TransportGooru

This vintage photo dates back to 1939 and was posted on the new Tumblr blog, FOUND, created by National Geographic in honor of its 125th anniversary.

A cowgirl puts a nickel in an El Paso parking meter to hitch her pony, October 1939. PHOTOGRAPH BY LUIS MARDEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

As Mashable.com reports, the non-profit has joined Tumblr to showcase “FOUND,” a collection of rare photos from the National Geographic archives. According to the site, most of the photos have never been published, and were rarely seen by the public until now. National Geographic hopes digitizing the archive will also help identify the original date or location of the photos, since many are missing that information.

(Source: Natgeofound.tumblr.com)

Do you have any vintage Transportation pictures that you would like to share? Drop me a note in the “Comments” section below and I’ll reach out to you.

Via King5 News

Just spotted this nice report/update on the world’s tallest (5-story-tall) tunnel boring machine (TBM), Bertha, which will begin work in Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project (SR 99 Tunnel Project). Bertha’s deep-bore tunnel will replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct, which will eventually be torn down. She should begin digging next summer.  As reported below, Bertha’s 41 pieces – the largest weighing up to 900 tons – are being loaded on a single ship in Japan, leaving around mid-March and arrive in Seattle later this month, if all goes well in the choppy seas.

For those curious about the name Bertha, it was chosen as part of a contest for school-aged kids across Washington state. While we are at it, don’t forget to follow the live tweets from Bertha @BerthaDigsSR99, the only TBM in the world with it’s own twitter account (at least until the project finishes).  Pretty cool stuff, right? Also, you can follow the WSDOT blog to stay updated on the project’s progress.

Related articles

• Bertha, world’s largest tunneling machine, heading for Seattle
• World’s largest tunnel boring machine to be shipped from Japan to Seattle
• Tunnel boring machine in pieces for voyage to Seattle

via WUSA9

The latest transportation bill from Virginia legislature (HB2313), signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell has got a lot of Hybrid vehicle owners miffed. Under the new regulations, drivers of hybrid vehicles would have to pay a $100 annual fee.  So, the irate hybrid owners and other opponents of this measure have have started an online petition urging the governor to veto the fee now has more than 4,000 signatures (hoping to get to 10,000 by end of March) .  WUSA9’s Monika Samtani has done a nice report covering this issue. Check it out.

Critics are pointing out that :

Just as the nation watches nervously about the impacts of sequestration (while the political blame game rages unabated), the satirists at The Onion have profiled one of the biggest critics of this manufactured crisis – U.S. Department of Transportation’s Secretary Ray LaHood – and how he is dealing with the sequestration. Quite a funny one.

Related articles

• LaHood warns of flight delays if budget cuts hit – Los Angeles Times
• LaHood Tries to ‘Wake Up’ GOP on Sequester
• LaHood says compromise still possible on sequestration
• Budget cuts will cause air travel ‘calamity’, Ray LaHood warns
• FAA cuts would delay flights, LaHood warns – Newsday

Here is something new.. Attendants on a subway train serving snacks and beverages? Yeah.. That’s what happened in Toronto’s subway.. This past Sunday, Improv Toronto decided to put a fun twist in an otherwise mundane ride on the city’s subway ride to make it memorable for the riders.  As they said on the website, “Our mission was simple, transform the old every day nature of riding the subway into a luxury flight experience, making it more a comfortable, enjoyable, and eventful ride.” So, off they went, equipped with snacks, drinks and blankets, our sharp looking flight subway attendants and captain tended to the riders on a Eastbound train on the Bloor Line.

Looking at the warm welcoming smiles on the riders’ faces, I wouldn’t be surprised if this stunt gets emulated globally much like the No Pants Subway Ride , another popular Improv stunt.  BTW, worn out Washington, DC Metro riders like me can sure get used to some TLC like this..

Related articles

• Toronto subway riders shed their pants
• Hundreds strip for transit trips as ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ hits Vancouver, Toronto
• How Much More Does Taking The Subway Cost Today?

It should be maddening for any tax payer in the country to see how the public dollars are spent wastefully on projects that are not really benefiting the community. Today’s Washington Post story on one such wasteful spending measure shows how badly the lawmakers manage the money, despite the pressure to not do so from the administrations (incl. current and the previous administration ). It explores an obscure federal program established by Congress in 2000 allows tiny airports to draw $150,000 in federal funds every year.  The article uses Oklahoma’s Lake Murray State Park Airport as a case study. This issue of wasteful spending takes added importance as the public are nervously watching what’s going to happen with the looming sequestration (scheduled to kick in on March 1) as the country is embroiled in a tough political battle to avoid further slide. Brilliant reporting.

And a few interesting nuggets from this Washington Post story:

• 88 shown airports, as reported, have no paying customers and no planes are based there. (check the interactive map that shows the airports and the number of flights each one received)
• The airports receive $150,000/year, as the result of a grant program established 13 years ago ~2000, which the post appropriately calls Congress’s golden age of pork)
• The looming sequester crisis would not touch the airport program. FAA allotted Lake Murray about $1,500 for each of its takeoffs and landings.
• In this particular case Lake Murray State Park Airport there is no control tower, no runway lights and also staff to monitor it. So what makes people visit?  Mostly for using the rest room facilities and occasionally for golf.
• According to local TV affiliate KOKH Fox 25, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism has tried to shut down Lake Murray State Park Airport for years, but Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission (OAC) officials say closing the airport would cost Oklahoma taxpayers $184,000.  Under FAA guidelines, the airport must stay open for 20 years after the OAC spends money on an improvement project.
• Despite pressures from all corners, the program has remained strikingly difficult for anyone.  If it is any surprise, even

  Pres. Bush opposed continuing the program but the Tea Party dominated congress decided to continue with it.

Click here to read more.

Related articles

• Pork relic: Tiny airport attracts lots of federal money but few planes
• It’s Plane Pork
• Sequester Could Close Local Air Traffic Towers
• Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing may close if federal budget cuts go through
• Budget cuts could mean FAA furloughs, air traffic control tower shutdowns in … – NewsOK.com

Oh man..  Angry customers reacting to terrible service from a transportation provider is nothing new, esp. with airline companies, but what you are  going to see below takes it to a new level.  Interestingly, this customer who lost his cool is reported as a Chinese government official, which only means the airlines staff have no way of handling this as usual.. His poor spouse (lady standing adjacent to him) seems clueless about how to bring this raging bull of a man under control..

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As many of us predicted and wanted, Disney’s animation “The Paperman” won the Oscars tonight in the animated shortfilm category…