A while back I asked readers to help find information about 9 virtually unknown cable systems around the world. Regarding the Ngong Ping 360 in Hong Kong, Scott Burling contributed this guest post (with pictures): The Ngong Ping 360 connects Tung Chung MTR (Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway) station with Ngong Ping village, and the...
In yesterday’s post I put forth the idea that maybe there is a psychological impact caused by how we design public transit. That there is a kind of Emotional Transit Planning that doesn’t occur but should. That maybe having sunlight and a view would be psychologically more beneficial to the average commuter than being stuck...
I’m fond of subways, but I don’t like riding them. They’re fast and efficient and they make a statement. They’re also ridiculously expensive. But that’s not the point. The point is this: What is the psychological impact of traveling to and from work every day underground, in the dark? In my own life, if I...
The Toronto Star reports today that the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and a waterfront development agency are at loggerheads over a planned new streetcar corridor. The essence of the conflict is this: The Toronto Transit Commission wants to experiment with track design on a new streetcar route to speed up Toronto’s failingly low streetcar speeds...
During peak loads/rush hours gondolas have a seat to standee ratio of around 3:1 or 4:1. That is, at crush loads there will be three or four people sitting for every one person whose standing. And Light Rail, buses or subways? Around 1:1 or 2:1. In an age where transit agencies are finally talking about...
Brian T. suggests that Pittsburgh’s challenging topography (not to mention finances) and its historical association with cable transit solutions might make it an early adopter of urban gondolas. Check out the route he devised on google maps (make sure to view it in Earth mode, to fully appreciate Pittsburgh’s topography). With the growth of various...
A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF THE STATISTICS THAT MAKE YOUR CITIES WORK (OR NOT): Number of minutes before a train is considered late in New Jersey Transit: 6 minutes Percent of trains arriving within 6 minutes of scheduled time: 94% Percent of trains arrived at scheduled time: 68% Number of cities in 1940s China: 69 Number of cities in 2007 China: 670 Percent of land area occupied by cities: 4.4...
Ultimately, the problem with public transit is one of economics. Our current transit systems have no ability to adjust the supply of their inventory levels (seats) to match a given demand (ridership) at a given time of day. Its inventory is completely inflexible: Rush Hour: Too much demand, not enough supply. Late Night: Some demand,...
This week I was interviewed by the awesomely-named Chikodi Chima of the transit site start-up AltTransport. Check out the results: Urban Gondolas Bound Over The Competition.
A week and a half ago, Tom Vanderbilt of Slate magazine wrote a fantastic article entitled Dude, Where’s Your Car? How not having a car became Hollywood shorthand for loser. It’s an eye-opening and persuasive article whose central thesis is this: Hollywood films depict characters who don’t own/drive cars as worthless human beings that are...