Author Archive | Jarrett

Dissent of the Week: My Alleged “Bias” Against Rail

Posted on August 26, 2010 in Bus Rapid Transit, Dissents, Light Rail, Mobility, Philosophy, Rail Transit, Ride Quality, Streetcars (Trams), Technophilia

I’m relieved to report that commenters who actually saw me give the presentation “A Field Guide to Transit Quarrels” seem to agree that I wasn’t displaying a bias toward or against particular projects, except perhaps for projects that were based on misunderstanding or ignoring some basic geometry.

However, finally I have a comment that attacks me full-on, which gives me yet another opportunity to think about whether I do have a “modal bias.” It’s from commenter Carl, who I believe saw the presentation in Seattle: Continue Reading →

Good Question of the Week: Transfer Penalties

Posted on August 25, 2010 in Connections, Transfers, Fares, Modeling

A frequent commenter on HT asks this in an email (the links are mine, not his):

On Second Avenue Sagas, one of the discussions went on a tangent that left me wondering about transfer penalties. If you need to walk from one station to another on the street to transfer, do the ridership models assign a higher penalty than if there’s an enclosed corridor between the stations? In addition, for systems that have faregates, is there an extra penalty for transfers that require exiting and
reentering?

Continue Reading →

Toronto: A New Frequent Network Plan

Posted on August 24, 2010 in Frequent Networks, Maps, Toronto

In the midst of all the frequent-network-mapping fervor, here comes the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) with a proposal for consistent all-day 10-minute frequency on a network of critical lines covering high-density parts of the city. A frequent network map is already in the newspaper, but it remains to be seen if this brand will make it onto their system map, along the lines of similar brands in Portland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St.Paul, and Salt Lake City among other North American peers. Anyway, here’s the map:

Continue Reading →

Singapore: Transfer Penalty Eliminated, Complaints Predictable

Posted on August 22, 2010 in Connections, Transfers, Fares, Singapore

Singapore’s weekend Straits Times was full of debate about the recent fare system changes, which finally eliminated fare penalties for connecting from one service to another.

Eliminating these penalties is a crucial step in creating an integrated and versatile transit network, because (a) networks designed around connections are more legible and frequent than those that aren’t and (b) transferring is already enough of a hassle without these penalties. The new system means that your fare from A to B will now be the same regardless of the path you take and the number of times you transfer. This, in turn, will allow the transit agency to design a simpler and more reliable system. Continue Reading →

Montréal’s New Frequent Network Brand

Posted on August 21, 2010 in Frequent Networks, Montréal

Montréal’s transit agency STM is the latest to introduce a frequent network brand for its buses. The Réseau 10 Minutes (“ten-minute network”) will consist of 11 all-day services running every 10 minutes or better. The excellent local urbanist blog Montréalites Urbaines (in French) has been following the story. Sadly, it is not yet highlighted on the network map, at least not the map for the central city, but these things usually happen in several steps as the idea slowly takes root in different parts of an agency. Continue Reading →

Munich: Do Trams Cause Ridership? Vice Versa?

Posted on August 19, 2010 in Munich, Streetcars (Trams), Technophilia

My tour of Germany, France, and the Netherlands in July brought me to numerous situations where trams are used to great effect in handling high volumes of passengers moving in exclusive rights-of-way. (I cannot emphasize too often that these are usually more like light rail than like US streetcars or Australian trams, which are often compromised by having to share a traffic lane.) Continue Reading →

Frequent Network Maps: Ideas from Vancouver

Posted on August 18, 2010 in Frequent Networks, Maps, Vancouver

Inspired by my post on the urgent need for frequency mapping, Vancouver’s transit agency TransLink, via its blog The Buzzer, has been encouraging map enthusiasts to draw their own ideas for what a frequency-coded map might look like.

The most nuanced so far is this one by David M. He’s sketched a bit of southern Vancouver and Richmond as an example. Look at the original and note all the distinctions he’s tried to draw. Continue Reading →

Notes on a Cruise

Posted on August 18, 2010 in Tourism

I am so not the kind of person who goes on cruises, with all respect to those who are. A solo explorer by temperament, I hate being herded, hate being rushed, and hate having strangers trying to guess my desires. I also hate not knowing where I am, and have pushed my Blackberry’s feeble GPS to the limit trying know which country I’m in or which island I’m looking at. And don’t get me started about shopping. Continue Reading →

Dissent of the Week

Posted on August 17, 2010 in Dissents, Language, Philosophy

This one is really for everyone who saw my presentation “A Field Guide to Transit Quarrels,” rather than just looking at the slides here. Frequent commenter Alon Levy accuses me of “devious” rhetoric.

Reading the notes, I think you’re using a devious rhetorical technique. You say you’re not going to prejudice in favor of any view, but then you associate your own views on transit with reason, and views that emphasize technology or direct service with emotion. The reality is much more complicated …

There’s some interesting back and forth between Alon, myself, and some others below Alon’ comment in the thread.

I’d like to hear in comments below if anyone got the same impression from my live presentation. If you were there, please comment or email, and don’t forget to mention which city you saw me speak in.

My Talk at VIA Architecture, Vancouver

Posted on August 16, 2010 in Branding, Vancouver

I never know who’s taking notes anymore. Turns out the pleasant lunchtime chat I had with the staff at VIA Architecture in Vancouver last month is now an article on their blog. This talk was more or less the same talk on service branding that I did with Translink staff, which their blog the Buzzer documented here. I’ll pull it together into something more formal soon, or at least as soon as someone wants to pay me to do it.

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