Bus Photo of the Month: May 2016

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Orion V 5622

Orion V 5622

Location: Little Falls Parkway and Dorset Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Ride On (Montgomery County Transit)
Date of Photo: June 11, 2014

Ride On is the county owned and operated bus system in Montgomery County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC.  It’s hard to believe, but about 15 years ago, the fleet only had a handful of 40 foot buses.  Nowadays, 40 footers dominate.  While the first order of 30 foot buses in a number of years was made in 2014, no new 35 foot buses have been ordered in about 10 years.  As a result, as the 2016 Gillig Phantoms arrive on the property, the Orion Vs, like the one pictured here, will be retired, leaving no diesel 35 footers in the Ride On fleet and even fewer buses remaining in the “traditional” blue and white scheme.  In addition, the arrival of the new Gilligs will mark the retirement of Ride On’s last high floor buses, as Ride On’s fleet will be entirely low floor.

Photos of the new Gilligs, which also feature a new unit numbering scheme, will be plentiful in the months and years to come, so enjoy this oldie but goodie while you can!

For more photos of the Ride On 35 foot Orion Vs, please click here.

Oren’s Reading List: NYC Subway Math

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Ever wonder what the optimal strategy for waiting for a subway train in New York is? Using real time data made available to the public through the MTA’s Google Transit Feed, Erik Bernhardsson attempted to answer that question.  If you’re interested in math, statistics, or just managing to arrive at the subway station as your train does, this is worth a read.  At this time, the MTA only collects this data on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, L, Grand Central-Times Square Shuttle, and the Staten Island Railway, but I’d imagine the results for the other lines would be similar once that data is available.  Are you surprised by any of the the graphs and data results?

Update:  This accidentally got posted without the link to the article, you can find the article here.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Oren’s Reading List: A subway that I will *not* be checking out

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I don't know many other people who have been on the Cairo Metro. I don't personally know anyone who has been on the Pyongyang Metro, and no, there will not be a North Korea section on Oren's Transit Page anytime soon.

I don’t know many other people who have been on the Cairo Metro (I rode it in 2009), so this may be one of the few English websites out there that has photos and information about it.  However, I don’t personally know anyone who has been on the Pyongyang Metro, and no, there will not be a North Korea section on Oren’s Transit Page anytime soon.

I’ve certainly been on my fair share of subway systems around the world, and I’ve even been to some systems in their entirety (you can see the entire list of subways I have been on here).  However, there are some cities that I have not visited and have no intention of visiting anytime soon, and as a result, you will not be seeing photos from those places on this website.  One of those places on my “no desire to go there list” is Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.  The Pyongyang Metro supposedly has two lines and about 16 stations served by rolling stock imported from East Germany.  However, as with most things related to North Korea, the truth is hard to verify and I won’t be traveling there to visit every station.  Instead, I’ll send you to a blog entry on a website called “Earth Nutshell”, where a tourist claims to have visited all the stations on both lines of the Pyongyang Metro.  This is notable because many North Korean tours only include two subway stations, and some have suggested that the “commuters” are just actors and the subway is no larger than the two stations seen by tourists.  Furthermore, the number of subway cars imported to North Korea is much larger than the number needed to operate the supposed two line 16 station network, feeding speculation that a secret network for the Pyongyang elite might also exist.  The one constant in all the reports from the Pyongyang Metro is that the stations are very ornate and feature many propaganda murals and even statues of eternal president Kim Il-Sung.  Also, as is common in just about every place in North Korea, a photo of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il is present on board each subway car.

Intrigued but not yet ready to commit to a highly regulated tour of North Korea?  (I don’t blame you aren’t sold on the idea of traveling to Pyongyang.)  Then click here to see Elliot’s tour of the Pyongyang Metro and enjoy touring this system vicariously.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Where Do Your Eyes Wander?

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Bombardier Flexity Outlook “Cityrunner” 3069 on Rue Royale at Warandeberg, Brussels, Belgium, November 21, 2013

When taking a transit photo, sometimes the goal can be to take a picture of the vehicle and just the vehicle, as explained in the explanation of Types of Transit Photos.  However, sometimes a transit photo can be taken with a background that takes the viewer’s attention away from the vehicle in the photo.  For example, in the photo above, are your eyes supposed to focus on the tram as it comes down the street, the buildings lining the street to the right, or the Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg Church and other buildings in the background?  On the two occasions I’ve found myself in downtown Brussels, I’ve found many opportunities to get photos such as this one, where the “focus” of the photo is hard to pin down.  While the tram is certainly what initially inspired the photo, there is certainly much more to see here than the vehicle itself.  What are your eyes drawn to when you see this photo?

Oren’s Reading List: How Well Do You Know Your City’s Transit System?

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The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has created quite the quiz to see if you know your city’s transit system.  The quiz presents you with maps of different cities around the United States with only the city’s rail and bus stop locations marked on the map.  No other labels, boundaries, or markers are provided.  If that sounds overly daunting, the quiz is multiple choice, but while New York is fairly obvious, on the harder level you might find yourself trying to decide if you are looking at a map of Boise City, Idaho, Cicero, Illinois, Poway, California, or Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  If you want to take the quiz, just click here!

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Bus Photo of the Month: April 2016

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Gillig Phantom 4111

Gillig Phantom 4111

Location: 1st Avenue at Marion Street, Seattle, WA
Operator of Vehicle:  King County Metro
Date of Photo: August 3, 2007

King County Metro, the primary transit operator in the Seattle area, has two notable features wtihin its bus fleet. It operates more electric trolley buses, such as the one photographed here, than any other city in the United States other than San Francisco. The trolleybuses, in addition to emitting no emissions, are also able to handle Seattle’s many steep hills more easily than traditionally powered coaches. Seattle also has the second largest articulated bus fleet and one of the largest diesel-electric hybrid bus fleets in the United States.

For more photos of the King County Metro bus fleet, please click here.

 

Rail Photo of the Month: April 2016

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GE Dash 8-40CW 8417

GE Dash 8-40CW 8417

Location: Buffalo Street and Fulton Street, Ithaca, NY
Operator of Vehicle:  Norfolk Southern
Date of Photo: October 18, 2007

Ithaca, New York has not seen passenger train service since 1961. However, trains continue to pass through the city to serve the Milliken Power Plant and Cargill Salt Mine further north along Cayuga Lake. The single track through Ithaca has an unusual setup, as it runs alongside Fulton Street (New York State Route 13). Therefore, as the train passes through town, all the traffic that would otherwise cross Route 13 comes to a stop and Fulton Street traffic gets a green light for as long as it takes for the train to pass by. Ithaca’s former passenger train station is still standing and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, though it is now used as the local bus terminal and as a bank. The nearest passenger rail station is now located in Syracuse, 60 miles away.

For more photos of freight train operations from around the US, please click here.

 

Happy 40th Birthday to the DC Metrorail

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WMATA Rohr 1000, the lowest numbered car in the Metrorail fleet

The Washington, DC Metro opened on this date in 1976, 40 years ago today.  Over the years, Metro was the first or among the first transit systems in the United States to accomplish several things, such as automated trains, carpeted floors on the trains, and a variable fare scheme.  In addition, the high arched concrete vaults have become a symbol of Washington’s architecture.  Over the past 40 years, the system has been built out past its originally planned 101 miles with extensions to Largo and Reston, and a further extension to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County is now under construction.  The new 7000 series cars that are now being delivered will bring about the retirement of the 1000, 4000, and 5000 series cars.  However, despite the changes in the offing, Metro has established itself as a critical part of the DC area’s transportation network.  With it’s use by resident Washingtonians and visiting tourists alike, it truly is America’s subway.  Happy birthday Metro and here’s to the next 40 years!

Oren’s Reading List: Why Do Passengers Insist on Crowding Around Subway Doors?

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Yesterday, I posted a link to a survey about people’s preferences with regards to where they stand or sit on the subway.  If you took that survey, you may have noticed that many people like to sit or stand near the doors.  Why is that?  Here is an explanation from CityLab.

Unfortunately, rider psychology doesn’t mesh entirely with efficient operations.  If trains “dwell” at a station for longer than transit planners expect, overall capacity is reduced and trip times are lengthened.  So the next time you are asked to “stand in and stand clear”, even if your instincts tell you to stand by the door, consider venturing in to the middle of the car.  You might even find a little bit of extra breathing room there.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Oren’s Reading List: Where Do You Stand or Sit on the Subway?

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I saw the following interactive about where people prefer to stand or sit on the subway in New York.  I seem to have different preferences than most people who have taken the survey so far.  How do your results compare to everyone else’s?  Find out here!

Do you like to sit or stand near the door?  Tomorrow I’ll share a recent article from CityLab that looks in to the psychology of where people position themselves on the subway.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.