Tag: transportation

BMI Yield

Airlines have been able to remove ovens, trash compactors, or even entire galleys, due to the elimination of hot meals on selected flights; others are using lighter seats; they have also removed magazine racks and replaced hard cabin dividers with curtains

the most obvious source of savings is still politically incorrect. but not for long. BMI yield management here we come.

Repurposed Freeways

I don’t know if it’s the $5/gallon gas prices, but freeway life here in southern California has become more surreal of late. Granted, traffic volumes are down, at least a little, so freeways are no longer in that perpetual state of criticality where a butterfly crossing through the 3 lane causes a 6 km backup. Yesterday I saw no less than 3 warnings about people walking on the I-5 freeway — which is a 10-lane high-speed monstrosity — and just now I saw this in a live CHP incident report near me here in La Jolla. Someone is bicycling in the dark in the fast lane of a freeway? Dear God, people. I know gas prices are high, but this is getting deranged.

Railroad Resurgence

The freight railway industry is enjoying its biggest building boom in 100 years, a turnaround as abrupt as it is ambitious. It is largely fueled by growing global trade and rising fuel costs for 18-wheelers. In 2002, the major railroads laid off 4700 workers; in 2006, they hired more than 5000. Profit has doubled industry-wide since 2003, and stock prices have soared. The value of the largest railroad, the Union Pacific, has tripled since 2001. This year alone, the railroads will spend $10b to add track, build switchyards and terminals, and open tunnels to handle the coming flood of traffic. Freight rail tonnage will rise 90% by 2035.

a resurgence. it should be straightforward to fully automate trains, overcoming the industry workforce problems