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Oct 06, 2011
Site Issues and Updates, Sunday Statshot, Weekly Roundup

Site Updates: Weekly Roundup and Sunday Stats

As of this week, The Gondola Project will discontinue posting on Saturdays and Sundays. Recent developments and a large surge in readership have caused us to rethink our strategy and focus on high-quality posts during the prime readership days of Monday through Friday. We’re hoping this will result in a shift from quantity to quality...

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Oct 02, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Statshot with Nick Chu: Science of Walking and Transit

  A quick look at some of the things that make walking and riding transit work (or not): Year when humans started walking: 1.5 million years ago Year when walking became a sport: 19th century (1801-1900) Year when most North Americans forgot how to walk: Post WWII Percentage of Americans not meeting 30 minute a...

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Sep 25, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Statshot with Nick Chu: Zeppelins and Airships

  A quick, fun look at the history of Zeppelin travel and its (im)possibility for future applications: Year which Zeppelin idea first materialized: 1874 Year which Wright Brothers first took flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina: 1903 Speed of initial Zeppelins: 21km/h Zeppelin length: 126m Bus length: 12m First successful Zeppelin: LZ3 Total kilometres travelled:...

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Sep 18, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Morning Statshot with Nick Chu: Transit Strikes

With an impending GO Transit strike in the near horizon, let’s take a quick look back at some of the more memorable public transit strikes in recent times: Last transit walkout in nation’s capital (Ottawa): 2009 Days lasted: 51 Payroll savings: $3 million/day Economic losses: $4 million/day Property damage losses due to seriously irate commuters in...

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Sep 11, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Statshot with Nick Chu: Urban Transit Speeds

A look at some of the things that make urban transit speeds laudable (or laughable) when compared to speeds achieved by other (in)animate beings on planet earth: Sloth speed: 0.12km/h Goldfish speed: 1.38km/h Average human walking speed: 4.5km/h Michael Phelps’ speed during 100m butterfly: 7.1km/h Average  vehicle speed in Jakarta: 10km/h Average Toronto streetcar speed:...

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Sep 04, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Statshot with Nick Chu: Public Transit and Sexual Harassment (Groping)

  A quick look at some of the things that may make the disturbing realities/perceptions of sexual harassment on public transit a serious roadblock to encouraging more transit ridership (or not): Percentage of women in UK who felt unsafe riding public transit: 12.5% Percentage of women who sometimes or frequently feel threat of sexual assault...

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Aug 28, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Morning Statshot with Nick Chu: Hurricanes

  A quick look at some of the things that make hurricanes super deadly in your city: Top wind speeds Roosevelt Island Tram can operate in: 50 miles per hour Hurricane wind speeds: 111 miles per hour Percentage of US population threatened by hurricanes: 12 Most hurricane prone city in Florida: Miami Number of hurricanes...

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Aug 21, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Morning Statshot with Nick Chu: Urban Air Pollution

A quick look at some of the things that makes air pollution in your city tolerable (or not): Percentage Americans living in cities with breathing air that’s dangerous to their health: 50 Number of top 10 most polluted cities in US located in California: 8 Most polluted American city: Bakersfield Number of premature deaths due...

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Aug 14, 2011
Economics, Heavy Rail, Sunday Statshot

Sunday Statshot with Nick Chu: Public Transport Profitability – Hong Kong’s MTR (Mass Transit Railway)

In terms of financial viability, public transportation in North America is a perpetual loser. However, rumours have it that some transit agencies abroad break even or even make a profit. So let us take a closer look into one of these transit agencies –  Hong Kong’s MTR (Mass Transit Railway) – and see if its...

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Aug 07, 2011
Sunday Statshot

Sunday Statshot with Nick Chu: Auto-Rickshaws

  A quick look at some of the things that makes auto-rickshaws/tuktuks in your city work (or not): Auto-rickshaws/tuktuks: Half golf-cart, half motorcycle Origin: Daihatsu Midget & Piaggio Ape C Top speed: 40km/h Cost: $6,500 Cost of “green” tuktuks: $10,000 Largest producer of auto-rickshaws in world: India India’s Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit: “They (auto rickshaws)...

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