Overloaded Bikes in China's Cities

I studied abroad in China a few summers ago, and one thing that always astounded me was how people managed to travel miles across the city carting an incredible amount of people or cargo on a bicycle. You cannot fathom how frequently you see people like those in the photographs in the link below attempting to dart in and out of chaotic traffic at what are really pretty impressive speeds considering the loads they carry. After seeing this, it makes me pretty committed to biking as a method of transportation, because if these people can carry as much as they do, I feel like I can handle a bag of groceries or two for a couple miles. 

http://scribol.com/bikes/news-chinas-overloaded-bikes

World's Worst Public Transit

I came across this the other day, and while it's far from scientific, it is a reminder that even on the worst of days, even in the least public-transit friendly of America's large cities, it still could be worse. 

http://jalopnik.com/the-worlds-ten-worst-public-transit-systems-657407658

Furthermore, I think it provided a nice summary of some transit systems with which I was not familiar. I also thought it rather interesting how there are some common problem themes with the major complaints people had about transit systems, those being:

1. Doesn't run far enough out or connect to destination locations

2. Doesn't have extensive hours

3. Problems with drivers or bureaucracy 

This contrast the international systems highlighted, most of which seem to have problems with excessive crowds and unsafe systems. 

Above all else, this article just made me really nostalgic and thankful for the Chicago L system. 

Atlanta Shuts Down

I realize I'm a little late in posting this before the blog discussion day tomorrow, but I want to talk about the problems that Atlanta has recently faced with the inclement weather. Since Atlanta has a pretty sprawling metropolis and cars are a primary method of transportation without a mass transit system, the city has been hit especially hard by the recent winter weather. Here is an article detailing some of the problems:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/us/atlanta-ice-how-it-happened/

I thought it was interesting to note that perhaps if the mayor had more say-so some of the problems could have been avoided. Personally, I still am a bit confused as to how exactly two inches of snow could cause as much strife as it did in this instance, even in the south. However, as is implied in this article, better communication or organization could only help.