transportation
I run a university. I’m also an Uber driver.
Instead of getting a glimpse into the new economy, I was getting full exposure to the burdens of the old economy — specifically, how hard it is for regular working people to make it from their home or apartment to a job every day.
Mapped: How hard it is to get across U.S. cities using only bike lanes – The Washington Post.
We’d never build a street grid that looks like this and expect drivers to navigate the city through it.
The invisible network that keeps the world running – BBC – Future.
To find out more about this huge, invisible network, I accompanied a group of architects and designers called the Unknown Fields Division for a rare voyage on a container ship between Korea and China. The aim of the trip was to follow the supply chain back to some of the remotest parts of China and the source of our consumer goods – and what we saw as we travelled through mega-ports and across oceans looked closer to science fiction than reality.
If I ever change to a new career it just might be container shipping.
Eyes that have seen a lot of stuff in Downtown Atlanta. From the Eiseman Building to the Five Points MARTA station.
A MARTA story in tweets from @lainshakespeare
So jealous of Lain Shakespeare’s Atlanta moment:
Dude on MARTA dances alone in the center of the car. He’s good! An onlooker criticizes, says he’s not dancing “ATL enough” & challenges him.
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The onlooker gets up and dances to show how it’s done. He’s good too! They dance battle. Everyone else is half-delighted, half-uneasy.
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
We pull into a station, they stop. Meanwhile, a woman gets caught moving between cars. The door jams! Moment of panic, then she tumbles out.
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
She nearly falls over, regains footing by momentum-dancing up the aisle. She’s embarrassed but rolling with it, right toward battle dudes.
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Battle dudes recognize her embarrassment & dance-beckon. They all dance together until the next stop. Everyone is delighted! Cheers erupt.
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
We arrive at the next stop. Everyone sits, the crowd elated. The moment passes with delighted hush. As if on beat, the second dancer says:
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
“Yo, who wants to buy some liquor?!” He opens a backpack revealing like twenty mini vodka bottles. And right then, the door opened: my stop.
— Lain Shakespeare (@lainshakespeare) November 16, 2013
MARTA could reduce average wait times and improve customer satisfaction by extending the Blue Line Train’s final eastbound destination from Candler Park to Indian Creek during rush hour.
As a frequent rider on the eastbound Blue Line train, I often wonder why MARTA runs a short train that terminates service at Candler Park instead of continuing on to East Lake, Decatur, Avondale, Kensington, and Indian Creek stations. This odd routing decision adds up to 7 minutes—not an insignificant amount of waiting time—to each one-way trip for riders traveling eastbound from Five Points to stations beyond Candler Park.
I’m often struck by how few people get on the “mini” train, but I figured I was missing something because surely MARTA would only do this extra level of service to customers headed to heavily used stations.
However, I took a look at the station ridership data…
Yep, the short route is kinda ridiculously empty in the mornings.
In a tone that grew more defiantly nonchalant with every update, the pilot advised us that some of our bags would arrive on a future flight. Even with routine debacles such as this it’s rare to be promised future bullshit while the current bullshit is still very much in progress. Sorry ‘bout that, folks.
Michelle Orange, on the joys of airline travel.
Race, Class, and the Stigma of Riding the Bus in America
Choice commuters want a transit solution that seems modern, even if it’s actually old school. Really, they want a transportation choice that feels made for people just like them.
