Episode 1: Fare-Free Transit + Why We Started This Podcast

Fare-Free Transit – In this inaugural episode of Look Both Ways, David & Wes dig into the case for fare-free transit - and why the debate matters much more than the price of a bus ride. Does removing fares meaningfully improve access, safety, and ridership? Or does it distract from deeper structural problems in terms of how we fund and design transit? What can (and can't) fare-free policies accomplish, and what questions should cities be asking instead? The episode also sets the tone for the podcast itself in terms of why David & Wes felt this show was needed, what frustrates them about how transportation debates are usually framed, and how blind spots in conventional thinking continue to shape ours streets and cities for the worse. In this inaugural episode, we also cover: 🔹 What people get wrong about the “safest streets” in America 🔹 Why growing car design blind spots are still treated as an acceptable risk 🔹 How transportation conversations lose the plot... and how to bring them back And then we have some Rail Drinks! Stay tuned for bi-weekly conversations about all things transportation... Music by Charlie Van Stee (courtesy of bensound) Email us at [email protected] or find us at www.davidzipper.com and www.wesmarshall.org