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What Can We Learn from the UK'S Campaign for HSR?
by Kim Kaiser - Thursday February 9, 2012
According to James Bethell of the Campaign for High Speed Rail, the potential for high-speed rail to find success in the United Kingdom seemed bleak just a year ago. He made this point during a Webinar co-sponsored by the U.S. High Speed Rail Association. Together with Lucy James, Bethell presented how the campaign overcame considerable opposition to HSR in the UK, and how the successful campaign was carried out. To start things off, Bethell said there are four key benefit areas that HSR has to offer: capacity, economic, linking up the country and aspiration. In January the UK got the green light for HSR. Over the last year, the campaign has been working nonstop to rebut the arguments of its often-time well-funded opponents and making... -
Digital Signage Strategies for Transit
by Jeff Collard - Tuesday December 13, 2011Digital communication comprises many methods that can work in concert with each other to meet a variety of goals. Mass transit systems by definition congregate large numbers of people within definable demographics into common spaces. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for communications. Defining the right combination of technologies and channels to meet communication requirements within a venue is a major challenge to the operator. Restrictions in physical space, operating budgets and legislation governing public spaces require a system-wide strategy for communication. For the commuter, digital signage, the Internet and mobile applications are the three most common electronic media that they will engage. Therefore, a... -
How to Discover Hidden Cost Savings in Your Transit Operations
by Charles Smart - Wednesday September 28, 2011Almost every transit system in North America is looking for ways to cut costs, raise its revenue, or both – all while maintaining high service levels. One of the biggest sources of cost savings and cash generation is hiding in plain sight: your inventory of service and spare parts. Here’s why you should pay more attention to it. Service and spare parts inventory ranks among the largest assets on the corporate balance sheet. Our research indicates that eight of the largest transit systems in North America (ranked by ridership) have approximately $850 million in materials and supplies inventory, of which about $650 million is invested in service and spare parts sitting in their distribution centers, stocking locations, and repair... -
Transit Systems Use Recycling to Reduce Maintenance Costs
by Ralph Malec - Thursday September 22, 2011Rail maintenance departments are discovering a new strategy to reduce operating costs. Transit systems have learned that shock absorbers, long considered throw-away items, can now be reused indefinitely. Twenty-five years ago rail car shock absorbers were primarily larger versions of those used on automobiles. They were simple, hydraulic devices and very inexpensive. New rail car designs that began to appear in the 1980s and 1990s featured trucks with advanced suspension systems. Most of these trucks utilized European-designed shock absorbers that had more sophisticated damping technology and were often rebuildable. These shock absorbers were also much more expensive than the units U.S. rail systems had previously used. Many were priced... -
The Top Three Bias Pitfalls in Capital Planning
by Kevin Connor - Monday September 19, 2011There is an old saying; “There is a sucker at every poker table; if you can’t spot them, it’s likely you.” This, at its core, describes the nature of the bias blind spots that everyone shares. The question isn’t, “Are we biased?” We are. The better question may be, “How do our environment and the system of positive and negative reinforcements within it shaping our perspective?” These influences define our preferences and thus the way we think, feel and respond to information. It is difficult to gain objectivity regarding these influences on ourselves, and so bias becomes a term used for the distortion in how “others” process information. When individual decision-makers within an organization or governing body...
