Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

The last month has whizzed by so fast! Here’s some interesting tidbits and links about transportation from the last month and some older stuff as well!

• You might have noticed that it’s easier to download documents from the Translink.ca website recently. In the past, if you were using a Mac and running Firefox, documents were available only as .ashx files.  Firefox would not open .ashx files, which forced people to download the .ashx files to try to open them. This was a big pain in the tuckus. Now, whatever computer or operating system you’re using, if you’d like to open or download a document all you need to do is open or download it as a .pdf! Here’ a link to the 2012 draft Supplemental Plan so you can try it out yourself!
• There are differing opinions about how to design a transit map. Do you like transit maps that are geographically correct, emphasize the system itself or do you like maps that are visually engaging like a spiral map?
• The French city of Lyon has four interesting ways they are trying to improve their bus system.
• Getting on the bus can be a challenge for people with mobility concerns. If you’re in a wheel chair and have never boarded a bus before, it can be intimidating while other customers wait and watch impatiently for you to figure everything out. Austin’s ‘Mock Bus‘ provides an educational and comfortable way for people to practice boarding a bus. Not a bad idea!
• San Francisco’s future BART Train will be a BMW! Am I jealous? Maybe just a little ;)
• How do you get older people walking? A Seattle study says that making walking safer is the way to go. I wonder if this is the only solution?
• The fantastic blog, Illustrated Vancouver, devoted a week of posts to I Love Transit Week! Here’s one of many wonderful illustrations from the week!
• Long past, but not forgotten, No Pants Subway Ride 2011 bared it all once again this year!
• A Saskatoon bus driver is getting some attention for his comic books! Let’s hope his driving isn’t as mind-bending as his comics! If you don’t want to open the .pdf, here’s another link.
• While everyone looks to the conventional ways of funding transit, Seattle is using what they have to make a buck or two. Would you like to take a tunnel tour?
• In South Korea you can shop for groceries during your commute! Yup, just scan the QR code of what you want to buy and it will be delivered to your home. Talk about multi-tasking! Check out the video (warning: this is a promotional video). Thanks to Jason Vanderhill for sending this in!
• Is the price of a subway trip and the price of a slice of pizza slice linked in New York City? These two guys think it might, and they made a video about it!
• The Chinese city of Guangzhou wins a prize for the most sustainable transportation system. Watch the video to find out why.
• A video of a man who explores the unseen parts of the NYC underground transit system and a whole lot more. This isn’t condoned, but still very interesting.
• Is spaghetti on a train worth fighting about?
• When cycling starts to influence fashion you know there’s some change in the air. I like these pants myself!