Mass transit in Cape Cod, Massachusetts is in trouble. The Flex bus, which serves the Lower Cape from Harwich to Provincetown, first went into service in May, 2006. A recent audit conducted by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (RTA) concluded that the service’s budget is $1 million in the red.

All Lower Cape towns served by the Flex pay a fee based on ridership. The RTA anticipated the state of Massachusetts would chip in $1 million to cover 80% of operating costs; but that hasn’t happened.

 

Robert Gayton, RTA's accountant, recommends an immediate shutdown of the Flex. According to Gayton, the Flex may run into “bankruptcy, employees not getting paid and legal action against everyone and everything. We do not have the same protection that a government has.”

 

Southern California, home to endless six-lane, bumper-to-bumper freeways and delicious lung-clogging smog, does not typically conjure up images of livable environments with alternative transportation. The Los Angeles model, a city built at the height of America’s car and highway obsession, embodies everything that Carectomy seeks to change. Sprawling cities, poor public transportation, bike use predominantly restricted to fitness rides (with a car ride to get to paths or trails) or to those who can’t afford vehicles, and tons of cars everywhere all the time.

One group is attempting to change peoples’ attitudes in Pasadena, California. Pasadena Walks is an advocacy group “working for a walkable, livable, human scale Pasadena.” They advocate a partial carectomy, and encourage people to “leave the car at home from time to time.” The group’s mission includes government advocacy, education, and promotion of events that help with going car-free.

Want to look hip while commuting? Well, Green Guru Gear has you covered. The environmentally-obsessed company works with used-up inner tubes (both from bikes and trucks), reclaimed billboard vinyl, rugged hemp (causes little erosion, no pesticides necessary, very renewable/sustainable crop), and recycled P.E.T. from soda and water bottles.

 

In the aftermath of the death of two cyclists in Portland, Oregon, a recent (Portland State) Vanguard article analyzes the growing tensions between cyclists and drivers. Portland, dubbed “Bike Town U.S.A.” for its system of bike paths, lanes, and cycling-friendly legislation, has seen a steady increase in the number of cyclists. According to Vanguard, “As the number of cyclists in Portland continues to shoot up, tensions with drivers are obviously at a dangerous point. It is clear that action needs to be taken for everyone's safety, and something has to be done to lower the vitriol spewed between cyclists and drivers.”

Portland officials are hoping to defuse the situation. City Commissioner Sam Adams held an emergency meeting to address bike safety. Bikeportland.org’s Jonathan Maus characterized the meeting as a “solid first step.”

Disneyland is in the process of revamping the seminal It’s a Small World ride. The Anaheim park introduced this ride, and the accompanying godawful song, to the world in 1963. At the time, the average adult males weighed about 175 pounds and women 135. In the interim, those figures have climbed by about 25 pounds.

With increasing regularity, the growing size of riders has caused the boats to bottom out and to become lodged in place. When this occurs, all of the boats behind become stuck as well until a ride monitor can extricate the overweight person from the boat and out an emergency exit. In the meantime, a gaggle of customers pile up in a section of the ride (the Scandinavian Room, typically) with annoying music bombarding them.

I just came across a handy-dandy Tips for Motorists printout (pdf) put out by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation with the backing of the Illinois Dept. of Transportation. Although it has some useful pointers for cyclists (specifically, “where bikers should ride”), the brunt of the flyer is directed to motorists.

The concept of such a printout is great—cyclists can print it out double-sided to fit onto one page, and distribute them with a smile to offending motorists. Much of the info is right on, tells drivers what to expect from a cyclist, how to behave when riders are near, and how to avoid common accidents. Tips include how to avoid the “right hook” (where a driver passes a cyclist on the left, then turns to the right in front of the cyclist) or dooring a rider.