Election brings new transit projects, transportation spending galore

by David Breisch on

It’s U.S. election season, and that can only mean one thing: multitudes of new things to spend taxpayer money on. Whether it be building a new school, closing budget gaps, or a new car for the mayor, everyone seems to want more public funding. Well, kids, transit and transportation projects are no different, and there were lots of them on ballots across the country. Funnily enough, with the sting of record-breaking gas prices still in the air, voters more often than not chose to bump up their taxes slightly to pay for more mass transit. Here’s a round-up of what our U.S. readers can expect in the coming months and years. Everyone who is not a U.S. reader… read my post anyway and leave an encouraging comment.

To start us off, I’ll go with the general prediction that an Obama administration may begin investing heavily in the federal transportation network in order to fight off a stagnant economy. Bloomberg reports that Obama has been pushing for an economic stimulus plan that plows money into roads, rail and airports. Earlier this year, he proposed a $60 billion “infrastructure bank” that would bring many needed jobs to areas around the country.

Meanwhile, the other big news is California’s approval of a $10 billion measure to issue bonds to start paying for a proposed high-speed rail line running at up to 220 mph linking San Francisco and Los Angeles. The measure passed by a close margin of 52-48 on what is ultimately expected to be a $45 billion project. The system would bring half a million jobs to the region, many of them permanent, and would provide an important and competitive alternative to air and road travel.

Trains magazine reports on other stories abound, as well. Seattle voters decided to increase their sales taxes by a half cent to pay for an extension of Sound Transit, boosting capacity and frequency of trains and buses. New Mexico voters approved a one-eighth-cent gross-receipts tax to fund more Rail Runner commuter rail service. Honolulu, meanwhile, finally approved a long-discussed measure (and half-percentage point increase in the general excise tax) to build a new light rail line. Construction of the $4.28 billion project will begin next year and will bring much-needed relief to overcrowded highways. Tax increases for public transit also passed in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco.

All in all, a pretty good day for mass transportation. Yes, it costs money, but it also brings many jobs, economic vitalization, and important transit alternatives to cities across the country.

Salvation: Northwest and Delta to drop fuel surcharges

by Grant Martin on

During that whole oil debacle this past summer, airlines were levying fees left and right to recoup some of the massive losses they were incurring to pay for jet fuel. Charges included paying for checked bags, preferred seats and worst of all, heavy fuel surcharges.

The addition of fuel charges when oil was expensive made disappointing sense to most, but what really irked many frequent flyers was the inclusion of award tickets in these fees. To most, an “award” ticket booked with miles should be as free as possible — after all, we earned these miles with our cold, hard cash and time, right?

Now, as oil has returned to normal levels, many analysts (including myself) predicted that the airlines would keep the surcharges in place just because they milked some cash out of the passenger. But to our surprise, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and many others reversed their fees and returned the fare structures to normal.

Today, Northwest and Delta followed suit. Now when booking overseas and domestic reward tickets, the $20 – >$100 fees that formerly angered so many passengers is gone. The best part of the change is that for some, I’m hearing the change is retroactive. So if you booked an award ticket in the last month or so and had to pay the fee, you can call and get your money back. This may be one of the first times ever that I have called the airlines generous.

Your mileage may vary on the return of your fees (depending on who you talk to and what your “status” is,) but it’s worth a ten minute phone call, right?

You can read the full details on Delta’s website here.

Photo of the Day (11-5-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

Originally, I chose this shot because of the radio that is somewhere in this barbershop in India. Lecerle mentions it in his essay that accompanies his artistry at Gadling’s photo pool.

I wanted a radio shot because of a line in Obama’s acceptance speech last night. He mentioned people gathered around radios around the world listening to the news. I thought about all the people I’ve seen gathered around radios whenever I’ve traveled. No matter how remote a corner peoole are on the planet, a radio pulls them into the rest of humanity.

The shot also attracted me because of its stage like quality–a scene just waiting for the actors to show up. Plus, the essay is a lovely trip to an Indian barber. I wonder what the buzz is here today and what words are coming out of the radio?

To have your photo considered for Photo of the Day, post it here.

Malaysia Airlines First in Asia to Offer In-Flight Mobile Phone Service

by Josh Lew on

Malaysia Airlines has received and installed an in-flight mobile phone system designed by AeroMobile on one of its Boeing 777s. Passengers will be able to safely use their cell phones and PDAs during the cruise portion of the flight without interfering with the aircraft’s navigational controls and communication.

The system has been tested extensively over the past few weeks. Cabin crews will be given the green light to “advise” especially chatty passengers to be mindful of others during long haul or overnight flights. The service will be available on regional and international flights to Australia, Africa and the Middle East.

Passengers who choose to use the service will be billed by their own cell phone providers. Roaming, international and out-of-network charges will be applied. Currently, AeroMobile is working with Malaysian cell phone service providers to ensure that users won’t hit any snags if the try to make in-flight calls while in international airspace.

[Via My Sinchew]

Product review – Arkon mobile device mounts

by Scott Carmichael on

In this product review, I’m going to give you a quick look at a collection of products that can help mount your portable devices in a car or other vehicle.

In recent years, we’ve seen more and more device convergence – GPS has been added to your phone and phones are being added to GPS units. As we slowly move towards the ultimate single device, there is a growing need to be able to have easy access to that device in the car.

In my case, I often use my mobile phone with a navigation software package, and there is nothing more annoying than having to try and balance it on the dashboard in the hope it doesn’t slide off as I’m trying to find the right highway exit.
This is where Arkon mobile device mounts can help. Arkon have developed a massive collection of mounts specifically designed for your phone, PDA, media player or smartphone, as well as mounts for most existing GPS units.

Each mount consists of 2 parts; one part for the device itself, and one part that mounts to your car.

Arkon offers loads of options for mounting to your car including mounts for in your cupholder, on the sun visor, on the vents, with a windshield mounted suction cup, a dash mounted friction beanbag and even mounts that attach to the power outlet in the car. In addition to these universal mounts, Arkon also offers a lineup of vehicle specific mounts.

If you are like me, you’ll need a mount that can be moved from (rental) car to car. For this purpose, I found the windshield mount to be the best solution as the mount is nice and small, and folds up to be very compact.

Once you have selected the right vehicle mount, you can easily clip the device mount to it. This also means that any investment you make in the vehicle mount is never lost if you upgrade your device and purchase a new mount for it, you simply slide the old mount off and replace it with the new one.

The mounts are very reasonably priced. An iPhone mount is just $19.95 (plus $7.50 shipping). Larger or more complicated mounts like the beanbag mount or the sturdy gooseneck mount retail for $29.95.

My windshield mount has become a standard piece of kit I carry around with me, along with device adapter for my PDA and iPhone. Being able to actually see the screen of my device and keep it from flying through the car is great.

You can find the entire lineup of Arkon mounts on their site, where you’ll also find handy guides on how to pick the best mount for your specific needs.