Interesting transportation things

[mrnyc]

hmm —



Hydrogen-powered planes almost ready for takeoff

Ars Contributors 08/9/2023


A complete hydrogen fuel cell powertrain assembly occupied the pride of place in the pavilion of Beyond Aero at the recently concluded Paris Air Show. That a fuel cell system was the Toulouse-based startup’s centerpiece at the biennial aero event is an indication of the steps being taken by a range of companies, from startups to multinational corporations, toward realizing the goal of using hydrogen as fuel in the aviation sector.

“This 85 kilowatt subscale demonstrator was successfully tested a few months ago. Even though in its current form, it serves only ultralight aviation, the successful test of the powertrain is a crucial step in our technical development path for designing and building a business aircraft,” Beyond Aero co-founder Hugo Tarlé told Ars Technica.

Tarlé said that the business aircraft would have a range of 800 nautical miles and will be powered by a 1 MW powertrain. “For generating this power, there won’t be one big megawatt fuel cell. Instead, it will be multiple fuel cells. It will be based on the same technical choices that we made on the subscale demonstrator—i.e. gaseous hydrogen, fuel cell, hybridization of batteries and electric motors."


more:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023...r-takeoff/amp/

[M II A II R II K]

How does U.S. transit support compare to our peers?

https://t4america.org/2023/08/23/how...-to-our-peers/

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- Our Transit Report Card analyzes how states compare on transit access and support. To understand how our figures match up in the context of other countries, we took a look at one of our peers: Australia.

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[Busy Bee]

^ Illuminating

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

^ Illuminating

It reminds me of this.

https://www.theonion.com/al-qaeda-cl...ure-1819572809

[Busy Bee]

[electricron]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

How does U.S. transit support compare to our peers?

https://t4america.org/2023/08/23/how...-to-our-peers/

That propaganda article discussed everything but gas prices.
Average price for a liter of petrol in Australia is $1.2 USA per litre for July 2023. One litre is equal to 0.2641720524 gal (USA). Therefore, some math follows: $1.2 l / 0.2641720524 l/gal = $4.54 / gal
The average price for gasoline in the USA is $3.88 /gal, including excise gas taxes of an average of $0.60/gal, for August 2023. That's an average of 30 cents Federal and 30 cents States.
Historically, dating back to the 1950s, gas taxes in the USA was 18 cents per gallon to fund the Interstate Highways at 90%. Before the 1930s, the Feds charged 1 cent per gallon.
When Europe and Japan were rebuilding their railroad infrastructure, they had little to no domestic oil. America was not bombed, so the existing railroad infrastructure was intact. Gas was aplenty and cheap, so freeways were built instead.

[SIGSEGV]

Soon, as electric cars become more prevalent, governments will have no choice but to impose per-mile taxes, which I guess might allow us to reset to a more sustainable, higher tax basis. Though I doubt it...

[TowerDude]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Soon, as electric cars become more prevalent, governments will have no choice but to impose per-mile taxes, which I guess might allow us to reset to a more sustainable, higher tax basis. Though I doubt it...

I think it would be more fair to just pay for roads with general taxation.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

I think it would be more fair to just pay for roads with general taxation.

Sure, as long as we also eliminated transit fares.

[Alpha]

• Video Link

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by electricron

That propaganda article discussed everything but gas prices.
Average price for a liter of petrol in Australia is $1.2 USA per litre for July 2023. One litre is equal to 0.2641720524 gal (USA). Therefore, some math follows: $1.2 l / 0.2641720524 l/gal = $4.54 / gal
The average price for gasoline in the USA is $3.88 /gal, including excise gas taxes of an average of $0.60/gal, for August 2023. That's an average of 30 cents Federal and 30 cents States.
Historically, dating back to the 1950s, gas taxes in the USA was 18 cents per gallon to fund the Interstate Highways at 90%. Before the 1930s, the Feds charged 1 cent per gallon.
When Europe and Japan were rebuilding their railroad infrastructure, they had little to no domestic oil. America was not bombed, so the existing railroad infrastructure was intact. Gas was aplenty and cheap, so freeways were built instead.

and then in the 1960s-1980s boomer era america bombed out itself -- and cities have been trying to refill those parking lots and urban prairies ever since. thanks alot suburbia.

[mrnyc]

just another regalur degalur 7am in the bx —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwLfn...RlODBiNWFlZA==

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by electricron

That propaganda article discussed everything but gas prices.

I think, moreso, it fails to mention whether the two cities mentioned are representative of the nations at large.

[M II A II R II K]

Megalopolis With World’s Worst Traffic Gets Metro After 12-Year Wait

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...r-12-year-wait

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- Nigeria’s gridlocked commercial hub of Lagos started operating its first light-rail system on Monday, 12 years after it first planned to start ferrying riders. --- The new line in Lagos, Nigeria, could cut journey times to 25 minutes from gridlocked ordeals lasting up to three hours.

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[M II A II R II K]

FTA offers $197M to replace aging public transit rail vehicles

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news...tation/696238/

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- The Federal Transit Administration opened the application window Tuesday for about $197 million in competitive grants to replace passenger rail cars or locomotives under the Rail Vehicle Replacement program for fiscal year 2024. --- The program is open to state, regional and local governmental authorities for rail vehicles used in public transportation, including commuter rail, heavy rail and light rail lines. --- Funded projects must comply with buy-American provisions under the FTA and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which sets minimum domestic content and final assembly requirements for rail cars and locomotives.

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[Delthayre]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

FTA offers $197M to replace aging public transit rail vehicles

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news...tation/696238/

FTA may actually award as much as $ 797 million, because they have the authority to commit fiscal year 2025 and 2026 funds, there being $ 300 million appropriated for each year. Last year fiscal years 2022 and 2023 were combined into one program and approximately $ 103 million of 2024 funds were committed., which is why only$ 197 million of fiscal year 2024 funds are available. I would, however, assume that they will want to leave at least token funding left in those future years.

Last year, per the project selections and implementation guidance, there were eighteen applications with a combined value of $ 3.5 billion; one would assume that at least the dozen losers from last year will try their luck again.

[Busy Bee]

This may just be me, but I feel like FTA focuses way too much attention and capital at vehicle replacement instead of system and service expansion. There's exceptions to the rule - and buses obviously don't last as long as rail rolling stock - but there are examples where many zeros are spent replacing vehicles that really could be - and would have historically been - overhauled in-house, thus extending their service life by a decade plus at a fraction of the cost of brand new.

Many metro rolling stock especially have basically endless lifespans as long as they are overhauled. Yes, some replacement programs include technology upgrades that are required when say communications based train control is implemented. But I would like an industry person to tell me whether or not you have to throw the baby out with the bathwater to just mount some sensors, run some new wiring and install new cab controls.

Exhibit A is the R-62/R-62A subway cars in NY, honestly some of the finest cars they've ever operated. Most of them were delivered in the mid-1980s and they are scheduled to be replaced in the next five years or so during a multi-billion dollar capital program. In theory I believe the MTA could modernize and upgrade these cars with interior upgrades like new seating, flooring, signage, etc. and overhaul motors, controls, door mechanisms, etc. for much much less than scrapping perfectly usable train cars and starting completely over. You could easily get another 20 years out of them. They are tanks that were built to last.

Hell, the R-32 which was finally retired last year could have just kept going and going. One the finest - if not the finest - car they've ever operated. It does make me wonder if agencies are biased towards accepting federal dollars to get shiny new cars for public image sake rather than real necessity. Those scarce dollars could be going into station renovations and other public interface elements. That seems like a much more prudent use of funds to me.

[M II A II R II K]

You can now book an Uber hot-air balloon in Turkey for $159

https://www.businessinsider.com/uber...ourism-2023-10

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- Uber is now offering hot air balloon rides for passengers in Turkey's Cappadocia region, as the company pushes to diversify offerings beyond ride-hailing. The service — which is available today through November 19 — requires a 12-hour advance booking via the Uber Reserve feature and costs 150 euros, or around $159, the company said Monday. For that price, users get a 1.5-hour sunrise balloon ride over Cappadocia's volcanic scenery.

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[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

You can now book an Uber hot-air balloon in Turkey for $159

https://www.businessinsider.com/uber...ourism-2023-10

It's literally Uber (uber being the German word for "over" or "above".)

[M II A II R II K]

Seoul’s Solution to ‘Hell Train’ Commutes? Standing Room Only Subway Carriages

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...n?srnd=citylab

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- Seoul Metro, which operates the network, said Nov. 1 it will remove seats on two compartments on subway lines 4 and 7 each starting in January during rush hour, freeing up 12.6 square meters (136 square feet) of space. The normal capacity of a carriage is 160 people, it said.

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