Links and Tidbits – June 20, 2014
Links and Tidbits – June 20, 2014
Links and tidbits is our semi-regular roundup of interesting fodder about transportation from the last few weeks or so. If you have links to contribute, put them in the comments, or email us.
» HUM Canada recently orchestrated a music flash mob singing songs such as Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” to spread joy and happiness on the Canada Line.
» Anat found this pin in a consignment shop in Vancouver and tweeted it to @TransLink. Fred Cummings, President and General Manager, British Columbia Rapid Transit Company says the pin was made in the early 1990s, but was not made for a specific event. It was a standard lapel pin for visitors.
Dear @TransLink I found this pin in a consignment shop. Do you know when and why these were made? I’m Curious! pic.twitter.com/r41WyswDbz
— Anat (@Kissless) May 15, 2014
» @WeAreHub noticed there are 86 spots in the brand-new Secure Bike Parking facility at Main Street-Science World Station. The facility is of course located close by to the Expo 86 grounds. Coincidence?!?
» Nethangi lost her Samsung Galaxy S3 on the bus so she contacted our folks at the Lost Property Office. There she was reunited with her phone! Her friend, Nadheera, snapped the photograph.
» Speaking of the Lost Property Office… Oh, look, an old farebox!
» Our West Coast Express signage at Waterfront Station caught the eye of George Takei, better known as Hikaru Sulu of the USS Enterprise!
» Here’s an early picture of the Knight Street Bridge from the City of Richmond Archives. #WhatsTheLink
» Krumbach, a small town in Austria, has some of the coolest bus shelters you’ll ever see! In total, there are seven of them and each was designed by an international architect. (Thanks to @heyrickie!)
» In Sweden, researchers are proposing water buses as a way to ease congestion in Stockholm and other waterfront cities.
» China is contemplating building a high-speed railway that will connect China to North America. The line would would start in northeastern China, travel over Sibera towards the Bering Strait, travel underneath the Pacific Ocean through a tunnel to Alaska, to Canada and then continental United States.
» Everybody knows the rules on transit — you don’t talk or make eye contact with strangers. Two behavioural scientists in Chicago did an experiment and asked a few commuters to break these rules in exchange for a $5 Starbucks gift card. The results? Those who talked to a stranger had a more positive experience.
» In King County, there’s a book club for transit riders! A new book is chosen by Books on the Bus each quarter for members to read during their commute. (Thanks @mdiane_rogers!)
» A heart-warming moment as a bus driver in Sweden stopped his bus to comfort a crying girl.
» Bus drivers in Vancouver, Washington competed in the 2014 Roadeo — a test of bus driving skills!
» Google has unveiled its latest driverless car prototype, but will it solve our congestion problems? Gizmodo doesn’t think so and BuzzFeed wonders too.
» This is what happens when Árstíðir, an Icelandic band, sings an 800-year-old hymn in a train station. (Thanks Jennifer S.!)
» Somebody made these hilarious fake signs for the London Underground. (Thanks to Jennifer again!)
» Miss 604 shared this video, “Commuting Over the Years: A Brief Introduction to Surrey’s Transportation History,” from the Surrey Archives:
Author: Allen Tung
@ Translink
Here is a suggestion for your bus stop department and your managers and supervisors. Please don’t ever pay to have those kinds bus stops made here. Attracting birds is not “cool”, nor is it pleasant. The closest thing to cool was the bus stop that doubled as a stand at the tennis courts. I liked that, because it encourages transit use. The rest of the designs were really bad value for our money, I think.
@ All
We ought to let our cities know that these types of shelters are not functional. We pay for shelters to get out of the rain and wind and sun. Period. You don’t walk into a restaurant and pay for art with the expectation that there is no food, do you?
@ All
I think that the bus driver stopping for a kid is a disgusting display of priorities…maybe. As it is, I only expect bus drivers to be late. I never imagine them having tons of time on their hands. Maybe he intended to be quick, but I can imagine that he would have spent an hour there, if he felt like it. The bottom line is that most bus trips are made by people, who have appointments to make.
This is a great example of why automated rapid transit is ideal. Bus unions on strike is another great example.
Unfortunately, this makes our world harsh and clinical. Therefore, if the bus driver is ahead of schedule, then I certainly support it. To put it another way: you wouldn’t expect an ambulance driver to pull over, when he sees a crying girl, would you? Only if he isn’t in an emergency! There are other priorities.