl6yPv823
Creative Director | cityux.com
Research Lead | infrastoryinsights.com
https://youtu.be/vAygH6SZg28?si=lY-5xtbZl6yPv823
Pinned
Jedwin Mok
@jedwinmok.com
· Dec 5
NEW PUBLICATION: “Understanding the Drivers of Transit Construction Costs in Canada”
The first from me, Balthazar Crane, @chittimarco.bsky.social, and Amer Shalaby.
So why are transit projects so expensive in Canada? Here’s what we found: 1/🧵
stateofcitiessummit.ca/files/041224...
The first from me, Balthazar Crane, @chittimarco.bsky.social, and Amer Shalaby.
So why are transit projects so expensive in Canada? Here’s what we found: 1/🧵
stateofcitiessummit.ca/files/041224...
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
riders are going to lose a bus that's scheduled to come every 6 minutes in the off-peak to a train that will run up to every 12 min.
and that train will be marginally faster than the bus at rush hour, and slower in other time periods.
but it's a train, so it must be better, right? 😒
and that train will be marginally faster than the bus at rush hour, and slower in other time periods.
but it's a train, so it must be better, right? 😒
At $240M/km, Finch West LRT is…
- MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway
- 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations
… for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic.
Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
- MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway
- 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations
… for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic.
Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
November 29, 2025 at 6:35 PM
riders are going to lose a bus that's scheduled to come every 6 minutes in the off-peak to a train that will run up to every 12 min.
and that train will be marginally faster than the bus at rush hour, and slower in other time periods.
but it's a train, so it must be better, right? 😒
and that train will be marginally faster than the bus at rush hour, and slower in other time periods.
but it's a train, so it must be better, right? 😒
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
I’ve been saying it for years, years I tell you!
November 29, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I’ve been saying it for years, years I tell you!
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
I love the 536 Finch West Streetcar!
So excited for it to open December 7 :)
So excited for it to open December 7 :)
November 29, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I love the 536 Finch West Streetcar!
So excited for it to open December 7 :)
So excited for it to open December 7 :)
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
narrowing car lanes is a good way to force low-speed streets in addition to a way to provide bike lanes without getting caught in the province's stupid legislation.
bike on, toronto. the province can try, but this is a city that walks, bikes, and takes transit in huge numbers and that won't change.
bike on, toronto. the province can try, but this is a city that walks, bikes, and takes transit in huge numbers and that won't change.
November 28, 2025 at 8:09 PM
narrowing car lanes is a good way to force low-speed streets in addition to a way to provide bike lanes without getting caught in the province's stupid legislation.
bike on, toronto. the province can try, but this is a city that walks, bikes, and takes transit in huge numbers and that won't change.
bike on, toronto. the province can try, but this is a city that walks, bikes, and takes transit in huge numbers and that won't change.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Bus priority infrastructure in Asian cities always stuns me. Our electric bus (that runs every 10 minutes) is speeding down a center running bus lane.
It’s a ~40 minute ride to dinner and I’m seriously enjoying it.
It’s a ~40 minute ride to dinner and I’m seriously enjoying it.
November 29, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Bus priority infrastructure in Asian cities always stuns me. Our electric bus (that runs every 10 minutes) is speeding down a center running bus lane.
It’s a ~40 minute ride to dinner and I’m seriously enjoying it.
It’s a ~40 minute ride to dinner and I’m seriously enjoying it.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Food for thought: the 13.5 km/h average trip speed for Line 6 Finch West is slower than the PM peak average trip speed of 13.9 km/h for the 507 Long Branch streetcar, which has no private right of way for most of the route.
In comparison, Lines 1 and 2 average 30 km/h and Line 4 averages 37 km/h.
In comparison, Lines 1 and 2 average 30 km/h and Line 4 averages 37 km/h.
The TTC has published the schedule for 6 Finch West, and the travel times/speeds are not impressive compared to the existing bus service. stevemunro.ca/2025/11/28/6...
November 29, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Food for thought: the 13.5 km/h average trip speed for Line 6 Finch West is slower than the PM peak average trip speed of 13.9 km/h for the 507 Long Branch streetcar, which has no private right of way for most of the route.
In comparison, Lines 1 and 2 average 30 km/h and Line 4 averages 37 km/h.
In comparison, Lines 1 and 2 average 30 km/h and Line 4 averages 37 km/h.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
I really wish lay people understood that there is nothing intrinsically faster in at-grade, on-street rail compared to buses. If anything, it has a number of constraints that can make it potentially slower. It's the quality of priority that determines its performance, not the rail.
November 29, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I really wish lay people understood that there is nothing intrinsically faster in at-grade, on-street rail compared to buses. If anything, it has a number of constraints that can make it potentially slower. It's the quality of priority that determines its performance, not the rail.
At $240M/km, Finch West LRT is…
- MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway
- 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations
… for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic.
Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
- MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway
- 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations
… for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic.
Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
November 29, 2025 at 6:59 AM
At $240M/km, Finch West LRT is…
- MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway
- 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations
… for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic.
Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
- MORE expensive per-km than the Sheppard Subway
- 2X the per-km cost of the Montreal REM & underground metros in other developed nations
… for a tram that’s SLOWER than a bus in traffic.
Let’s not mislead the public; Line 6 should be the 536 Finch West streetcar!
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
The estimated budget for the Waterfront East "LRT" (streetcar with tiny tunnelled section) is $2 billion?!?! Subway prices for 4km of streetcar. Glad we'll spend next year's municipal election talking about a made up crime surge.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
November 25, 2025 at 2:45 PM
The estimated budget for the Waterfront East "LRT" (streetcar with tiny tunnelled section) is $2 billion?!?! Subway prices for 4km of streetcar. Glad we'll spend next year's municipal election talking about a made up crime surge.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
The right comparison in terms of benefit/cost is not between the REM and the old Deux-Montagnes line, but between the REM and a D-M line modernized to have level platforms, full accessibility, double tracks, grade-separated, with E-Montpetit and McGill stations etc.
Or we could celebrate that the most advanced metro line on the continent just opened and acknowledge that a lot of the money that went into grade separation and accessible station construction would've had to have gone toward the Deux-Montagnes Line anyway, except with higher operating costs.
November 24, 2025 at 3:37 AM
The right comparison in terms of benefit/cost is not between the REM and the old Deux-Montagnes line, but between the REM and a D-M line modernized to have level platforms, full accessibility, double tracks, grade-separated, with E-Montpetit and McGill stations etc.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! (with Reece Martin)
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! (with Reece Martin)
YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity!
youtu.be
November 16, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! (with Reece Martin)
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
The biggest chunk of the REM in Montreal has just opened, and I’ve been reflecting not only on what it means for Montreal, but for Canada as a whole. Read my latest article now:
open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...
open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...
Is the REM the Future of Canadian Transit Expansion?
Reflections with the big REM Opening, and the idea of CanadaMetro.
open.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The biggest chunk of the REM in Montreal has just opened, and I’ve been reflecting not only on what it means for Montreal, but for Canada as a whole. Read my latest article now:
open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...
open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
the biggest section of the REM (and imo the most important phase) opened today, basically extending a highway-median suburban branch into a full-fledged 50 km north-south metro across the montreal region
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
November 15, 2025 at 8:17 PM
the biggest section of the REM (and imo the most important phase) opened today, basically extending a highway-median suburban branch into a full-fledged 50 km north-south metro across the montreal region
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
montreal now has a 119-kilometre metro system with 87 stations, by far the largest in canada!
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Honestly, Ontario banning speed cameras and most bike lanes is a pretty big blow to urbanist optimism in Canada.
The province is 40% of Canada’s population!
The province is 40% of Canada’s population!
November 15, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Honestly, Ontario banning speed cameras and most bike lanes is a pretty big blow to urbanist optimism in Canada.
The province is 40% of Canada’s population!
The province is 40% of Canada’s population!
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
It makes me sad that an instructor for several major Canadian universities would assert something so verifiably false.
People ask why we build weird, bad projects, well part of it is people learn a version of the world that isn't real.
People ask why we build weird, bad projects, well part of it is people learn a version of the world that isn't real.
November 15, 2025 at 4:09 AM
It makes me sad that an instructor for several major Canadian universities would assert something so verifiably false.
People ask why we build weird, bad projects, well part of it is people learn a version of the world that isn't real.
People ask why we build weird, bad projects, well part of it is people learn a version of the world that isn't real.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
How do I explain to laypeople that expropriating 0.9 sqm is not really something worth a news but it's a pretty common thing for projects that insists on the public right-of-way?
www.tvanouvelles.ca/2025/11/14/t...
www.tvanouvelles.ca/2025/11/14/t...
Tramway: une procédure d’expropriation pour 0,9 mètre carré
Pour les besoins du tramway, la Ville de Québec a enclenché le processus d’expropriation pour une minuscule bande de terrain de 0,9 mètre carré.
www.tvanouvelles.ca
November 15, 2025 at 12:34 AM
How do I explain to laypeople that expropriating 0.9 sqm is not really something worth a news but it's a pretty common thing for projects that insists on the public right-of-way?
www.tvanouvelles.ca/2025/11/14/t...
www.tvanouvelles.ca/2025/11/14/t...
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
We dropped a new report re: train operations, everyone’s favorite topic. There’s some backstory that we will get too. But, the basic takeaway is modern train systems have moved away from two-person train ops. New York should, too! transitcosts.com/Train_Operat...
transitcosts.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:44 PM
We dropped a new report re: train operations, everyone’s favorite topic. There’s some backstory that we will get too. But, the basic takeaway is modern train systems have moved away from two-person train ops. New York should, too! transitcosts.com/Train_Operat...
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
I'm at the #CUTA2025 conference in Montreal this week. Great presentation by @jedwinmok.com and @chittimarco.bsky.social about escalating transit costs in Canada. What do the countries with highest costs have in common? English is their primary language.
November 3, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I'm at the #CUTA2025 conference in Montreal this week. Great presentation by @jedwinmok.com and @chittimarco.bsky.social about escalating transit costs in Canada. What do the countries with highest costs have in common? English is their primary language.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Making the Eglinton Crosstown elevated through Scarborough would have made it immensely better
October 30, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Making the Eglinton Crosstown elevated through Scarborough would have made it immensely better
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
I finally completed my second long form post dedicated to the problem of High Speed Rail and the city, or "who goes with whom in the puzzle of traffic separation around large urban areas?"
I hope you enjoy.
open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...
I hope you enjoy.
open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...
The High Speed Rail and the city - part 2
More tracks, but for whom? The case of the Bologna-Castel Bolognese fast quad-tracking and the problem of disentangling mixed traffic.
open.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:33 PM
I finally completed my second long form post dedicated to the problem of High Speed Rail and the city, or "who goes with whom in the puzzle of traffic separation around large urban areas?"
I hope you enjoy.
open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...
I hope you enjoy.
open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
The difference in the time it takes a streetcar in Amsterdam vs. Toronto to clear an intersection after servicing a nearside stop.
October 30, 2025 at 1:32 AM
The difference in the time it takes a streetcar in Amsterdam vs. Toronto to clear an intersection after servicing a nearside stop.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Here's a video of the impossible. The UP Express has high platforms and level boarding for passengers. That is supposed make it impossible for mainline North American freight trains to pass. And yet, as this shows, CN freight trains roll past the high platform at Weston multiple times per week.
October 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Here's a video of the impossible. The UP Express has high platforms and level boarding for passengers. That is supposed make it impossible for mainline North American freight trains to pass. And yet, as this shows, CN freight trains roll past the high platform at Weston multiple times per week.
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
Metra of the future:
- electric train where every car has power (faster acceleration)
- lots of doors
- level boarding
- contrast color doors for low vision passengers
- large bike symbols for bike cars
- digital sign showing train destination
- runs every 10 minutes
- electric train where every car has power (faster acceleration)
- lots of doors
- level boarding
- contrast color doors for low vision passengers
- large bike symbols for bike cars
- digital sign showing train destination
- runs every 10 minutes
October 18, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Metra of the future:
- electric train where every car has power (faster acceleration)
- lots of doors
- level boarding
- contrast color doors for low vision passengers
- large bike symbols for bike cars
- digital sign showing train destination
- runs every 10 minutes
- electric train where every car has power (faster acceleration)
- lots of doors
- level boarding
- contrast color doors for low vision passengers
- large bike symbols for bike cars
- digital sign showing train destination
- runs every 10 minutes
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
We have a new website for the Northeast Corridor High-Speed Rail project, with illustrative graphics. nec.transitcosts.com
How to Build High-Speed Rail on the Northeast Corridor
An interactive site presenting the North East Corridor proposal by Marron Institute's Transportation and Land Use Group, authored by Alon Levy.
nec.transitcosts.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:18 PM
We have a new website for the Northeast Corridor High-Speed Rail project, with illustrative graphics. nec.transitcosts.com
Reposted by Jedwin Mok
many experiences make vancouver feel like a much bigger city than it actually is - like taking skytrain at rush hour.
automation is a key reason a NA region w the population of minneapolis or denver can support a train every 1-2 minutes, something you'd expect in new york, toronto, or mexico city
automation is a key reason a NA region w the population of minneapolis or denver can support a train every 1-2 minutes, something you'd expect in new york, toronto, or mexico city
October 19, 2025 at 9:42 PM
many experiences make vancouver feel like a much bigger city than it actually is - like taking skytrain at rush hour.
automation is a key reason a NA region w the population of minneapolis or denver can support a train every 1-2 minutes, something you'd expect in new york, toronto, or mexico city
automation is a key reason a NA region w the population of minneapolis or denver can support a train every 1-2 minutes, something you'd expect in new york, toronto, or mexico city