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The Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal

Informed but opinionated commentary and analysis on urban transportation topics from the Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal. Names have been omitted to protect the guilty.

Our Mission: Monkeywrench the Anti-Transit Forces

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Thursday, July 29, 2004

 
FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DRACONIAN PUNISHMENTS

Home of More Transit Links Than You can Possibly Check(tm), Unless you have no life other than websurfing

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity: and I'm not so sure about the universe. Einstein


From the Cabalmaster:

“Drink, Drive, Die

“No, we’re not being preachy. We are dead serious.

“If you get caught drinking and driving in Bulgaria, you get a lengthy prison sentence. If you’re convicted of the same offence again, they kill you. By firing squad. Seriously.

“Don’t do it.”

(Europe on a Shoestring 2003, p. 247. Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd.)

The USA has among the world’s most lenient laws regarding operation of motor vehicles while intoxicated abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/drunkdriving0212219.html. Among the topics covered by American military media outlets are changes in drunk-driving laws in locations where US personnel are stationed ww2.pstripes.osd.mil/01/jul01/ed072401g.html.

Some European countries have stronger laws and stiffer penalties than others. Intrepid Websurfers interested in this issue might want to check out this report www.eurocare.org/publications/drink driving.pdf.

Perhaps the most interesting statistic related to road traffic safety: the traffic fatality rate in Japan is a mere 20 percent of the USA rate, adjusted for population size. One very important factor: access to alternative transportation www.japanlaw.info/lawletter/2003/2003_TRAFFIC_LAW.html. This is, of course, also true in Europe – but not so in most American cities.



 
CAVE PEOPLE

Home of More Transit Links Than You can Possibly Check(tm), Unless you have no life other than websurfing

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity: and I'm not so sure about the universe. Einstein


From the Cabalmaster:

An FOC tells us that there’s a new acronym for naysayers, in place of the venerable “NIMBY” (Not in my back yard!) and the updated “NIMBY NOTE” (“Not in my back yard, and not over there, either!). CAVE people: “Citizens Against Virtually Everything.” We love it!

Monday, July 12, 2004

 
OTHER TRANSIT BLOGS - 4

Home of More Transit Links Than You can Possibly Check(tm), Unless you have no life other than websurfing

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity: and I'm not so sure about the universe. Einstein


From the Cabalmaster:

Continuing our review of other transit-oriented blogs:

Going Underground’s Blog, london-underground.blogspot.com, is very much a “transit” blog, focused on the London Underground. It’s lively, with plenty of “’tude,” and even has photos and images. Sample excerpt:

“Meanwhile back with other bids for power, the mayoral shennanigans see Steve Norris promising guards on The Tube to make it safer for us ladies to travel around at night .

“Again The Standard reports that " His "safe carriage" proposal comes as research shows 60 per cent of women feel unsafe on the Tube at night, compared to 32 per cent of men. "

“Under Norris' plan security guards would travel in the middle carriage of all Tube trains after 10pm (I wonder why the middle carriage was chosen?). The carriage would be clearly marked "safe" and could be used by anyone, not just women. They'd start off on routes where the highest number of offences were recorded but then but would eventually be rolled out across the whole Tube network.

“I can just about remember those Guardian Angel volunteer vigilante types who used to patrol the Tube years and years ago, who always seemed pretty weird to me. They wore berets and looked like slightly threatening, more filled out, versions of Frank Spencer.”

(Anybody out there in cyberland remember the inimitable Curtis Sliwa, Founder and President of the Guardian Angels? If not, you might want to check out this link: www.guardianangels.org/index.html.)

Intrepid websurfers who check out this site may even pick up a bit of British slang. Ever wonder, for example, what “snogging” refers to? (Hint: an activity involving two people . . . but before you guess, remember: this is a family-oriented blog!)



 
WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO SHOULD QUIT WHILE WE’RE AHEAD!

Home of More Transit Links Than You can Possibly Check(tm), Unless you have no life other than websurfing

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity: and I'm not so sure about the universe. Einstein


From the Cabalmaster:

[aka “RANDAL O’TOOLE IS OUT IN THE WOODS – AGAIN!”] PART 1:

The Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal explains it all for you!

Denver opened its first light rail line in 1994, opened a southward extension to Littleton in 2000 and a spur to Union Station in 2002, and plans to have the major extension (the T-REX project /www.trexproject.com ) completed by late 2006.

In April 2004, the Federal Transit Administration approved the Environmental Impact Statement for the planned West Corridor light rail line, to connect Denver with Golden.

The Regional Transportation District, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Denver Regional Council of Governments completed a multi-year study project of major transportation corridors . Recommendation: 119 miles of new “rapid transit” (commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit), purchase of land to permit relocation of freight trains away from residential areas, bus service expansion, doubling of park-and-ride capacity, and development of Union Station as an intermodal hub. The local share of financing would be raised by a sales tax increase of 0.4 percent. The plan, dubbed “FasTracks” (www.fastracks.org was approved unanimously by the RTD Board and will appear on the November 2, 2004 ballot.

Can you imagine Randal O’Toole, self-styled (and more than slightly acerbic) urban transportation expert, arch-foe of rail transit and one of our favorite targets for riposte and ridicule, letting all this pass without comment?

NOT BY THE HAIRS ON HIS CHINNY-CHIN CHIN!
www.independent.org/tii/forums/011003ipf2.html

Instead . . .

HE’LL HUFF, AND HE’LL PUFF . . .
AND HE’LL HUFF, AND HE’LL PUFF . . .

JUST WHAT YOU’D EXPECT
FROM A STEAM TRAIN BUFF*!

(*”alleged” steam train buff** . . . good ol’ Randal has not responded to an earlier post – with newspaper citation www.tri-cityherald.com/news/2002/1023/Story1.html.)

(**Online evidence suggests that the “allegation” is true! Check out this link, www.sps700.org/gall0210mont_part5.html, scroll to the very bottom, and note the photo captioned “Randal O'Toole (wearing white cap)- selling books dawn til' dusk.” The face is a bit blurry . . . but the beard is unmistakable!! www.independent.org/tii/forums/011003ipf2.html And remember: you saw it first on our blog!!!)

Now that we’ve finished our obligatory . . . and weak . . . attempt at comedy (although it did “bring down the house” at Line’s End™, the (very) secret (very) hidden™ retreat of The Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal™) . . . we feel obliged to insert a disclaimer. We are, after all, a TRANSIT cabal . . . NOT a RAIL cabal . . . contrary to the pernicious propaganda purveyed in perpetuity by certain SAP™s.

We tend to support rail transit because it can provide high-quality alternatives to private autos. However, rail costs big bucks to build. So it’s perfectly legitimate to question, through honest inquiry, honest research and honest debate, whether costs are justified by benefits. The key word here is “honest.” However, certain “SAPpy™” individuals, who can’t stand the “’r’ word” for reasons of ideology or (gasp!) self-interest, resort to all sorts of distortion and deception.

Now, back to Denver . . .

Among American transit agencies, RTD is unusual because it has a directly-elected board. Some years back, a faction of Coneheads . . . er, Libertarians . . . got elected to the Board. Contrary to what they’d want to you to believe, they didn’t exactly shout anti-rail slogans during the campaign. The Conehead . . . er, Libertarian . . . candidates downplayed both their political philosophy and their intent to terminate light rail development. Their attempts at the latter caused a political brouhaha, and voters eventually booted the Remulac . . . er, Libertarian . . . faction off the RTD board.

We’ll continue this story in our next post.