Tweet the location of the new SkyTrain
July 6, 2009
Tweet the location of the new SkyTrain
July 6, 2009
Twitter-users-slash-SkyTrain riders: I’m wondering if you guys might help out people who want to ride the new train.
If you board it, could you tweet your location so people can find the train and hop on too? Add a #newskytrain hashtag at the end of your tweet — those who want to find the train can search Twitter for #newskytrain to see its last known location.
;-) made the original excellent suggestion last week to use Twitter to track the train’s location. How about we give it a try for the next week or so, while the new train is still a novelty on the system?
Jhen, if you happen to see the new train head towards downtown from your office, could you tweet it? :D
I think you’re assuming I have a desk where I can see out a window :D Sadly I can’t see anything from where I’m sitting. But if I hear a coworker yell about it I will tweet for sure!
Boo! Maybe for the better, I used to have a window cubicle at Madison Centre tower near Brentwood, watching the Skytrains go by every 6 minutes each way was such a distraction! lol.
This sounds kinda complicated. I was thinking about getting Skytrain control to do the tweets. Ideally automatically via software.
Otherwise designate someone at Skytrain control to issue a hourly tweet. Between 4pm to 7pm each weekday at which station it’s departing and direction. And a tweet every 2 hours between 10am and 6pm.
Sadly, SkyTrain control is really busy at the moment and can’t really do any tweeting. I don’t think it’s too complicated to tweet the station when you get on. Twitter timestamps everything so you don’t have to do anything more.
hey jen, since the buzzer is located in metrotown tower #2 which floor are you guys on? cuz i go there almost every week to get cutouts!
Wow, how many cutouts must you have by now?
TransLink’s main floor is the 16th floor of Metrotower II. All our contact info can in fact be found on the main TransLink contact page.
I got to see the new SkyTrain and got to ride it two times. Try this: at 11:04am, board at Edmonds (and Edmonds only) and catch the new train. That’s how I got on the train. I also got to push the horn on the train. Unfortunately, I saw at 22nd St or New West, some transit police were cuffing a transit user.
i also see that theres another floor for translink. is the buzzer on the 16th floor or the 15th floor?
Hi Jhenifer,
I just saw the new skytrain (305/306), but somehow i just saw the other new skytrain (309/310). I think they are testing the next train too.
Elfren: Yes! SkyTrain is definitely testing more of the other cars without passengers right now.
I think these trains will be a novelty for at least the next year when we get enough trains that it’s easier to get on.
Unrelated note, is it possible for them to add AC to the MKIs? I find myself trying to get on the MKIIs especially on the unbearably hot days because of the AC!
I am going to guess that it would probably be a costly retrofit, otherwise wouldn’t SkyTrain have installed AC already? But I’ll double check that to be sure!
I always thought Skytrain air conditioning was the biggest luxury item we could do without. Especially when the cold air is let out at each station stop. I would rather see more down escalators at busy stations.
If retrofitting AC is going to be expensive, what about applying a heavy window tint like what I see in buses in Hawaii? Window tint should be much cheaper than air conditioning. However safety may be an issue as station attendants will not be able to see inside the trains very well.
Donald: here’s the answer to the AC on MKI question:
The trains should’ve had air conditioning in the first place. But I have seen a lot of abuse, in that people were opening windows in the Mark II cars when they were clearly marked “Air conditioned car. Open window in emergency only”.
In my opinion, we can do without escalators and just use elevators. But AC is definitely a must on all rapid transit systems, no matter how old (I think many NY Subway cars had AC back in the 70’s).
Have bookmarked this great blog and will check back soon.