Interesting transportation things

[mrsmartman]

Flying Scotsman in Shropshire: Fans flock to see a true British icon on the Severn Valley Railway
The legendary Flying Scotsman powered into Bridgnorth's Severn Valley Railway today to meet hundreds of fans, many of them waving flags or clutching cameras.



Read more at http://www.shropshirestar.com/entert...VP9yFdly4pf.99

[mrnyc]

pulling transit agencies together in cleveland and ne ohio:



Creating a multi-county public transit system in Northeast Ohio

Print Email Ginger Christ, The Plain Dealer By Ginger Christ, The Plain Dealer
on October 10, 2016 at 1:26 PM, updated October 10, 2016 at 1:41 PM


CLEVELAND, Ohio – Public transit in Ohio is stalling.

From cuts to state funding to budget shortfalls to looming revenue stream problems, transit agencies like the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority have been forced to cut service and raise fares.

"What we have in Cleveland is not unusual. I think most people realize it could better," said Joe Calabrese, CEO of RTA.

That's why some in the industry see a multi-county public transit system as a possibility for the region.


more:
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index...art_river_home

[mrsmartman]

Your Trusted Source of Photographs from Pennsylvania and New York

[M II A II R II K]

A gondola connecting D.C. and Virginia? It’s feasible and legal, study finds.

Read More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...f04_story.html

.....

Leaders in both jurisdictions have floated the idea of building a cable-propelled transit system over the Potomac River to ease traffic on the Key Bridge and allow people to travel more quickly between Washington and Virginia.

- The study determined that a gondola would have “no fatal flaws.” It also projected that the gondola would serve at least 6,500 passengers a day and could improve transit options for at least some commuters. --- “When you’re not immersed in this technology, a gondola can sound sort of fanciful and not like a real technological possibility,” said Mary-Claire Burick, president of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District. “But it really does bear consideration. It’s not just a fanciful idea. It has the potential to be a model.”

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[electricron]

6,500 passengers a day over the Potomac River when there are also subways, rail lines, highways, and roads for competition. The Roosevelt Island aerial tran in New York City had at it's highest ridership 5,000 passengers a day when there were no other means at all to leave Roosevelt Island. Today, there's also a subway line to Roosevelt Island, so ridership on the aerial tram is down to just 3,000 a day.

Don't you believe as I do that 6,500 passengers a day is slightly over the top?

[initiald]

Raleigh voters approved sales tax increase to fund transit.

Transit will include commuter rail connecting Raleigh, NC State University, Research Triangle Park, Durham, and Duke University.

It will also offer transfers to the Orange-Durham light rail line that is in design phase and will connect Chapel Hill (UNC), Duke University, downtown Durham, and NC Central University.

The transit plan also includes BRT and dedicated bus lanes in Raleigh.





Union Station construction. Will service Amtrak as well as the new commuter rail service. By next year Amtrak will be operating five daily trains between Raleigh and Charlotte (and stops in between including Durham, Greensboro, and High Point) as well as daily service up towards DC/NY.

[NikolasM]

Originally Posted by electricron

6,500 passengers a day over the Potomac River when there are also subways, rail lines, highways, and roads for competition. The Roosevelt Island aerial tran in New York City had at it's highest ridership 5,000 passengers a day when there were no other means at all to leave Roosevelt Island. Today, there's also a subway line to Roosevelt Island, so ridership on the aerial tram is down to just 3,000 a day.

Don't you believe as I do that 6,500 passengers a day is slightly over the top?

There is not a good connection currently between Georgetown and Rosslyn (Metro access point) beyond a long walk over a busy bridge or traffic delayed buses. It might be more successful than expected for students and tourists and even locals who have given up trying to navigate Georgetown by car. It is very cheap if the costs are legit and a future metro connection is a minimum 20 years out. The real question is if the NPS would allow it.

[Pink Jazz]

Here is my concept of expanding the Phoenix area transit system:
http://future.wikia.com/wiki/Valley_...y_Andros_1337)

Included are new bus routes, new light rail lines, and the Tempe Streetcar.

[M II A II R II K]

• Video Link

[volguus zildrohar]

Originally Posted by SHiRO

http://pdovak.com/blog/2016/9/1/mini-metro-maps

My only beef with this map is its omission of Philadelphia's subway-surface trolleys but the inclusion of the suburban light rail lines.

It's a common thing.

[mrsmartman]

vanshnookenraggen If you are in Bushwick come check out the soft opening of @theliveingallery at 276 Boerum St starting at 9p. I'm showing a few maps and there are other amazing artists as well. Unfortunately you won't see me but if you come.to Mugs after I'll buy you a beer.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BMrve1GD5mY/

Your Trusted Source of Photographs from New York

[M II A II R II K]

Moving walkway networks would be an efficient transport option for car-free cities

Read More: http://newatlas.com/moving-sidewalk-future/46608/

.....

Researchers at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) looked at the idea of car-free cities and, using Geneva as a model, they concluded that Jetson-style moving walkways could not only replace the car, but could each carry 7,000 passengers an hour more energy efficiently than buses.

- The EPFL study started with assumptions that are a radical break from the cities of today. In their mathematical model, based on modern Geneva, there are no private cars and all transport outside of the moving walkways is based on buses, metro trains, trams, taxis, bikes, bike- or car-sharing, or urban cable cars.

- As to the moving walkways themselves, the researchers looked at several current technologies, but assumed the one used would be based on accelerating moving walkways, where the passengers would be sped up after stepping on until they cruised along at 15 km/h (9.3 mph), which is the average speed that motorists move at in cities at rush hour.

- These moving walkways would be networked together, so passengers can step from one slidewalk to another or travel non-stop on elevated expressways. By studying how people travel daily on primary, secondary, and tertiary roads, the researchers were able to determine how the moving walkways would compete with other mass transit systems, while also considering energy consumption and operational and budgetary constraints.

In addition, they took into account the moving walkways' speed, acceleration, length and width, and the intersections and entry and exit points. What they found was that the most efficient moving walkways configuration for the city of tomorrow has a small ring road around a car-free center. The network then extends out for a total of 32 km (20 mi) on the primary roads on 47 different links equipped with 10 gates.

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[202_Cyclist]

This is a large cost but this would be great for Burlington. According to this article, Burlington would be the smallest metro region in the US with commuter rail service.

Study: Commuter rail needs $300M investments
State studies train service to Burlington from St. Albans, Montpelier

Saint Albans Messenger
Dec. 8, 2016
By Elaine Ezerins

"ST. ALBANS — The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is evaluating the financial and operational feasibility of a commuter rail service in the corridor between St. Albans and Montpelier, with services focused on peak commuting times into Burlington.

An overview of the feasibility study, including conceptual design, capital and operating costs and demand for service, was conducted by VTrans and representatives from HDR, Inc., an architectural, engineering and consulting firm, during a public meeting at Northwestern Counseling & Support Service’s Family Center in St. Albans Tuesday afternoon.

Matt Moran, a transportation planner for HDR, Inc., began the presentation with an overview of commuter rail and the typical passenger experience..."

http://www.samessenger.com/study-com...m-investments/

[initiald]

Greensboro, NC moving to all electric buses.

Greensboro will replace all 47 buses in it's fleet with electric models over the next 10 years, with 3 to 5 new buses every year. The city already has 11 hybrid buses.

With a grant from Duke Energy Greensboro will get a bus charging station that can fully charge buses in 10 minutes.

Source

Source

How many other cities have/are switching to an all-electric bus fleet, and what are the most popular models of electric buses?

[nito]

London as of the last asset audit in September 2016 had a bus fleet of 9,462 vehicles. The majority are run on diesel but operate at Euro IV or better emission standards, and incorporate selective catalytic reduction technology.


Source: TfL Bus Audit, September 2016

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by nito

The majority run on diesel but operate at Euro IV or better emission standards, and incorporate selective catalytic reduction technology.

Ah, unfortunately I believe that technology remains ineffective as far as tiniest particles go. The latest filters still fail to hold them back, then they keep spreading over the streets, all over an urban atmosphere. It hurts one's lungs and entire organism, as those tiny particles spread in your blood as well once you inhaled them.

We all got to give up on diesel once and for all. It's just far too crappy.

[nito]

In an ideal world, a vast number of tube lines would be built, but that is unlikely to happen when buses perform such a critical component of connecting all parts of London and are so ridiculously convenient. A lot was made of fuel-cell and electric buses, but I think the compromise (cost, operation, etc..) that TfL have reached is to focus on hybrid buses such as the New RouteMaster and other hybrid models. As of September 2016, there were 2,115 hybrid buses operating across the city.

[M II A II R II K]

Electric Trucking Charges Up

Read More: http://www.wsj.com/articles/electric...-up-1481212800

Officials in Colorado are planning a public-road test of battery-charging technology capable of powering electric trucks while they drive. In the pilot project, believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S., vehicles equipped with “receiving coils” will draw power from another coil buried in the road. The Colorado Transportation Department and infrastructure developer Aecom Inc. are scouting potential sites, including busy roads near Denver International Airport, with a goal of launching in 2018.

Heavy-duty electric trucks remain a rare sight on highways, in part because they need to make frequent stops to recharge and must carry heavy, expensive batteries. The pilot’s developers say their goal is to extend the distances electric trucks can drive and reduce the bulkiness of in-vehicle batteries. “It’s one of those, ‘if you build it, they will come’ things,” said Peter Kozinski, director of Colorado’s RoadX program, a state fund aimed at using new technologies to ease congestion and improve road safety. Mr. Kozinski also recently worked with Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Uber Technologies Inc.’s autonomous trucking unit Otto on a beer delivery the brewer hailed as the world’s first commercial shipment by a self-driving truck.

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[M II A II R II K]

Texas transit agencies eye bus changes after ridership jump in Houston

Read More: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/12...s-after-rider/

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The changes, planned for years but rolled out literally overnight, initially brought scores of questions and confusion from regular riders. But in the first 10 months since the overhaul, Houston has bucked state and national trends and seen an increase in bus ridership.

- Average monthly bus ridership increased half a percent on Austin’s Capital Metro and decreased by that much on San Antonio’s VIA Metropolitan Transit during the same period. Decreases were more dramatic in some other major Texas cities: Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s average monthly bus ridership decreased 4 percent, and El Paso’s Sun Metro saw a 5.2 percent decline.

- Some of the state’s urban transit agencies are exploring or already planning major overhauls to their bus networks, though none of those The Texas Tribune reached are yet committed to an overnight wholesale change like Houston METRO implemented. Boosting bus frequency and simplifying routes can make economic sense: An uptick in riders can increase the portion of a transit agency's revenues that come from fares, potentially reducing reliance on taxes.

- But urban planning experts say system improvements can actually have broader, more dramatic impacts on residents’ quality of life, job access and living costs. They say better public transportation, especially in car-centric urban areas like those in Texas, can also help people pull themselves out of poverty. “It should go beyond functionality and mobility concerns,” said Shima Hamidi, director of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Institute of Urban Studies. “It should be planned as enablers.”

.....

[Eightball]

Yeah except the article is wrong ridership on Houston's bus system is down... https://twitter.com/MarketUrbanism/s...48504092934144