NEW EPISODE: Fixing America’s Car Culture with David Zipper.
We talk with @davidzipper -- one of the hardest-working analysts on the transportation scene today -- about the excesses of the auto industry, our road fatality crisis, the absurd way speed limits are determined on American streets, and whether we might ever be able to swap out our bloated SUVs for electric golf carts.
The Hyperloop was never meant to be built. Elon Musk admitted it was all about fueling opposition to California’s high-speed rail project so it would get canceled.
He never planned to improve transportation; he just wants to keep people trapped in cars.
I'm fine with the soft, whirring spaceship sounds that some EVs emit as a safety feature to alert people that they're moving. The new Dodge Charger EV comes with a deafening 126 dB roar, which is just plain obnoxious.
Of course PBOT is going to immediately launch operation "think about it for a while" after driverists cut down their signs they stuck in the street for telling cars what to do, not like they always send crews out ASAP removing any guerrilla devices that potentially obstruct cars (oh wait...) Department of Letting Cars Boss Us Around here needs a better acronym. #Vision60or70something#PBOT#Portland#transportation#LowTrafficNeighborhoods#CarSupremacy#pdxBikes
It’s an unpopular opinion among EV purists, but I think hybrids will reduce a lot more carbon emissions than BEVs, for the simple reason that way more people can switch. Even without access to charging outlets, hybrids are far more efficient thanks to their regenerative braking. With access to outlets, they are as good as EVs within their electric range, which will account for most of the daily commutes of their owners, and all with far smaller batteries and better costs of ownership than BEVs.
The way to eliminate emissions due to personal transportation is not to put people in BEVs. It’s to eliminate commutes and massively invest in (electrified) public transportation.
What would it take for cities to retrofit or supplement their #bike counters with #eBike detectors? The growth of #eBikes for #transportation trips should not be underestimated. Maybe an EMF or heat signature? How do the standard ones distinguish multiple bikes at once? #pdxBikes#bikeTooter
As Hyperloop One shuts down, we need to remember that the Hyperloop was never meant to be built.
Elon Musk’s goal was never to transform transportation for the masses, but to stop or delay high-speed rail from reaching North America. Sadly, he succeeded — and we all lost as a result. While the rest of the world moved forward, the US remains stuck in the past.
Primary School starts this morning in Toronto. I was out for a walk last night, and on a street with a 40 kph speed limit, cars were routinely doing 60 kph. I wonder how many kids will be injured or god-forbid killed this school year on their way to/from school by drivers who feel the rules of the road don’t really apply to them? In this auto-erotic city, sadly I’m sure the number won’t be zero. #toronto#transportation
You don’t often see outward facing seats on transit vehicles, but being able to gaze out the window rather than at an ad across the aisle makes for a pretty enjoyable ride! (This is the Kuala Lumpur Monorail).
These U.S. Cities Have More Parking Lots Than Housing - They paved paradise again and again and again.
by Frank Jacobs, Big Think May 17, 2024
"...On average, about one-fifth of all land in city centers is dedicated to parking. But what’s the actual harm being done by all that parking space? For one, city centers that are more “parkable” become less walkable. In other words, fewer things are casually accessible.
...Americans’ attitude toward driving is changing. The share of high school seniors with a driving license has dropped from 85.3% in 1996 to 71.5% in 2015. The rise of shared, multi-modal, and (soon, they keep promising us) autonomous mobility will further reduce the need for driver’s licenses, individual cars, and massive parking facilities in city centers.
Perhaps it’s time for American cities to become denser, more lived-in, more walkable—and less “parkable.”
In "Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment," Grant Ennis identifies "nine devious frames" industries such as car manufacturers use to maintain a status quo that harms human health and the planet.
swept Multnomah to Oleson and back, Terwilliger OHSU to Taylor's Ferry (PBOT needs to do some heavy lifting farther south here & sidewalks too), sidewalks on bridge over the freeway, both sides of Barbur from 3rd to 19th (ODOT come get your broken asphalt bits, and sweep your sidewalks?), Barbur NB from 24th to Spring Garden -> 19th, Bertha, yesterday Vermont past the schools, Capitol Hwy Terwilliger to the bridge across Multnomah #pdxBikes#BikeLaneSweeper#Portland#transportation@bikeloudpdx
It's really awesome that most mastodon users agree that we should do something about #ClimateChange. Now, most of you are city dwellers, and half of urban GHG emissions are from #transportation (half of all car trips are under 3 miles), so what are you doing about it? Step 1: at least try to get somewhere without a car (like if #eBikes existed) so you can see how bad it is, Step 2: yell at your public officials (and fix your city/state voting method).
Admin freaks out every time I submit a #bike share receipt for $5, but they have no issues with $50 for taxis and $100 for rental cars because they see biking as recreation. We need to normalize #micromobility as #transportation.
The new account timeline feels so empty, so pardon me while I furnish it with this @Vox infographic of how the US had somewhat decent passenger rail and got rid of most of it. #Trains#Transportation#CarCentrism
I've been saying this for some time now. Never thought I'd see a US department say the same — but the NYC Department of transportation just did! And it's not the first time I've seen them post some really good stuff about bikes. This gives me hope.
A cargo ship with 123-foot ‘WindWing’ sails has just departed on its maiden voyage (www.popsci.com)
Retrofitted with 123-foot ‘WindWings,' 'Pyxis Ocean' is testing two giant sails on its six-week journey from China to Brazil.