InsideTransit

The National Post newspaper in Toronto, Canada has put together an etiquette group they call the TTCC or the Toronto Transit Civility Commission. The idea is to post etiquette posters all around the Toronto subways to help people remember to:

1. take only the number of seats a human needs
2. to not stink
3. and to not do personal grooming on the subway

I would add one about putting your trash in the trash bin. Here in NYC I think there are more trash bins than there are people yet pigs throw their garbage on the tracks and on the ground.

The posters (one seen below) are also available in large sizes perfect for printing.

If you are a railfan, you’ve most certainly heard of BVE. BVE is a train simulator that freaking rocks (I wish it worked on Vista!) which allows you to “drive” train routes from around the world that developers have created.

Now I’ve come across a site which is a different kind of simulator – this time it’s a schedule simulator. You pick a city system from the following: LIRR, SEPTA, Chicago Metra, WMATA and MBTA. Then just sit back and watch the full map for the system and you see dots on the map move as the schedule moves. What’s really amazing is to watch the activity at rush hour.

Maybe, just maybe, riders will have a bit more respect for just the sheer number of trains that pass through the system on a given day. It only takes a minute to watch the whole day so give the simulator a try.

Now this is something…how many times have you stood at a bus stand in the middle of the summer sweating like crazy in your fancy business suit and then you realize the bus will be late? Check out this photo from Dubai where they have been installing air-conditioned bus stands. I want this everywhere I travel!

I wonder if there are TVs in there or perhaps a snack or beverage machine – that’d be even hotter! Of course here in NYC the transit agency has gone from a huge surplus to a billion-dollar deficit – so I doubt we will see these anytime soon.

Here’s a funny sign that shows some upcoming NYC subway changes. This looks just like a real transit service change sign. I can’t say I agree with all of it – especially since I don’t ride the G or L.