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Jun 09, 2011
Just For Fun

NYC Intersection

Thanks for Sean for sending along the following link. And note that while the videographer’s clear intention is to show how dangerous our intersections are, not a single person was injured during this piece. Enjoy: 3-Way Street from ronconcocacola on Vimeo.  

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Jun 08, 2011
Economics

Vancouver / Burnaby Urban Gondola: A Sample Of Things To Come?

If the planners are to be believed, the new Vancouver / Burnaby Urban Gondola Transit system will cost $120 million CAD, instead of the $69 million CAD initially reported. Consider how similar the Burnaby gondola is to – say – the Koblenz Rheinseilbahn or Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak and you realize that $120 million is...

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Jun 07, 2011
Thoughts

The Potential Perils of LT1M Wait Times

One way to build a successful business is to provide a product, feature or service the market didn’t even know it couldn’t live without. Once the market is exposed to that which it can’t live without, everything that came before it seems lacking and the market is irrevocably disrupted for the better. The urban gondola feature...

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Jun 06, 2011
Marketing Issues

Is Driving A Car Habitual?

We like to think of the choice to drive a car as just that: A choice. That’s why we frame the Private Automobile vs. Public Transportation debate in terms like “travel mode choice.” We then shame drivers for their choice, knowing in our heart-of-hearts that they’re making a less than optimal decision. But what if...

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Jun 05, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Does Free Public Transportation Work? Sunday Morning Stats with Nick Chu

A quick look at some of the things that make free public transportation work (or not): Arguably, the most successful free public transportation initiatives in the world: Hasselt, Belgium Year free public transportation was first implemented there: 1996 Cost per household to implement free transportation in Hasselt: 22.64 Euros ($32 USD) Urban bus rides per year before free...

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Jun 04, 2011
Weekly Roundup

Weekly Roundup: Controversy & Gondolas

A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit: A letter to the editor at Burnaby Now suggests a hidden motivation lurking behind the controversial Burnaby Mountain Gondola. A local blogger, meanwhile, took notes during the public engagement process and posted them online. The Sierra Club wins a legal dispute...

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Jun 02, 2011
Innovations

Urban Gondola Transit as Minivan, Revisited

As much as we’d all like to see more innovation and invention in the cable industry, who’s going to pay for it? Research and development is expensive. The way that a successful company makes money is by taking a business model that works and rejigging it into a variety of different forms in order to...

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Jun 01, 2011