Starving the bus network kills transit (CityLab)
Streetcar, bus, and metro systems have been ignoring one lesson for 100 years: Service drives demand. One hundred years ago, the United States had a public transportation system that was the envy of the world. Today, outside a few major urban centers, it is barely on life support. Even in New York City, subway ridership is well below its 1946 peak. Annual per capita transit trips in the U.S. plummeted from 115.8 in 1950 to 36.1 in 1970, where they have roughly remained since, even as population ...
26 March 2019by Long Branch Mike
Inside the TNC data tug of war (OverheadWire)
[TNC stands for transport network companies, the generic term for companies like Uber and Lyft et al] The newest disagreement revolves around the data these companies collect in cities. Cities want access to this data to better understand how and where these services are operating, but the companies don't want to provide it due to concerns about how disclosing it may affect their business. Again, cities pushed back. Demands have been made, legislation drafted, lawsuits filed. The two sides ...
HS2 plans waste heat recovery scheme (ConstructionIndex)
Engineers for HS2 Ltd are looking at tapping heat from the brakes and engines of high speed trains for a district heating scheme. Under the plans, hot water and central heating for 500 new homes near the planned HS2 hub at Old Oak Common in northwest London would come from five air source heat pumps drawing warm air from the railway's tunnels. Waste heat from trains is usually extracted from tunnels by traditional ventilation systems and seeps into the ground surrounding the tunnels. But HS2 ...
Why Tube tunnels don't have WiFi (Wired)
Want a quick digital detox? In London, all you need to do is take the Tube. But, from next year, Transport for London (TfL) says it will roll out 4G coverage on the Underground. It's a start, but London is still some way behind its big city rivals. That 4G coverage will join the Tube's Wi-Fi network, which, since 2012, has let people get online while travelling through London's myriad of Underground stations. Unlike the metro networks in many other major cities around the world though, in ...
Berlin giving women public transport discount (CityLab)
The German capital is celebrating Equal Pay Day with the Frauenticket, a discounted fare that reflects the gender pay gap. Women traveling around Berlin on Monday will find that public transit costs them quite a bit less than usual—and quite a bit less than it costs men, too. For one day, March 18, the city's transit authority BVG is selling a special Frauenticket, a women-only day pass that allows travel anywhere in the city all day for €5.50, instead of the usual €7—a 21 percent ...
Autonomous surprises in Boeing 737 MAX & in cars (Slate)
Pilots usually have to understand their autonomous planes. We should understand our autonomous cars. Recently, I asked my colleagues if they had ever been startled by a robotic driving feature. One described the unpleasant sensation of automatic braking in an Infiniti Q50 Hybrid, which would suddenly slow her down in front of a tight turn, bringing her close to getting rear-ended by the New Jersey drivers behind her. Another had been jolted by the aggressive beeping of his Hyundai rental as it ...
Intercontinental commuting in Constantinople (DailySabah)
Connecting Istanbul's east and west, Marmaray suburban rail line officially opens. The long-awaited Marmaray project, revamping the existing suburban rail line with a tunnel connecting the sections separated by the Bosporus, finally came into service with all sections opening on Tuesday. The line, operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) was opened in a ceremony in the Kartal district on the Asian side of Istanbul. This line, the busiest and most heavily-trafficked route in Istanbul, ...
Drones to scout for rail incursions (SunSentinel)
You may one day see drones flying over railroad tracks across South Florida: Tri-Rail plans to adopt this technology to spot trespassers and prevent suicides as well as accidents on the railway. The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the Tri-Rail commuter train, recently purchased the drones and hopes to start using them within the year, according to Allen Yoder, director of safety and security for the Pompano Beach-based commuter train. People trespassing on tracks, ...
Sneak preview of NYC robot UWB comms (SignalProblems)
The New York City MTA IT department hosted an "executive demonstration" to show the installation of ultra-wideband sensors on the 42nd St shuttle track "via a robotic arm". As a refresher, ultra-wideband, or UWB, is a form of wireless communication that may be applicable to communications-based train control, or CBTC, an upgraded signaling system currently used on the L and 7. Governor Cuomo appears to be of the mistaken belief that UWB is different from CBTC. It is not, nor is it in ...
Why the best projects face the strongest blowback (MobilityLab)
During a recent event, Houston-based transit planner and author Christof Spieler succinctly described the best way to design new rail and bus routes: identify the places people live, work, and play, then draw lines between them. Similarly-practical approaches to connectivity have worked pretty well for other forms of physical infrastructure in America, such as roads and power lines. But seemingly every proposal to improve our country's transit systems faces powerful opposition. Spieler ...
Iceland invests in electric ferry (CleanTechnica)
Global electrical product and solution and provider ABB has been selected to supply the drive and energy storage technologies that will underpin Iceland's first electrified ferry. The 70-meter long vessel will be powered by a mind-boggling 3,000kWh battery pack with a diesel generator that will serve only to supply backup power. The point-to-point ferry will have capacity to take 550 passengers and 75 cars the 13 kilometers | 8 miles from Iceland's Landeyjahöfn on the mainland over to ...
6 March 2019by Long Branch Mike
Berlin to spend €2 Bn a year to improve public transport (CityLab)
The German capital plans to make major investments to expand bus and rail networks, boost frequency, and get ahead of population growth. When it comes to public transit, you can't accuse Berlin of holding back on cash. This week, the city announced its transit masterplan for 2019 to 2023 (with a period of focus that actually extends to 2035), and a major overhaul of the city's transit networks is in the cards. The funds allocated are generous, to say the least: Berlin is committing a ...
LA may tax Uber&Lyft, add Congestion Charge (CBS/Progressive)
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering taxing ride share companies like Uber and Lyft in hopes of seeing less of them on the road, and more people taking trains and buses. This comes after a 20 percent drop in Metro ridership over the last five years. "One of the ways we could potentially reduce congestion is to make sure that Uber and Lyft are charging fares that are closer to their fare market value because right now they are underpricing their ...
Holographic augmented reality auto head-up display (HUD)
Augmented reality navigation overlays direction information onto the road – no more looking down at a screen in the console for directions when you're driving — Hyundai has unveiled a futuristic head-up display (HUD) for cars at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2019. The Holographic Augmented Reality (AR) Navigation System can show information like directions and safety warnings that appear in front of the driver's eyes, overlaid onto the road in front of the car. The demonstration ...
28 February 2019by Long Branch Mike
Frequency-Ridership Spirals (PedestrianObservations)
Practically the entire change in subway ridership in New York over the last generation or two has come from the off-peak, and the way American cities set their frequency guidelines off-peak amplify small changes in demand, so that a minor setback can lead to collapse and a minor boost can lead to boom. The good news is that by setting frequency to be high even if it does not look like ridership justifies it, cities can generate a virtuous cycle on the upswing and avoid a vicious one on the ...
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