Karl Otterstrom
Nothing pedestrian about making better communities through public transportation. Honored to lead Spokane Transit as CEO.
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- Myst - Spokane Edition
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- On my way to the Cheney City Council meeting. From the top deck!
- Reaching the first meeting of the day included riding City Line and crossing the Spokane River on the Iron Bridge. Positive momentum for my day.
- Reposted by Karl OtterstromSorry, but triumphant claims about autonomous vehicle safety are wildly exaggerated. It's an open question whether today’s self-driving cars are any safer than those driven by humans. And if reducing crashes is the goal, that isn’t even the right question. My deep dive, in Bloomberg 🧵
- I logged 762 bus trips on Spokane Transit buses in 2025, a 13.9% increase over 2024, and my highest post-COVID personal ridership. I rode 36 different routes over the course of 241 days of riding. Lots of opportunities to experience the service, see how it can improve, and thank our drivers!
- My final transit ride of 2025! Will have my personal annual ridership report out this weekend. It was a good year for me on Spokane Transit's buses.
- I was able to use a vending machine to make donations to local non-profit organizations today. And of course, my vending order included bus passes. A great way to make giving simple and fun. Available at the Spokane Valley Mall through January 1 by the food court.
- One salient point the author makes is that more robust service generates greater affordability for riders than fare free transit that operates less service when it means less funding overall.
- Good morning from my commute on the northbound 4.
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- One can dream. 79 years ago today, Santa delivered big time for Spokane.
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- Christmas gift uddate: no intercity bus network under the tree this year, but I did receive a @bart.gov holiday sweater!
- The buses were having a long-winter's nap when I dropped by to visit drivers, mechanics and dispatchers this Christmas morning before the first bus hit the road. 🎄🎅
- All I want for Christmas is a robust intercity bus network, connecting Spokane to every sizable city within two hundred miles, including great interior cities of British Columbia, featuring multiple daily departures.
- Happy Almost Christmas! Taking the day off but went for a run that brought me through the Plaza for an opportunity to greet employees and to capture a Christmas scene near Bay 6. 🎄
- Reposted by Karl OtterstromYear 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan… * Vehicle traffic: -11% * Foot traffic: +3.4% * Storefront vacancy: -0.9% * Pollution: -22% * Revenue for mass transit: $548M So YES this has been a huge success.
- With more APC data retrieved and processed from the coaches that operated on Saturday Dec. 13, ridership actually topped 20,000 that day. Transit really is an accelerant for downtown activation.
- The number of Avista Utilities customers without power grew from 3,800 at 5am to nearly 70,000 at 7:15am. Power was out around Manito Park and as pictured, 14th Ave at Grand Blvd when I passed by on northbound 4. Gusts remain problematic. Stay safe out there!
- Detour induced by busted water main is showing up in @transit.app. Such a great added value to Spokane Transit riders to have some clarity during service disruptions.
- A vibrant downtown thrives on a robust transit network. 12/23/25 ridership topped 19,000, a first for Spokane Transit on a Saturday in the month of December.
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- While waiting for my bus at 8 o'clock at night is a good time to study and admire the GOAT Bus Network Diagram.
- Today's Spokesman-Review endeavors to provide detail on Spokane Transit's proposed revisions to bus service, expanding some routes and shifting resources from a low ridership route segment. Maps suggest precedent. Public input is essential: www.spokanetransit.com/projects/202...
- Sitting in the crowded sanctuary of the South Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church this evening, waiting our turn for their outdoor Christmas play, "Journey to Bethlehem," listening to a performance and a young boy comes up and whispers, 1/
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- Another snowy morning. Close to 50 people on the bus during my commute in this morning.
- First time on the KCM 7 in a very long time.
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- Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for public transportation and its workforce, wherever they may be. Today I am thankful specially thankful for Community Transit Route 109 and its first southbound trip from Lake Stevens.
- In other new, Spokane Transit was recently accepted as a transit agency member of @nacto.bsky.social! STA has long benefited from their resources for bus stop design. Membership is next level collaboration. nacto.org/latest/nacto...
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- Good morning from Transit Town! I ran down the hill fast enough to have the opportunity to observe the 5:20 am pulse of buses that extend across the region. The added bus trips that come in at 5:15 am have injected more ridership into this pulse.
- The reserved CEO parking spot is no more. The stall is now reserved for the monthly employee recognition award winner, with an comparable alternative benefit for winners who don't drive.
- More housing now available near transit! 96 units total where my kids and I used to cut through the forest between our home and the transit station.
- Another great morning to be a bus rider in Spokane. #WeekWithoutDriving
- Another #WeekWithoutDriving.
- Just another morning on the Spokane Transit Route 4. Transit moves community.
- I caught the inaugural run of the first 4 Monroe Regal bus that begins at 4:52 am.
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- Studying up for the next time I bus home from the airport. Thw journey since 1300 Eastern: MBTA Silver Line->BOS✈️->DEN->GEG->60🚍->4🚍->🏠
- Final run in Boston started before 5am and ended nine miles later in Cambridge, with the return trip made possible by the Red Line and the Silver Line. A great way to see the city and its transit while attending the American Public Transportation Association's Transform Conference.
- Jerome is clearly referring to Spokane. 😎
- Approaching go live date! I got my own copy of the new system map today and it's 😍. Study up on the new routes and schedules here: Spokanetransit.com/change
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- I choose transit most opportunities I get when traveling between work meetings. It is extremely valuable for experiencing the built environment as a bus rider, engaging with employees, and witnessing firsthand how transit moves community.
