>Here is the alternative time...
>
>
>Greetings!
>
>We are glad that you will be able to attend the Technology
>conference call and internet presentation.
>
>Following the presentation, you will have the opportunity to ask
>questions of the presenters.
>
>Meeting Details:
>Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
>Time: 1:00 pm EST
>
>The conference call telephone number for the U.S. is (800) 288-8967
>Ask for the GM Technology Briefing. This will give you the audio
>portion of the program
>
>To view the presentation visuals on the internet:
>1. Please enter gm.webex.com in your internet browser
>2. At the sign-in screen, please enter meeting number 971 098 492
>3. The password is "technology" without the quotation marks
>
>If this is the first time you have used WebEx, you will be prompted
>to add WebEx or Active-X software. Select yes. This will just take a moment.
>
>
>
>Becky Bolin
>GM Communications
>Program Operations
>313.667.3446
>313.815.7716 cell
>becky...@gm.com
>
>Jerry Schneider <j...@peak.org>
>
>04/06/2009 04:40 PM
>To
>becky...@gm.com
>cc
>Subject
>Your Webex announcement
>Becky,
>
>Are there any alternatives for West Coasters to your 7 am EST meeting
>time? Can one access some or all of the materials after the meeting?
>4 am is pretty early, even for us energetic WCs.
>
>
>- Jerry Schneider -
> Innovative Transportation Technologies
> http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans
>
>
Walt
The great advantage of the “proper” segway over bicycles and other vehicles that can mix with pedestrians is that it is only marginally bigger than a standing person, and it will stay upright even at a standstill. A bicycle, or any vehicle that must rely on its shape for safe stability at any speed it can achieve, will be significantly larger than a standing person. Moreover bicycles lose stability as speed is reduced and don’t stay upright when still. This requires that the cyclist put a foot down if stopped by pedestrians, and this makes travel very uncomfortable in an environment dominated by pedestrians (or else, an aggressive behaviour by the cyclists). A segway can mix with pedestrians without too many problems. I don’t know about this 2 seater though but I guess a three-wheeler that is not unsafe at 25 MPH would have to be significantly longer.
Regards
Luca
Da:
transport-...@googlegroups.com
[mailto:transport-...@googlegroups.com] Per conto di Walter Brewer
Inviato: martedì 7 aprile 2009
15.33
A:
transport-...@googlegroups.com
Oggetto: [t-i] Re: GM Webex
announcement - alternative viewing time for Westerners
<BR
It's something like this... (use a monospace font to see this aligned)
A is a 5 mph footpath or sidewalk
B is a 15 mph bike trail
C is a 25 mph street
D is a 35 mph collector
E is a 45 mph arterial
F is a 55 mph limited access arterial
G is a 65 mph segregated highway
The allowed vehicles are:
infrastructure A B C D E F G
walking : : : : : includes wheelchairs
bikes : : : : includes scooters
NEVs : :
cars : : : : :
trucks : : : : :
Because of the system, walking/biking can be dangerous, NEVs are
useless, and there is no realm that is really good for the
segway/wheelchair niche.
What we SHOULD have is a more distinct separation between criss-cross
low speed transportation at the ground level and segregated high speed
transport. I would say the categories should be more like this:
A is a 5 mph footpath or sidewalk
B is a 15 mph recreational trail (uncommon)
C is a 25 mph one-way narrow path (or slower)
D is a 25 mph wide road for freight delivery
E is specialized and segregated
And the vehicles would be:
infrastructure A B C D E
walking : :
mobility devices* : : :
NEVs : :
cars & trucks :
specialized** :
*mobility devices include wheelchairs, bikes, scooters, whether
motorized or not
**specialized includes all fixed guideway
So the basic way of connecting up urban destinations is a grid of
delivery roads (D), a finer mesh of paths (C), and a superstructure of
elevated fixed guideways (E), leaving plenty of room for plants and
animals at the ground level.
On the delivery roads you would see mainly trucks and some cars plodding
along handling the inevitable big things that need to get places. The
demand would not be huge so it would be reasonable to have no signals
and most would be one 12' lane. They could even be gravel where car
demand got very low. The paths would be a sort of competitive
unsignalized free-for-all where bikes, scooters, fast wheelchairs, and
NEVs flow on 5' lanes with a strict electronic speed limit and a mix of
electronic and human negotiation. Pedestrians could cross the paths.
Paths could wind around flower pots and trees in a human-scale way. The
occasional collision would not be so dangerous because of the light
weights and speed limit. The paths could also handle cyber-NEVs and
dual-mode vehicles. Above it all the fixed guideway provides PRT and
dual mode service for a majority of trips over a mile in length. And to
top it off, many of the personal vehicles can fit inside the guideway
cars so you can reasonably take your ebike/chair on a long trip.
Richard Gronning wrote:
> As I viewed this vehicle, the thought came to me that it was the perfect
> vehicle for dual-mode. Instead of the usual road-type vehicle, why not
> have something that travels on sidewalks?
> http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/gm-conjures-up-a-people-moving-pod/
--
Ian Ford i...@ianford.com 505.246.8490
Jerry,
Maybe GM’s next shower will be an electric car that you can drive into while in your dual-seat-segway? The segway would become the car’s cabin (place for a second one at the back, three rows for the Suburban Van version) and hook into the car’s controls. Mobility impaired persons and able persons would scoot around in the same fashion.
Regards
Luca
|
Ing. Luca Guala Questo messaggio viene spedito in via
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Da: transport-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:transport-...@googlegroups.com] Per conto di Jerry Roane
Inviato: martedì 7 aprile 2009
18.24
A: transport-...@googlegroups.com
Oggetto: [t-i] Re: the GM
wheelchair
Yesterday I saw a news item here in St Perersburg that said the Police here are using Segways to patrol some of the parks where they are having problems. It was only a matter of time when the crooks would get faster segways.
|
From: gary13 <garyd...@gmail.com> |
Italian Police uses Segways to patrol pedestrian streets. The policeman on a segway stands above the heads of the pedestrians and has a good view. Rumor has it that they have the 25 mph key which is not provided with commercial Segways. I would really like to see a chase of a pick-pockets by a policeman on a 25 mph segway, in a thick flow of pedestrians!
Cheers
Luca
Da: transport-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:transport-...@googlegroups.com] Per conto di Jack Slade
Inviato: martedì 7 aprile 2009
20.09
A: transport-...@googlegroups.com
Oggetto: [t-i] Re: GM Webex
announcement - alternative viewing time for Westerners
|
> At 06:37 AM 4/7/2009, you wrote:
>
>> As I viewed this vehicle, the thought came to me that it was the perfect
>> vehicle for dual-mode. Instead of the usual road-type vehicle, why not
>> have something that travels on sidewalks?
>> http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/gm-conjures-up-a-people-moving-pod
>> /
>
> I had the same thought - IF it had an exclusive 2-way guideway
> network that was fairly extensive,
> it seems like it could easily solve the first/last mile problem (with
> sufficient access/egress ramps)
> as well as parking problems in high density areas. Or, it could be
> transported on a carrier like
> those envision by MegaRail and others.
Unless the track width is too narrow, it could probably be carried on a
in-city MicroRail CarFerry . However, the passengers might not want to be
carried into 65-mph headwind. I think that the better solution would be
small, enclosed electric cars that could have their batteries recharged
during CarFerry transport
Kirston Henderson
MegaRail®
Perhaps you could find a way to accommodate these vehicles on your car
ferry. There are conceptual designs for PUMA that appear to have
enclosures that
might keep the wind off the passengers - and I would think that a way could
be found to charge them while on the carrier?
> Perhaps you could find a way to accommodate these vehicles on your car
> ferry. There are conceptual designs for PUMA that appear to have
> enclosures that
> might keep the wind off the passengers - and I would think that a way could
> be found to charge them while on the carrier?
Sorry, but I don't think that either is practical. CarFerries will
eventually go non-stop to the station designated by the car driver and hence
trying to make them carry multiple cars is a bit impractical.
Kirston Henderson
MegaRail®