EcoWorldly

This week, we’ve explored public transportation around the world. To wrap up, we searched the world for the funniest and most unusual public transportation. This is what we found.

Levitating Monorail, Germany. An electric car? Cool. An electric train? Awesome. An upside down electric monorail?? Now that qualifies as unusual public transportation. Believe it or not, this transit system was built over 100 years ago. While Ford was fidgeting with his “quadricycle,” the city of Wuppertal built this transportation marvel that still appears ahead of its time today.

It’s a zero emissions, all electric transit system, and it floats through Wuppertal (the self-styled “German San Francisco”) with over 20 million passengers a year. Photo: Flickr

Mae Klong Train Market, Thailand. Yes, those are train tracks running through that market. One of the shortest train routes in Thailand is also one of the most bizarre. Ambling past windmills and salt flats, the train stops halfway through its route at a river. Right, no bridge. So, people get out and ferry across to a second train, which picks up where the first left off. But wait, it gets better…

In order to arrive at the Mae Klong station, the train must pass right through the middle of a crowded street market. Vendors quickly pull in their stalls several times a day as the train goes by. For an excellent account of the journey, read Steve Van Beek’s article on the Tourism Authority of Thailand website or this article at 2Bangkok.com, or see this video. Photo: Thai-Blogs.

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Buscycle, United States and Netherlands. Forget the bus… All I want to do is bicycle! Now you can do both. Peddling its way across the United States, here comes the Buscycle. It’s a 15 passenger bus, stripped to the bolts and refitted with bicycle parts. See this great video for more, or visit the official Buscycle website.

But believe it or not, the U.S. Buscycle isn’t the only one of its kind. Buscycles have also appeared in Eindhoven, Netherlands, courtesy of some creative students. In fact, businesses are even invited to use a modified buscycle in team building workshops. As the Utne Reader observes, if this catches on, it could hail a whole new era of carbon-free transit. Photo: Flickr.

General Class Rail Ticket, India. Indian trains are a travel experience unlike any other in the world. There are nine classes of trains in India. Travelers can take the easy route in air-conditioned first class on the 140 km/h Rajdhani Express. Tea lovers can visit Darjeeling, a World Heritage Area, on the Darjeeling “Toy Train.” Vacationers can even partake in some extravagance and pampering on the Palace on Wheels.

But some would say that you haven’t traveled in India until you buy a general class rail ticket during the summer. It’s not always as packed as in this picture, but you’re sure to get to know your neighbors. Passengers unable to fit inside the cars sometimes ride on top, as parodied in this Ballywood video. Before you go, here’s some advice on Indian rail travel. Photo: Marcofolio.

South Lake Union Trolley (SLUT), United States. Come ride the S.L.U.T.! Seattle, so the story goes, was preparing to roll out a new street car system for the Lake Union district when the powers that be realized the unfortunate acronym. Whatever the real story, the S.L.U.T. (actually called the South Lake Union Streetcar) is a great way to get a giggle with your ride.

Besides introducing the world to the S.L.U.T., Seattle also boasts a short but chic monorail, free downtown bus fare, and commuter buses with free WI-FI. You can even take a ride to the popular local hamburger chain, Dick’s… Oh dear. Photo: City of Seattle.

Gondola, Venezuela. A ski lift in Venice? No, it’s a gondola in Venezuela. Although Venezuela’s named after the Italian city, parts of Venezuela stretch far above sea level while parts of Venice… well, are rather below sea level these days. And, although credit for the longest gondola goes to Idaho, the highest gondola in the world is actually here, in the Venezuelan state of Merida.

The highest peak in the Venezuelan Andes is Pico Bolívar, at 4,981 meters. The cable car ride reaches all but the last 216 meters. Sure, it’s not the kind of transit that gets you to work on time, but I can personally vouch that it is one heck of a ride. Still, perhaps the most bizarre method of transportation on Pico Bolívar is an optional twenty minute donkey ride near the top of the mountain. Photo: Flickr.

Hitchhiking, Worldwide. Hitchhiking, alas, is no longer the symbol of freedom and travel that it once was. Today, it’s illegal on many major roadways and the current generations have heard so many hitchhiking horror stories that many are afraid to try. In some ways, these stories are self-prophetic. It may be the marginalization of hitchhiking today that makes unsavory sorts that think they can mistreat hitchhikers. MSN wrote an interesting story on this too.

Despite all this, hitchhiking can be safe, fun, and the cheapest way to travel. I’ve hitchhiked across Eastern Canada and through Colorado. On the way, I met many friendly people: a truck driver, a young guy just back from India, a woman who had the interesting job of wining and dining rich casino goers, and other amiable folks. I’ve even heard of people hitching their way across the ocean by freight ship. (And, no, this is not me in the photo. A tip: never hitch your hammock to the bottom of a moving truck, no matter how cheap the ride.)

If you’re willing to give hitchhiking a try, check out this wiki for tips. Also, before you’re out on the road with a sign and your thumb in the air, you can look for rides on Craigslist.

Whatever your method of public transportation, whether it be ordinary or extraordinary, enjoy your freedom of travel, your good spirits, and the community around you that’s sharing your transit ride. Happy trails. Photos: Marcofolio.

This wraps up our week-long exploration of public transportation around the world. Please check back daily for our ongoing coverage of environmental news, issues, and commentary from around the world. Also, join us from February 18 - 24 for our next EcoWorldly focus issue.

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