Now if only someone had the brains to turn down the speakers on the trains and train platforms.

Simon and Garfunkel?

Actually, believe it or not, UP 3985 is very quiet when the warning equipment is not used.  And it is not powered by diesel-electric.  It is a STEAM ENGINE!

I can put up with the rail stuff.  What i can't stand is shopping in a store, and it has great music.  Then a ad comes over the air........

Well, people are so welded to cell phones, they could never hear a jet taking off....

The hybrid buses may be a bit less noisy than the regular ones, but they certainly aren't what you'd call quiet.

I'm back, folks.  No, I will not change because this is the way I am.  Anyhoo, onto me responding to certain things that got my attention:

"Our hybrid-electric buses are certainly quieter than our diesel-powered buses - but so far, no one is complaining they're too quiet. In an age when we're assaulted with traffic and construction noises, METRO's hybrids are a welcome addition - and subtraction in decibels -  to the road."

Why on Earth would anybody want to complain that hybrid vehicles (not just buses) are too quiet?  Makes no sense to me, as usual.

don y said:  "Now if only someone had the brains to turn down the speakers on the trains and train platforms."

Why?

Cedric:   Welcome back!  Now I've got somebody on this blog who wants the three door hybrid A-bus with P&R seats on the 214, et. al!

....and regular seats on the 2....

"Why on Earth would anybody want to complain that hybrid vehicles (not just buses) are too quiet?  Makes no sense to me, as usual."

Because quiet cars = blind people getting run over crossing the street.

Dominic,

Thanks and funny you mention the 214 because that's the bus I RIDE DAILY!!!!

ChloeMireille said:  "Because quiet cars = blind people getting run over crossing the street."

You must mean "people who are deaf," right?

"Our hybrid-electric buses are certainly quieter than our diesel-powered buses - but so far, no one is complaining they're too quiet."

This is a true, relevant statement---especially with the MCI hybrids (for example).  You can hear a diesel MCI's engine from a block away (at least) but not one of those MCI hybrids---especially when other vehicles are around and they're all moving at the same time.

If the person in question is deaf, it doesn't matter how loud the car is. People who are sight-impaired rely on hearing the oncoming traffic. I gather the issue is that hybrids in electric mode can even sneak up on people who just don't look.

I suspect that this whole thing is much ado about nothing. Has there actually been an incident of a blind pedestrian being hit by a hybrid vehicle because the pedestrian didn't hear it coming? Neither this blog nor the NYT article it cites gives a single example.

I drive a Prius, and when it is moving, the (perfectly audible) gas engine is running almost all of the time, so noise is not much of an issue with it.

How about, instead of taking steps to make our streets even noisier than they already are, we simply encourage drivers of hybrids and electrics--along with everybody else--to watch where they're going?

Cedric:

I mentioned the 214 because:

1.  The 4400 A-buses (artics) used to run there.

2.  You ride the route.

The non-hybrid MCI at NW BOF will get louder.....

ChloeMireille said:

"Because quiet cars = blind people getting run over crossing the street."

It is absolutely insane to add noise to every quiet vehicle simply to avoid accidents as inferred in this blog.

My daughter was born deaf.  Without her cochlear implant, she hears "nothing" other than a jet plane close by.

Exactly how many deaf and blind people are there?  A lot.  But, how many compared to the amount of quiet vehicles we will be having in the near future?  Very low ratio!

The solution is not in making fake noises simply to warn people.  It is to do two things.

One is Steve's point.  Driver's learn the rules and avoid conflict.

The other would be to provide the blind with a GPS type unit that would tell them exactly where they are as well as a sonar-like feature that would tell them if a moving vehicle is honing in on their GPS location.

Solve the problem with the people in need, not with everything else.

Example, they were going to install noise sounds for traffic lights and everyone knows that these things fail constantly.  In fact, do we even have any of those anymore here?

Give the blind this same device and incorporate color detection or signal recognition.

Far cheaper and far less to manufacture, all while giving them to people who will ensure they work as theuir livelyhood and health depends on it.

Metor's answer to safety is NOISE and more NOISE.

Oops, meant to say Metro. All that NOISE has addled my brain.

DominicMazoch said:  

"Cedric:

I mentioned the 214 because:

1.  The 4400 A-buses (artics) used to run there.

2.  You ride the route.

The non-hybrid MCI at NW BOF will get louder....."

True statement for #1 AND #2.

It never ends. If its too loud then its noise pollution. Too quiet then its a safety issue.

I'd like to hear Metro close it's doors for good.... Don't worry I have "transit" system for houston....

HoustonHater said:  "I'd like to hear Metro close it's doors for good.... Don't worry I have "transit" system for houston...."

LMAO!!  Too cute.  That's like trying to tell people to get rid of mass transit in the Big Apple---aka---NEW YORK CITY!

C said:  "It never ends. If its too loud then its noise pollution. Too quiet then its a safety issue."

I would have to agree with this statement.  To add to that, this would be a no-win situation.

@Cedric Collins

I said I have transit system. It requires 15,000 vehicles for a city this size.

Around 60,000 for NY(The Greatest City on Earth)

HoustonHater,

Doesn't make sense.  NOW---you need to back that up if you think NYC is better than any other city on this planet.

HOUSTON, GREAT CITY 4 LIFE!

@Cedric Collins

Of course doesn't make sense to you.

Do you really want to have a New York City (vs.) Houston poll?

"HOUSTON, GREAT CITY 4 LIFE!"

Yea, I heard Hurricanes vacation there.

HoustonHater,

Son---you wouldn't know how to create a poll if your life depended on it.  I dare you to go to NYC YOURSELF and get your opinions there about whether ot not NYC is better than Houston.

Unfortunately, you do NOT understand that neither city is better than the other.  Think about it.

"Yea, I heard Hurricanes vacation there."  ROTFLMAO!!  Why don't you move to the Big Easy while you're at it.  Big Easy = New Orleans.