tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Cap'n Transit Rides AgainCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger3738125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-76507677637039826762021-09-13T12:43:12.609-04:002021-09-13T12:43:12.609-04:00Who and where is doing well in the non-car recreat...Who and where is doing well in the non-car recreation transport field? Any resources you'd highlight?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11795441669631155056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-82691842516261842162021-08-24T10:49:07.168-04:002021-08-24T10:49:07.168-04:00In the first sentance of the last paragraph did yo...In the first sentance of the last paragraph did you mean "city" or did you intend "country"/"suburbs"?whitemicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699706645615484869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-6442329320474800132021-01-20T11:32:14.416-05:002021-01-20T11:32:14.416-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09768677091215607244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-51631688977653177352020-05-11T12:02:45.391-04:002020-05-11T12:02:45.391-04:00Remember that it's always about the money. Wh...Remember that it's always about the money. While it would be wonderful to see trains cross the PRB and on the Erie Northern branch to Nyack, who will pay for it? NJ Transit, being funded by NY & NJ, which are for the most part bankrupt, will demure from such huge capital projects. Therefore it would be up to CSX and/or Norfolk Southern to foot the bill. I do support these efforts, and sad to say that we may have been leveraging our future when all of these lines were abandoned and removed in the 70s and 80s. When some unforeseen crisis occurs and the NE Corridor or another heavily used freight line is out of service for an extended period, you will then see action, through most likely eminent domain, to reactivate these abandoned lines.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15614371770355238216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-5126208344784404032020-03-20T18:12:47.691-04:002020-03-20T18:12:47.691-04:00What would be better is if you could just touch on...What would be better is if you could just touch on and off each train and bus with a credit card, like in London. Even if the fares stay exactly as they are, this would at least be convenient because you don't have to use multiple ticket machines. Especially for the less price-conscious passenger.Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03416173759168973214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-24008111803285876632020-02-16T09:35:51.566-05:002020-02-16T09:35:51.566-05:00I would say, yes, costs and bureaucratic red tape ...I would say, yes, costs and bureaucratic red tape are what keep major transit projects from being built. NIMBY opposition is certainly part of the picture. I believe Second Ave Sagas outlined how frivolous Nimby lawsuits added 10s of millions of $$$ to SAS cost. As to ridership - at least here in NYC - all 5 boroughs -" if you build it they will come" (as that silly old baseball movie "Field Of Dreams" put it), the trains will have standing room from day 1, on any line presently proposed: full length SAS, E Line extension to S/E Queens, Utica Ave line, Rock line revival through central Queens, Triboro line, etc, etc. What is a damned shame is that we're not using existing rail infrastructure creatively enough. I'm thinking Montauk line through central Queens, the absurd foot dragging on bring MNR NH trains into Penn, just more LIRR and MNR service in Queens & The Bronx. everything requires a "study" that drags on for years and then comes up with some absurd cost estimate of 10s of billions. I think people see all this and just get discouraged, dejected. They just see all the grand schemes as exercises in futility in a nation that has totally lost its mojo - that is incapable of building any more big, grand, "good" things. capt subwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238954255206457928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-47594771588472972342020-01-29T14:11:39.060-05:002020-01-29T14:11:39.060-05:00Outstanding, I couldn't have said it better my...Outstanding, I couldn't have said it better myself. Romanticizing the country brings along with it the mistaken notion that tax money and overall economic production flows from the country into the city. The virtuous farmer and his small town brethren are the "true Americans" subsidizing the sins and excesses of the heathen city, which reaches out like an octopus into the countryside to suck away all the resources within its grasp. Of course the truth is the exact opposite, cities and their downtowns are the engines of our economy, and they're bled dry to support every jerkwater burg that wants a bypass or industrial park. Jeffrey Jakucykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04092631645389171565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-57170646467617850942019-12-16T23:47:08.008-05:002019-12-16T23:47:08.008-05:00The "placard class" is a real, core prob...The "placard class" is a real, core problem.<br /><br />Take a look at the twitter account @placardabuse or the hashtag #placardcorruption.<br /><br />The placard class is the people who don't give a damn about the subway riders. They also don't give a damn about anyone trying to walk down the sidewalk or across the crosswalk. They are a problem.neroden@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07475686367097445497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-2461252575864763722019-10-14T14:08:36.576-04:002019-10-14T14:08:36.576-04:00As to quality of life issues - well now that's...As to quality of life issues - well now that's complicated. While the "broken window" theory of policing has been largely discredited by now, there's still something to be said for civility in the streets, as well as in apartments buildings amongst residents. How to define civility? Well that's always a problem, without getting tripped up with all sorts of racial profiling & cultural issues. But, as noted above, music blasting on the street at 3AM is wholly unacceptable. Lots of people would be annoyed by this, and not just old white people. Ditto tenants blasting music regularly in apartment buildings at all hours. (I play the violin several hours a day, and often listen to opera & symphony music. I've done tests with my neighbors in my building, asked them about my music, gone out into the hallway with an opera playing and closed my door to see if I could hear it. Well, even though I though I was playing it loudly - surprise - I could hardly hear it out in the hall. And all my neighbors said they could hear my violin, but only ever so faintly.) Bottom line here: if I can hear some clown's music loudly & clearly, if the bass line make my dishes rattle, well the music is just too f*cking loud. Is it a cultural issue, wherein "classical" music (produced by mostly dead white guys) is more acceptable than, say hip-hop? Possibly. I would suggest culture, race, and class are too often confused and / or conflated. I'd suggest that how a person behaves in these situations is more an aspect of "class", and by that I mean, level of education & professional achievement, and less of race and income.<br /><br />As to anti-social behavior in the streets - well, yes, even here in Forest Hills you will occasionally see some guy pissing in an alleyway, or staggering down the street with an open bottle of booze. But where do you draw the line? What's an acceptable number, and when are there too many guys pissing in the street, too many aggressive drunks, too many clearly deranged homeless people hanging out and acting menacingly? Unfortunately many of the perps here are people of color - i.e. read that as mostly black. So, often right thinking people are loathe to make a big deal out of it, or keep their real annoyance under wraps, for fear of being accused of being racists, entitled old white bigots, etc. Cities have been "dumping" the homeless and the seriously disturbed (very often one and the same) onto the streets for decades now, and then turning a blind eye to the issue. The solution? Good luck with that one.<br /><br />Much to mull over here, for sure!capt subwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238954255206457928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-18176113088964865262019-10-14T14:02:26.386-04:002019-10-14T14:02:26.386-04:00You cover a lot of ground in one post. You've ...You cover a lot of ground in one post. You've probably got enough subject matter for two or three separate posts. <br /><br />As to the suburban / urban dichotomy (or country versus city): well that's as old at least as ancient Rome & Greece, with the likes of Virgil & Hesoid wondering where life was better, and continued through the centuries right on up to the likes of Petrarch, Shakespeare, Pope, Austen, Dickens and so many more weighing in on it - pro, con or both. Surely the matter will never be resolved.<br /><br />As to people moving into, or out of the city, and who they might be: it seems there are no really reliable figures on who's going where. The general consensus seems to be that some of the biggest, most "desirable" urban areas in the US, i.e. NY, LA, SF-Bay Area, Boston are loosing population. I suspect the rent is just too damned high, as a mayoral candidate from a few years back once put it.<br /><br />As to the "suburbanization" of the City, hm..... quite frankly I'm way more annoyed by the Dubai-ization of the city, with all these damned sky high slivers going up all over midtown, full of multi-million dollar residential flats that, for the most part, sit empty, all part, no doubt, of some elaborate tax scams and money laundering schemes.<br /><br />Yup shopping "malls" are, after all, originally urban concepts. Many European cities - Paris, Milan, Naples, Rome, Leipzig, Munich, Bruxelles, the list goes on & on, are full of arcades, passages (call them what you will) that are pushing 200 years of age. The concept, when transferred to suburbia, unfortunately developed a bad case of auto-centric elephantiasis.<br /><br />Agree with your take on car culture: Problem is, right here in NYC, right here in Queens, as you well know, there has been a proliferation of big box stores, surrounded by huge parking lots, even in areas well served by subway & bus (c.f. Northern Blvd between Bway & Steinway). The City has let this happen, indeed, has welcomed & encouraged this sort of development.capt subwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238954255206457928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-73850937112562368872019-09-16T14:09:51.298-04:002019-09-16T14:09:51.298-04:00What I dont understand is the immediate knee-jerk ...What I dont understand is the immediate knee-jerk reaction many people have against improving the city. <br /><br />Person a: The car outside my window at 3am blasting out music is a problem<br />Peron b: If you want quiet move to the suburbs!<br /><br />Having a good quality of life is not exclusive of urban areas. James Sinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00948509061118072998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-37180976460088317432019-08-01T22:54:47.021-04:002019-08-01T22:54:47.021-04:00Thanks for your thoughts, Cap, but the point is th...Thanks for your thoughts, Cap, but the point is that there is a chain of command, and the middle management reports to the political appointees. The political appointees, and the politicians who support them, are responsible for this dysfunction because they have neglected to exercise their control over the system.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-12035657717963263252019-08-01T22:51:42.552-04:002019-08-01T22:51:42.552-04:00That's a nice story, Alex, except that these p...That's a nice story, Alex, except that these pictures were all taken before any kind of bankruptcy or mode shift. The bikes and scooters were in service.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-88658966768931503482019-06-12T21:26:59.590-04:002019-06-12T21:26:59.590-04:00Whether it's NYC politicians who never ride th...Whether it's NYC politicians who never ride the system, or NYS politicians who never ride the system, that are allegedly "in charge" - well I ultimately don't think it makes much of a difference. The really big problem, which I've rehashed ad nauseam here, there & everywhere - aside from the political hacks (state, county, city, etc) running the show at the top - is that of, essentially, clueless, incompetent middle management, made up, in large part, or suburbanites, many of whom even have TA cars with much coveted parking placards. Those who don't come in on the LIRR. MNR, NJT, and some of those have MTA multiple system passes, so they ride for free on everything (except NJT & PATH). If they ride the actual NYCTA system at all it is probably just in the course of their daily on-the-job chores. They would almost never ride the system at nights or on weekends, so they just don't give a $hit how bad the service actually is. If they actually did (i.e. give a $hit), they would immediately address some of the 800 lb gorillas sitting in the middle of the room, such as the onerous adjacent track flagging rules - instituted under on the watch of grade A 14K gold bonehead Harold Roberts back around 2009; the time signals that have been installed all over the damned place with no apparent rhyme or reason and that often slow the trains down to crawl; the pi$$-poor employee training which gives us clueless train operators, many of whom actually seem afraid of the trains, afraid to move the trains at more than around 20mph, regardless of the signal and or speed postings. (BTW the trains can still go around 50 mph.) The list doesn't end there - it would go on & on. Oh, and add to that, no clear chain of command, except insofar as, when the $hit hits the fan, the guy at the bottom of the heap is hung out to dry (surprise, surprise!). So the guy at the bottom, i.e. the middle management type, has no incentive to speak up and say the emperor's got no clothes on. I write this as a 37 year employee of the NYCTA, now retired, but who, as a resident of Forest Hills, rides the system regularly and is often appalled at how awful the service has become.capt subwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238954255206457928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-21805976287572710632018-12-18T16:04:35.137-05:002018-12-18T16:04:35.137-05:00Sorry if I was being obtuse. I believe the issue i...Sorry if I was being obtuse. I believe the issue is these venture funded companies had large numbers bikes produced (if I had to speculate, the Chinese venture companies were also funding the Chinese manufacturers) and as they have either gone out of business or shifted models, ie from pedal bikes to scooters, the "assets" are of little value to municipalities where they are left and the only easy thing to do is pile them up, crush and sell for scrap. While one might think this would be a great example to take these bikes and give them to needy people etc, the transaction costs to do such a thing are probably unrealistic because cities don't have the resources to work a program like that and the bikes themselves are probably encumbered with leans and bankruptcy issues.Alex Plinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12610836466448147001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-8701200460412994472018-12-17T22:28:33.849-05:002018-12-17T22:28:33.849-05:00Okay. But that has absolutely nothing to do with ...Okay. But that has absolutely nothing to do with why these officials are throwing away the bikes.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-16681212126203785832018-12-12T21:52:54.997-05:002018-12-12T21:52:54.997-05:00For now...
Ofo is in trouble: https://en.wikiped...For now... <br /><br />Ofo is in trouble: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofo_(company)<br />Lime is rebranding mostly with electric scooters/bikes<br />Alex Plinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12610836466448147001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-78459605938461042482018-12-12T20:35:18.700-05:002018-12-12T20:35:18.700-05:00Why is that the key? It's pretty clear that t...Why is that the key? It's pretty clear that these bikes are being thrown away while the companies are still operating.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-14369870455191309702018-12-12T20:32:19.930-05:002018-12-12T20:32:19.930-05:00Doug, you know I don't give a shit about wheth...Doug, you know I don't give a shit about whether people can drive east of the Bronx River. And I know you don't give a shit about the effect these giant highways have on the Bronx. So why are you even bothering to comment here?Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-11986066885603275592018-11-19T04:13:56.052-05:002018-11-19T04:13:56.052-05:00As a Southern California native who has had a driv...As a Southern California native who has had a driver's license for over 60 years, but was a frequent transit rider for some of those years, I look at all the cars on the streets and freeways and wonder just how may billions of dollars have gone into buying and operating all those gas buggies and how big a fraction of that pile of money it would have taken to convert the old Pacific Electric lines into a true rapid transit system. We are getting pieces of it back, but the many years when one could buy a usable car for $100-200, keep it running with junkyard parts, fill the tank and have change coming back from a $5 bill, and get a driver's license if you could find your way to the DMV office and pass simple tests made it hard for any transit system to compete. We could also add that the local newspapers made lots of ad money from car dealers and suburban developers. The advertising side was supposed to have no influence on the editorial side, but there was and may still be a subtle connection. davistrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11665337626953845254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-12681060728062573532018-07-10T07:05:41.887-04:002018-07-10T07:05:41.887-04:00This is the key:
"ofo raised $700 million in...This is the key:<br /><br />"ofo raised $700 million in its Series E funding, led by Alibaba, Hony Capital and CITIC Private Equity, in July this year."<br /><br />These companies are funded by full on speculators (venture capital) with no real shot at a sustainable business model. When it goes south, there is nothing to do but throw it all away, especially given the cheapness of the physical product.Alex Plinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12610836466448147001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-48614936785921168062018-05-15T18:29:58.884-04:002018-05-15T18:29:58.884-04:00But what about the connections at the southern end...But what about the connections at the southern end?<br /><br />The BRP has connections to and from the Bruckner in each direction.<br /><br />The Sheridan meanwhile lacks connections with the Bruckner to and from the east.<br /><br />Your plan would require constructing new likely elevated ramps crossing over the mouth of the Bronx River.<br /><br />Why not instead construct decks over the southern BRP where it is at a lower elevation, and even the Sheridan between Westchester Avenue and 174th Street?Douglas Andrew Willingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06412711658495398785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-7710713827477783762018-04-19T18:17:39.717-04:002018-04-19T18:17:39.717-04:00I understand you looked at Transmilenio because th...I understand you looked at Transmilenio because that was the prompt, but I dont think its the best model, because as you said, it is highway focused. And thats fine, why not use what you have available? <br /><br />BRT came from Curitiba, and most of their corridors are on pretty regular streets. <br /><br />https://goo.gl/maps/73CGLBW1Anw<br />https://goo.gl/maps/XUkt8hsEG1A2<br /><br />They even managed to go back and add bike lanes. <br /><br />Of course, as you said, this requires taking a lane away from cars. And the NYC metro area is so single-auto focused they cant even stomach an HOV lane. <br />James Sinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00948509061118072998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-62268926877507871962018-04-15T16:10:42.565-04:002018-04-15T16:10:42.565-04:00The main reason I'm excluding highway-type cor...The main reason I'm excluding highway-type corridors is that the people who talk about implementing Transmilenio in NYC focus exclusively on arterials. I'm planning a post on highway corridors, but you can write one if you like!Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-11270760257991975102018-04-15T15:18:59.471-04:002018-04-15T15:18:59.471-04:00Why exclude highway corridors? I think the best us...Why exclude highway corridors? I think the best use for Transmilenio-style busways in NYC is making more efficient use of some of the space that is currently wasted on freeway lanes. The Staten Island/Gowanus Expressway (with a new transfer station on SIRT north of Grasmere) seems like a particularly good use case; some circumferential corridors that could complement the radial subway (e.g. Belt Parkway, Van Wyck Expressway, Grand Central Parkway, Cross Island Parkway, Cross Bronx Expressway) also seem worth considering.threestationsquarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211550407397056258noreply@blogger.com