doorzone bike lane in front of lezipark, great job Zurich!
@bugybunny12 ай бұрын
woah, Zurich urbanist content. How great is that?! Please produce more videos, they are great :-)
@nordmu3 ай бұрын
Informative video! Mercii ;)
@neonfighter28553 ай бұрын
the fountains also provide a vital role in providing the population with potable water during any crisis where the water pumps of the city dont work anymore. since some of them work only off of spring water ("notwasserbrunnen") they can be unlocked and a water distribution station can be set up very quick to provide the local population with fresh drinking water :)
@Jaggerbush7 ай бұрын
Heres a cool thing that exist only in my city but likely doesnt exist any more bc at the time of this uplaod, it was already dead...
@bengie1135510 ай бұрын
Too bad I can't just make a car free city in game and 3d print it to real life. Really want to get out of the US but a lot of things need to happen before I can do that....
@chansonexmo10 ай бұрын
I actually usually carry my water bottle anyway so I can take a sip while relaxing on the tram. Additionally some fountains are more convenient for filling a bottle than for drinking directly. But I can bring it empty and fill it whenever I like. This is one of the things I really love about living in Zürich!
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
I guess this video comes from my perspective of taking my bike everywhere I go :p Speaking about convenient designs, my favorite design that I've seen in the city so far is the one by Albisgutli (where the water goes up vertically, at 1:13). It's so easy to drink from and there's a lot that comes out, meaning you can get hydrated really fast.
@chansonexmo10 ай бұрын
@@inductionpan Sounds cool -- I'll have to check it out!
@felixtv27210 ай бұрын
And this water is also of a much better quality than tap water across most of the world! I still notice a difference between water from Zurich and my Swiss mountain village home town, but it's miles better than almost every other city in Europe.
@dgu82402 ай бұрын
@@inductionpan most fountains carry spring water which doesn't need processing
@johndemcko858510 ай бұрын
I love this idea! This is a beautiful nexus of passenger mobility and freight transport through repurposing retired fleets and providing alternatives to the usual "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town."
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
I agree! It makes me wonder what else these trams could be used for
@bobparsons7710 ай бұрын
In Zurich much better train/bus connections at most major stops.
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
True, there's almost always something waiting for you when you get off the train.
@christophero196910 ай бұрын
Those ticket vending machines cost $300 million U.S.A. taxpayer dollars.
@MightyFineMan10 ай бұрын
What life could have continued being.
@flamingfrancis10 ай бұрын
Nothing new...do the same with a map of Australia.
@michaelbujaki246210 ай бұрын
Yeah, but the difference is that Europe added rails while America got rid of them.
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
These rails are still there though, just for freight. And Europe also got rid of rail as well, at least ones that were unprofitable. Two in Switzerland come to the top of my mind. Of course, in a lot of Europe, faster rail was added as well.
@nickunderwood636810 ай бұрын
The UK has this in the 1850's 😂ish
@thestudentofficial548310 ай бұрын
It makes sense for a garbage tram. Modern cities have underground waste collection points. These points obviously don't move around, so waste collecting service follows a rigid predetermined path. So like a highly serviced bus line gets upgraded into a tram line, we should do this with garbage collection too!
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
Zürich also has underground waste collection points! Although it Zurich, there are a lot of them, and I don't think that they're serviced regularly enough to warrant a tram :/
@user-yb2rx6yp9b10 ай бұрын
Now everything is roads:(
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
:(
@VeloRad-nu6jm11 ай бұрын
Are you telling me this major metropolitan US railway is *not* electrified? Damn. Even the Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok has been fully electrified since 2002, more than 20 years ago, all 9000km or 5600 miles of it. The last time I took a non-electrified train was the Trans-Mongolian, which traverses a sparsely populated desert. The fact that Americans think electrifying 1100 miles of rail in one of the busiest metro areas in the world is a pipe dream just speaks volumes to how broken US transit is. Also, I'm sorry but those cars look like they are from the 1950s! Very interesting to hear this perspective though!
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
Well, only a part of the Metra, along with the entire CTA, is electrified. But most of the other Metra lines aren't. Don't ask me why that is :/. But hey, the plan is to get new wagons soon, so at least we'll have that! They're going to be similar to the ones in Europe (they're Alstom I believe).
@mccoy79productions6611 ай бұрын
nice
@jeanpabon294811 ай бұрын
I think the conductor can give you a day pass... i'm not sure. I remember someone paying for a ticket in cash and he asked if it worked to return and the conductor said yes
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Probably was a one off situation, according to metra.com/where-purchase-tickets you can only buy them on the Ventra app
@thezionist27411 ай бұрын
4:31 you can wait for a train and be in the middle of the road at the same time? That's peak urban planning.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Yes! Amazing isn't it
@marklee864411 ай бұрын
As someone from Toronto and recently visited Chicago and rode metra. Everything about metra reminded me of GO transit from 2 Decades ago, So it would cost all of money but if GO transit can do improve Metra can too.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
It's nice to see North American transit systems improving :) I have no doubt Metra can improve; the question is rather is there the political will/money to do it
@user-zh7bt6wt5i11 ай бұрын
Oh Hell
@annalouux855311 ай бұрын
Come on this road sign is all over Europe not only Switzerland
@vicv950311 ай бұрын
Thats confusing
@magg3rn11 ай бұрын
Swiss, nope European design man, European
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
I saw some in other countries that didn't have the bike/pedestrian continuation, so I didn't want to generalize
@magg3rn11 ай бұрын
@@inductionpan Because the path going forward with the bike or walking if there is a path going forward of any sort, if there is no and then a normal dead end there will be none, but i understand what you mean
@jeffreysmith8511 ай бұрын
They ate changing the fare structure
@inductionpan10 ай бұрын
Yes they are next year, so at least that will be better
@jeffreysmith8511 ай бұрын
Get a vpn
@jeffreysmith8511 ай бұрын
Get a paper schedule
@jordantroche950511 ай бұрын
this vid is great and as someone who regularly takes metra, these points are valid. Having signs that show where your trains is going would be lovely, instead of having to get the app or ask someone. It's funny tho because some stations on the Metra Electric district actually have this. At van buren street station, there are E-signs that say which train is coming and all the stops it will stop at. It would be very nice if more stations could get this as it is the bare minimum.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Thank you! I gotta make a visit down to the electric line when I can! It sounds like what they have (ticket vending machines, these signs) is better for the customer experience than on the other lines.
@imxdsky11 ай бұрын
swiss?? thats german
@tomtolle9911 ай бұрын
Thats a typical dead end sign of Europe, not swiss.
@rpf27611 ай бұрын
Your comments should be the first step in Metra's new announced goal to transform from a Metro Chicago commuter rail network into a regional rail network. This would help get public support to get real capital funding.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
This should be the very first step, but I think that until Metra's STAR project (or something like it) isn't implemented, there will be no true regional rail in Chicago.
@greg.anywhere11 ай бұрын
I wish LA's Metrolink was inproving to the degree Metra is.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
At least LA's metro is improving, with all the new lines and such
@fatviscount656211 ай бұрын
Another one: Swiss train stations are hubs for schedule-coordinated bus feeders that raise ridership, whereas most Metra stops have few or no connections to buses. In almost no cases are the train and bus schedules coordinated for fast connections.
@nicksalvador972911 ай бұрын
This was an excellent video. I agree with your criticisms. Nevertheless I am thankful that we have Metra and the CTA in Chicago. Metra and CTA help a lot with reducing overall traffic and pollution as well as just being very convenient. It may not be as nice as Euro transit, but I sure am thankful that we have it. Let's hope that on day we can catch up to where Europe is in terms of infrastructure. I hope your channel gets more popular.
@theonlyalecazam294711 ай бұрын
love the mindset
@wicky20111 ай бұрын
Why do you keep saying "THE" Metra? It's Metra, that's all you need.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
I called it "The Metra" since I was young, that's what I'm used to.
@Mr.E72311 ай бұрын
Some of the newer seats on Metra, the ones that don’t flip, I’ve only been in a car that had them once or twice but tbh, I don’t like them, I thought they were uncomfortable. Metra’s normal seats, the ones that do flip I’ve always found surprisingly comfortable. Sometimes keeping it simple is just better.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
I think that the newer ones might be easier to maintain, so that's probably why they want to switch them.
@jfwfreo11 ай бұрын
@@inductionpan There may also be a safety issue in that new seats need to meet standards for fire safety (often cited as a reason why modern train seats are firmer and less padded), crash protection (often cited as a reason why modern train seats have such a high back) and other things.
@ClassyWhale11 ай бұрын
This is very well done! I appreciate the "here's some actual practical little things" vibe, since a lot of US-Europe comparisons focus on the big things which would be very hard to do!
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Thank you! I agree, while there are big things one could change with the Metra, I feel like first the small things should be done right before grander plans are made. Burnham would disagree with me though 😅
@stevencipriano396211 ай бұрын
I 100% agree with all your points. From my understanding the new Metra railcars rollout out over the next could of years will have information LCD screens/wayfinding screens throughout the cars
@herlsone11 ай бұрын
The first one should be the 1890s era locomotives. I live next to a UPN station at the north end. 24 times a day a smoky polluting locomotive belches smoke and greenhouse gasses and stench into our neighborhood and into our windows. For those that dont know, metra operates very old locomotives on this line that stay at high rpm even stopped at the station. Massive brown and black smoke like the 1950s. Its disgusting.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
🤮 Even in my thumbnail, you can faintly see the smoke coming out of the locomotive. But at least it's only polluting office areas that have good hvac systems. I can only imagine living next to a station with constant smoke, it's probably like smoking loads of cigarettes all the time. I thought I read somewhere that metras getting electric locomotives; hopefully that's a decent stopgap solution.
@herlsone11 ай бұрын
@@inductionpan Metra is proposing converting some of their super old locos to hybrid. Half diesel half battery. It's widely considered a joke. It's soooooo ridiculous. When I am back there I will take a video of it. I love trains and like living next to the station. But I'm summer, it's like 1800s industrial revolution. Bleah.
@herlsone11 ай бұрын
Yes, can see it in your thumbnail and video. But that one is not so bad. Some of them are truly awful with whining turbos ready to blow. Oddly, on other lines metra uses newer versions that do go to low idle at the stations. I am sure they have some ridiculous exemption to pollute and all over their website it's "green this" and 'green that"...
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Yeah I'm not sure that hybrid locomotives are the best idea, it would probably take forever to charge such a massive battery. Anyways it would be best if the entire network got electrified, but I don't think that's happening anytime soon :/
@qjtvaddict11 ай бұрын
Eliminate region locking
@qjtvaddict11 ай бұрын
Without frequent service your regional rail network is nothing
@beckiverson153111 ай бұрын
you should talk about Caltrain
@georgekarnezis431111 ай бұрын
Ticket machines are obviously good but it’s crazy to me that metra doesn’t have hand held devices to collect payments via credit card on board. Also sometimes metra at least on the RI will run on the wrong side inbound on weekends. I have no clue why this is.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
I think you mean that there's no option to pay with a card (and not with cash) if you don't have the app, correct? I find that crazy too, but I think after these vending machines come in, buying tickets on the train will probably stop all together. Although I can see it being useful to collect fines for not having your ticket 😅 Regarding the wrong side, maybe it's because Metra only wants to use one track to save on maintenence casts or something? That's my best guess at least.
@lukasegeling520511 ай бұрын
On the bright side, some of the Stadler trains commonly seen in Switzerland (where Stadler is from) are starting to appear in the USA. FLIRTs can be seen in Texas and California and CalTrain is getting a bunch of KISS double deckers.
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Im looking forward to these changes! From what I saw online, Metra is getting Alstom trains, and while they're not the great Stadler I'm used to, theyre still going to have some great features present on European trains, for example level boarding and a better HVAC system. Source: metra.com/newsroom/metra-board-approves-purchase-500-modern-railcars
@nashorn974511 ай бұрын
They wouldn't work in Chicago. There doors are not tight enuf and snow and ice would come into the car. But maybe the RABe 502 FV Dosto would work they are pressure tight. The new Metra cars are going to be form Alstom anyway. So maybe we will see some parts of the RABe 502 in them.
@lukasegeling520511 ай бұрын
@@nashorn9745 There is a pressure tight version of the Stadler KISS, though I believe their doors come from the same source as the RABe 502's doors and probably those of Chicaco's new Alstom trains.
@bahnspotterEU11 ай бұрын
@@nashorn9745 KISS and FLIRT can be modified for especially snowy conditions. They've done that for those running in Sweden, Norway and Russia. Snow is no problem whatsoever.
@moover12311 ай бұрын
I think the lack of information encourages contact between the commuters at least lol
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
It definitely does, but I still think the rush hour commuters still keep to themselves, even when the train is delayed. On the weekend people are a bit more talkative I feel like.
@chansonexmo11 ай бұрын
The clear information is so critical -- and you're right that it's something that shouldn't be difficult to provide. I was in London recently, and there was an overhead announcement in the underground saying that there were changes in the service -- and advising people to check the website to find out what those changes are. 🤦♀One thing I love about the Zürich tram network is that the minute there's any issue anywhere, they give a clear announcement in all the trams and stations explaining exactly which parts of which lines are affected and giving advice on alternate routes.
@fusion499611 ай бұрын
You're right about the seats, especially the newer trains are quite uncomfortable imo. Great video
@inductionpan11 ай бұрын
Thank you! Yeah I think the SBB has probably one of the most uncomfortable seats out of any train I've ridden, and I've taken many. At least they make up for it with extreme punctuality and reliability.
@user-7465211 ай бұрын
I was in Montreal in July of this year, and I was pleasantly surprised to see an electric minitruck driving by with the logo of some business on it. I did not expect to see such a thing in Canada. It even had red turn signals, which was both good and bad; bad because red turn signals are stupid and should be abolished, but good because it was a sign that it was made specifically for the North American market.