“Subway Blues,” written and performed by Mabel Scott in 1950.
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“The quality of life in cities has much to do with systems of transport, which are often a source of much suffering for those who use them. Many cars, used by one or more people, circulate in cities, causing traffic congestion, raising the level of pollution, and consuming enormous quantities of non-renewable energy. This makes it necessary to build more roads and parking areas which spoil the urban landscape. Many specialists agree on the need to give priority to public transportation. Yet some measures needed will not prove easily acceptable to society unless substantial improvements are made in the systems themselves, which in many cities force people to put up with undignified conditions due to crowding, inconvenience, infrequent service and lack of safety.”
— Laudato si’, Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis on care for our common home
Metro is previewing the new Model 7000 railcar, and it falls far short of our design concept (above). It’s a Kawasaki. Let the Good Times Roll!
Today is International Bus Driver Appreciation Day but there’s no holiday website and the bus drivers’ union doesn’t mention it. The holiday is the idea of Seattle bus rider Hans Gerwitz. Why March 18th? On that date in 1662, city buses premiered in Paris (for the record: they flopped).
Psychologist Dr Ana Tajadura-Jimenez and her University of London colleagues confirm what you commuters already know: a personal music player protects you in the a crowded bus or subway car.
The classic London Underground Map, created by Harry Beck in 1933, is the granddaddy of all those schematic maps that chart subway systems in a simplified manner, without regard to the true scale of distances between stations. These maps reduce complex systems to comprehensible basics, but a recent NYU study shows that users actually regard the maps as if they were drawn to scale, and act accordingly:
Was your bus ride a bit crowded this morning? It’s not the bus, it’s us. We’re … um, bigger. Heavier. Bus capacity is still measured using our old average weight, 150 lbs., and bus testers pretend we can still cram into 1.5 square feet of standing room. But why do so many bus seats seem to be single-occupancy these days?
The Federal Transit authority thinks the old standards compromise safety. FTA wants to test new buses using a 175-pounds-per-passenger measure and calculate standee area as 1.75 square feet. But don’t get too comfy. All those old buses will be on the road for some years yet. If you want more room, you’ll have to take it off your waistline.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Free Cars in DC? Of all the environmentally irresponsible, wasteful, profligate actions, at a time when so many people can’t even afford the gas to . . . .
Oh. Wait.
It’s Car Free Day in Metro DC. September 22, 2010. Everyone is biking, walking, skating, taking Metro rail and bus, and riding the Circulator. Skateboards? Scooters? That’s the spirit. Details here.
Sounds like a good time to join Capital Bikeshare.
And take the Car Free Pledge — it’s just for one day. Free poster from Commuter Connections.
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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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At last, a truly comprehensive subway map that puts everything in perspective. It was created by Harvard’s Samuel Arbesman, who also blogs.
More about the map here. You can download a copy.
h/t: Daily Telegraph.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length. Please stand to the right on Metro escalators and mind the gap.
Break the car habit for one day.
Celebrate World Car Free Day on September 22nd. Commute on foot or by bike, bus or Metrorail. You can even go “Car-Lite” in a car pool.
Last year 5,445 residents of the Washington Metropolitan Area pledged to be car free for the day to improve air quality, save money, and reduce their carbon footprints. Take this year’s Car Free Pledge here.
Car Free Celebrations are scheduled for Tuesday, September 22nd in DC (7th & F Streets NW, 11am – 3pm) and elsewhere.
Learn more about Car Free Day Metro DC here.
Top image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
