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
The 1950s Called, and They Want Their Transportation Bill Back. "While the bill’s summary lists few specific programs that would be cut, Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) announced in a press conference Thursday that the bill will eliminate funding for several bicycle, pedestrian and transit programs, including Transportation Enhancements, the Recreational Trails Program and Safe Routes to School."
League of American Cyclists: "James Inhofe (R-OK), the lead Republican negotiator on the transportation bill, declared that one of his top three priorities for the transportation bill is to eliminate ‘frivolous spending for bike trails.’ "
[more inside]
posted by inkyroom
on Jul 9, 2011 -
115 comments
As a public transit geek, I really enjoyed
this story. We've talked about taking public transit on
unlikely routes
previously, and I read the original
blog post giving the directions on how to get from SF to LA using only public transit. But the article from
SF Weekly's In Transit blogger, Joe Eskanazi, really brings the trip to life.
posted by agatha_magatha
on Jun 27, 2011 -
28 comments
Moving Beyond the Automobile is a series of ten short videos by
Streetfilms that highlights new directions in urban transportation. It shows how cities in the U.S. are encouraging a shift away from car dependency and making it easier and more pleasant to get around by other means.
[more inside]
posted by parudox
on Apr 26, 2011 -
36 comments
Want to get to that town in the next state on the cheap? Sure, there's Greyhound, but it's hardly a bargain at $32 for a journey from Seattle to Portland. When you really need to save the cash, use
Epic Transit Journeys wiki to plot your route entirely on local transit carriers, allowing you to
get to Stumptown for only $11.50 and a paltry five transfers. For a truly epic journey, cross international borders for the
trip to Vancouver, BC, which includes a lovely 2.9 mi stroll across the border.
Oran Viriyincy's travelogue of this trip includes lots of photos of buses and trains, and the border official's shocked reaction.
posted by grouse
on Nov 9, 2010 -
42 comments
If you're planning a visit to Stockholm, Munich, Bilbao, Shanghai, Dubai, Tokyo, Prague, Moscow, Toronto, and/or Barcelona, don't miss the chance to check out some of
these amazing subway stations.
posted by brain_drain
on Dec 8, 2009 -
57 comments
Underground Signs is a company in Brooklyn creating customized NYC subway signs. Other products have horned in on the distinctive look of the
MTA's designs, including the
map, the
train line logos, and the
neighborhoods serviced. But this is the first I've seen of the option to create a replica from the NYC underground with one's own name, street, etc. (the site allows you to generate a"Create Your Own" image).
[more inside]
posted by adamms222
on Nov 11, 2009 -
12 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
In the U.S., motorists do not pay their way. The US government spends more on highways and other auto-related expenses than it receives from auto-related taxes, unlike almost every country in Europe. In a recent
report [pdf], Mark Delucchi calculates automobile-related costs and revenues in three different ways and concludes the subsidy is around 20-70 cents per gallon or $24-105 billion in 2002. But what are automobile-related costs, you ask?
[more inside]
posted by salvia
on Oct 2, 2007 -
99 comments
T.R.A.N.S.I.T. is, by a wide margin, my favorite animated short ever produced. Set in the art deco Europe of the 1920's and (and released in 1997) it tells the story of a journey throughout several major vacation destinations of a wealthy tycoon, his young wife with wandering eyes, and a murderous turn of events. The story is told in reverse, from the final stage of the "vacation" back through each prior stop, and the artwork for each segment is painted in the style of the luggage travel sticker for that stop.
posted by jonson
on Sep 2, 2007 -
14 comments
Hitler's Carmaker: While GM was mobilizing the Third Reich, the company was also leading a criminal conspiracy to monopolistically undermine mass transit in dozens of American cities that would help addict the United States to oil.
--Edwin Black, author of
IBM and the Holocaust explains why the U.S. dependency on oil is no accident.
Not everyone agrees, of course.
posted by craniac
on Dec 27, 2006 -
38 comments
Almost exactly 40 years ago, on New Year's Day 1966, 35,000 transit workers walked off the job in New York City, defying the 1947 Condon-Wadlin Act which forbade strikes by government employees. Mike Quill, the TWU's militant founder and president, 'Called an "irresponsible demagogue" and "lawless hooligan" by the press,' 'would not be daunted by politicians' pronouncements and editorial page attacks.' When served with a court order, "Mike Quill tore up the injunction
in front of the television cameras."
The strike
led to the creation of the
Taylor Law, which is now being used in attempt to crush the TWU Local 100
strike of today.
posted by Edible Energy
on Dec 20, 2005 -
20 comments
Transit in Detroit details an urban planner's initiative to cut the costs of the city's traffic congestion-relieving highway expansion by proposing a transit system combining light rail and bus-rapid-transit. [More Inside]
posted by gregb1007
on Nov 25, 2005 -
15 comments
Alternative Rapid Transit Looking for a funky way to get around town? Try Detroit's
People Mover (warning, embedded earworm). For 50 cents you can travel 2.9 miles through 13 stops in 15 minutes, and see some
fantastic art along the way.
People movers and modified
Personal Rapid Transit systems were built in various cities in the 1970s, such as
Miami,
Jacksonville, and at
West Virginia University. The
dream of true Personal Rapid Transit has not yet been achieved, and its
viability and
economic benefits are still up for debate, but the People Mover, at least, is
still hanging on.
posted by livii
on Apr 2, 2005 -
32 comments
Creative, cheap, participatory, the most innovative city in the world......Curitiba !! There may be no single, organic and
living font of solutions to many of the world's most pressing problems than
Curitiba (previous link from Wikipedia, and a bit more of a wonkish summary
here), a Brazilian city of 1.5 million that urban planners from around the globe make pilgrimages to, to learn.
On a budget a tiny fraction of those which
American cities have at their disposal, how did Curitiba become the world's leading model for urban sustainability and quality of life ? - with possibly
the world's most efficient and effective public transit system, a network of parks and greenery far beyond
Olmsted's visionary parks, 70% trash recycling, innovative social welfare systems, trees everywhere, and "Lighthouses of Knowledge" with small libraries and free internet access as well, a low cost open university system.....and flowers!
Curitiba's pedestrian-only (no cars) city center is filled with gardens.
posted by troutfishing
on Apr 13, 2004 -
34 comments
Intelligent Grouping Design is ... a new idea in public transportation. With many vans out and about town, a passenger can be quickly picked up wherever he happens to be and just as quickly conveyed to his desired destination. Via the cell-phone, people call into the central computer with their current location as well as their destination. The computer finds the nearest van whose route is also the most closest to the passenger's destination. The computer then modifies the route slightly to accommodate the new passenger's pickup and dropoff locations. The drivers don't have to exert themselves mentally on figuring out each route change as the vans equipped with satellite guidance technology.
posted by gregb1007
on Dec 11, 2003 -
28 comments
R.I.P. Bay Area Transit Information Page, 1994-2003. The site, started by two
Berkeley students, provided quick access to transit information in the San Francisco Bay Area, who later received funding for their efforts in 1996. Instead, it gets replaced by
this abomination of web design. On the other hand, it is
very unusual for a web site to
keep the same user interface over the span of almost a decade. Already, there have been
user interface rants,
complaints about not finding information,
sarcastic commentary, and a brief
eulogy delivered from one of the original creators, and it hasn't even been the first day. Is content over style dead or are information sites like
this (flash) the wave of the future?
posted by calwatch
on Nov 4, 2003 -
12 comments
Labor Unions in a free market.
Southern California is being gripped by crippling strikes by
transit workers and
grocery clerks -- both over health care -- that has stranded thousands of mostly poor commuters across Los Angeles and is expected to sap millions from the local economy.
As a person who can't drive due to a visual disability, I am personally effected by the MTA transit strike (that is rumored may last several months). State employees are not allowed to strike. Shouldn't that also be the case for essential services, such as public transit?
posted by lola
on Oct 14, 2003 -
80 comments
The Day Britain Stopped tells the story of what might happen if the 'integrated' transport system in the UK fails. On BBC Two last night, it made for shocking viewing and would doubtless have caused some people to question the idea of leaving the house, let alone getting on a plane to go anywhere. You can watch the full ninety minute programme online by following the link above if you've got the time and the
Real One player.
posted by feelinglistless
on May 14, 2003 -
15 comments
A Disgusting Practice Vanishes With the Token "Officially, the crime is classified as theft of Transit Authority property. But among transit police officers it is more accurately and less delicately known as
token sucking. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it is exactly what it sounds like." (Originally from NYT. More
here.)
posted by Artifice_Eternity
on Apr 28, 2003 -
18 comments
Prepare for the worst ... says Mayor Mike, as NYC faces down a crippling transit strike.
For starters, cars carrying fewer than four people could not enter or leave Manhattan over any bridge or through any tunnel on weekdays, 24 hours a day. Commuters wishing to get into the city by car would need to pick up strangers -- and the city will facilitate this with staging areas. Unflappable New Yorkers are at least a little flapped. But the practice of strangers hitching rides with lone drivers isn't new to NoVa: There, they are called
slugs and body snatchers. [more inside]
posted by dhartung
on Dec 10, 2002 -
32 comments
