Human Transit

sydney: new perils of privatisation

From today's Sydney Morning Herald:

The company that runs Australia's immigration detention centres has made the short list to operate Sydney's ferries.  Harbour City Ferries and Transit Systems are the other two bidders on the list. Security company Serco has a contract with the federal government to run Australia's detention centres, which are the subject of a parliamentary inquiry after recent protests and unrest among detainees.

Insert your own quip here.

in vancouver

I've arrived in Vancouver, and will be starting in my new part-time role with the transit agency, Translink, on Tuesday. At the moment I'm preoccupied with looking for housing for this six-month stay.  Home is so important to me that when I don't have one, it's hard to focus on anything else.  So between that and the book, my posts may be light for few days.

Meanwhile, if your city is on a river or very calm harbour, you should know about the micro-ferries of Vancouver's False Creek.  They're the smallest-scale passenger ferries I've seen in the developed world.  They carry 12 passengers on a perimeter bench while the single operator sits in the center and handles driving, docking, and fares.

They're ideal for short runs at high frequency over calm water, which is what they do.  More on them soon.