Hey, ho, where d'ja go, Ohio?

NPR on Cincinnati's almost-forgotton subway.

The Tube rocks

Oh, London.

In Washington, every one of those hands in the air would be clutching a citation.

In New York, the guy who took the picture (follow the link) would be sitting in a hut in Guantanimo.

This is the biggest tax increase in history!

Another road contractor-funded group is founded to oppose a rail expansion. Yawn.

But their big launch shows just how low these people have to sink to convince people:

"There will certainly be some overlap with the [libertarian] Independence Institute," Caldara said. "But there will also be people who support light rail but oppose the 67 percent tax increase for it."

A 67 percent tax increase? Damn. I don't know if I could pay the rent if they increased my taxes by 67 percent.

But we later learn what's really going on:

RTD is asking voters in the seven-county district to approve a 0.4-cent increase in the existing 0.6-cent sales tax - to a full penny on the dollar - to help pay for FasTracks.

So the "67 percent tax increase" is really an increase in the sales tax of less then one percent. One can oppose projects or tax increases from a variety of angles, but acting like a small increase in a small tax that itself is a tiny portion of a taxpeyer's total bill is a "67 percent tax increase" not only disingenuous, it borders on flat-out lying.

Thumbs up for Bloomie

I think I have an irrational dislike of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Perhaps some of this has to do with his meddling in the affairs of his (and my) alma mater. Maybe some of it is the result of the smoking ban, even though I like coming home not smelling like Keith Richards' sofa.

But I have to give him credit for some stands he takes, and not just his frank talk on drugs (including how much he liked them). He's standing up agianst the proposed police-state regulation to ban cameras from the subways.

Up, Up, and Away

Going for only a slightly higher cost-per-passenger mile than the L.A. subway, a private organization plans to reach sub-orbital flight on June 21, reports CNN. SpaceShipOne, if it is launched successfully, will be the first private spacecraft to reach sub-orbital flight and will come one step closer to qualifying for the coveted $10 million X-prize. Plus, it'd be pretty cool for me to be able to fly into orbit before I die.

Nashville Mourns

The Nashville City Paper reports on today's "funeral" service for fourteen retiring MTA busses. The "New Orleans-style funeral procession complete with jazz and blues musicians" took place this morning at 9:30. The Mayor, MTA Board Chair, and other dignitaries were expected to attend. No word on whether they'd be wearing black. The 24-year old "antiques" are being replaced with 25 new hich-tech Gillig busses.

As a side note, if this convention caught on, just think of the fun with headlines we at third rail could have:

Cairo "Wraps-Up" Trolley Service in Favor of BRT

or

Dublin Transit Workers Hold Wake; Service Expected to Resume Next Week

There's a Viking joke in there somwhere, I just can't think of it right now.

Corporate Responsibility?

A Union Pacific train hit and killed two people on a railroad bridge in Washington State yesterday, reports CNN. As we know, train collisions and accidents happen rather frequently in the United States, so this is no surprise. It's no surprise either to find out that the individuals were killed after ignoring No Trespassing signs posted by Burnlington North Santa Fe, which owns the bridge.

There's another side to the story, however. This is the only walkable bridge between two small towns on either side of the Lewis River. The land road goes fifteen miles around. And, in fact, the railroads know that local residents have used the bridge to get between towns for years -- in the last five years, at least two others have been struck by trains.

Does a transit company have an obligation to improve safety around a bridge that it knows is the only major thoroughfare between two towns -- even if it is offically private property? From a legal standpoint, I'd say probably not. They did their due diligence by posting the no trespassing signs. From a corporate ethics point of view, it's questionable. I'm sure our friends at Transport Blog would say certainly not, but I might disagree. While legal due diligence has been met, I'm not sure the moral and ethnical requirements have. If you are fully aware that there is no viable alternative to using the bridge (other than a 15 mile drive or by fording a river), you have an obligation to present an alternative solution or at least make a better effort to keep people off the bridge. BNSF could have taken many different approaches to the problem, like building stronger security around the bridge or attaching a pedestrian walkway to the side, but opted instead to take the legal minimum, resulting in at least four deaths and many injuries.

An intermodal mess

If you take the brand-new Muskegon-Milwaukee Lake Express ferry to its western terminus, you'll have a heck of a time getting around if you didn't bring a car along for the ride, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That's because the ferry terminal is a ten-minute walk from the nearest bus. Even if you manage to find the bus, you have to transfer to another bus to get downtown.

Officials blame a lack of money, but the real problem is a lack of smarts. Lake Express spokesman Jeff Fleming said the Lake Express "would attract 'high-end' passengers who would no more board a public bus at a ferry terminal than they would at an airport."

Ugh. Why do busses have to be the "ride of choice for the poor and very poor alike" as well as a place to find "creeps and wierdos"? And why should the operator of a big ol' boat, which is, after all, public transportation, perpetaute the stereotype?

Perspective

Sure, the nationwide media is huffing and puffing about the fire on the Seattle Monorail that left 150 people stuck in a smoky train yesteday, but what about the 15 people who died on Georgia highways over the weekend?

Sure, many, many more people were on Georgia highways then rode the Seattle monorail, but the focus was still disproportionate because those fatalities are expected, while train casualties are not.

Just as the Houston media covers every fender-bender between a light-rail train and a car violating a clearly visible traffic sign while ignoring many major highway pile-ups, trains get increased scrutiny with each rare accident instead of praise for being safer than driving.

However, it could be worse for train operators -- just ask the airlines.

The little things

Remember the NYC subway cars that were sent back because the Japanese butts for which they designed the seats aren't as wide as their American counterparts? Well, the MTA hasn't learned its lesson, and now people are complaining about armrests on the L.I.R.R. that rip pants.

This is a hybrid. This is a cross, ah, of low-sulfur diesel, electricity, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia

All very poor Caddy Shack references aside, this is interesting. It appears that Metro and Sound Transit (King County, Washington) have become the first transit orgs in the nation to add hybrid busses to a transit fleet.

And all it took was the highest petroleum prices ever.

Advanced petroleum economics

Here's a dumb statement I would have laughed off as idiotic had I heard it from some random person on the street:

At least the people who make gas station signs are making money churning a whole lot of "2"s.

Seriously.

Waterloo Sunset

Diamond Geezer is celebrating 25 years of the Jubilee Line in London.

My two cents: London Bridge station is friggin awesome.

Camera shy

I don't know why transit agencies are so afraid of having their stations and trains photographed. First it was New York, now New Jersey, always overestimating its importance in the world, is afraid those pale dorks with fanny packs and binoculars photographing their locomotives are terrorists, not railfans.

Seriously, does anyone think harassing harmless nerds will make the system more safe, especially with camera phones?

Unlicensed Cabbies

Check out a post on unlicenesed D.C. cab drivers on our partner blog, DCSOB.

BRT in the Netherlands

We here at third rail harbor rather mixed feelings about BRT. Those feelings aside, I’d like to point readers to an article in Mass Transit Magazine which discusses the Netherlands ' and innovative Phileas Advanced Public Transport (APT) system. Named for Phileas Fogg in Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days,” the BRT system is billed as an economical alternative to light rail for cities like Eindhoven whose relatively small population translates to modest ridership. Features of the system and it’s vehicles include:

At least light rail is making money for someone

Restaurateurs have learned that even if you don't take the train to work, jumping on it to go to lunch is easier then making your way out of one of those gigantic garages.