Brands matter

• JD Hammond looks at the importance of rail liveries in the transit brand.
• GGW looks at Metro’s proposed redesign and unification of bus stop signage.
• Multiple sources (GGW, BDC, DCist, PoP) noted the shipping of DC’s first streetcars from the Czech Republic to DC.

A common theme amongst the streetcar commentariat – Hey!  That thing looks like the Circulator!

No doubt.  Obviously, this spurred JD Hammond’s post.  One commenter on one of those sites (I can’t keep track) noted that the stripped down base paint job for the livery, missing the graphics and text, looks awfully similar to a Jesus fish.

Commute flows matter

Matt Johnson (at GGW and Track Twenty-Nine) has a fascinating graphic looking at Metro’s commute flows, also determing which segments of the system are the busiest during the AM rush hour.

Very interesting to look at.  Well done.  Also, an excellent case for more investment in the core.  Discussions in GGW’s comments thread hints at the impacts of the Silver Line on current Orange Line crowds – and the inescapable conclusion is that more core capacity will be needed – sooner rather than later.

All in the game, yo.

Apropos of nothing in particular, this video of The Wire‘s 100 greatest quotes is fantastic.  Those with virgin eyes/ears or those that haven’t seen all 5 seasons (there are spoilers) might not want to watch.

Lester Freamon’s last quote is the one that hits home for me when thinking about cities and the series – “all the pieces matter.”