Transit - the Mother of Invention
Posted by Fred Jandt
Editor, Mass Transit
Transit is a hotbed for invention. It is. Just look at all of the testing that is going on with alternative fuels, especially fuel cell technologies. Most electric trains utilize technologies like regenerative braking. And new technologies are tested every day in agencies across the country.
But rather than focusing on how to reengineer the fuel systems, perhaps the future of transit power lies in its greatest untapped resource — riders.
I read a story this week on an “electricity generating floor,” which could be used in transit agencies. The idea is that the movement of riders through a station would generate electricity due to the pounding of their feet on the floor.
This process of using people to generate electricity is already in use. The East Japan Railway Company is using the motion through turnstiles to activate piezo elements to generate electricity. In fact, piezo elements are one of the methods suggested as a means of generating electricity from people walking on floors.
These “crowd farms” are being studied by such places as MIT where two students are looking at the creation of a subflooring consisting of blocks that would slide against each other as people walked on them. This sliding action would work like a dynamo and generate electricity.
Mind you, any practical use of either technology is still a long ways off. But imagine having your stations powered by the very riders who walk into and out of it every day. The money it would save! Spin this out further to buildings or sidewalks. It is a very interesting idea.
Again here, this idea wouldn’t work without transit. A single person can only generate enough electricity to make a single bulb flicker slightly, but the crowds generated through transit could power so much more. And what better place to test things like this out.
As we move into the future, it’s important that we get across to the people funding transit — and those responsible for securing its funding — the benefits of mass transit beyond just moving people. I think the general public underestimates transit. I think most of them still see it as the local bus — you know, that thing that gets in your way when you’re driving.
How many people realize all the benefits transit provides not just the communities it serves, but our human community as a whole by its use. If we got that across, maybe it wouldn’t be a matter of us versus them when it comes to funding.
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Thanks for reading the MT Position updated every Friday,
February 19th, 2008 at 8:47 am
There is research here in the United States for revolving doors that generate electricity when used. A segment on the television show Invention Nation showed a pair of people working on the project. Invention Nation has a web site for more information. They say a revolving door in a typical downtown New York building could generate enough electricity to power the lights in the lobby, considering today’s low-wattage light bulbs. Imagine the potential for this technology harnessing power from subway riders!
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Calgary uses wind generation sufficient for annual net power for a light rail system without peer. Local sited Photovoltaics are gaining in efficiency and now are closing in on net efficiencies (including transmission loss)of central generation systems using fossil. So what’s the hang-up? Electric railways are a no-brainer.
We know we have a climate change challenge. We know Peaking Oil is imminent and will pose a transportation emergency if policy shift is not made with all due haste. Electric freight & passenger railway is a crucial and irrefutable component in the “Plan B” Solution set. See “ELECTRIC WATER” by Christopher C. Swan (New Society Press). Sooner or later these columns get in front of Presidential candidate’s staff, and Political Party Plank Committees. Even political functionaries understand there is something extraordinary afoot! Maybe a look at “The Association For The Study Of Peak Oil & Gas” (peakoil.net) article #374 will encourage. Energy Curious? See “theoildrum.com” -Renewable Solutions & Transit… Preach It, Fred!