But HRT and other transit officials that operate light rail say there's little that can be done to control how people act around the trains. A 2009 Federal Transit Administration report shows that more than 90 percent of fatalities and injuries in light-rail collisions over the previous five years were caused by "public behavior."
"There's a wide range of bad habits out there, egregious bad habits," Price observed after a few weeks of test runs through downtown. "Something happens pretty much every day."
Norfolk light rail's start-up could start up rash of accidents | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Naptime
The DGB confederation of trade unions argues that a short, lunchtime power nap makes sense for health and performance reasons. "Even though the siesta is something that isn't a given anymore in the southern European countries, it is still a good idea for health reasons," said Annelie Buntenbach, a DGB executive board member. "A short afternoon nap reduces the risk of, for example, a heart attack, and provides an energy boost," she told Tageszeitung in an interview.
German unions call for healthy lunchtime siestas that's not a bad idea, huh?
Wars OF terror, not war on terror
These so-called "wars" (so-called because they are not constitutional) are not "wars ON terror", but "wars OF terror", of which not all the victims are among these foreign tribes. The American people are victims, too. The Middle Eastern tribes do not hate Americans' freedoms, with which they have had no experience whatsoever; rather, they hate America's leadership class, which is bombing, shooting, and otherwise trying to kill them on a daily basis. And if Americans want to preserve their freedoms, they should begin to look closely at this situation through those tribesmen's eyes.
http://rantingsofatrimetbusdriver.blogspot.com/2011/07/wars-of-terror-not-war-on-terror.html
http://rantingsofatrimetbusdriver.blogspot.com/2011/07/wars-of-terror-not-war-on-terror.html
More on the economics of transit use vs driving
I'd like to see TriMet offer fares better geared towards families, particularly families travelling together. Right now, children under seven ride free with a fare-paying adult, and 7-17 year olds get a reduced rate. My recommendation? Bump up the free age to 10. Why 10? Because that's the age at which it is legal to leave a child at home unattended. (The law is a bit ambiguous for ages below 10; but a 10-year old is presumed to be able to attend to himself). Barring that, it might also be useful to offer other family discounts on passes for members of the same household. By encouraging families to use the system, TriMet not only encourages off-peak business, but also encourages the next generation of riders.
Portland Transport
Portland Transport
DEAD SOULS
While riding the subway through the Boston rush hour, I have been able to observe just how well these personal electronic mental life support units work in shielding people from the sight of their fellow-passengers, who are becoming a rougher and rougher-looking crew, with more and more people in obvious distress. By focusing all of their attentions on the tiny screen, they are also spared the sight of our well-worn and crumbling urban infrastructure.It is as if the physical world doesn't really exist for them, or at least doesn't matter. But as Horace already understood over 2000 years ago,"Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret" ("You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.") If we ignore the physical realm, the physical economy (the one that actually keeps people fed and sheltered and moves them about the landscape) shrinks and decays. The inevitable result is that more and more of these cyber-campers and their gadgets will drop off the network, shrivel, and die with nary a tweet to signal their demise.
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/07/dead-souls.html
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/07/dead-souls.html
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