Seattle is only one of five cities in the United States with a trackless
electric trolley bus system.
King County Metro operates 159 trolley buses on 14 routes that ply over 70 miles of trolley wire, and travel 2,906,297 miles annually. Last year, Metro
found that operating new electric trolleys offered a superior financial scenario to new diesel buses. This is even before considering how much better a trolley performs on Seattle's steep hills, or how much less pollution it creates, being supplied by hydroelectric power. If you want to know a little more about how the system works, see some of the
photos posted by a King County bus operator known as
VeloBusDriver. Some of these photo sets explain
the controls of an ETB,
the innards of an ETB—so much cleaner than a diesel but so much more dangerous to poke around in—and
aspects of how the trolley wire itself works, including the "special work" necessary for tasks such
switching routes or
traversing a drawbridge.
posted by grouse
on Feb 9, 2012 -
41 comments
Worcy Crawford ran the only bus company that would transport colored passengers in pre-Civil Rights Act Birmingham. Mr. Crawford recently passed away and
now the buses sit in disrepair.
posted by reenum
on Mar 21, 2011 -
3 comments
Do you like video games? Have you ever wanted to
comprehensively reenact the daily life of a double-decker bus driver in 1985 West Berlin?
Your prayers have finally been answered. Aerosoft's impressive
Omnibus Driving Simulator allows you to take command of the venerable 1980s-vintage MAN SD200 and SD202 double-decker buses (in 20 authentic 1980s advertising liveries) along West Berlin's Omnibus Route 92, complete with an accurate simulation of all four production-runs of the SD200's transmission, drivetrain, climate control, and passenger information systems. If the SD202 doesn't cut it for you, or you want to escape the clutches of West Berlin, there's
a comprehensive map editor and scripting engine at your disposal.
(via) [more inside]
posted by schmod
on Feb 22, 2011 -
46 comments
Bus SLYT There isn't really much else to say... a game, a city bus simulator game. Peaceful and scary...
posted by HuronBob
on Nov 21, 2009 -
46 comments
NextBus uses GPS to tell you the predicted time of the next bus. Google maps show buses in real time, and you can get updates on your phone/PDA. The coverage is limited to certain agencies within the US, so these other sites might be useful:
Hopstop covers subways and buses in NYC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, DC, and more. (
mobile version)
Google Transit has many US metro areas in addition to Canada, Europe, and Japan.
(previously) Many more locations inside.
[more inside]
posted by desjardins
on Oct 21, 2008 -
36 comments
Is this the end of the bus timetable? It can be bloody cold in Helsinki in January. The last thing you want to do is hang around too long for a bus or tram. Soon you won't have to because
Helsinki City Transport is currently fitting *its entire fleet* with Linux servers. Not only will each bus or tram become a travelling wireless hotspot, but you will be able to see exactly where in the city your new bus actually is. Meaning that you only step into the bitter cold the minute before it arrives. (its in beta but you can see the effects of the live trial)
[more inside]
posted by MrMerlot
on Jan 27, 2008 -
49 comments
"
NATURMOBIL is about to pioneer in the state-of-the-art, first ever advertising promotion by means of traveling around the world with the vehicle that is nature-friendly that preserves the welfare of the beings and the environment. NATURMOBIL will soon to be the byword in every household globally." If Fleethorse, LLC meets their modest goals, the world's first advertising-funded
horse-powered car will be followed by horse-powered
buses and taxis.
posted by ardgedee
on Nov 26, 2007 -
10 comments
The first
OzBus left
London last night. A latter day
Magic Bus, the new service will cover 15 000 miles in 12 weeks and cross 20 countries before reaching it's destination. Follow one pasenger's journey
here.
posted by brautigan
on Sep 17, 2007 -
49 comments
Decorate a bus with paint, stencils, and other graffiti.
(Click the big red button, and then the paint bucket to get started. You'll figure out the drawing controls. Click the "All-around view" icon in the upper right to return from drawing and OK! to save it, if you like - give it a name, and you'll get a linkable URL.) Here's a gallery of designs.
posted by Wolfdog
on Jun 14, 2007 -
7 comments
This is not resolved! When a young man on a double decker bus in Hong Kong asked an older man to lower his voice whilst talking on the phone, the young man invariably became the receiving end of a torrent of half coherent phrase and insults about his mother. Naturally, you can watch it unfolding here since
the entire event was captured by another passenger with his cell phone.
This video has become one of the most viewed clips on youtube, spawning
remixes, rap, reenactments, new school yard sayings, and yes, t-shirts.
And they say youtube is just a site for narcissistic kids and tv show clips.
NSFW if you have co-workers who can understand Cantonese. And it's not the subtitle's fault, this guy really does rant off for a bit.
posted by phyrewerx
on May 28, 2006 -
96 comments
You're not from around here, are you? On Tuesday in Wellesley, MA a kindergartener was put on the wrong bus to go home from afterschool care. The boy is black, and the bus is for the Metco program, which buses minority kids from Boston to suburban schools. Random mixup, or racial bias at work? Much hand-wringing ensues.
posted by serafinapekkala
on Sep 5, 2003 -
34 comments
The building of this has kept the average car driving commuter of my fair city enraged for 18 months. Not one person who complained to me, the token non-driver, knew that they were going to be wind-powered musical bus stops. Aren't they going to be happy when they find out? :)
There's also an audio (RM) link
here.
posted by vbfg
on Jan 30, 2002 -
16 comments
man protests prison construction by burying buses This is one of the more original methods of protest I've seen. The "artist", an excavator by trade who is trying to protest what he sees as an unlawful zoning change that will lower the value of his property, says his inspiration came from
Cadillac Ranch.
Will his protest be successful? Do you think this was an appropriate way to catch the attention of the local authorities? I, for one, think this was clever.
posted by purplecow
on Jan 17, 2002 -
10 comments
Most Dangerous Job..
Israeli bus driver. Not only at risk from normal driveing hazzards but being blown up by terrorists, a favorite target. Is there a memorial for the fallen comrades or do they "take care of their own" in a secret bus driver society. What other low profile low skill jobs go unrecognized for the ultimate sacrifice?
posted by stbalbach
on Dec 5, 2001 -
11 comments
I don't take public transportaion but this is one
compilation I am going to be playing in the car on my way to work. I hope this original idea gets off the ground. I am actually willing to shell out a few pounds/dollars/yen/pesos/
patacons/rubles etc. for the CD.
posted by HoldenCaulfield
on Sep 9, 2001 -
4 comments
