Posts Tagged: Transportation

21
Dec

2015

The Grandmother Test

I recently met someone who disapproves of this whole Urban Gondola concept – which is fine, you’re entitled to your own opinion. He said it’s hard enough to get his grandmother to ride the subway (because she finds it terrifying), let alone a gondola.

According to The Grandmother Test (yeah, it should be called that) we should therefore stop everyone from building subways entirely. Probably not going to happen.

Yet when I pointed out the logical problem of The Grandmother Test, he basically just said urban gondolas are stupid. He wasn’t a skeptic; he was a cynic.

Whether it’s urban gondolas or any other great idea, if you spot someone who fails (passes?) The Grandmother Test, just walk away and don’t waste your time. There’s nothing you can do there.



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.

08
Sep

2015

Reviewing Good Advice: Low Profile Urban Gondolas

This piece was first published on The Gondola Project in 2010 but it is still highly relevant and useful. It’s about keeping your head low to the ground being unobtrusive; useful advice from a Canadian.

There’s a story about Cable Propelled Transit, Aerial Ropeways and Urban Gondolas that only hurts the technology’s future. Unfortunately, the industry does little to stop the spread of this story.

The story is simple: If you build an urban gondola, you’ll have vehicles flying over tall buildings, hundreds of feet in the air!

This story is bad for cable. Here’s why:

Read more



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25
Mar

2013

Expo 86 Skyrides – Two of Canada’s Forgotten Urban Gondola Systems

If anyone lived in Vancouver back in 1986, they would probably remember Expo86 — a world’s fair which showcased the best and latest transport technologies from around the globe. It included everything from monorails, HSST, and of course, Vancouver’s famous Skytrain.

And perhaps surprisingly (or not), the event featured two urban gondola systems – both of which were sponsored by two Canadian airline companies (Air Canada and Canadian Pacific). Together they combined to transport over 9.75 million passengers in the span of 5 months.

Expo86 Map - two gondola lines outlined in red.

Expo 86

Skyride sponsored by Air Canada. One of two Expo86 urban gondolas. Image by Flickr user Bob_2006.

Expo '86

Other gondola line sponsored by Canadian Pacific. Image by Flickr user compact collection.

Expo 86

Skyride travelling over venues. Image by Flickr user Jasperdo.

Expo 86

Gondola passing by Science World. Image Flickr user by Jasperdo.

Except for the Skytrain, most of the transport innovations were removed after the Expo. Whatever happened to the two gondola lines remains a mystery for now, however, my guess is that after the system was dismantled, certain parts were recycled for use in other applications.

So despite the fact that the Expo gondolas are no longer operating, I think the pictures of two actual Canadian urban gondolas may have a powerful and positive impact on any Canadian CPT proposal. In other words, while international cable transit examples are helpful, being able to demonstrate and showcase a domestic cable project happening in one’s backyard could potentially bring a proposal back into the realm of possibility.



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
Jul

2010

Taken For A Ride

Taken For A Ride is a documentary first broadcast on PBS in 1996. It tells the story of how a consortium led by General Motors, Firestone Tires and Standard Oil systematically worked to uproot the American streetcar network and replace it with roads, buses and private automobiles.

The short hand for this incident is the National City Lines Conspiracy (or the Great American Streetcar Scandal) and has its share of supporters and its detractors.

Those who believe in the conspiracy believe it whole-heartedly, and portray General Motors as a scheming, money-hungry corporation that is solely to blame for America’s shoddy public transit infrastructure.

Those who don’t believe in the conspiracy tend to say streetcars were too expensive to begin with and replacing them with buses and cars was simply a natural economic event.

Complicating the debate is the case against National City Lines, whereby the US government found that General Motors, et al did not conspire to monopolize the public transit industry, but did conspire to monopolize the provisions of supplies and parts to its subsidiaries.

The debate rages on to this day, 60-80 years after the original transgressions.

My guess is the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes. GM, et al probably were up to some shenanigans, but they probably weren’t solely responsible for the death of public transit in America.

Nevertheless, Taken For A Ride is a classic, and well worth exploring with an open, skeptical mind:





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13
Jul

2010

Never Meant To Be

Ski lifts were never meant to be used as public transit.

So what?

Locomotives were never meant to be used underground.

Wood was never meant to be used as lumber.

Pipe cleaners were never meant to be used for arts and crafts.

Cows were never meant to be used as beef.

Spaceships were never meant to be used by tourists.

Cell phones were never meant to be used as cameras.

Gold was never meant to be used as a store of value.

Wood rasps were never meant to be used as cheese graters.

Squid ink was never meant to be used to turn pasta black.

Computers were never meant to be used to watch movies.

Graphite was never meant to be used as pencil lead.

Satellites were never meant to be used for GPS.

Mold was never meant to be used as penicillin.

Mail was never meant to be used for direct marketing.

So what?



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.

12
Jul

2010

Thick Around The Middle

Have you ever noticed that the front-most and rear-most cars in a train are typically underused – indeed, sometimes empty! – even at the height of rush hour? Smart and experienced transit riders walk those extra 50 meters to the end of the subway platform and get a seat, while everyone else just crowds (miserably) into the middle.

Same thing with buses, streetcars and trams. Front’s packed solid, back’s often empty. What percentage of capacity does that empty space represent? Five percent? Ten? Twenty?

It’s illogical and irrational. But then again, so are humans.

When transit agencies report the offered capacity of a line, they report what’s theoretically possible assuming every square inch of space is taken up and every seat is filled. They assume that every space on the train is thick instead of assuming it’s just thick around the middle (or front).

It’s a poor assumption which ignores the fact that humans use transit, not equations. Transit engineers and planners, unfortunately, don’t seem to be taught that.

Include the human factor, and suddenly your transit line is probably carrying far fewer people than you actually think.

I don’t believe there’s a name for this phenomenon, but there should be. Any suggestions?



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