Interesting transportation things

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

The NYC metro area has over 20 million people, meaning if it were a state, it would be the third-largest state behind California and Texas and...ahead of New York.

And? It doesn't have as many transit riders are the rest of the US and Canada combined. Adding Canada adds a lot of additional transit users.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

And? It doesn't have as many transit riders are the rest of the US and Canada combined. Adding Canada adds a lot of additional transit users.

Maybe not, but a quick back of the envelope math from various wiki pages on ridership of commuter, heavy, and light rail systems plus bus ridership tells me NYC metropolitan area transit systems comprise roughly 1/3 of all transit ridership across both the United States and Canada. That’s still insane.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by wwmiv

Maybe not, but a quick back of the envelope math from various wiki pages on ridership of commuter, heavy, and light rail systems plus bus ridership tells me NYC metropolitan area transit systems comprise roughly 1/3 of all transit ridership across both the United States and Canada. That’s still insane.

Yeah that would be about right. Hopefully the rest of the US will start carrying its ridership weight at some point.

[Busy Bee]

If only the United States had been settled in the 16th century, independent in the 17th century, rapidly developed in the 18th century and cohesively built out by the 19th century...

[jmecklenborg]

The Cincinnati Reds are perhaps the only pro sports team in the world with a dedicated river barge:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7Xq4..._web_copy_link

[jmecklenborg]

A very rare sighting - an 18-barge tow on the Ohio River:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C76jo6iOjLl/

This is rare because the locks only have space for 3x5 (15 barges). That means it picked up an extra string of 3 just downstream of Mendahl and will drop them off somewhere before Markland.

It is possible for an 18-barge tow to travel through a lock, but it's a time-consuming maneuver. They'd have to tie up the original 15 on the shore, break off the 3, travel through the lock with the 3 and tie them off downriver, go back up through the lock, pick up the 15, then tie the 3 back on downstream. That's like a 3-4 hour process.

[mrnyc]

insurance companies track your driving habits and charge you accordingly —



Is Your Driving Being Secretly Scored?

June 9, 2024


You know you have a credit score. Did you know that you might also have a driver score?

The score reflects the safety of your driving habits — how often you slam on the brakes, speed, look at your phone or drive late at night.


more:
https://dnyuz.com/2024/06/09/is-your...cretly-scored/

[mrnyc]

well ok —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7Mq7...NrazY3ZWN4dw==

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Yeah that would be about right. Hopefully the rest of the US will start carrying its ridership weight at some point.

at some point indeed. it had the best rail transit in the world for a long time. you mean go back to that again.

[mrnyc]

tokyo parking is next level —


https://www.instagram.com/reel/C66vz...lwcnl3NzY2ZQ==

[202_Cyclist]

This is very interesting.
 
Solar-Powered Planes Take Flight
The light, uncrewed aircraft could provide surveillance and telecommunications that balloons and satellites can’t—and stay aloft for months

By Phred Dvorak
June 10, 2024
Wall Street Journal


Skydweller, which has a contract with the U.S. Navy, is robust enough to carry relatively heavy surveillance equipment. PHOTO: SKYDWELLER AERO


"Imagine airplanes powered only by energy from the sun, some so light they can be launched from the ground by hand, others gathered in giant “parking lots” in the stratosphere.

Those are the types of aircraft being developed now that are bringing the dream of solar- powered flight closer to reality, with planes that act very differently from the jetliners of today.

Solar-powered planes won’t be flying people to their next vacation spot anytime soon. But these prototypes, most of which operate without humans, could lead to new alternatives for aerial surveillance on high-risk missions and emergency telecommunications in disaster zones, industry executives say. Aviation giants, telecommunication companies, venture investors and military agencies are already spending millions of dollars developing the planes and their technologies..."

https://www.wsj.com/science/environm...hare_permalink

[bdurk]

SEPTA's refurbished PCC trolleys from 1947 are hitting the streets once again starting this Sunday! This dive into the outside and inside of the trolleys is pretty cool:

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20230906.html

Can't wait to see them in action!

[TowerDude]

Do you think that if Boston, NYC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia's Regional Transit Agencies (among others) combined their efforts they could fund the creation of a trainset manufacturing company to be the sole provider of trains and cars to their networks?

Totally cut out the private sector from the process.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by TowerDude

Do you think that if Boston, NYC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia's Regional Transit Agencies (among others) combined their efforts they could fund the creation of a trainset manufacturing company to be the sole provider of trains and cars to their networks?

Totally cut out the private sector from the process.

Probably. The question is whether it would result in lower costs and/or better products. Establishing a whole new supply chain, manufacturing facilities, design, engineering and quality assurance teams, administration, etc. from scratch when those things already exist could easily cancel out the savings of not paying an outside entity.