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  #141  
Old Posted Aug 13, 2013, 7:03 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M II A II R II K View Post
NY man arrested 29 times for nabbing trains, buses

Read More: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ny-ma...g-trains-buses







Speaking of people imprisoned in this country for harmless offenses.
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  #142  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2013, 6:44 PM
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Don't Count on Mass Transit Improvements to Reduce Traffic Congestion

Read More: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/...ongestion.html

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.....

As transit advocates know, more highway construction tends not to reduce highway congestion. What transit advocates also ought to know is that more mass transit construction also tends not to reduce highway congestion. The cause of road congestion is that if your city is a thriving and vibrant place full of jobs and leisure activities, then space on a road is going to be a valuable thing.

- It's a valuable thing that's generally given away for free. Consequently, it tends to get overconsumed to the point where the traffic congestion itself becomes enough of a deterrent to prevent more people from pouring onto the road. Building more lanes or more mass transit options will initially alleviate the congestion, but the fact that the road is now less congested becomes a reason for more people to pour onto the road.

- There are two workable ways to permanently rid yourself of traffic jams, one sensible and one dumb. The dumb one is to massively overbuild transportation infrastructure. Not just too much infrastructure for right now, but infrastructure that so far outpaces your area's needs that it won't induce enough growth to catch up. A "bridge to nowehre" kind of thing.

- The sensible one is to build the amount of transportation infrastructure that your area needs and charge money for its use. If the crowded suburban commuter routes in the D.C. area had congestion pricing at peak times, then the roads wouldn't be so crowded. And the revenue would become a valuable source of funding for maintaining and expanding the area's transportation infrastructure. And then people could pay lower taxes or we could hire more cops and teachers. But absent congestion pricing, a growing metropolitan area with a viable economy is never going to actually build its way out of road crowding, and that's true whether you build highways or mass transit.

.....



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  #143  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2013, 7:16 PM
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Why do the photos you post never have anything to do with the articles you're posting them with?
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  #144  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2013, 9:27 PM
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Hm... Okay, I live Maisons-Alfort, 3 minutes away from a subway station (Métro line 8), barely 10 minutes away from a RER line D station, by foot. And then it's goddamn overpriced over here. I'm quite sure mass transit is indeed a huge booster for real estate value, even astonishing. As soon as people get some mass transit means around, they give up on their cars, like - oh hell! fuck traffic jam! I wanna spare my time! and their apartments literally double in value.
Mass transit is mpressive for that. Amazing.
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  #145  
Old Posted Aug 23, 2013, 2:06 AM
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  #146  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2013, 3:34 PM
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  #147  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2013, 8:20 PM
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I would think that an 18-wheeler truck would be a horribly inefficient method of personal transportation, far worse than an SUV.
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  #148  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2013, 6:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zilfondel View Post
I would think that an 18-wheeler truck would be a horribly inefficient method of personal transportation, far worse than an SUV.
I believe that semi trailers have been converted to passenger use in Cuba at various times.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...own_Havana.jpg

IMO, if the US were to be hit by a severe economic decline, converting semi trailers to passenger vehicles could be done quickly, and, cheaply, particularly safety standards were ignored "wink, wink,"

In the example shown, assuming a sit-down configuration 4 abreast (remembers times are tough), about 48 people could sit on the bus. Sidewise seating and standing riders, perhaps 72.

Theoretically, again assuming a "wink wink" attitude towards this mode, truck trains might be built

http://pete-n-pam.com/main%20pics/page067pics/truck.jpg

The conversion would have lower passenger carrying capabilities per unit than shown in the Cuban example, say 36 and 54, but, the 4 unit truck train shown might carry between 144 and 216 people.

Oh yes, with computerized braking systems, this might even be a bit safe on snow. Add small motors to selectively power 2 of each trailer wheel set, and it might even be safe.

I would expect the PMPG for a 4 (or more) unit passenger truck train to be right between a plug in car and a freight train per person.

A last thought: moving company trailers might even be doubled decked!
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  #149  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2013, 7:38 PM
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Suspension bridge over the Colorado River at the CA/AZ border, but with a twist: This only carries a natural gas pipeline, not people.


image from google street view


image from Josef Muench via the library at Northern Arizona University
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  #150  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2013, 8:01 PM
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Bamboo bicycle

I never got around to posting these but here are some photos I took of a bamboo bicycle I saw last summer here in Washington. It was a stunning bike. I can only imagine the craftsmanship that goes into making this. I would like one of these.






All photos taken by me.
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  #151  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2013, 8:16 PM
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Are you sure it was really bamboo and not just stylised to look like it?
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  #152  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2013, 8:50 PM
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I am absolutely certain it is bamboo. Here is the website for the frame-builder: http://districtbamboobikes.com/ .
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  #153  
Old Posted Aug 26, 2013, 9:28 PM
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There was a neat episode of How It's Made or a similar show that showed the making of a bamboo bike. It's probably on YouTube somewhere.
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  #154  
Old Posted Aug 27, 2013, 1:19 PM
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  #155  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2013, 4:03 PM
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Japan’s Levitating Train Hits 310 MPH in Trials

Read More: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/09/maglev-310-mph/

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It’s currently the world’s longest and fastest stretch of maglev train, reaching speeds as high as 310 mph in a demonstration last week. But Japan’s L-Zero only lives on 15 miles of test track, and we’re still more than a decade away from completion.

After five years of trials, plus some starts and stops, Central Japan Railway Co. is finally starting construction on a maglev line between Nagoya and Tokyo, a 177-mile trip that will be cut from 95 minutes on today’s high-speed trains to just 40 minutes with maglev by 2027.

To put that kind of speed in perspective, Amtrak’s Acela takes about 3 hours and 40 minutes to go about 210 miles. A trip from Boston to New York on maglev would take under an hour. By 2045, JR Central hopes to extend the line to Osaka, which will cut the number of passengers on the frequent flights between the two cities.

.....



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  #156  
Old Posted Sep 5, 2013, 4:19 PM
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Website: http://greyp-bikes.com/

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The Greyp G-12 is designed from the ground up to combine the best of both worlds – motorcycles and bicycles. It is a bicycle when you want it, or a motorcycle when you need it.

- You don’t ever need to worry about keys again. The G-12 can save up to 50 users, and every user can save up to 5 fingers. You can choose that a certain finger starts the bike in a certain mode. Your thumb can lead you the Street Mode, while your middle-finger will activate the speed-mode. The owner can limit rights to other users – you can lend your bike to your friend and limit his riding-time and speed.

- You can pedal if you want, assist the motor or drive the G-12 like a motorcycle. It will reach 65 km/h without any assistance by the rider. You can reach up to 120 km of range with a single charge. Our sophisticated range estimation algorithms predict the remaining range based on your riding style and at the same time, show you the maximum range with a conservative driving style from that moment on. This enables you to predict when to slow down in order to have enough range to make it to your destination.

.....


















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  #157  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2013, 9:05 PM
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Design your own street layout: http://streetmix.net/


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Irisbus Cristalis Trolley-bus


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  #158  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2013, 10:01 PM
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Did You Know That Buses Don’t Need Seat Belts Because, When Inside…

Read More: http://www.factswt.com/did-you-know-...e-when-inside/

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.....

Since buses have high flooring and their seats are placed higher than those in other vehicles, in case of collision the damage would happen under the seating, thus keeping the passengers safe. School buses have closely placed seating with high backs, which are padded.

- In the event of an accident, child would be pushed forward to what seems like an early version of the airbag. This also applies for highway buses. The padded backs and the elevated floors keep the passengers safe. Yet city buses don’t have such high floor plans and the distance between the seats is wider. However, placing seatbelts would require more space, which would mean less seats. And since many passengers are standing while traveling with city buses, seatbelts wouldn’t do much good. Not only that, placing seatbelts would cost between $8,000 and 15,000 for each bus!

.....



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  #159  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2013, 11:03 PM
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Newton also probably has something to do with why buses are safer, a Honda accord weighs a hair over 3000 pounds while a city bus weighs between 30000-40000 pounds, about 10 times as much.
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  #160  
Old Posted Sep 15, 2013, 11:51 PM
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Last chance to pick Boston's new transit map from the finalists:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/com...redesign/6850/


too big to embed...
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