Gizmodo: public transportation

Pranksters Bring Child-Like Joy to Commuting with Swings on the Train

Adam Frucci — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:40:00 EDT

On Monday night, some pranksters infiltrated the Bart, San Francisco's public train system, and installed some swings in the aisles. Commuting should always be this fun.

Sure, having a swing in the aisle is probably pretty dangerous and bad for traffic flow, but come on. Every time the train stops and starts it gives you a push! It's the perfect place for a swing.

In a perfect world, there'd be special cars full of swings so everyone could get on board with this. [Laughing Squid via The Daily What]

Bus Stop Swing Set: A Public Transportation Playground

Sean Fallon — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EDT

The idea of making public spaces more playful is the brainchild of artist Bruno Taylor. In this project, he modified several London bus stops with swings to brighten the day of busy commuters. Never mind the smell, the noise, or that dude rubbing up against you—a swing set at the bus stop would melt away all of the stress associated with public transportation. That is until you get a little too carried away with the swinging motion and knock out someone walking behind the bus stop with your ass. On the playground that's detention—in the adult world it's called assault. Haha...(ass)ault. [Pixelsumo via PSFK via Dvice]

NYC Makes Buses Hijack Proof With Remote Controlled Device

Sean Fallon — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:15:00 EDT

Let's say someone put a bomb on your bus and it can't go below 50 mph or it will explode. If that were to happen on a NYC bus you would probably be incinerated because the city has installed a new GPS device in thousands of local commuter and tourist buses. If the authorities get wind of a hijacking in progress, they can slowly stop the vehicle and prevent it from restarting via remote control. It may not work for "Speed" style situations, but for conventional hijackings, it could prove to be an effective weapon.

The GPS device is attached to the bus computer system and it relays information about its speed and direction to a dispatcher. In the event of a hijacking, the dispatcher can remotely slow the bus down and prevent it from being restarted—giving cops enough time to get to the scene. Apparently, slowing the bus down gradually is intended to give terrorists extra time to rethink their position before doing something drastic.

Financing for the system has been made possible thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Security. So far, the device is on 3000 Grey Line double-decker buses, 80 DeCamp buses and plans are currently underway to equip 3000 New Jersey Transit buses. NYC transit is currently in the pilot stage for the program, but they are expected to follow suit with their 4500 bus fleet sometime in the near future. [New York Post]

Google Maps For Mobile 2.2 Saves Gas With Bus and Train Directions

Sean Fallon — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:20:00 EDT

The new version of Google Maps for Mobile (2.2) is offering public transportation directions "in all of the same places as the web version of Google Maps, including Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Vancouver, and over 40 other cities in North America." Users will also be able to easily browse through all scheduled trips and get information on the last transit trips for the day. Throw that in with the "My Location" feature, and you have yourself a useful tool in the fight against high gas prices.

[Google Mobile]

Excubo Sleeping Jacket: For Those Brave Enough To Sleep On the Subway

Gizloco — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:15:17 EST

Should, for some reason, you choose to sleep on public transportation, you'll appreciate this weird jacket thing that recently won an industrial design competition. Dubbed the Excubo, the jacket has a what I can only describe as a really big popped collar that's used to cushion and hold in place the wearer's neck. Mr. Big Collar also provides a bit of privacy, so when you're on the F train heading out to the middle of Queens in order to pick up some party favors you'll be able to nap somewhat anonymously. Though I must say, I don't see how such a unique design won't draw at least some attention from the peanut gallery.

The young gun who designed Excubo (Latin for "I sleep outside," in case you're playing at home), Matthew Gale, won first place in a design competition sponsored by James Dyson (yes, the vacuum guy) and the Industrial Designers Society of America. Hopefully next on the chopping block is a pair of shoes that don't get absolutely destroyed in post snow storm New York. – Nicholas Deleon

Excubo [Matthew Gales' Home Page]