I’ve heard the argument that cable’s not a viable form of transit because vehicles cannot move independently of each other. Standard transit technologies – the argument goes – are self-propelled and are therefore immune to problems experienced by other transit vehicles on a line. This argument is only half-true. The first part is true: Yes,...
People don’t ride airplanes because they’re pleasant. They ride them because they have no other real choice. Want proof? Notice how many people are choosing High Speed Rail instead of short haul flights. When there’s choice, people choose. The problem Public Transit faces is this: It’s not an airplane. There are a huge number of...
This is the Baden Gondelbahn in Baden, Switzerland. It is a concept by Stephan Kalt, director of Regional Transport for Baden-Wettingen. Kalt’s concept connects the spa town of Baden with a local train station via Urban Gondola.
One Sunday last month, I was standing at a subway station and the overhead monitor informed me that the next train was to arrive in 9 minutes. 30 seconds later, it anticipated an arrival in 7 minutes. Two minutes later the monitor said the train would arrive in 6 minutes. 3 minutes later, the train...
Toronto’s Prince Edward Viaduct (most commonly known as the ‘Bloor Street Viaduct’) is one of my favorite pieces of infrastructure in all of my hometown. This 1918 Art Deco masterpiece was the cornerstone of the city’s plans to connect the growing metropolis with disconnected suburbs across the Don Valley River system. Is it functional? Yes....
What happens when you plan for the future using assumptions from the present? Well, for one Swiss water engineer, you get a whole lot of sh*t. Or as he likes to call it, “sediment.” Let me explain:
Bus Rapid Transit vs. Light Rail Transit. Currently that’s the major transit debate in the english-speaking world. Each have their advocates and their detractors and each have their own list of positives and negatives. And each want each other’s share of the market. Problem is, BRT and LRT aren’t the only combatants. While BRT and LRT...
I steadfastly support online file-sharing and streaming sites, legal or otherwise. iTunes? That’s great, too. I support these services because I refuse to pay for television channels and shows that I don’t watch (or album tracks I don’t listen to). And because it is near impossible to use a cable television service that doesn’t force...
Last week the Toronto Star carried an article titled Free Metropasses latest Condo Perk. The title suggests a pleasant surprise; a quality gesture designed to enhance the lives of Torontonians. It is a ‘perk’ after all. Problem is, this is no perk. This is a City-mandated program which in essence triples the price of Metropasses for new...
Trying to write a post each day about cable transit and urban gondolas is exhausting. There’s so much more in the world of transportation that’s worth talking about, but just isn’t within the purview of this site. As such, I get my fix from other sites like Jarrett Walker’s excellent Human Transit blog. Jarrett’s blog contains...