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Public Transit Inventions Make Riding Easier

Gone are the days when Americans hopped into their gas-guzzling luxury SUVs just for a simple trip to the corner store. For many of us at InventHelp®, stretching our transportation dollars is quickly becoming one of our favorite ways to cut back and save money. With the development of new public transportation inventions, bussing it around town has never been easier!

It's true that many folks would rather drive to the office than take public transportation. Inaccurate schedules, poorly marked bus stops and irregular arrivals perhaps turned off many an aspiring bus rider. The good news is that progressive cities are using technological innovations to make riding the bus pleasant and convenient.

For starters, making public transit faster is a top priority for transit inventors and engineers. In the 1970s, light rail travel was revolutionized by the advent of magnetic levitation, or maglev. This high-speed transit system rides on an air cushion created by an electromagnetic reaction between the transit car base and the guide rail.

Today's maglevs are knows for their glassy smooth rides and breakneck speeds. The world's fastest maglev in Shanghai can travel up to 270 mph, although other countries are vying to break that record. Japan plans to unveil the world's fastest maglev train, capable of speeds up to 310 miles per hour, by 2025. Other countries like Venezuela, Germany and the U.K. are considering adding maglev trains to their transportation systems. U.S. cities like InventHelp's hometown of Pittsburgh are also looking at ways to utilize maglev trains to combat growing congestion.

Next on the list of complaints about public transit are long wait times and unpredictable schedules. Many of us at InventHelp commute downtown by bus or light rail, and it's frustrating to see a scheduled bus stop time arrive with no bus in sight. Would you be more inclined to ride the bus if you could be alerted of the next arrival on your iPhone?

In cities like Portland, Ore., Seattle and Austin, revolutionary transit inventions operate in full force. Portland, in particular, is a national leader in making public transit information sleek and accessible online. Utilizing mountains of data at each bus stop, software gurus have developed 34 applications to work with Portland's transit system.

iNap sets an alarm to wake you up before your stop, if you enjoy snoozing on the bus. PDXT tracks your bus, and text messages the time you will actually arrive at a certain stop. Plus, transit authorities have teamed up with Google Maps to allow Portlanders to zoom in on bus and light rail stops all over the city. Cities and countries as far off as Japan have used Portland's transit system as a model for developing their own internet-friendly transportation inventions.

Worried about the cleanliness of public transportation, especially after the swine flu scare? Transit systems regularly clean facilities, vehicles, and fare vending equipment with high-grade germicidal solution inventions to keep germs from spreading.

In today's tough economic times, interest in public transit is increasing. According to publictransit.org, individuals who ride public transportation can save on average $9,137 annually based on the July 9, 2009 national average gas price and the national unreserved monthly parking rate. And, a new study shows that investing in public transportation provides jobs to the American workers who may need them the most – two-thirds of the jobs created by capital investment in the public transit industry replaces lost blue-collar jobs with "green jobs" in the public transit sector.

In 2008, Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation. With inventions helping to make public transportation better every day, it's easier than ever to be on one of them!

The benefits of public transportation cannot be denied. It saves energy, reduces emissions and provides economic opportunities for millions of Americans. Increased ridership can lead to additional revenue for more progressive transit inventions like the ones you've read about in our Newsletter. We at InventHelp challenge our readers to replace driving with public transit as much as possible. See you on the bus!

Back to July 2009 Newsletter

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