Electric Bikes WAS: Re: [ba-unrev-talk] Mess Transit
http://www.electric-bikes.com/others.htm
Note some of the developers names in there. Ford, Lee Iococca,... (01)
Bigger machines
http://www.electric-bikes.com/motorcys.htm (02)
Most offer 25-40 mile range on one charge at a speed of 40mph.
Not bad for developments in their infancy. (03)
--
Peter (04)
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Maloney" <jtmalone@pacbell.net>
To: <ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 03, 2002 2:13 AM
Subject: [ba-unrev-talk] Mess Transit (05)
>
> Greetings,
>
> Thanks for all the excellent posts. Very useful material, links and
> commentary on collaboration and augmentation.
>
> This post is in response to the remarks on car pool lanes and mass
transit,
> in the context of ba-unrev-talk.
>
> First, I reject the notion that car pool lanes do not serve their
> constituencies. In fact, they are extremely effective!
>
> First, anyone that thinks the car pool lanes serve the motoring
public, is
> sadly mistaken.
>
> Car pool lanes serve the "automobile-industrial complex," plain and
simple.
>
> The automobile companies, their lobbyist, the insurance industry, the
oil
> companies, justice systems, construction firms, and the myriad other
> organization that feed this avaricious monster are extremely
well-served
> with any strategy, like the dubious car pool lanes, that increases
their
> growth.
>
> Jack Nassar noted that for every $1 spent on a new auto, $7-10 are
spent on
> services - insurance, fuel, maintenance, etc. This is big, very big
> business, so watch what you say!
>
> In the early 1920s, guess who systematically and deliberately
dismantled the
> Philadelphia trolley system? Yep, none other that 'General' Motors.
>
> To wit, " What's good for the country is good for General Motors, and
vice
> versa." - Charles Wilson (1890-1961), head of GM
>
> The automobile + insurance + big oil lobbies and their craven
supplicants
> have a pathological aversion to mass transit.
>
> In the pre-auto lobby 1860's the Union Railroad and Pacific Railroad
spanned
> a continent in 3 YEARS!
>
> Today, in the SF Bay Area, with florid auto lobbyists, it has taken
"BART"
> more than 30 to get to the airport! (Still not there yet, of course.)
That
> was only after major concessions to build MASSIVE car parking
complexes, in
> fact, the largest US public works project in the last 25 years. Go
figure.
>
> Thus, anything that keeps you in the driver's seat is welcome.
>
> For example, in other countries they have implemented odd/even days to
> ameliorate traffic congestion. Do you think for one second the
> automobile-industrial complex would stand for idling half their cash
cow? No
> way brother! Hmmn, then how to assuage the do-gooders? Ah-ha! Car pool
lanes
> will do the trick.
>
> What does all this have to do with ba-unrev-talk? It is a classic
problem
> that we've all faced:
>
> Structural or technology changes do NOT solve cultural, political,
economic
> or social issues. Never have, never will. Look at all the
failed/challenged
> deployments of collaborative or augmentation processes and
technologies, for
> example.
>
> The typical Silicon Valley BWM aficionado would rather spend hours
idling
> alone on the 101 corridor, than dare join the great unwashed and step
onto
> terrestrial public transit systems. This is a profound cultural
barrier to
> sustainable transit. Add to this the intractable economic/political
"Iron
> Curtain" of automobile-industrial domination, and you have the current
mess.
>
> Finally, now that my axe is sufficiently ground, there are many steps
that
> can be taken to move forward. One, relevant to ba-unrev-talk, is
deliberate
> action to advance progressive work models. The vast cubicle farms
filled
> with commuting automata, are a staple of perceived managerial
achievement.
> Adoption of new means of work and interaction have been slower than
erosion
> because of hierarchy and empire. Hopefully, ba-unrev-talk will help
> accelerate the move from the mass centralization of work to a more
effective
> and sustainable distributed model.
>
> Cheers,
>
> -jtm
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org
> [mailto:owner-ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org]On Behalf Of Peter Jones
> Sent: Saturday, March 02, 2002 8:25 AM
> To: ba-unrev-talk@bootstrap.org
> Subject: [ba-unrev-talk] Re: [ba-ohs-talk] Eric Running for Office
>
>
> Yes, it has rail, but it's a long tunnel under a sea lane, so you
can't
> drive cars down there because everyone would asphyxiate.
> And you can ventilate mid-channel without a risk to shipping (ships
> don't float in aerated water).
> So they put the cars on the _electric_ train.
> Of course, you wouldn't need to do that if you had an electric car.
>
> (06)