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...
Ever increasing urban populations are leading cities to focus more heavily on improving public transit infrastructure through the construction of rail, bus, and even cable lines. With such an extensive road network in North America, many cities and states find it difficult to further invest in additional infrastructure. Still, car congestion ensues — an issue...
Over at Seattle Transit Blog they’re having quite a lively debate about the merits (or demerits) of Matt Roewe’s proposed urban gondola system for Seattle. Of the myriad of comments (most of which are incredibly well-thought out and reasoned), one in particular jumped out at me: “Unfortunately, we do not want to be the first...
Over the past week and half, we’ve discussed two hybrid/dual-mode transit technologies – AutoTram and DMVs. To build on this topic, I was contemplating if such a concept could apply to Cable Propelled Transit (CPT). I asked myself: what if a gondola cabin could be both propelled from above and below? Well, I decided to whip...
Commuting to work on public transit can give you a chance to catch up on sleep , read, do work, avoid the hassle of finding parking, etc etc. However, it can also be stressful — overcrowding, lack of personal space and unfamiliarity with transit routes can all be frustrating. But now the Silver Queen Gondola in Aspen,...
Elevated infrastructure can elicit different responses and reactions from cities and communities. Some find a gap in the underutilized spaces below a structure (such as with the boxing ring built under the Sao Paulo highway) while others enjoy the convenience of well-planned, multi-layered cities. For the latter let us turn to Japan. The Yurikamome (aka Black Headed Seagull) is a 15km elevated...
Professional sports and public transit are two very different things, I admit that. But contemplate, for a second, the amount of statistical scrutiny we give to the athletic diversions in our lives and how much we attention we pay to the statistics of public transportation. Now contemplate the robustness of the statistics gathered (and are...
I happen to be a closet baseball fan. I readily admit the game is hopelessly boring, but I find it fascinating nevertheless. It should come as no surprise then, that I’m quite fond of the film Moneyball and the book that inspired it by Michael Lewis. I’ve recently been re-reading that book and have come to...
Last month, Steven discovered an interesting/unconventional use for funicular technology in Horw, Swtizerland. Essentially a small development was built on a hillside, with a funicular acting as an elevator. Instead of connecting floors in a building, it moved between houses on a hillside. Because of this funicular, it largely increased the hillside’s market value and made the...
For many people, travelling up and down a mountainside on a gondola provides enough enjoyment and excitement to last them an entire lifetime. But for those times when a cable car ride isn’t enough, we have the Sommerrodelbahn Alpine Coaster – which is pretty darn fast. Hm…. roller coaster transit anyone? Enjoy the video! On-Ride View —...