The New Pelosi/Ford F-150
Posted on 12/23/2008 5:42:13 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Hopping on a streetcar to get to work has a 1930s vibe to it. While streetcars continue to ride the rails in many European cities, they have largely vanished from American cities, and they have a nostalgic aura. But in spite of this, and spurred by the current economic downturn, Americans continue to use public transportation at record levels. More than 2.8 billion trips were taken on public transportation in the third quarter of 2008 -- a surge of 6.5 percent over the third quarter of 2007 and the largest year-to-year increase in 25 years. Light rail had the highest increase among all modes of public transport, posting a jump of 8.5 percent in the third quarter and a cumulative year-to-date gain of more than 10 percent. The trend is expected to intensify as fuel prices rebound, concern for the environment and energy independence increases, and urban city center revitalization continues.
These days, with roller-coaster fuel prices sending consumers into a tizzy, public transportation is receiving grassroots support even from people who would never dream of riding public transport themselves. For instance, U.S. voters, many frustrated by horrendous traffic in their communities, approved more than 20 transportation initiatives in the November election. Even with a historic economic downturn gripping the U.S. economy, more than half of these just-approved initiatives will raise taxes to help finance the new transportation systems. While gasoline prices in the United States have dipped, some predict that they will soon return to near-record levels, even as auto sales have plummeted to their lowest levels in decades. Planning and feasibility studies for passenger rail transit systems are under way in nearly 100 U.S. cities in response.
While traffic and fuel costs are prime movers in the quest for public transportation, environmentalism is also at work. Citing the impact of the automobile on climate change, some believe that reducing vehicle miles traveled is a critical component of what could be a climate-change solution. With increasing congestion and a decline in quality of life, cities of all sizes face urgent imperatives to reduce vehicle miles traveled. But rail transit initiatives often face complex planning, financing and deployment challenges that take years and even decades to overcome.
So what's the answer to the desire for light rail systems in light of the difficulty in deploying them? One solution might be using technology designed for the Third World and adapting it for major urban areas in the United States. Since 1973, John Parry, the founder and chairman of United Kingdom-based JPM Parry & Associates, has focused on devising and deploying appropriate technology for developing nations in Africa and beyond. The Parry "trolley" -- ultralight, ultralow-carbon, low-cost, rapidly deployable rail transit -- is the culmination of his life's work.
One of the key benefits of the Parry trolley system is that it can be put into service quickly without electric rail or overhead catenary. Instead of drawing power from these conventional sources, the trolley's propulsion is achieved via patented, self-contained hybrid kinetic energy, which is adaptable to a wide variety of fuel sources, including hydrogen fuel cell technology.
"The Parry streetcar is the green alternative many communities are seeking in their quest for low-carbon transit strategies," said Barry Seifer, Parry Transit CEO. "We're receiving validation of this perspective from all quarters, from the Obama administration to a number of states with whom we are in early discussions regarding location of headquarters, production engineering, supply chain coordination, streetcar manufacturing, and customer service and support. More imminently, we are entering negotiations on several pilot installations."
Some say transportation's tipping point has arrived, and the American transit market is undergoing a structural shift to light rail. Demand for increased mobility and more non-auto transportation options is surging, yet half of Americans have no access to public transit. Maybe an old-fashioned idea like streetcars can pave the way.
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About The Author: Driving Today contributing editor Tom Ripley writes about the auto industry, shades of gray and the human condition from his home in Villeperce, France.
I live in the sticks. Think I’ll continue to drive my F150 for now.
If I lived where the service is available and useful, I don’t have a problem. It would have to be self-sufficient of course.
“And we will only have to qusdruple your taxes to implement this plan”
signed, your gov’t.
or maybe quadruple would work better.
geez.
Let’s all get rid of our cars so that we can ride NOTS (National Obama Transit System).
No, my next car is not a streetcar, Desiree!
Even the Metrolink trains often have obnoxious cell phone talkers, crying babies or belligerent drunks.
Only if you don't HAVE to ride 'em!
I grew up in Boston. We did not have a car and we had to use the MTA. Remember that song "Charlie on the MTA"? Now it's called the MBTA and the subway is still dark and dank. The only diff is that you have a much greater chance of being groped, grabbed, or stabbed then you ever did in the '50s.
And I heard that the Red Line is going to remove all seats! You'll have to stand the entire trip.
I wish all of you little people would ride the cattle car so I can have the road to myself./s
The big three conspired to kill streetcars so that they could put every American in an automobile. Maybe they should start designing street cars again....
I wouldn’t get on any public transportation if I was down to my last penny!!!
High Horse Power gasoline vehicles forever!!!!
“Maybe they should start designing street cars again....”
That’s what they make, large, comfortable, and fast personal transportation that function just fine ON THE STREET!!!!
The New Pelosi/Ford F-150
You and me both bud. Sorry, I don’t want to spend three times the amount of time going to and from work, that I do now.
And then to top it off, you get to ride with a person who hasn’t bathed in two weeks, has urinated on themselves, thinks the attractive woman across the isle won notice, and will be interested in him. And then you feel forced to come to her aid when he won’t take the hint.
My car will do just fine. And frankly, I’m sick and tired of them stealing funds from the gas taxes, to build mass transit. Spend the money on the highways, which that tax was intended for.
If they want new funds for mass transit, then tax those who ride mass transit and quit subsidizing it with our tax dollars.
Is any further comment on his article really required?
John, you pissed away your life.
Hell no. Too many places restrict what you can carry inside the place (no guns in a school or bar, no cell phones in a court house) with the implication that you leave the item in your car. Well, with no car, where are you supposed to leave the item? On the sidewalk?
Seriously, the City of Dearborn courthouse has a sign on the front entrance, “No cell phones beyond this point.” I always wonder how many seniors took the bus there, and dutifully carried a cell phone for safety, and wondered “Well, WTF am I supposed to DO with my phone???”
I dated a Serbian woman for a while and she said her view of America changed drastically after being here for a while. She says most Europeans just don’t grasp just how vast America is. She’s an SUV driving part of our car culture now.
There's a suitcase pokin' me in the ribs
There's an elbow in my ear!
Smelly old bum standin' next to me
He hasn't showered in a year!
I think I'm missing a contact lens!
I think my wallet's gone!
And I think this bus is stopping again
To let a couple more freaks get on! Look out!
Dun, dun,dun
Another one rides the bus!
Da,da,dun,dun,dun
Another one rides the bus!
Another comes on and another comes on
Another one rides the bus!
Hey, who's gonna sit by you
Another one rides the bus!
Damn good point.
The Algore Convertible, coming soon to a dealership near you.
Most train/trolleys/buses have an issue with people carrying weapons onto them - I think I’ll stick to trucks...
I took a trolley (above ground outside of the downtown area, underground in the downtown area) all the time in Philly. Not a bad commute, but I lived close in.
They do get packed during rush hour, and if one goes down, they all are backed up (can’t move them off of the track to make a detour around a problem). I don’t know how they’d work where you have large distances to cover or where there is snow for long stretches. If you could get commuter lots to central pick up points in the burbs, it might not be so bad, but you’d have to run a lot of cars to make it feasible.
Damn! I'm a public transportation rider from way back. What are they going to do about the little old people and pregnant ladies? What about the people who are just freakin' tired from working all day and need to sit down for that 45 minute ride home? Damn.
My Grandfather worked for Pacific Electric as a conductor on the Red Car line before and during WWII. My Dad used to ride them everywhere. After they switched to buses, Grandpa drove one until his retirement in the ‘50’s.
They’re going to leave 4 seats on each car! There aren’t enough seats now. (Seriously, if animals had to spend as much time as people do on public transportation, PETA would be demanding new laws and regulations.)
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1136685
Stopped reading after “climate change” was mentioned.
Thanks for the link. I had a good time reading through many of the comments. From comparisons to cattle cars and Nazi trains to Auschwitz to smelly riders, those Bostonians are angry!
Give it a couple, three years, we’ll probably all be riding on government transportation.
Heh, anyone really want to sit next to the 6’8 360 lb guy covered in prison tattoos with a nickname of tiny?
No, no, and hell no.
Time is money. Around here, public transportation would take an extra hour each way. That’s 10 hours per week. To me, that’s worth a minimum of $150 per week, which is far more than the cost of a car.
“Stopped reading after “climate change” was mentioned.”
Always skim to the end....
“About The Author: Tom Ripley Driving Today contributing editor Tom Ripley writes about the auto industry, shades of gray and the human condition from his home in Villeperce, France.”
FRANNNNNNCE!
Comments?
The Wall Street Journal put it best a few years ago; fixed-rail transit is the 19th century’s answer to the (then) 20th century transportation needs.
No possible public transit system can accomplish what the automobile can do; take you from literally one point in the country to any other point in the country, day or night, on one’s own schedule, hauling everything from groceries from the store to taking sick kids to the doctor or an ill relative to the emergency room. The benefits from the sheer superiority of the automobile are too numerous to list.
I also can’t help but noticing that all of the bureaucrats and other proponents of these public/mass transit systems NEVER ride them themselves.
The cost overrun was so high that every one in D.C. could have had their own bus.
Also....D.C.is built on a riverside swamp! The system to avoid flooding has to pump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water out of the system every day.
If we ever get another hurricane through the area, there is a very good opportunity that the whole system will flood out.
I doubt a streetcar could make it up Hard Bargain mtn (really a hill)so my F150 and FXDL will have to do....
LOL, bingo...
You mean the one who refers to the guys as, “My bitch?” LOL, ah... no thanks.
Why didn't I think of patenting kinetic energy? Damn.
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