BIKE: Re: Las Vegas monorail shut down

[Nick Dalton]

Some Points I'd like to pick up on

Nawdry wrote
>(1) Complex, automated systems certainly do work, but they are 
>"catastrophically" >vulnerable to relatively small failures almost 
>anywhere in the system.  High technology >implies high maintenance. 
>(I use "catastrophic" in a technician's sense - it brought >down the 
>entire system.)

>2) This in turn implies high technical maintenance costs, another 
>point I've made.  >Remember a couple of years ago, when we were all 
>being assured by Patrick et al. that >automated monorail operation 
>would dramatically lower operating costs, so much so that >they 
>would all make a profit?

All an automatic monorail is trying to do is emulate what a 
elevator/lift does vertically.

We have been running these things without bell boys since the 50s? 
Why is it so difficult to reproduce horizontally what we do 
vertically in huge numbers of office buildings. I don't see lift 
controls as behind that high tech ? Whats the hitch ?   Longer 
distances just mean longer bits of wire.

Theoretically the big running cost of a urban transport system is the 
ongoing wages cost. Its normally sighted as the reason most public 
transportation systems need ongoing subsidy. If you can eliminate the 
driver without overly inflating the cost of capital or maintenance ( 
as in an elevator ) then this would be a considerable change. If 
anyone does know of the on running costs please let me know.


Secondly
--------
All this fuss over shutting down the whole system due to a small 
defect in one vehicle.

Cars regularly get recalled though design faults.

If someone suggested that we should not build motorways and only 
build light rail stating "yes some period of running in is acceptable 
but to recall *ALL* Cars due to *ONE* defect in *ONE* CAR shows how 
inherently catastrophic (in a technicians sense) this AUTOMOTIVE 
technology is" ;-). Would someone writing off all automotive 
technology after a stream of car recalls be sane ? Takeing one 
example and extrapolating to a whole class of technology is highly 
dubious. PS no insult intended but I think all involved need some 
cooling off.


Yes cars get recalled every year, Software running Windows regularly 
crash. yes the whole Vegas monorail might have an inherit design 
fault. This does not weaken the case for cars nor does it weaken the 
general case for a computer no should it weaken the case for a 
monorail. If a new light rail system had a similar design fault I 
don't think any responsible person would seriously dismiss all light 
rail out of hand.

thirdly
-------

If you want something very reliable then stick with a bike.  If we 
are prepared to spend millions on new transportation technology then 
how about asking for assistance for bikes ?

If we are prepared to rip up the road and install rails and overhead 
power cables then would it not be a lot simpler to

1. Put up an cover hanging over a cycle lane. This would let cyclists 
cycle in the dry or out of the Austin sun.

2. Have special cycle lights ( which go green before the car lights 
do allowing time for the bikes to cross the junction before the cars 
do).

3. Put ramps at traffic lights - stopping cyclists use there momentum 
to go up and when the likes go green they get the energy back. 
Stopping a junctions doubles the energy cyclists consumed.

4. If we build elevators for shoppers in shopping malls, if we build 
ski lifts for skiers they why don't we have ski-lifts for bikes ( 
like Trampe  http://www.utopia-eu.com/reptex/rep51/rep08.htm  ) on 
steep inclines ?

5. If we are prepared to spend $25 million plus on a new station then 
why not spend money on suitable safe bike stores and changing/showing 
facilities ?

Perhaps if where where to think creatively and be prepared to 
innovate on the commuter cyclists behalf. Perhaps if we where happy 
to spend per mile the kinds of money Monorails and Light rail cost 
per mile we *MIGHT* find that we get the same kinds of ridership.

If anyone should be making a fuss on this group it should be the cyclists.