It’s officially summer, everyone! And what better way to spend the day than to stay indoors huddled over your desktop reading the latest edition of links and tidbits! Luckily, computer scientists and loads of other smart people have invented laptops, smart phones and tablets to enjoy all the internet has to offer in the great outdoors. ;) Enjoy!

inter // states from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo
Take a time out and watch how transit is the arteries of the body known as Tokyo, Japan. I’m a sucker for time-elapse video, and electronic music seems to go so well with a futuristic-looking Japan at night!

• The old debate: should the train seats or aisles be wider?
• Are cyclists rude in Toronto? Some think so; others believe the opposite.
• Are low-speed electric vehicles the next big thing?
• Or are they the segway of the new decade?
• You think Metro Vancouver is warm today! Try Atlanta for being artfully hot.
• Have you ever seen that certain someone on transit and wondered how to make the first move?
• Luckily, this transit rider has done the How to Flirt on Public Transit work for you!
• Does this plan for Chicago’s transportation future sound like some place you know? Thanks Price Tags for pointing out this article.
• A man rides a Big Wheel beside a MTA bus in New York City to see which is faster. Don’t follow this guy’s lead, but the video is amusing.
• A nice video of car-free streets in Copenhagen courtesy of Brandon and his blog Masters Planning.
• Do you think more streets like these would work in Metro Vancouver?
• A fantastic print from TransLink predecessor, BC Electric. In these tight economic times, Chicago is making a move to privatize public transit.
• What will Calgary name their smart card? An interesting use of LEGO to illustrate planning a city around transportation.
• Minneapolis’ new director of transit development wants to improve transportation by not expanding transit (go to the downtown section and see “An advocate for density”) but by attracting more people to the city core. Is this a case of if we don’t build it, they will come?
• The annual Dump the Pump Day was last Thursday. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and numerous local transportation authorities participated in this event aimed at getting more people out of cars and into public transit.
• A photo of mass transit you’ve probably never seen before.
• Vancouver has at least one, and Surrey is planning on more in the future, but Montreal and Quebec City seem to be leading the pack with 100 electric car-charging stations ready and operational by next year.
• Probably one of the best illustrations of how not to commute in a busy downtown area. 3-Way Street is a fascinating video by Ron Gabriel that highlights bad interactions between cars, bikes and pedestrians at a typical NYC street intersection.
• Are buildings that open up to transit a thing of value or an open call to attract “riff raff”?
• Here is an announcement of a future hydrogen liquefaction plant in North Vancouver that will produce 1200 kg/day of liquid hydrogen – enough to fuel a fleet of over 1,500 passenger fuel cell vehicles or 50 transit busses each day. Mmmm, the possibilities!