Light Rail only exists in cities as a form of public transit. Subways and metros only exist in cites as a form of public transit. BRT only exists in cites as a form of public transit. Cable Propelled Transit and Urban Gondolas only exist in . . . oh, wait a minute. As it currently...
The Globe and Mail has an excellent, informative and highly entertaining piece today about what former manager David Gunn thinks about the myriad of mistakes and foolish decisions the Toronto Transit Commission is currently making. As a native Torontonian and constant user of the system, a lot of what he has to say makes perfect...
What makes an ideal city for Urban Gondola implementation? We most probably think about topographical challenges first and foremost. For example, St. John’s, Newfoundland (pictured above) would be an ideal candidate due to it’s topography, unique harbour and its iconic Signal Hill. Similarly, cities like Hamilton, Ontario or Pittsburgh or Cincinnati could also be ideal....
A quick look at some of the things that make Maglevs work (or not): Year maglev trains were first patented: 1934 Years until first commercial maglev available: 50 Year the world’s first commercial high-speed maglev opened in Shanghai: 2004 Energy consumption of high speed rail travelling at a speed of 300km/hr: 51 watt hours per...
A few highlights from around the world of Urban Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit: A Chinese government-built ropeway constructed more than 4 decades ago collapsed in Nepal last week, 5 people are missing. The ropeway was originally intended for material transport only. The city of Jerusalem ponders using a gondola/cable car system. Squamish, British Columbia...
An article in yesterday’s Toronto Star caught my eye. Apparently the Toronto Transit Commission is preparing to charge its riders 15¢ for every sms they receive from the system’s next-vehicle text system. Says The Star: TTC staff want to charge customers 15 cents to use the next-streetcar text message system when the service expands to...
Consider the common airplane and it’s absurd carry-on baggage situation: Airline policy (at least according to their safety videos) is for passengers to store their heavier carry-on luggage below the seat in front of them and the lighter articles in the overhead compartment. This is, apparently, for your own safety. But have you ever been...
While admittedly not as visually stunning as the original designs released a year or so ago, Central Switzerland’s soon-to-be-realized Cabrio Seilbahn / Aerial Tram / Convertible Funifor promises to be one of the most unique installations in the world when it opens. Take a look here. (Note: The linked video is in German, so it would be...
Note: Nick Chu is presently on vacation in China but still managed to smuggle the follow observations out from behind The Great Firewall. A quick look at some of the things that make urbanism in China work (or not) – all stats from The Concrete Dragon by Thomas J. Campanella: Length of Shanghai’s Inner...