Transportation Library News

If the bike fits…

Biking season is in full swing and nothing makes bicycling more enjoyable than having a well fitted bicycle. Whether you own a road or a mountain bike, this REI article is pretty good at providing you with the necessary instructions to fit your bike to your body. In addition, the video clips are well produced and with the right amount of information to make them easy to follow. To learn how to fit your bike and get the most out of it go to: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/bike+fit.html.

Is it finally time for high-speed rail development in America?

Some of us may have been ready for quite a while now, but it seems that the government is finally getting the picture that high-speed rail, and other transit development projects are a worthwhile investment. The impetus for this newfound funding is, of course, the economic recovery act signed into law on February 17th by President Obama. Angela Cotey discusses the implications of economic stimulus for the rail industry in this month's Progressive Railroading (http://nucat.library.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=2664049).

Much of the funding earmarked for transportation development will go to Amtrak, the nation's long-suffering national passenger rail service.This will be used for a variety of facilities, track and rolling stock improvements which have been on the back-burner for quite a while.
Additional funding will go to state and local transit around the country, which experts hope will create jobs to alleviate unemployment resulting from the economic crisis.

Finally, a portion of the recovery funds will go toward the long hoped for development of a high-speed passenger rail service in the United States. President Obama has displayed his support for high-speed rail in America on numerous occasions, even comparing it to President Eisenhower's innovative interstate highway system.

Read more about the economic recovery act and its impact on rail transportation in this month's Progressive Railroading.

Take a Look at a Book

The Transportation Library has acquired Lighter than Air: An Illustrated History of Balloons and Airships by Tom D. Crouch. Here is an description of the book from the publisher's Web site:

This richly illustrated book chronicles lighter—than—air flight from Archimedes' discovery of the principle of buoyancy to the latest in sport balloons and plans for future airships. Far more than a timeline of events, Lighter Than Air focuses on the people -- flamboyant and daring, heroes and scoundrels -- who made history in the sky. Here are the eighteenth—century pioneers who first took to the skies, the peripatetic aeronauts who criss—crossed two continents a century later, the airmen who manned the great rigid airships, and the intrepid balloonists who flew their craft across oceans and continents in the years following World War II.

The first half of the volume recounts the invention of the balloon, the golden age of the professional aerial showmen in Europe and America, the use of balloons for aerial reconnaissance, and the key role of balloons in scientific research. The second half presents the rich tale of the airship from eighteenth—century dreams to twentieth—century reality. These chapters describe the early development of the pressure airship, the emergence of the rigid airship and its golden age in the first half of the twentieth century, and the military and civil applications of these aerial behemoths. The author concludes by discussing modern blimps, sport balloons, and dreams of a future for airships.

The highly accessible text is complemented with a wealth of prints and photos from the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the Museé de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget, the Zepplin—Museum at Zepplinheim, and the Imperial War Museum in London. Written by award—winning aeronautical historian Tom D. Crouch, Lighter Than Air brings to life the color and excitement of buoyant flight.

The Dog Team Is Alive & Well

In its August 16, 1930 issue, the weekly publication Air Transportation published a brief article titled "Flying versus Dog Team", commenting that air transport access to Alaska and Canada would open up these territories in a way the dog team never would:
"Air transport has done a great deal to open up the great countries of the north, commercially. … Airplanes covering in one day the journey that a dog team would make in three weeks, carrying passengers in comfort and what might be termed ease as compared to the dog team method of travel, are rapidly eliminating distance in the great white spaces of the north. … Airports will be built, and eventually the spring and fall slush will not interfere with flying, summer, winter and all the year around the airplane will do its job." As it happens, one of the results of opening up air access has been the need to train bush pilots not to engage in risky flying behavior (http://archives.californiaaviation.org/pilot/msg00093.html).

Notwithstanding the greater access provided by air transport, the dog team still seems to have its place in Alaskan culture: Musher John Suter has driven (and finished!) his team of standard poodles (http://home.gci.net/~poodlesleddog/) in various races since 1976, as has his daughter. There are also times of the year in which pilots are simply obliged to stay grounded. At those times, the dog sled is likely still the best way of traveling over distances

Gripes to CTA in slower zone - Agency says it's fielding fewer complaints, even about the biggest one: bus drivers passing up riders

Chicago Tribune (IL) - Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Author: Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune reporter

CTA bus drivers who don't stop to pick up riders are responsible for causing the most common complaint to the transit agency, although the number of gripes in almost all the major categories has fallen since last year, according to new data based on customer phone calls and e-mails.

In the first three months of this year, riders have contacted the CTA to complain about 468 "pass-up" incidents in which bus drivers failed to stop at bus stops or wait for people flagging down a passing bus, according to a summary compiled by the transit agency to track complaints, kudos and trends. More than 600 pass-up complaints were received in each of the last two quarters of 2008.

Rude bus and train operators ranked as the second-biggest irritant to riders so far this year. Complaints about rude operators totaled 458 in the first quarter, down from more than 500 in each of the two previous three-month periods, the records show.

The replacement of aging buses with a modern fleet as well as track work to reduce rail slow zones may account for a decrease in complaints about service delays, officials said. The reduction in complaints overall his year is occurring amid a ridership increase of 2.5 percent through April, compared with the same four-month period in 2008.

If the complaint statistics continue to drop, the customer feedback suggests that the CTA's frontline employees are behaving more politely, operating buses and trains in a safer manner and are more helpful in giving directions and answering questions about fares.

The CTA is trying to instill a greater sense of pride at the agency and has restarted discussions with the transit unions about stressing the importance of providing courteous and on-time service, CTA President Richard Rodriguez said. The effort is being directed especially toward hundreds of new part-time bus drivers and other recent new hires who tend to be younger than many in the CTA workforce and may view their jobs as a paycheck more than as a career, Rodriguez said.

Regarding the problem of bus-bunching, customer complaints are declining over buses on the same route moving in a conga line, one behind the other. The total pool of bus-bunching complaints received by the agency is small, however, making the impact of recent CTA efforts to maintain proper intervals between buses difficult to gauge.

Service delays, which might be expected to spark the bulk of complaints, dropped to 406 in the first three months of this year, down from more than 570 in the previous reporting periods.

CTA officials set a performance goal for this year of holding rail delays lasting 10 minutes or longer to no more than 78 incidents a month, down from a monthly average of 90 incidents in 2008. Seventy-six such delays were reported in March, 63 in February and 86 in January, according to transit records.

The CTA is meeting its targets for miles of service between rail-car defects or bus disruptions caused by equipment problems, according to the latest monthly performance reports.

CTA rail cars were in service an average of 4,068 miles in March until a defect occurred. The goal for the year is at least 3,750 miles between defects.

CTA buses traveled 3,570 miles on average in March until sidelined by equipment problems. The target for the year is at least 3,000 miles.

Meanwhile, other top areas where customers took the time to complain that the CTA has fallen down on the job include:

*The failure of agency employees to help riders, averaging 347 complaints a quarter from July through March.

*Reckless driving, averaging 294 complaints per quarter over the same nine months.

*Operators talking on a cell phone while driving buses or trains, producing an average of 114 complaints per quarter.

The CTA received an average of 130 commendations a month in the first quarter of this year about employees who went the extra mile.

Those pats on the back outnumbered the brickbats in several categories of quarterly complaints, including bus drivers failing to yield to pedestrians, 53 so far this year, down from more than 100 per quarter in 2008; bus drivers missing stop signs, reported 98 times this year; and bus-bunching, averaging 64 complaints quarterly over each of the three-month periods.

About half the e-mails and calls received by CTA customer service agents at 888-YOUR-CTA (888-968-7282) were about managing the accounts of the Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus, which are the transit "smart cards" used for paying fares, CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. General information requests averaged 291 a month in the first quarter of this year, she said.

Rear-view Mirror Decorations: Illegal in Michigan

In a stunning court decision, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the State of Michigan in allowing the police to pull over drivers with objects dangling from a rear view mirror. In this case, it was a 4-inch air freshener in the shape of a Tweety bird. The driver in question also had no license, but did have loaded gun, cocaine and an open pint of Hennessy cognac.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090505/COL12/90505030/Drivers%20with%20mirror

Transportation Tax Dollars

There's a great graphic at
http://www.wallstats.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/WallStatsDATlarge.jpg,
showing how tax dollars are apportioned amongst the various government agencies. Next time someone complains about transportation-related pork in legislation, refer them here to see how little actually goes to transportation

Push your Pedal with Purpose

Based in Chicago, Illinois, the Active Transportation Alliance is a non-profit advocacy organization that works to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit and engage people in healthy and active ways to get around.

For nearly 25 years, the Alliance has led the charge for a transportation culture that values safety, health, sustainability and choice. Formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, they expanded their mission and created a new name to reflect and strengthen their work and vision to create opportunities for people to move and travel safely, actively and enjoyably.

Today, with the expertise of more than 40 staff and the commitment of a board of directors, they are growing choices for transportation like never before.

Visit them at http://www.activetrans.org/

Take a Look at a Book

The Transportation Library has acquired Africa's Freedom Railway: How a Chinese Development Project Changed Lives and Livelihoods in Tanzania by Jamie Monson. Here is an description of the book from the publisher's Web
site:

The TAZARA (Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority) or Freedom Railway stretches from Dar es Salaam on the Tanzanian coast to the Copperbelt region of Zambia. The railway, built during the height of the Cold War, was intended to redirect the mineral wealth of the interior away from routes through South Africa and Rhodesia. After being rebuffed by Western donors, newly independent Tanzania and Zambia accepted help from communist China to construct what would become one of Africa's most vital transportation corridors.

Drawing on first-hand experiences of engineers and laborers together with life histories of traders who used the railway, Jamie Monson tracks the railroad from its design and construction to its daily use as a passenger train that provided an important means for moving people and goods from one village to another. This engaging history reveals how transnational interests contributed to environmental change, population movements, the rise of local and regional economic enterprise, and one of the most sweeping development transitions in post-colonial Africa.

Biofuel: fact or fiction?

We are on the verge of a new world of alternative fuels, but myths abound regarding what that world might look like.

According to Michigan State University professor of chemical engineering Bruce Dale, the four big myths about ethanol don't stand up to real science. In his article Grassoline in your tank: biofuel myths and realities, which can be found in the latest Green fleet supplement to Automotive fleet (http://nucat.library.northwestern.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=2610668),
Dale breaks down the myths and provides the truth to debunk them.

The four big myths, briefly, are: 1) increased use of ethanol will cause worldwide hunger; 2) there is not enough land available to produce the ethanol to meet our fuel needs; 3) more energy is consumed producing ethanol than its use conserves; and 4) ethanol will always cost more than gasoline.

Dale methodically proceeds through each myth, offering evidence to the contrary, such as the science of cellulosic ethanol, which can be produced from virtually any plant, not just corn, as well as the math of net energy, and a dwindling oil supply in the face of ever increasing demand.

This is truly a must read for anyone searching for the true spin on alternative fuels in a world of anxiety and uncertainty.

Drivers gamble, lose over parking meters - Since parking enforcement went private, many say it's harder to beat rap on a bad ticket

Chicago Tribune (IL) - Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Author: Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune reporter

Professional photographer Cica Friedman got an unintentional snapshot of Chicago's troubled parking-meter system when she went looking for justice over a ticket that she's adamant she did not deserve.

For her effort, Friedman wasted part of a day and got slapped with a $100 fine -- double the original violation. Her problems started with a broken parking meter, she said.

Many other drivers also complain they are not beating the rap caused by bad tickets since City Hall turned over the management of about 36,000 parking meters to a private company in February. Problems have soared, ranging from jammed coin slots to inaccurate parking information posted on meters, to overzealous ticketing, drivers across the city said.

Meanwhile, at Chicago's quasi-courthouse at 400 W. Superior St. where parking meter cases are heard, business has been brisk since the city leased the meters for almost $1.2 billion to Chicago Parking Meters LLC.

Friedman and other drivers interviewed in the last week while they tried to contest alleged meter violations complained that parking in the city -- where meter rates quadrupled this year -- is akin to spinning a roulette wheel. If that's the case, then the administrative hearing rooms are the casinos in which the parking wager chips fall where they may.

Friedman told the administrative law officer handling her case last week that she scribbled a note explaining her three quarters were accepted by a parking meter on Roosevelt Road near a fabric store, but that no time had registered. She folded the note and stuffed it into the meter's coin slot, only to return from her shopping a short time later to find a ticket on her car, Friedman testified.

City law allows drivers to park at malfunctioning meters without risking a fine. But administrative law officer Robert Sussman found her liable for the ticket because Friedman failed to request a hearing within seven days of the alleged violation in February.

The missed deadline prevented Friedman from presenting her case, Sussman said.

Friedman protested that in fact she immediately responded to contest the ticket. Did you send it by certified mail? Sussman asked, pointing out she would have had a postal receipt to show.

"I didn't know I needed to," Friedman replied.

She also said she never received a notice that Sussman, reading from the case record, said was subsequently mailed to her home.

Finally, on April 27, Friedman said, she received a subsequent follow-up letter warning that she must pay the escalated fine -- now $100 -- by April 24. Friedman showed up at the hearing facility April 27, but it was too late.

"I feel terrible because this is not fair," Friedman said outside the hearing room. "I have to pay $100 for something that is not my fault. If I challenge the decision in [Cook County] Circuit Court, it will cost me $97 to file the appeal, so what's the point?"

LAZ Parking, the management company hired by Chicago Parking Meters, is responsible for repairing broken meters, like the one Friedman encountered, within two days of problems being reported. The company is now "at or very near to meeting that contractual requirement," said Ed Walsh, spokesman for the Chicago Department of Revenue.

Returning to his car with seven minutes still registering on the meter's screen was apparently too late to spare Clifton Paige from the $50 "expired meter" ticket placed on his Caprice, he told a hearing officer.

Paige, a truck driver who was laid off his job in February, said "the meter maid wrote the ticket ahead of time, assuming that I wouldn't get back to the meter before my time expired."

But administrative law officer Jerome Katz found Paige liable for the violation. Katz noted that Paige had previously arranged with the city to pay a backlog of parking tickets.

"They pretty much do what they want to do," Paige said outside the hearing room about the "judges," who actually are lawyers working for the city Department of Administrative Hearings, an independent agency created in 1997 to serve as a quasi-judicial tribunal for adjudicating municipal ordinance violations.

As he left the building and turned the corner onto Hudson Avenue where his Caprice was parked at a meter, Paige's face stiffened when he realized yet another parking ticket was on his windshield.

"I didn't have 25 quarters in my pockets to feed the meter enough," Paige said in disgust. "With all these tickets, at least I feel like I'm doing my part to help the city out of its deficit."

Not everyone leaves parking court with a frown, however.

The hearing officer who handed Susa Ljubisa's case ruled that the cabbie should not have been ticketed in March for parking at a broken meter in the 2000 block of West Devon Avenue.

"I put quarters in the meter, but it said 'FAIL,'" Ljubisa told the hearing officer, who voided the $60 citation, based on a call that Ljubisa and possibly other drivers placed to the city to report the inoperable meter.

- - -

7: Number of days the city waits before it begins to send out notices telling you to pay the ticket or contest it by mail or in person.

42: Number of days you have to contest a ticket. If you have not yet paid the ticket, then a penalty is assessed.

DEFENSES FOR MOST PARKING AND COMPLIANCE TICKETS

The Municipal Code of Chicago allows:

*Respondent was not the owner or lessee of the ticketed vehicle at time of issue.

*Vehicle or plates were stolen.

*Missing or obscured no parking sign.

*Inoperable or malfunctioning parking meter by no fault of the respondent.

*Inconsistent facts.

744-PARK

How to contest a broken meter: Drivers who park at broken meters are advised to call 744-PARK, the city's 311 hot line or the LAZ Parking number listed on the meters, 877-242-7901. That phone call can be the basis for a successful defense.