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fflint Jan 28, 2013 7:16 PM
http://bikeportland.org/wp-content/u...nhagenized.jpg
http://www.copenhagenize.com/2013/01...gineering.html

M II A II R II K Jan 28, 2013 8:49 PM
How the TTC used to deal with overcrowding in wartime.

http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/01/h..._overcrowding/

http://www.blogto.com/upload/2013/01...red-Board3.jpg




http://www.blogto.com/upload/2013/01...red-Board2.jpg




http://www.blogto.com/upload/2013/01...ered-Board.jpg




http://www.blogto.com/upload/2013/01...aggered-Ad.jpg

M II A II R II K Jan 30, 2013 4:39 PM
Transit Space Race 2013

Interactive: http://reconnectingamerica.org/space...ceracemap.html

Quote:
.....

Projects listed within the Transit Space Race are fixed guideway projects including heavy rail, commuter rail, LRT, streetcars, various technologies such as cog railways, and Bus Rapid Transit lines that have more than 50% of their right of way dedicated to the bus alone. Rapid buses without dedicated lanes are an important part of any transit network however the inclusion of them in this project would have made the list hard to create. Additionally, this catalog is not a list of projects we would like to see built or an endorsement of any project. It is simply a list of what regions around the country have listed as potential projects.

.....



http://www.fastcoexist.com/multisite...ransitrace.jpg

M II A II R II K Feb 1, 2013 5:52 PM
Poll: The Hunt for the Worst Intersection in America Continues

Read More: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/01/31...ica-continues/

Quote:
Earlier this week we looked at the intersection of Route 355 and Shady Grove Road near Rockville, Maryland, flagged by Ben Ross at Greater Greater Washington for being especially hostile to pedestrians, even though it’s the site of a bus stop. We asked if it might be the worst intersection in the country and put out a call for readers to send their nominations for the title.

As some readers pointed out, the Rockville intersection at least has sidewalks on all four corners and some refuges for pedestrians caught mid-crossing, so it certainly can’t be nation’s worst. Several other submissions landed in our inbox where the engineers let the sheer car-centricity of the roads overwhelm the meager provisions for pedestrians even more. Wouldn’t you know it: We received three nominations from Florida, which Transportation for America has singled out as the most dangerous state for pedestrians. One reader sent us this stunner: State Route 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington, Florida. From this satellite picture, it looks like a walk around this intersection would cross 45 lanes, plus — is that a bike lane?

Which intersection is the worst?

• Route 355 and Shady Grove Road near Rockville, Maryland

• State Route 7 and Forest Hill Boulevard in Wellington, Florida

• Gainesville’s Archer Road and 34th Street

• Bloomingdale Avenue and US 301 in West Brandon, Florida

• 132nd Street, Industrial Road, Millard Avenue, and L Street in Omaha, Nebraska

• Missouri 141 and Gravois Road in St. Louis

• Abercorn Street and White Bluff Road in Savannah, Georgia

• Potrero Avenue and Division Street in San Francisco

.....
http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...etcrossing.jpg




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...1-1024x651.png




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...WWCUAE_znN.jpg




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...Picture-31.png




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...c1CAAAUmeB.png




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...13/01/ou8d.jpg




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...Picture-22.png




http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...1-576x1024.jpg

M II A II R II K Feb 2, 2013 7:47 PM
One of the Worst Mass Transit Commute Horror Stories You Will Ever Read

Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/com...ver-read/4576/

Quote:
.....

I boarded my first train at Foggy Bottom around 4:45 p.m., transferred at L'Enfant Plaza without incident. Once I got on the platform at L'Enfant Plaza, the signs said to expect delays. I waited about 15 minutes for the train to come. By this time, the platform was absolutely packed with people. Everyone crammed into the train. We went one stop, and the train operator announced the train was going out of service, and everybody would have to get off at the next stop. This had apparently happened to two other trains as well, so the platform hardly had room for us to get off the train. It was pretty damn unsafe. The train operator kept announcing to board the next train on the opposite side of the track, and it would take us in the direction we were headed due to them single tracking around a track fire.

The next thing that happened, and I wish I had this recorded was—the station announcer came on the PA system and starting announcing, “At this time, the station manager KNOWS NOTHING, I repeat, the station manager KNOWS NOTHING.” This was very unsettling to the mob on the platform. Then a train arrived on the same side we just got off on, and announces it was going our direction. At the same time, the train came, the station manager was on the PA stating no trains were heading in our direction and they have no information on any trains going in our direction, so we should all exit the station and get a bus or a cab. That train left, I was nowhere close to getting on. There were three trains worth of pissed off people all pushing and shoving to get on it. I stayed out of the way. The next train came and announced it was going in our direction, as the station manager once again comes on the PA system saying no trains are heading in our direction—UNBELIEVABLE.

I got on that train, we went maybe a mile and the train went dark--all power was shut off. The train drifted along the tracks with a ghostly, eerie silence until it came to a powerless stop. One light came on in the car I was in. It was packed with probably a few hundred people. We were standing face to face, practically on top of one-another. The train operator said, he was not sure what happened and was calling into central. We had emergency battery power on, which had enough power to keep emergency lighting on but no air circulation.

The next two hours were spent in the dark on the train. An hour in, panic started to set in. In our car, one woman had passed out. We heard people pounding on windows in other cars, we heard glass breaking and people screaming. More than two hours in, folks in our car forced open the emergency door to get some air into the car. Some to actually exited and walked the tunnel. Mind you, we were in the dark somewhere under the Anacostia River. Inside the temperature was close to 90 degrees. Most people managed to get their coats off, and in some cases, even shirts came off, I was dripping with sweat, but tried to keep breathing and conserve my energy and keep calm. I did not talk much, and kept my eyes closed while standing face to face and body to body with the other sweaty passengers.

About two and a half hours, someone threw up in our car. The car also smelt of urine. I’m certain more than one person had pissed themselves. The car smelt rank, and the situation was getting out of control. Multiple emergency doors were forced open, and now passengers were wondering around in the train tunnels in the dark. The train operator came by our car, asked us to help him get the door closed and said not to open it again. He said several other doors were open and had to be closed. He had police and firemen with him. They were trying to round up everyone and get them back on the train before the fire department would give permissions to the power company to restore power to the third rail.

Once the train operator got all passengers back on train and all doors closed, the power came on. The train operator said we would be moving forward, but at a very slow pace, as there might be stray passengers wondering around in the tunnel. They took a good 30 minutes to get everyone off who needed medical assistance. I got home close to 9 p.m. that night.

.....



http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img...in/largest.jpg

Jonboy1983 Feb 3, 2013 2:40 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 5998253)
One of the Worst Mass Transit Commute Horror Stories You Will Ever Read

Read More: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/com...ver-read/4576/






http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img...in/largest.jpg
Wow... that is a really scary thing to encounter! My worst transit nightmare was trying to catch the R5 train out of Center City Philly as a severe thunderstorm was pushing through the area back in 2008. The entire regional rail network was delayed. Suburban Station kinda resembled the description of that subway station in that article linked above. There was no moving any which way in that mass of insanity. I was with a neighbor and her who worked in the IBX building some blocks away. We decided to forget about the train and took the 125 bus to King of Prussia. My neighbor called her husband and told him to come to KOP to pick us up.

M II A II R II K Feb 5, 2013 7:34 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 5996792)
Poll: The Hunt for the Worst Intersection in America Continues

Read More: http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/01/31...ica-continues/



The Votes Are In: Omaha Abomination Voted Worst Intersection in the U.S.

http://dc.streetsblog.org/2013/02/05...on-in-the-u-s/

#1. Omaha, Nebraska: 132nd Street, Industrial Road, Millard Avenue, and L Street

http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...CAAAUmeB-1.png




#2. St. Louis, Missouri: 141 and Gravois Road

http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content.../02/ou8d-2.jpg




#3. Savannah, Georgia: Abercorn Street and White Bluff Road

http://dc.streetsblog.org/wp-content...Picture-22.png

M II A II R II K Feb 5, 2013 7:35 PM
https://sites.google.com/site/califo...ed-rail-system

http://i.imgur.com/cIBWd6B.png

TedBell Feb 22, 2013 1:21 PM
I must admit, I don't know where this is. Nor do I know if it is real.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--7RwdIax9A...-Crosswalk.jpg

jg6544 Feb 22, 2013 5:50 PM
Going to the Bay Area on business next week. I'm driving. If we had high-speed rail, I'd take the train. Wouldn't fly if you held a gun to my head. Just sayin'.

Jonboy1983 Feb 24, 2013 2:17 AM
In Pittsburgh, they're talking about merging 10 public transit agencies into one large entity serving 9 counties in Western PA:

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/3...#axzz2Lm8JwEMI

Frankly, I've suggested this for years. Public transportation in the Pittsburgh region is very fragmented. Just like in the greater Philly region, many people travel from one suburban area to another (i.e. Bethel Park or Upper St. Clair to Washington County, or from Ross Twp to Cranberry. Yet, Port Authority and the neighboring transit agencies all offer overlapping services. Why not remove the crowded buses and either extend BRT or establish a commuter rail network to handle trunk routes where applicable and have bus feeder routes providing connections to the trunk routes/lines.

Instead of having the state coughing up a small fortune year in and year out to 10 different agencies, they could provide one large amount to one large agency and ultimately save millions over the years as stated in the article. I like that idea as well.

Nexis4Jersey Feb 24, 2013 2:22 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonboy1983 (Post 6026569)
In Pittsburgh, they're talking about merging 10 public transit agencies into one large entity serving 9 counties in Western PA:

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/3...#axzz2Lm8JwEMI

Frankly, I've suggested this for years. Public transportation in the Pittsburgh region is very fragmented. Just like in the greater Philly region, many people travel from one suburban area to another (i.e. Bethel Park or Upper St. Clair to Washington County, or from Ross Twp to Cranberry. Yet, Port Authority and the neighboring transit agencies all offer overlapping services. Why not remove the crowded buses and either extend BRT or establish a commuter rail network to handle trunk routes where applicable and have bus feeder routes providing connections to the trunk routes/lines.

Instead of having the state coughing up a small fortune year in and year out to 10 different agencies, they could provide one large amount to one large agency and ultimately save millions over the years as stated in the article. I like that idea as well.
Western should have one agency and Eastern should have 2 agencies its not that hard too do and would a lot of money along with possibly making expansions easier.

Jonboy1983 Feb 24, 2013 2:43 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 6026572)
Western should have one agency and Eastern should have 2 agencies its not that hard too do and would a lot of money along with possibly making expansions easier.
Thank you. I feel exactly the same way. If Pittsburgh is going to have one massive tranist network serving 9 counties, then they're going to need to have a better rail network for the trunk routes branching out from the city to the suburban centers of Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland etc.

Besides SEPTA, what is the other eastern authority?

Nexis4Jersey Feb 24, 2013 7:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonboy1983 (Post 6026897)
Thank you. I feel exactly the same way. If Pittsburgh is going to have one massive tranist network serving 9 counties, then they're going to need to have a better rail network for the trunk routes branching out from the city to the suburban centers of Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland etc.

Besides SEPTA, what is the other eastern authority?
Well North of I-78 there would be a Northeastern Agency handling Buses and Rail. Septa , BARTA , CAT should all be one agency , Amtrak Keystone should be run by SEPTA..... The Northeastern Agency is should handle Lehigh Valley and Wyoming Valley along with Poconos and Delaware Gap area...

Jonboy1983 Feb 24, 2013 8:07 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 6027119)
Well North of I-78 there would be a Northeastern Agency handling Buses and Rail. Septa , BARTA , CAT should all be one agency , Amtrak Keystone should be run by SEPTA..... The Northeastern Agency is should handle Lehigh Valley and Wyoming Valley along with Poconos and Delaware Gap area...
I could see BARTA becomming part of SEPTA, but Capital Area Transit might be a bit far-fetched IMO. I could see Capital Area merged with Red Rose and Rabbit Transit.

I know that aside from the larger transit agencies, there are also some smaller, more neighborhood-scale transportation providers that could handle some of the paratransit routes. Here in Chester County, we have Rover which provides mobility-less folks with access to shopping and healthcare in the Coatesville, Downingtown, and West Chester areas, and there's the Transportation Management Association of Chester County serving the Great Valley area.

Altho, I'm not sure why those two providers don't merge and become one entity. Then again, with mergers, especially with transit providers offering mostly paratransit, there's the danger of someone getting left stranded...

M II A II R II K Mar 28, 2013 3:33 PM
Someone made a live map of where the trains are in the London Underground.


http://traintimes.org.uk/map/tube/

M II A II R II K May 22, 2013 11:37 PM
Prague plans ‘Love Train’ subway dating

Read More: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/201...-subway-dating

Quote:
Underground commuters in Prague who are looking for love will soon be able to try their luck in designated dating cars, a transport spokesman said Friday.

“People meet there, pass by each other, and if they like one another they can start a relationship,” said Filip Drapal, spokesman for Ropid, a company involved in the project. The special cars are part of a drive to make public transport more popular. “We are planning a campaign to show people things they can do on public transport,” he said. So along with reading or studying, bored commuters will soon be able to flirt or pick up a date.

The Prague “Love Train,” which will use a laissez-faire approach rather than set strict speed-dating rules, is to launch at year’s end. Drapal said the firm is now deciding which of the five cars is most suitable, the number of trains to include and what kind of signs to display. Drapal said that while no one will be forced to flirt in the new cars, some passengers are concerned. “When I’m in a rush, I enter the first open door I see. I should watch out now and make sure no one starts seducing me,” said Petr Voracek, quoted by the DNES daily.

.....

Swede May 25, 2013 9:55 AM
Stockholm is getting new subway cars
SL is buying 96 new cars (i.e. 48 full trains) at a cost of about 5 billion SEK. All of these ar going to go on the Red Line which is also getting a new signalling system. First delivery in 2017 and final delivery in 2021.

Screenshot of the layout (no exterior renders are around yet)
http://oi40.tinypic.com/m79s09.jpg

got it directly from the source:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fp6xhfuz7x...0%20130521.pdf

M II A II R II K Jun 4, 2013 5:16 PM
High-Capacity Flash Charger Can Juice Up an Electric Bus in Under 15 Seconds

Read More: http://inhabitat.com/high-capacity-f...er-15-seconds/

Quote:
Electric vehicles are a great option for personal use, but when it comes to public transportation, the technology has its limitations. Electric buses require overhead power lines or lengthy recharge times to stay running. But that may all change with TOSA’s new “flash-charging” stations, which can fully charge a bus in 15 seconds flat! That means the bus could be fully re-charged and ready to go in the time it takes to let people on and off at a stop.

- The electricity for the project comes from clean hydroelectricity and the charging time is so quick that it won’t interfere with the flow of transportation. The roof-mounted charging system runs both the bus itself and the interior electronics like lighting. The flash-chargers will be placed at every 3rd or 4th stop and the shape of the charger will change to suit the needs of each stop. The project is a partnership between several innovative companies, including ABB, OPI and the Geneva energy company SIG. If everything works as planned, it could spell the end for overhead lines and will give mass transit more flexibility and make cities more beautiful by removing the webbing of overhead power lines

.....



http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-conte...us-537x357.jpg




http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-conte...-transport.jpg

M II A II R II K Jun 5, 2013 4:18 PM
Japan tests 310mph bullet train

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...let-train.html

Quote:
The new generation L0 Series trains, which employ the latest magnetic levitation technology instead of conventional wheels, will begin commercial services in 2027.

The first five cars of the new train, which has a distinct aerodynamic "nose" at the front, were displayed on a test track in Yamanashi Prefecture. The carriages, which are propelled by magnetic forces, were pulled along the track by a special maintenance vehicle as part of preliminary trials, with wide-scale tests due to commence in September.

The new train, designed by Central Japan Railway Co (JR Tokai), will initially link central Tokyo with Nagoya station, cutting current bullet train journey times by more than half, from 90 to 40 minutes. The final train will consist of 16 carriages carrying up to 1,000 passengers at a time, with plans under way to extend the line to Osaka by 2045. The plan is ultimately to create a high-speed mass transit maglev network across the country.

.....



• Video Link

initiald Jun 5, 2013 5:41 PM
Six routes on table for high-speed rail between Charlotte and Atlanta

http://www.dot.ga.gov/travelingingeo...dyArea-web.jpg

Details and larger map

M II A II R II K Jun 8, 2013 4:03 PM
Stockholm's male train drivers wearing skirts to work

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...s-to-work.html

Quote:
More than a dozen male employees working for the Roslagsbanan train services in the Swedish capital have been wearing skirts in order to keep cool.

One of the drivers, Martin Åkersten, explained that temperatures can hit 95F (35C) in the train cab during the summer. Uniform regulations by the train company Arriva state that skirts or long trousers are acceptable. At a meeting last year, drivers were told that shorts were not allowed. They have given their blessing to the men wearing skirts however.

.....



http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...n_2584813b.jpg

Swede Jun 9, 2013 5:29 AM
Here's the BBC link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22828150

They have a picture of one of the drivers too:
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...962_martin.jpg


Note that the pic Mark posted is of the subway (old cars). This is what Roslagsbanan looks like;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...p_20121004.JPG
source

SpawnOfVulcan Jun 9, 2013 7:42 AM
Have they given their blessing because they find the skirts comical while being worn by the guys or because the have a personal vendetta against shorts? I fail to understand the utterly dramatic difference between shorts and skirts...

Swede Jun 9, 2013 9:12 AM
The local tv news did a short clip on it: link.

It's nothing to do with "comical" afaik, just bureaucrats who think shorts look unprofessional and thus can't be part of uniforms. That plus understanding that they don't have any basis for banning skirts for men that'd hold up in the court of public opinion.

vid Jun 9, 2013 2:29 PM
Skirts on men is considered more professional than shorts on men?

Banning shorts is OK, but banning skirts would be unpopular?

The summer uniform for transit in my city is a polo and shorts, for both genders. And our buses are air conditioned!

M II A II R II K Jun 9, 2013 2:35 PM
What about A/C!

Swede Jun 9, 2013 3:26 PM
The trains in question are from the 80s. A/C started being used on transit here only about 15 years ago or so, and it's still far from everywhere (even for new vehicles). Somehow the people in charge of buying the rolling stock doesn't think it gets warm & sunny up here. It does. The focus has been more on heating than cooling, so the heating usually works at least.

Yeah, skirts are considered more professional. By the people making the uniform decisions . A simple skirt does have cleaner lines than almost all shorts, so it makes some kind of sense. But mostly it's about up-tight bosses who don't get that not everyone works in a nice office with A/C, IMO.

M II A II R II K Jul 3, 2013 3:41 AM
Check out Google Flights: https://www.google.com/flights/

M II A II R II K Jul 7, 2013 6:48 PM
How Driverless Cars Could Reshape Cities

Read More: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/0...eshape-cities/

Quote:
.....

Imagine a city where you don’t drive in loops looking for a parking spot because your car drops you off and scoots off to some location to wait, sort of like taxi holding pens at airports. Or maybe it’s picked up by a robotic minder and carted off with other vehicles, like a row of shopping carts.

- Inner-city parking lots could become parks. Traffic lights could be less common because hidden sensors in cars and streets coordinate traffic. And, yes, parking tickets could become a rarity since cars will be smart enough to know where they are not supposed to be. As scientists and car companies forge ahead — many expect self-driving cars to become commonplace in the next decade — researchers, city planners and engineers are contemplating how city spaces could change if our cars start doing the driving for us.

- That city of the future could have narrower streets because parking spots would no longer be necessary. And the air would be cleaner because people would drive less. According to the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 30 percent of driving in business districts is wasted in a hunt for a parking spot. The agency estimates that almost one billion miles of driving is wasted every year as people search for parking.

- Harvard University researchers note that as much as one-third of the land in some cities is devoted to parking spots. Some city planners expect that the cost of homes will fall as more space will become available in cities. If parking on city streets is reduced and other vehicles on roadways become smaller, homes and offices will take up that space. Today’s big-box stores and shopping malls require immense areas for parking, but without those needs, they could move further into cities.

- The Autonomous Intersection Management project, created by the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, imagines cities where traffic lights no longer exist but sensors direct the flow of traffic. Although a video showing off the automated traffic intersection looks like total chaos, the researchers insist that such intersections will reduce congestion and fuel costs and can allow cars to drive through cities without stopping.

- “The future city is not going to be a congestion-free environment. That same prediction was made that cars would free cities from the congestion of horses on the street,” said Bryant Walker Smith, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and a member of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford. “You have to build the sewer system to accommodate the breaks during the Super Bowl; it won’t be as pretty as we’re envisioning.”

- Mr. Smith has an alternative vision of the impact of automated cars, which he believes are inevitable. Never mind that nice city center. He says that driveless cars will allow people to live farther from their offices and that the car could become an extension of home. “I could sleep in my driverless car, or have an exercise bike in the back of the car to work out on the way to work,” he said. “My time spent in my car will essentially be very different.”

- “Driverless cars won’t appear in a vacuum,” Mr. Smith said. Other predictions for the future city imagine fewer traditional-looking cars. Taking their place will be drones and robots that deliver goods. Oh, and that food-delivery car double-parked outside? That, Mr. Calo said, will be replaced by a delivery drone.

.....



• Video Link

Aylmer Jul 8, 2013 5:44 AM
In the future, I guess no one walks or bikes either...

M II A II R II K Jul 8, 2013 3:42 PM
Perhaps not, if they walk or bike or run, they would only do it for fun!


• Video Link

M II A II R II K Jul 14, 2013 6:11 PM
Transit Time NYC: http://project.wnyc.org/transit-time/


Quote:
Pick a start point and see subway travel times to everywhere else in NYC. Just click the map or enter an address. Staten Island Railway included; ferries, buses and bikes are not.

M II A II R II K Jul 28, 2013 6:02 PM
Can Concentric Circles Save Subway Sanity?

Website: http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~mjr/u...d/tubemap.html

Quote:
.....

The U.K.'s Max Roberts, a mapmaker and critic, has created a map that sees its simplifying problem and then solves it by taking a similar approach, but to a much greater degree. The map heads in the direction of a diagram and away from a map trying to represent geographic features.

.....

M II A II R II K Jul 28, 2013 6:02 PM
http://i1.minus.com/ibemnvCD4TzDsq.jpg




http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~mjr/u...cover_full.jpg

KevinFromTexas Aug 1, 2013 4:41 AM
• Video Link

Wizened Variations Aug 1, 2013 5:11 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas (Post 6217581)
A great subsidy opportunity for the wheel alignment business.

M II A II R II K Aug 6, 2013 7:29 PM
World’s first road-powered electric vehicle network switches on in South Korea

Read More: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/1...in-south-korea

Quote:
South Korea has rolled out the world’s first road-powered electric vehicle network. The network consists of special roads that have electrical cables buried just below the surface, which wirelessly transfer energy to electric vehicles via magnetic resonance.

- Road-powered electric vehicles are exciting because they only require small batteries, significantly reducing their overall weight and thus their energy consumption. There’s also the small fact that, with an electrified roadway, you never have to plug your vehicle in to recharge it, removing most of the risk and range anxiety associated with electric vehicles (EVs).

- Exact details of the system are hard to come by, but we believe that the power is delivered by cables that are around 12 inches (30cm) below the road surface. The power is transmitted wirelessly via Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR), a technology developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) that essentially runs 100 kilowatts of power through some cables at a very specific frequency (20 kHz in this case), creating a 20 kHz electromagnetic field. The underside of the bus is equipped with a pick-up coil that’s tuned to pick up that frequency, and thus AC electricity is produced via magnetic resonance.

- The OLEV receives 100 kilowatts of power via SMFIR, while maintaining a 17cm gap between the underside of the bus and the road surface. Because each OLEV has a small battery (about one-third the size of the battery in a conventional EV), only small portions of the road (5-15%) need to be electrified. Further increasing efficiency and reducing the radiation received by other road users and pedestrians, the electrified sections only turn on when an OLEV approaches.

- Moving forward, 10 more buses will be added to the network by 2015 — and presumably there are also plans to add more stretches of electrified roads. The fact that only 5-15% of the road needs to be dug up and replaced might sound positive at first blush, but it’s still a massive undertaking in any kind of built-up area. Trains and trams might require electricity for their entire runs, but it’s much easier to install overhead power lines than to dig up a road.

- Still, if we push the logistical issues aside for a moment, it’s hard to overstate the advantages of a nationwide electrified road network. You would never need to stop at a filling/charging station ever again. The design and engineering of cars would change dramatically, as large engines, fuel tanks, and batteries would no longer be required. Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels would of course be a boon to the environment, too. The electric road would be a network in the computer sense of the word, too, potentially allowing for all sorts of vehicle tracking, autonomous driving, vehicle-to-vehicle networks, smart braking, and more.

.....



http://www.extremetech.com/wp-conten...ad-640x353.jpg




http://www.extremetech.com/wp-conten...gy-640x228.jpg




Hybrid vs. OLEV


http://www.extremetech.com/wp-conten...owered-bus.jpg

M II A II R II K Aug 13, 2013 5:59 PM
NY man arrested 29 times for nabbing trains, buses

Read More: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ny-ma...g-trains-buses

Quote:
Darius McCollum can explain the complicated workings of the New York City transit system with the precision of a veteran conductor. He knows every subway stop, every line, every train. It's an obsession that has dominated his life. But instead of becoming a transit worker, he's become a transit impostor.

- Twenty-nine times, beginning when he was a teenager, he's been arrested for crimes that include piloting a subway train, stealing a bus and donning uniforms to pose as a conductor and even track worker. "I've always loved trains, ever since I can remember. I had the whole subway map memorized by the time I was 8. People would call me to ask how to get somewhere," said the 49-year-old McCollum, who has spent nearly a third of his life behind bars.

- Attorney Sally Butler says McCollum's actions are the result of uncontrolled impulses, a byproduct of what was until recently called Asperger's syndrome but is now considered an autism spectrum disorder. She says the district attorney's office agrees, and they have worked on a solution: McCollum pleaded guilty to stealing the bus, and instead of being sentenced Thursday to 15 years as a habitual offender, he will get 2 ½ to 5 years and voluntarily undergo cognitive behavioral therapy.

.....



http://binaryapi.ap.org/35b5935e326b...d1a63/460x.jpg

M II A II R II K Aug 13, 2013 6:04 PM
• Video Link

Busy Bee Aug 13, 2013 7:03 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by M II A II R II K (Post 6231143)

Speaking of people imprisoned in this country for harmless offenses.

M II A II R II K Aug 15, 2013 6:44 PM
Don't Count on Mass Transit Improvements to Reduce Traffic Congestion

Read More: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/...ongestion.html

Quote:
.....

As transit advocates know, more highway construction tends not to reduce highway congestion. What transit advocates also ought to know is that more mass transit construction also tends not to reduce highway congestion. The cause of road congestion is that if your city is a thriving and vibrant place full of jobs and leisure activities, then space on a road is going to be a valuable thing.

- It's a valuable thing that's generally given away for free. Consequently, it tends to get overconsumed to the point where the traffic congestion itself becomes enough of a deterrent to prevent more people from pouring onto the road. Building more lanes or more mass transit options will initially alleviate the congestion, but the fact that the road is now less congested becomes a reason for more people to pour onto the road.

- There are two workable ways to permanently rid yourself of traffic jams, one sensible and one dumb. The dumb one is to massively overbuild transportation infrastructure. Not just too much infrastructure for right now, but infrastructure that so far outpaces your area's needs that it won't induce enough growth to catch up. A "bridge to nowehre" kind of thing.

- The sensible one is to build the amount of transportation infrastructure that your area needs and charge money for its use. If the crowded suburban commuter routes in the D.C. area had congestion pricing at peak times, then the roads wouldn't be so crowded. And the revenue would become a valuable source of funding for maintaining and expanding the area's transportation infrastructure. And then people could pay lower taxes or we could hire more cops and teachers. But absent congestion pricing, a growing metropolitan area with a viable economy is never going to actually build its way out of road crowding, and that's true whether you build highways or mass transit.

.....



http://www.slate.com/content/dam/sla...gle3-large.jpg

vid Aug 16, 2013 7:16 PM
Why do the photos you post never have anything to do with the articles you're posting them with?

mousquet Aug 16, 2013 9:27 PM
Hm... Okay, I live Maisons-Alfort, 3 minutes away from a subway station (Métro line 8), barely 10 minutes away from a RER line D station, by foot. And then it's goddamn overpriced over here. I'm quite sure mass transit is indeed a huge booster for real estate value, even astonishing. As soon as people get some mass transit means around, they give up on their cars, like - oh hell! fuck traffic jam! I wanna spare my time! and their apartments literally double in value. :haha:
Mass transit is mpressive for that. Amazing.

M II A II R II K Aug 23, 2013 2:06 AM
http://fotkica.com/imgs3/1_86008220_...%20network.jpg

M II A II R II K Aug 24, 2013 3:34 PM
http://www.care2.com/causes/whats-th...portation.html

http://www.wellhome.com/blog/wp-cont...f-Movement.png

zilfondel Aug 24, 2013 8:20 PM
I would think that an 18-wheeler truck would be a horribly inefficient method of personal transportation, far worse than an SUV.

Wizened Variations Aug 25, 2013 6:20 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by zilfondel (Post 6243597)
I would think that an 18-wheeler truck would be a horribly inefficient method of personal transportation, far worse than an SUV.
I believe that semi trailers have been converted to passenger use in Cuba at various times.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...own_Havana.jpg

IMO, if the US were to be hit by a severe economic decline, converting semi trailers to passenger vehicles could be done quickly, and, cheaply, particularly safety standards were ignored "wink, wink,"

In the example shown, assuming a sit-down configuration 4 abreast (remembers times are tough), about 48 people could sit on the bus. Sidewise seating and standing riders, perhaps 72.

Theoretically, again assuming a "wink wink" attitude towards this mode, truck trains might be built

http://pete-n-pam.com/main%20pics/page067pics/truck.jpg

The conversion would have lower passenger carrying capabilities per unit than shown in the Cuban example, say 36 and 54, but, the 4 unit truck train shown might carry between 144 and 216 people.

Oh yes, with computerized braking systems, this might even be a bit safe on snow. Add small motors to selectively power 2 of each trailer wheel set, and it might even be safe.

I would expect the PMPG for a 4 (or more) unit passenger truck train to be right between a plug in car and a freight train per person.

A last thought: moving company trailers might even be doubled decked!

Cirrus Aug 26, 2013 7:38 PM
Suspension bridge over the Colorado River at the CA/AZ border, but with a twist: This only carries a natural gas pipeline, not people.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2811/9...c76aee78_b.jpg
image from google street view

http://archive.library.nau.edu/utils...XT=&DMROTATE=0
image from Josef Muench via the library at Northern Arizona University

202_Cyclist Aug 26, 2013 8:01 PM
Bamboo bicycle
 
I never got around to posting these but here are some photos I took of a bamboo bicycle I saw last summer here in Washington. It was a stunning bike. I can only imagine the craftsmanship that goes into making this. I would like one of these.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7394/9...fc98b920_z.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5448/9...374b1774_z.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3742/9...ab625abb_z.jpg
All photos taken by me.


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