A quick look at some of the highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit: Cable car studies to connect the Cave of Hira and the Cave of Al-Thawr near Mecca is complete. These cable lifts will make the trek to the mountain tops safer and easier (as in the past, some...
The other day I discussed how modal choice often has less to do with the intrinsic qualities of a technology and more to do with extrinsic factors. Those comments caused something of a stir with people coming out saying a variation of the following: Light Rail is a scam. Light Rail is awesome. It depends....
I just came across an old article on Mother Nature Network that combines my favorite sequence (yes, I have a favorite) with a common conversion issue. As an American I think in miles but as someone who reads about, works with, and travels on roads in, well, any other country, I often/sometimes/usually come across speeds...
On the recent news of the soon-in-the-offing death of the Sydney Monorail, Jarrett Walker at Human Transit had this to say: Technophile commenters will doubtless chalk this up the Sydney decision as a defeat for monorails in general. I disagree. It’s a defeat for one-way loops, poor connectivity, and symbolic as opposed to actual mobility....
The video “Bending Sounds” by Tim Sessler wonderfully captures the sites and sounds of the NYC subway. As the camera slowly meanders through the stations, people rush by, jumping on and off train cars, in and out of turn styles, and along subterranean corridors. The sounds of chatter and footsteps, and the rumble of the...
A quick look at some of the highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas, Gondola Transit, and Cable Propelled Transit (admittedly, it’s been a slow week): Straight.com explains how the proposed Sea to Sky Gondola in British Columbia could change hiking in the region. A plan to bring a gondola to Catalina Island in California has...
I saw this a few days ago and it got me thinking. . . The above picture is of the 25 year old Bonistock Aerial Tram. Nothing impressive, nothing interesting. Or is there? I don’t know about you, but when I look at this system I see something almost sculptural and artistic. It almost reminds...
Over the past week, we’ve received a lot of attention about: Driver Assisted Cars – On the Brink of a Transport Revolution? Yesterday, Christian made an insightful and thought-provoking comment about how some standard airplane technologies, such as the GPS, tend to appear in cars 15-20 years later. But what about the ability to fly… Science-fiction shows have...
The Toronto Star has an article today about telecom company Bell Canada disguising cell phone towers as trees in cottage country. It’s an admittedly interesting idea though I’m sure some may have issues with the design. For our purposes, however, (you know where this is going) it certainly opens the debate as to how such...
Fare collection in transit systems have evolved dramatically in the last decades with many large agencies opting for electronic payment systems such as the Oyster Card (London) and Octopus Card (Hong Kong). However, in many places around the world, many people who are unfamiliar with this form of payment still choose to pay using regular...