Posts Tagged: San Francisco

14
Dec

2012

Weekly Roundup: A Solution to Seattle’s Montlake Mess

A quick look at some of the things that happened this week in the world of cable cars, urban gondolas, and cable propelled transit:

  • Politicians in London consider the possibility of the Emirates Air Line becoming a “white elephant.”

If I could buy that right now, I would.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

04
Jul

2012

What Can The San Francisco Cable Cars Teach London?

 

Image via Wikipedia.

If nothing else, the London Cable Car raises an interesting question:

When should a transit line be fully fare-integrated into a transit network and when should it not. For those unfamiliar, an additional fare is required for people to ride the London Cable Car despite it, ostensibly, being a part of the overall Transport for London network.

But should that be the case?

We have no shortage of examples of transit systems who operate on a similar model:

In Toronto, to access the islands, a ride on the ferries cost an additional fee above and beyond a standard transit ticket.

In Portland, a ride on the Aerial Tram costs an additional fare – with the exception of students and staff of OHSU. OHSU is the primary beneficiary of the Aerial Tram and riders affiliated with the operation ride for free.

In Medellin, Linea L services a nature preserve and requires an additional fee beyond a standard transit ticket.

Users of Vancouver’s Skytrain must pay an additional fare if they wish to use it to travel into the city from Vancouver International Airport.

Seattle’s extensive network of ferries all require separate fees despite being an integral component of transport in the region.

So what’s the difference? Why do people not have issues with the examples above but do with the London Cable Car?

The difference, I suspect, is mostly about the target market. The above examples largely service: a) a small subsection of a local population or b) a large local population who is likely to use the service very irregularly.

The system the London Cable Car represents most closely, coincidentally enough, is the San Francisco Cable Car. Both systems operate in central, rather than peripheral areas. They both feel as though they should be intertwined into their respective networks. Furthermore, the San Francisco Cable Cars are priced outside the normal San Francisco transit fare. Prices are five bucks for a one-way trip or thirteen bucks for a day pass.

Like the London Cable Car, those prices are well outside the budget of any standard commuter.

Interestingly though, the San Francisco Cable Car is used by regular commuters – they just don’t pay for it.

In 2007 auditors found that 40% of riders on the system were not paying fares. Now there’s no way to confirm whether it’s locals or tourists who are breaking the law, but assuming it’s locals is not an unreasonable assumption as those are the people who are most likely to understand how to catch free ride successfully.

People such as Jarrett Walker have argued in the past that the San Francisco Cable Cars add little to no value to San Francisco’s transit network, but stats like this suggest otherwise. From my understanding, it’s very common practice for locals to hop-on and hop-off the cars for quick trips around town without paying fares – and for the fare collectors to turn a blind eye to it.

Which in turn implies that the high fares paid by tourists help to subsidize the system for local commuters. It may be illegal, but it’s an interesting reality.

Now in no way, shape, form or description am I suggesting that fare evasion is right and justified. But I don’t think you’re going to find many San Franciscans who have a problem with it. In reality, it’s little different than the Swiss practice of selling ID cards to locals that grant them 50% off all transit in the country. The only difference is the degree of formality.

Londoners won’t be hopping on and off the Thames Cable Car any time soon, but San Francisco does provide an interesting lesson. If Londoners were allowed “free ride” on the backs of tourist fares, I suspect few people – if anyone – would’ve objected to the system.

In fact, were that the case, locals might even come to love it.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

17
Jan

2012

Happy Cable Car Day

San Francisco Cable Car. Image by Flickr User hdzimmermann.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Cable Car Day!

On this very date in 1871 (that’s 141 years ago), the first cable car railway patent was bestowed upon Andrew Smith Hallidie. Legend has it that Hallidie invented the cable car after he saw a horse-drawn streetcar slip and fall on San Francisco’s steep roadways (unfortunately resulting in the death of 5 horses).

Andrew Smith Hallidie, Cable Car Extraordinaire. Image by The Cable Car Museum.

After receiving financial assistance, construction began and the world saw its first cable car  — the Clay Street Hill Railway. This transit technology quickly become an icon in San Francisco and was soon implemented in many cities across the US.

A little known fact is that Andrew Smith Hallidie initially named his system the, “endless wire ropeway“. In my opinion, he should’ve kept that name and we would’ve avoided the whole nomenclature disaster that is now associated with CPT.  But at least this gives us a reason to start a Gondola Day!



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

07
Sep

2011

Building American Bridges – In China

Despite the paranoid and near-endless calls by come columnists and pundits for economic austerity measures throughout the developed world, there are those in America calling for much-needed upgrades to that nation’s infrastructure as a way to stimulate job-creation and engage in the patriotic act of nation-building by actually building a nation.

The New York Times’ Paul Krugman and Thomas L. Friedman relentlessly lionize this approach as a path towards economic recovery and the improvement of the nation. Consider today’s column by Friedman where he says:

. . . we used the cold war and the Russian threat as a reason and motivator to do big, hard things together at home — to do nation-building in America. We used it to build the interstate highway system, put a man on the moon, push out the boundaries of science, teach new languages, maintain fiscal discipline and, when needed, raise taxes. We won the cold war with collective action . . . Imagine where we’d be today if on the morning of 9/12 Bush had announced (as some of us advocated) a “Patriot Tax” of $1 per gallon of gas to pay for education, infrastructure and government research, to help finance our wars and to slash our dependence on Middle East oil. Gasoline in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, averaged $1.66 a gallon.

Strong words that are more than worthy of contemplation. But also worthy of contemplation isn’t just what infrastructure gets built and why; but also where, when and by whom it’s constructed.

Let me explain:

A 700 ton precast segment is lifted to form the Skyway portion of the Eastern Span replacement of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Two months ago the New York Times ran a fascinating article profiling how American companies tasked with building a new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge were outsourcing much of the construction to overseas Chinese manufacturers. We’re not talking just about steel here, but “football field” sized roadbed segments that would be entirely pre-fabricated in China then shipped to America to be assembled by American workers.

The California government entered into the deal willingly as it would reportedly save the state around $400 million. The total cost of the bridge is $7.2 billion.

Now $400 million isn’t peanuts. Especially so for California, a state whose financial situation makes Greece look like Mike Tyson. But $400 million out of $7.2 billion?

That’s a savings of just over 5% of the total project cost. Was saving $400 million worth the billions of dollars – not to mention all the multipliers and indirect economic benefits – shipped overseas to China?

This isn’t an argument in favour of economic protectionism. Globalization is here to stay and will only increase in our lifetime and as I’ve pointed out before, it’s nothing new to us – after all much of North America’s original transport infrastructure was built by outsourced Chinese labour.

The free flow of goods and people throughout the world has proven to be an essential and invaluable tool to growth and wealth creation. But if we as western developed nations become serious about infrastructure spending as a means to stimulate job-creation and nation-building, we’re going to have to pay attention to deals like these.

Sometimes you’ve got to worry about taking care of the homestead.

Granted, this arrangement was brokered long before the economic crisis hit. But the fact that two American companies acted as middle men between the California government and a massive Chinese consortium – reaping whatever profits they could from the deal – suggests that “buying American” isn’t always clear and objective policy.

Building infrastructure alone isn’t enough. Sometimes we’ve got to build it ourselves.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

02
Feb

2011

All Movements Begin With A Small Step

The Clay Street Hill Railroad

Two arguments against the current state of cable transit are the rather short line lengths of existing systems and the relatively few systems that actually exist. Both arguments suggest that urban gondola transit is not yet ready for ‘prime time.’

Fair enough.

It is, however, important to remember that all technologies start out modestly. No matter the rate of eventual uptake, all technology begins – in effect – in someone’s basement.

For example:

In 1873 Andrew Smith Hallidie opened America’s first commercially viable cable-hauled railway; San Francisco’s Clay Street Hill Railroad – the precursor to the beloved Cable Car.

It was less than 1 km in length.

By the end of the century there would be over 800 kms worth of cable lines in cities throughout the United States and dozens of other cities outside North America had their own systems, too.

Yes, the Cable Car became a relic of a bygone era – replaced by self-propelled streetcar – but the point still remains: What was a legitimate revolution in transportation started with one modest system of less than 1 km in the far away land (at least at that time) of San Francisco.

The parallels to what is going on with Cable Propelled Transit in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and South America in general should be obvious to anyone.

We should remember that when we scoff at the modest gains of all technologies. Even the beleaguered London Heathrow Ultra PRT, may be a precursor of things to come.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

21
Oct

2010

Track Replacement Time Lapse

Ken Murphy spent 3 1/2 days taking one photo approximately every 15 seconds of the San Francisco streetcar track replacement occurring outside his house. The following is the mind-blowing result:


Church and 30th St. San Francisco MUNI Construction from Ken Murphy on Vimeo.



Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.

19
Oct

2010

Market Street Film Mystery Unravelled

Back in January I posted an historical archive film of the San Francisco Cable Cars.

The film is historically important for numerous reasons, not the least of which being its date. Filmed mere days before the Great Earthquake of 1906, this video stands as one of the most vivid documentations of San Francisco before the quake that would utterly transform the city.

Interestingly, most historians had assumed the video to be from 1905. Film historian David Keihn, however, thought otherwise. He theorized the film to be from a later date and went about to prove it.

This past weekend, 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer went behind the scenes of this film to meet David Keihn and uncover the history, mystery, stories and personalities behind it. The story has an almost whodunnit quality to it that will keep you interested to the end.

The Market Street Film is hauntingly surreal. It stands as a silent eulogy to a place all but destroyed which  – quite literally – no longer exists. As Mr. Safer so eloquently puts it, the film documents “San Francisco closing in on its rendezvous with catastrophe. The odds are, some of the people you see had just days to live.

It’s wonderful, charming and beautiful. It will make you stop and contemplate. I don’t know why and I don’t know how, but it will. Take the 12-and-a-half minutes required to watch it. You’ll be glad you did.

As an added bonus, a whole new, never-before-seen HD remastering of the film is presented.




Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.