#Transit

Feb 10, 2010
Funiculars, Zurich Polybahn

Sometimes . . .

. . . we miss the little things because we’re too focused on criticizing the big things. A restaurant critic slams a new local bistro but fails to notice the washrooms. Too bad, because the sinks would’ve fit perfectly in his tiny downtown condo. A professional football scout skips the Ivy League schools because they’re...

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Feb 09, 2010
Gondola, Installations, Urban Planning & Design

Spokane Falls Skyride

I’m in transit today, traveling back to Toronto and it’s lovely minus 10 degree February temperatures. In the meantime, check out the Spokane Falls Skyride (video below). Given its urban/natural setting, this should be a fascinating system to discover more about. Any information on this installation would be greatly appreciated!

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Feb 08, 2010
Analysis, Just For Fun, Thoughts

The Freemium Model of Transit

There are hundreds of ways public transit could pay for itself. Public transit operators have simply chosen the least effective and most out-dated of them all:  Fares. The thing about fares is this: They always go up and customers are never happy about it. The airlines realized this years ago and stopped worrying about fares....

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Feb 07, 2010
3S, Aerial Trams, Gondola, Peak 2 Peak, Urban Planning & Design

The Peak 2 Peak (Part 3)

  Last month I toured Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak cable gondola system. This is Part 3 of a 3-part series on the system. Click on the following links to view Part 1 and Part 2. Most aerial cable systems offer a smooth ride. What little friction there is, is rarely felt by the rider. Except,...

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Feb 06, 2010
Aerial Trams, Gondola, Peak 2 Peak, Urban Planning & Design

The Peak 2 Peak (Part 2)

Last month I toured Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak cable gondola system. This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on the system. Click on the following link to view Part 1. The very first thing one notices about the Peak 2 Peak is the sheer scale of it. Everything is bigger, flashier and a little...

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Feb 05, 2010
Aerial Trams, Cable Cars, Hybrids, Peak 2 Peak

The Peak 2 Peak (Part 1)

Last month I toured Whistler’s Peak 2 Peak cable gondola system. This is a 3-part series on the system. Part 1 is necessarily technical in nature and will refer back to several pages of The Gondola Project for those unfamiliar with cable technology. With small, incremental baby-steps, cable transit continues to push its capabilities beyond...

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Feb 04, 2010
Aerial Trams, Roosevelt Island Tram, Urban Planning & Design

Roosevelt Island Tram

New York’s famous Roosevelt Island Tram will be closing this spring for a complete overhaul. The system, built in the late 70’s is one of the few public CPT systems in North America and recently became fully-integrated into that city’s transit system. So if any of you are in NY in the next month, take...

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Feb 03, 2010
Gondola, Haifa Cable Cars, Oddities, Urban Planning & Design

Haifa Cable Cars

Sometimes transit should just be fun. At the height of the economic crisis, the folks at O*GE InteractiveGallery in Haifa, Israel, decided to brighten people’s daily life with their Citymonsters art project. The transformation of the Haifa Cable Car was part of that project. The Haifa Cable Car is not a complex system. It dates...

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Feb 01, 2010
Technology, Teleferico de Madrid

Aerial Technologies, Lesson 3: BDG

Note: This post was updated on May 30, 2011. These revisions reflect the most current and available knowledge we have but do not guarantee the validity of the claims made. As always, it’s best to use the information contained herein as a guide. Bicable Detachable Gondolas (BDG) are a less common form of gondola than...

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Jan 31, 2010
Analysis, Thoughts

Transit is not about machines.

Transit is about people. It’s as pure and simple as that. Start with the user, the rider, the people and go from there. Figure out your machines after you’ve figured out your people.

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