rolling stock

Via Nag on the Lake, we are directed towards an installation, Kirkby Design’s submission for the recently concluded London Design Festival, that rehabilitates and revamps the interior décor of a vintage subway carriage. The new palette is informed by the dreadful-excellence of traditional moquette (previously) that was meant to durable, aesthetic and invisible all at the same time. I think it would be fun to transform our foyer (or at least the entryway of my little apartment) into something like this and pass through each morning.

hov lane

Via Design Boom, we learn about a simple but effective intervention that the city of Utrecht has instigated to create sanctuaries—bees stops (Bijstopt), for urban insects by planting grasses and wildflowers on top of bus shelters, some three hundred of them throughout the city. This is a step we could all encourage where we live. Much more to explore at the link above.

on diversion

Via the always excellent Nag on the Lake, we are treated to the brilliant still life photographic compositions informed by the upholstery found on board bus lines in London (previously and see also here and here) of Emilia Cocking. Her extensive portfolio focuses on built environments and recognising and appreciating those intersectional coincidences of finding art in the everyday. Much more to explore at the links above.

5x5

villa göth: six introductory videos on the architectural style of Brutalism (previously)

underdogs: a funny Apple advertisement manages to cover its entire suite of devices

murder she drew: an interview with talented, veteran courtroom artist (see also) Marilyn Church, via Boing Boing

no conclusion: Trump is now vacillating on releasing the Mueller Report to the public

xarabank: Malta’s unique and colourful fleet of buses recently retired make a comeback fully electrified 

hail to the bus driver

Though the scope and scale of public celebrations looks to be limited (though just taking the bus, subway or tram is a good way of keeping this tradition), today—18 March—has been designated since 2009 as Transit Driver Appreciation Day.
This particular date was selected in deference to one of the last great contributions of author and engineer Blaise Pascal (previously) for the inaugural circuit coaches with a fare of five sou (Carrosses à Cinq Sols) launched in Paris on this day in 1662, against the express wishes of the king and parliament who didn’t want the rabble crowding their boulevards and impeding their passage through the city. The enterprise—the first public transport in modern times—was well received and the king relented and allowed the eight-occupant carriages to make their appointed rounds—the first line going from Porte Saint-Antoine to Rue Dauphine via Pont Neuf.

muster and moquette

CityLab made a quite wonderful and inspired appeal with their international, publically-jured round-up of mass-transit upholstery (previously here and here) sourced from trains, busses and metro-lines in service all over the world.

A few that I’m acquainted with can be reviewed here and I can completely relate to the feeling of pride and affection that passengers develop for these dreadfully excellent and challenging creations in textile that need not only to be practicable and identifiable (like this specimen of priority-seating for ScotRail) but have to also remain fresh, colourfast and rebuff graffiti for quite some time. Do share the distinctive seat-covers from your local public transport—and support them with your ridership and patronage. Much more to explore at the link above.

8x8

actuation: robots will construct a new robotics science museum in Seoul—via Nag on the Lake

the way of flowers: an expanded look at the aesthetics of ikebana (previously)—the traditional art of Japanese flower arrangement

go transit: the vehicle just gets you there


high-intensity incidental physical activity: studies suggest that the most impactful forms of exercise aren’t exercise at all

gambay: an interactive map of Australia’s aboriginal languages—via Maps Mania

just want your extra time ... and your gif: a collection of officially-endorsed Prince animations

osborne bulls: the backstory of those iconic silhouettes that dot the Spanish countryside along freeways

beat of a different drum: a marching band with “robotic” music 

lozenge moquette

Thanks to City Lab, we are invited to revisit the plush and pile of mass-transit upholstery through the industrial textile designs of Enid Marx and other samples archived by the London Transportation Museum. By turns both extravagant and practical, both overlooked and omnipresent, the exhibit offers a retrospective look at the power of the intentionality in design, underscored perfectly by something that often retreats into the background yet (if not itself the subject of passing derision) so much part of a shared ridership experience.

transportation authority

For several weeks now with no intentions of looking back—even I hope when the weather turns a bit wintry since that’s an incentive in itself to not have to fret about icy roads—I’ve been riding the bus to and from work and foregoing the car altogether during the week. Granted, I realise that it ought to make me a bit self-conscious in mentioning this, sort of like on Absolutely Fabulous when Edina says to Patsy, “Yes, but Sweetie, I will not have my daughter thinking she’s so great because she can use public transport.”
And to Saffron, “Anybody can use public transport, Darling!” To which Saffron replies, “I know. That’s the point.” I wonder, however, why it took me so long to realise exactly how convenient it is with even the bear minimum of planning, discipline or pocket-change.
Intrigued by these campaigns to make buses and metro lines free and eliminate fares (we were not part of the trials) and have so far avoided going for less expensive ticketing alternatives to support a service that might be at the liminal reach for others, I wonder how many more passengers we might be able to recruit by offering the same sweep discounts—which are still very, very affordable considering the dividends that one is getting in return.
What do you think? One needs to be willing, I think, to make some outlays to rescue us from ourselves.  I don’t know that I’d have bothered with trying the bus out of a stubborn perception that happily never had the chance to bear out of inconvenience but if the routes and schedules didn’t suit, I guess the alternative to taking the car (which I can report is one the streets fully six to eight times fewer per week) would be less than optimal. I think that the element of synchronicity must be sold (buses need better PR agents since they are vehicles of change far more important than individual electric cars, though our fleet is electric as well) before we can talk about cheaper fares. These images are of upholstery patterns on buses that I’ve recently took.

maintain eye contact

Acknowledging the challenges that autonomous vehicles pose for pedestrians and how to signal intent and yield right-of-way, we learn via Curbed that UK automobile manufacturer Jaguar-Land Rover is testing a concept to engage passers-by with big emotive googly eyes installed on their driverless carriages where the headlights ought to be.
Knowing how I hesitate and shuffle back and forth at the kerb and cross-walk, I’m sure I’ll cause a dread miscalculation one of these days.  What do you think?  Following the idea that it’s second nature to lock eyes with a driver before crossing the street, researchers hope that this exchange of mutual recognition will be enough to instil confidence in the safety of the new technology.

kleptocracy

This thoughtful essay from economist Susan Crawford on the inherently paradoxical nature of good governance—how the most vital and integral public services are the most vulnerable to being dismantled by oligarchs by dint of their invisibility—initially reminded us of a parallel phenomena that we encountered a few weeks ago that spoke to how we perceive laisse-faire attitudes and confidence in market-corrections: a search void.

The result of unequal passion for forwarding a particular agenda or product over a scientifically sound and accepted truth that needs no advocacy, search engines answer enquiries with a paucity of authoritative answers in favour of amplifying and propagating rumour and falsehoods—not because of some malfeasance in programming or bias to serve up what sells (though spamdexing does happen and that is a real problem too), but because there is a concerted effort boost the worldview of a particular party. It’s not a majority perspective but can appear so. In the same way those sturdy and staid institutions of government, the museums, schools, hospitals and regulatory bodies, get far less attention and fewer champions (seemingly) than those who would call for their privatization or outright obliteration. Here’s hoping that we won’t have to loose these protections to realise what we have and what’s at stake.

leave the driving to us

Informed via Slashdot that Estonia from 1 July on will make its public mass-transit services essentially fare-free throughout the country—following similar though not encompassing schemes in Paris and Wales—I was relieved to learn that others, even politicians and city-planners, also realise that the future of driver-less, chauffeured transportation has always been with us, even if collective solutions are not as sleek and smug as reinventing the wheel.
Tallinn too has been addressing last-mile conundrums with automated mini-buses to supplement its network as well. Implementation is surprisingly inexpensive, even factoring in on the lost revenue (which might for a time be recouped from tourists), whose blow is dulled by the fact that one can eliminate the administrative cost of managing ticket sales and inspections—not to mention reduced air-pollution, less congestion and increased mobility and self-determination for an ageing rural population.

transit authority

Though this fare strike on routes in Okayama is not the first example of a social picketing without disruption to services, it was certainly a new and novel concept to us.
Bus drivers threw blankets over the ticket machines and refused to accept payments from riders in order to protest their wage situation and rate hikes that leave drivers worried that they might be undercut by competing lines. The first mention of this sort of demonstration dates back to 1944 when streetcar workers in Cleveland, Ohio stopped collecting fares to leverage better wages and working conditions. Generally such strikes have positive outcomes since passengers are not inconvenienced but quite the opposite and the gesture fosters a sense of solidarity. What do you think? I wonder what sort of analogues there are for this type of protest in other sectors.

vansploitation

Prolific custom-vehicle creator George Barris (previously) also designed and built the Love Machine that was the central figure (Vandora) of the film Super Van and spawned a sub-genre of romance on the road. As with some of Barris’ other creations, the chassis of the Love Machine went through several incarnations that avoided acknowledging its spotted past including an appearance as a shuttle bus on Back to the Future II and on the television series seaQuest DSV.

botany bus

Filed unfortunately under fleeting wonders as this traveling installation is only a temporary one, mass-transit passengers in Taipei are being treated to a perfusion of lush, living plants and moss-covered seats in a special forest livery roving the concrete jungles of the metropolis. For a week, commuters get the chance to commune with Nature courtesy to an experiment carried out by local florist and designer Alfie Lin. The ride looks absolutely magical and we’re hoping that it inspires other metro-systems to try providing similar, enduring experiences.

brave little toaster

At a Geneva automotive showcase, Volkswagen unveiled its autonomous, self-driving concept vehicle that’s being called Sedric (an abbreviation of “SElf-DRIving Car”) whose boxy chassis is being characterised as looking like an angry toaster bearing down on traffic. I find its appearance to be pretty endearing but I don’t know if I could adjust to being chauffeured around on a comfy sofa, the cockpit stripped of all controls. If I wanted that experience, it’s readily available at little to no cost and it’s called the bus. In any case, I would imagine that the notion of car-ownership will undergo a pretty radical change not long after these first prototypes are rolled-out.

free-ride, freifahrt

In the city of Düsseldorf (:D), there is an application that allows mass-transit goers to generate bus and tram fare in exchange for a few moments of inattentiveness and letting a few advertisements play on one’s mobile device. Because of few paying sponsors so far, the new service is finite and can only issue a certain number of free ticket per day and has proven wildly popular but that ought to change as more become involved. What do you think? If fare could be redeemed as cash, passengers could technically earn over one hundred euro an hour, but surely the demographics gleaned is even more valuable to marketers and more effective—despite the potential for ignoring them—than traditional billboards and posters.

plush and pile or the worshipful company of upholders

BBC Autos magazine examines that often observed but seldom questioned universal truth of the otherwise invisible upholstery that constitutes the patterns and fabric that adorn the seats of buses, trains, trams and planes through the lens of a textile epicure from Germany (which has particularly hideous and garish designs for their fleet of public buses) who ventured forth on a series of railway journeys camouflaged in clothes tailored from the same stylish fabrics that covered her carriage: why so ugly?
What asking the question prompted was pretty fascinating. Though fashion is prone to date itself, bus seats rarely show their age and worn out upholstery, sturdy and made out of a wool called moquette, is seldom the cause for refurbishment as they can last for decades, despite constant use, abuse and rough cleaning. The patterns are designed to disrupt the gaze of the passenger, as well, drawing attention away from neglected stains. Further, because of the enormous amount of fabric generated at a go, it’s likely a passenger will encounter multiple times, anywhere in the world. It’s a bit like the laser backdrop for picture day in grade school, and realising it was not unique to one’s class. Even for newly outfitted means of mass-transport, there’s the matter of upholding tradition, that being the antique term of course for the guild of upholsters. 

double-decker

Updating from a story circulated in May about China’s design for an elevated bus to skirt traffic snarls effortlessly, the same source is now reporting that the concept has gone from model to fully-functioning prototype already, just as the developers had pledged that they would deliver. First conceived in 2010, the programme did not go anywhere until just this summer, due to skeptical reception and lack of funding. The government was convinced, however, once it was demonstrated as navigable and a fleet of such straddling buses would cost only a tenth of what a subway would and reduce congestion by at least a conservative thirty percent.

mass-transit or teb talks

Showcased at the latest Beijing International High-Tech Expo, the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) could potentially alleviate some of China’s infamous traffic snarls. If deemed street-ready, production of such machines, whose bus stops would be raised above fray as well.
I suppose such a vehicle might prove viable if the omnibus could kneel and raise-up accordingly to negotiate bridges or lorries. I have to wonder, however, how many other arteries might be clogged above street-level with more and more eventually adopting this model, like the exponential potential for the skies to become clogged with fly-cars. Driverless cars might be better plenipotentiaries for managing traffic flow—perhaps, if allowed to communicate with one another and not at cross-purposes. Can such a vehicle be programmed to sacrifice its timely arrival for the sake of letting the flow continue? Can a driverless car sacrifice the life and limb of its single occupant to avoid a deadly collision with a TEB full of passengers. In any case, I hope such steamrollers go into production.