The Importance of Transportation Systems
The canal system in America was just one step in the evolution of our country’s transportation network. Working in groups of 5 or 6 students should create a time line of the nation’s transportation history. Then to help understand the impact of transportation on their own community, each group will research one local transportation route or transportation system. This could be a major interstate highway, local airport, subway system, ferry port, or train station. You might compare the community’s economy before and after the transportation system was built, describe new businesses brought to the area, and list the types of goods exported via this transportation route.
The group should use their findings to create a local time line or map for the transportation history of their community and compare it with the time line or map they prepared for the national system. Have them note the relationships between the two time lines or maps and determine if their community’s transportation system differed in any way from national developments. If there are significant differences, have students research why that was the case.
All of this work goes into the blog. Ask me questions we we go along.
Mr. E
18 comments:
Hancock International Airport was purchased in 1926 for $50,000 and people thought that it would improve the economy of New York.Many famous travelers, such as Amelia Earhart, stopped at Hancock and made the airport very popular. By 1970, more than 2 million people stopped at the airport every year.
from Shay
http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/transportation.htm
1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (France) built the first self-propelled vehicle, a military tractor that ran on steam. It could go 2.5 miles per hour.
1787 John Fitch (United States) successfully tested his invention, a 45 foot steamboat, in the Delaware River.
1832-1839 Robert Anderson (Scotland) built the first electric car.
1840 The railroad was just getting started with only 3000 miles of track in the entire country.
1860 The railway system in the United States had grown to over 30,000 miles of track.
# 1870 By 1870, railroads had been built from coast-to-coast. Railroad companies continued to build hundreds of thousands of miles of new tracks over the next 30 years.
# Railroads provided a connection between rural areas and cities, and allowed farmers to sell there produce in far away places.
1880-1905 Electric street car/trolley systems were built in Washington D.C. and other U.S. cities. Streetcars made it easier for people to travel farther distances and encouraged the creation of new suburbs.
1885-1886 Karl Friedrich Benz (Germany) built the first gasoline powered automobile. It was a three wheeler.
1832-1839 Robert Anderson (Scotland) built the first electric car.
1876-1895 George Baldwin Selden (United States) invented and patented a horseless carriage powered with an internal combustion engine. The vehicle was never manufactured.
1893 Charles and Frank Duryea, who were brothers, started the first U.S. car company. Their company produced a gasoline powered limousine until 1920.
# 1908 Henry Ford (United States) first produced the Model T car. It was designed to use ethanol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels.
# Cities began switching from street cars to buses for public transportation.
1910 The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was America’s first airline. The company went out of business after only three months.
1918 The U.S. Post Office used airplanes to move the mail in order to establish an air transportation system. Lt. James Edgerton flew the mail from Philadelphia to Washington during the first scheduled air mail flight on May 15.
# 1920 The Ford Motor Company manufactured the Model T in large numbers.
# Americans owned 8 million cars.
# 1927 The airline business got its start when the U.S. Post Office turned over air mail delivery to private companies.
# Charles Lindbergh was the first lone pilot to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. His plane was called the Spirit of St. Louis.
1944 Rail travel grew during World War II, reaching a record 98 billion passenger-miles.
# 1950 Oil surpassed coal as the country’s number one fuel source.
# Americans owned 50 million cars.
1955 More Americans traveled by air than by train.
# 1956 Malcom McLean, a trucking magnate, loaded trailers onto a ship and sent them by sea for less than the cost of trucking them overland. He was credited with shipping the first load of containers (truck trailers) aboard a cargo ship, from New Jersey to Texas.
# President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which established the Interstate Highway System.
# 1958 Pan American ushered in the Jet Age with the Boeing 707. The "Jet Age" began when airline companies began replacing propeller planes with jet planes. Jet engines had far fewer moving parts; so were more reliable, safer, and cheaper to operate. They used kerosene, which was less expensive than gasoline, and produced tremendous thrust for their weight.
# 1969 80 percent of working men could drive.
# 86 percent of working women could drive.
# 1970 The Boeing 747 was the first "jumbo jet" with 4 engines and 400 seats.
# Freight moved by train surpassed the World War II peak of 771 billion ton-miles.
1971 Congress relieved railroads of the costs of running passenger trains. Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, started operations in 1971, taking over long-distance train service from nearly all of the rail carriers.
1974 President Richard Nixon signed The Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, which was part of a nationwide effort to reduce oil consumption.
1975 U.S. Congress passed The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which required car makers to begin building more fuel efficient cars. By 1985, the Act required new cars and trucks to meet an average Corporate Average Fuel (CAFÉ) Standard of 27.5 miles per gallon.
# By 1978 The Energy Tax Act of 1978 established a gas guzzler tax, a tax ranging from $1,000 to $7,700 per vehicle on gas-guzzling automobiles.
# President Jimmy Carter signed The Airline Deregulation Act, which increased competition among airlines. New car fleets were to have an overall average of 18 miles per gallon of gasoline.
1980 President Jimmy Carter signed The Staggers Rail Act and The Motor Carrier Act, which were efforts to deregulate the railroad and trucking industries.
By 1985 New cars and light trucks were required to meet a Corporate Average Fuel (CAFÉ) Standard for fuel economy of 27.5 miles per gallon.
# 1990 95 percent of working men could drive, compared to 80 percent in 1969.
# 86 percent of working women could drive, compared to 61 percent in 1969.
1994 The Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act continued the deregulation of the trucking inducstry.
# 1995 88 percent of working men could drive, down from 95 percent in 1990.
# 80 percent of working women could drive, down from 86 percent in 1990.
# 80 percent of households had at least one vehicle per driver.
1999 The first hybrid electric vehicle, powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline, became available in the United States.
2000 Americans owned 220 million cars.
2001 98.8 million households (92 percent) owned or possessed a light-duty vehicle (car, small truck, or motorcycle).
2003 Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) accounted for 27 percent of all light-duty vehicle sales, up 6.8 percent from 1990.
2005 Trucking accounted for 65 percent of energy used for transporting freight. Water transportation accounted for 18 percent, natural gas pipelines for 9 percent, and Class I railroads for 8 percent.
# 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set a new corporate average fleet efficiency (CAFE) standard for cars and light trucks. The new standard will require car makers to meet a fleet wide average of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40 percent increase over the old standard.
# The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 also set renewable fuel standards requiring an increase in the use of ethanol blended into gasoline.
# National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized new fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks, which are to be phased in by 2011.
Our city started thriving when we started making saltwork industries. Around the same time, Thomas Wind started making wooden ploughs in the 1700s. Nothing happened until the Erie Canal was opend in 1819, then in 1830s, railroads, furthering economic industries.
Jillian
When Clinton became governor of the State, he made sure the legislature quickly appropriated funds for the Canal's construction. When construction began, the project was known as "Clinton's big ditch" and "Clinton's Folly." The naysayers stubbornly clung to the manifesto "in the big ditch would be buried the treasury of the state to be watered by the tears of posterity."
It was constructed by crews of untrained men, without the aid of a single professional engineer. The men who designed and engineered the Canal were highly skilled surveyors and very intelligent, capable people. They studied the publications and completed works of the legendary French and English Canal builders such as Paul Riquet, James Brindley and Thomas Telford. The French Canals, which began in the early 1600's, were the model for all the Canals, including the English and American Canals such as the Erie.
With the exception of a few places where black powder was used to blast through rock formations, the Canal was entirely built by the muscle power of men and animals who pulled a new type of plow called the slip scraper (a high-tech 19th century version of what today is a bulldozer). They also invented a unique device that pulled giant tree stumps out of the ground almost effortlessly.
The New York Canal System cost $7 million to construct and was acclaimed as the greatest engineering marvel in the world. It was the longest Canal in the world. The original Erie Canal stretched 363 miles from Buffalo and Lake Erie on the west to Albany and the Hudson River on the east. The Hudson River navigation then united New York City with the west and Lake Erie with Europe.
1825
1991
The people of New York State ratified an amendment to the State's constitution allowing long-term leasing of Canal System lands to encourage development along the Canal.
this lead to the filling in of the canal for more space to lease.
Hancock sees themselves as a World class airport, international gateway, major transportation and distribution center, economic development hub, community activity center, intermodal connections, public/private partnerships, joint use facilities.
We shall operate, maintain, plan and develop airport facilities, equipment and services which support the safe and efficient air and ground movement of people and goods, and meet the requirements of users.
Their goals are To maximize the level of proficiency, performance and productivity of the organization.
A Brief History of New York Transportation
June 9, 2003
Grand Central Depot, now known as Grand Central Station.
1652 - Traffic Laws
The rulers of what was then New Amsterdam institute the first traffic regulations in America. The law bars wagons, carts and sleighs from being driven at a gallop.
1693 - First Bridge
The first bridge in the city, King's Bridge connects Manhattan and what is now the Bronx. It is demolished in 1917.
1811 - Ferry Service
The Juliana, the world's first commercially operated steam ferry, begins running between New Jersey and Vesey Street.
1811 - Street Plan
The New York State Legislature introduces the Grid Plan for New York City, dividing its streets into a rectangular pattern. The design has been the basis for transportation planning in the city ever since.
1825 - Link to the West
The Erie Canal is finished, making New York City America's premier port.
1832 - First Railroad
The first railroad system in New York, owned by the New York and Harlem Railroad company, begins operating approximately nine blocks between Union Square and 23rd Street.
1870 - Above Ground
The city's first elevated railway begins running regularly along Greenwich Street and 9th Avenue. It would be driven out of business by the subway 50 years later.
1871 - New Station
Grand Central Depot, now known as Grand Central Terminal, is constructed in 1871 to handle New York City's railroad traffic.
1874 - Link to New Jersey
Colonel Dewitt Haskins breaks ground for the first tunnel under the Hudson, designed to connect Hoboken and Lower Manhattan. It is completed almost 30 years later. Parts of it are still used in the PATH rail system.
Contsruction on the Brooklyn Bridge.
1883 - Across the East River
On May 24, the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River opens, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1890 - Street Transit
The first cable cars appear, replacing animal-powered streetcars.
1903 - East River Crossing
The Williamsburg Bridge, the largest of the bridges across the East River, is completed.
1904 - First Subway
The first official subway system in Manhattan opens. The Interborough Rapid Transit initially covers 9.1 miles of track and 28 stations between City Hall and 145th street.
1905 - Buses Start
The first gasoline-powered buses in America begin running along Fifth Avenue.
1905 - East and West
The Manhattan Bridge is completed, connecting Canal Street in Manhattan and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn over the East River.
1907 - Bye, Bye Battery
Slow moving battery taxis are replaced with faster, gas-powered vehicles.
1913 - Creating a City System
New York City approves the expansion of subway lines owned by both the Independent Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. The $302 million project adds 123 miles of track to the subway system.
1916 - Help from Washington
The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 establishes a regular system of federal funding for state road projects. It is the basis for all future federal transportation laws that provide funding to states, including New York, for highway construction.
1919 - Red Light, Green Light
New York City installs its first traffic signal light at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
1921 - Joint Project
New York and New Jersey form the Port of New York Authority to improve the city's mass transportation facilities.
1924 - Bronx River Parkway
The Bronx River Parkway, the city's first modern parkway, is completed.
1925 - Another Subway
Mayor John F. Hylan wins approval to create the city-owned Independent Subway System.
1927 - Under the River
The Holland Tunnel opens, becoming the city's first underwater tunnel for motor vehicles. A construction project shared by New York and New Jersey, the tunnel connects lower Manhattan at Canal Street and Jersey City.
1930 - Air Travel
Bennett Airport on Barren Island in Brooklyn is finished, accommodating the first regular plane service in the city.
The George Washington Bridge.
1931 - Over the River
The George Washington Bridge opens, connecting upper Manhattan and New Jersey over the Hudson River. It is the first bridge in New York to be constructed completely out of steel.
1934 - Along the River
The East River Drive, now known as the FDR Drive, is completed, running from the Battery to the Triborough Bridge along the eastern edge of Manhattan.
1934 - Order on the Buses
Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia sets out a coherent policy for surface transit, doing away with some streetcar lines and granting franchises to private bus companies.
1935 - Major Construction
Construction begins on the Major Deegan Expressway, cutting a path from the Bronx to upstate New York.
1937 - Taxi Medallions
La Guardia signs the Haas Act, establishing a system of medallions, or official licenses, for the city's taxi cabs. Medallions are limited to 13,566 and cost $10 each.
1937 - Another Link
The Lincoln Tunnel opens, connecting midtown Manhattan and New Jersey under the Hudson River.
1938 - Belt Parkway
One of the many roads masterminded by Robert Moses, this highway around Brooklyn and Queens opens.
1939 - La Guardia Airfield
La Guardia Airfield opens in Queens, handling 250 flights a day in its first year.
1940 - Subway Takeover
The city takes over the subway system as it purchases the financially ailing Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT).
1941 - Bus Protest
After a four-week, citywide boycott led by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., bus companies in New York agree to hire black drivers.
1948 - Cars Not People
Construction begins on the Cross-Bronx Expressway. To make way for it, 159 apartment buildings were destroyed in East Tremont and Morris Heights and 1,530 families had to move.
1948 - End of an Era
The subway fare rises to 10 cents, the first fare hike since the system began operation 44 years earlier.
"Fliteseer" tram in front of a pair of Alitalia DC-7s at Idlewild Airport.
1948 - New Airport
Idlewild International Airport, later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport, opens in Queens. It goes on to become the busiest cargo airport in the world.
1950 - Bus Station
The Port Authority Bus Terminal opens to the public. It was expanded in 1963 and again in 1979.
1950 - Department of Traffic
The city creates a Department of Traffic to take over responsibility for traffic control from the police departments. It soon institutes a number of programs, including alternate side of the street parking.
1953 - Running the Subways
The New York State Legislature creates the New York City Transit Authority to manage and operate the city's subway and bus systems.
1953 - That and a Token
Subway tokens debut on July 25 as the subway fare rises from 10 to 15 cents.
1956 - New Highways
The Federal Interstate Highway Act authorizes construction of a 41,000-mile interstate highway system, with the federal government paying 90 percent of the cost. New York City would use this legislation for projects such as completion of the Cross-Bronx Expressway.
1957 - End of an Era
The last city streetcar line is eliminated.
1962 - Commuter Rail
PATH Train Exiting Journal Square Transportation Center.
The PATH rail system connects Hoboken, New Jersey to Manhattan.
1964 - Staten Island
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opens, linking Manhattan and Staten Island. The Staten Island Expressway, connected to the bridge?s upper deck, is also finished. It required the demolition of 400 buildings and the displacement of 3,500 residents.
1967 - Yellow Cabs
The city orders all medallion cabs to be painted yellow.
1968 - State Control
The New York State Legislature creates the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which becomes New York City Transit's parent organization.
1971 - Fare Policy
The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission is created to license and regulate the city's yellow cabs.
1977 - Shifting Control
The city Department of Transportation takes over street operations, including traffic control and parking regulations.
1980 - Easier Access
The first wheelchair lifts for passengers with disabilities appear on city-owned buses.
1989 - End of Westway
After years of controversy, Greenwich Village residents, environmentalists and others finally defeat a plan to build Westway, a highway along the Hudson River in Manhattan.
1990 - Accessible City
Americans with Disabilities Act is signed into law, requiring that public transportation be accessible to people with disabilities. Activists use the legislation to make all city curbs accessible in 2002.
1993 - Candid Camera
The city launches the Red Light Program, automatically taking pictures of the license plates of vehicles that run red lights.
1994 - Swipe and Go
The MTA introduces MetroCards, installing turnstiles that accept them at the Wall Street and Whitehall Street subway stations.
1997 - The Rise of the MetroCard
All New York City buses and subway stations now accept MetroCards.
2001 - September 11
A terrorist attack destroys the World Trade Center on September 11. There is a partial collapse of the Cortlandt Street Station underneath the complex. IRT Broadway 1/9 service is shut down between Chambers Street and South Ferry. PATH lines adjacent to the site are ruined.
2002 - MTA Splits
MTA New York City Transit is officially separated into two separate companies called MTA Subways and MTA Buses.
2003 - Death of an Icon
New York City subways and buses stop accepting tokens, as MTA New York City Transit hikes fares on its buses and subways by 33 percent from a $1.50 to $2.00. It is the largest fair increase in city history.
2003 - Transit Center
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and other agencies begin planning a new transportation hub at the World Trace Center site.
Material researched by Martin Bricketto and Catherine Shu
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from Joey Binder
They were not any national transportation systems before the late nineteenth century or even local services.
16th-18th
Centuries 18th century
Transportation by water, on trails, or through wilderness
1776-99 1794
Lancaster Turnpike opened, first successful toll road
1800 1800-30
The era of turnpike building (toll roads) improved communication and commerce between settlements
1807
Robert Fulton demonstrated practicability of steamboats
1810 1815-20
Steamboats became important in western trade
1820 1825
Erie Canal finished
1825-40
Era of canal building
1830 1830
Peter Cooper's railroad steam engine, the Tom Thumb, ran 13 miles
1830's
Beginning of railroad era
1840 1840
3,000 miles of railroad track had been constructed
1845-57
Plank road movement
1850 1850's
Major railroad trunk lines from eastern cities crossed the Appalachian Mountains
1850's
Steam and clipper ships improved overseas transportation
1860 1860
30,000 miles of railroad track had been laid
1869
Illinois passed first designated "Granger" law regulating railroads
1869
Union Pacific, first transcontinental railroad, completed
1870 1870's
Refrigerator railroad cars introduced, increasing national markets for fruits and vegetables
1880 1880
160,506 miles of railroad in operation
1887
Interstate Commerce Act
1890 1893-1905
Period of railroad consolidation
1900 1909
The Wrights demonstrated the airplane
1910 1910-25
Period of road building accompanied increased use of automobiles
1916
Railroad network peaks at 254,000 miles
1916
Rural Post Roads Act began regular Federal subsidies to road building
1917-20
Federal Government operates railroads during war emergency
1920 1920's
Truckers began to capture trade in perishables and dairy products
1921
Federal Government gave more aid for farm-to-market roads
1925
Hoch-Smith Resolution required the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to consider agricultural conditions in making railroad rates
1930 1930's
Farm-to-market roads emphasized in Federal roadbuilding
1935
Motor Carrier Act brought trucking under ICC regulation
1940 1942
Office of Defence Transportation established to coordinate wartime transport needs
1950 1950's
Trucks and barges competed successfully for agricultural products as railroad rates rose
1956
Interstate Highway Act
1960 1960's
Financial condition of northeastern railroads deteriorated; rail abandonments accelerated
1960's
Agricultural shipments by all-cargo planes increased, especially shipments of strawberries and cut flowers
1970 1972-74
Russian grain sale caused massive tieups in rail system
1980-90 1980
Railroad and trucking industries were deregulated
Rusty/Simon
http://www.nycanal.com/history/eriecanaltimeline.html
2007
• Centro introduces 9 new Diesel Electric Hybrid Buses in Syracuse, March 2007
• Centro publishes Call-A-Bus Riders Guide
• Debuts new website, November 2, 2007
2006
• Centro named APTA’s Best Midsized Transit System in North America
• New Fare Boxes put into use in Rome, January 2, 2006
• Centro begins service to Syracuse University Warehouse
• Centro begins night service in Auburn
• Centro installs training simulators for drivers
• Centro holds public hearing on new common center location
2005
• Centro of Oswego fleet replaced with new low-floor buses
• Oneida County joins CNYRTA and Centro of Oneida Inc. is founded – April 1, 2005
• Centro begins transit service in City of Utica, Town of New Hartford, Town of Kirkland, Town of Whitestown - April
1, 2005
• Centro begins transit service in City of Rome, September 30 , 2005
• New Fare Boxes put into use in Utica, December 1, 2005
2004
• Frank Kobliski appointed Executive Director
• Centro of Cayuga debuts new fleet of Low Floor buses
• Centro of Cayuga begins new routes in Auburn
• CNYRTA receives United We Ride award
2003
• Centro earns Public Transportation Safety Board Safety Awards
• Centro test drives Hybrid Diesel-Electric bus
• Centro debuts Black History bus
2002
• Centro implements large scale service enhancements and new schedules
• Centro Expands Fare-free zone at Syracuse University
• Centro receives Federal Highway Administration Award for commitment to Clean air vehicles
2001
• Centro appoints new Executive Management Team
2000
• Centro takes delivery on 78 new CNG buses
1999
• CNYRTA receives funding for 78 new CNG Orion buses
• Centro begins offering 7-day pass
1998
• CNYRTA opens William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center Centro Opens Public Natural Gas Fueling Station◊
• Centro expands cross-town routes and offers more hubs
• Centro of Cayuga Celebrates 25 years
1997
• Centro installs new fare boxes that accept dollar bills in all buses and introduced a new line of electronically coded
Debit Cards and 30-Day Unlimited Ride Passports.
• CNYRTA begins construction of CNG fueling station
• CNY Centro Celebrates 25 years
• Centro debuts airport bus service and new “cross town” routes
• Centro announces Money Back Guarantee Program
• Centro purchases 18 new CNG Nova buses (bringing total of CNG buses to 31)
1996
• CNYRTA adopts corporate Customer First Program
• CNYRTA installs new computer network
• Centro introduces its first website
• Centro issues first customer newsletter, “Transportation Matters”
• Construction begins on intermodal transportation center
• Painted and wrapped buses take to the streets as an innovative advertising medium and excellent revenue source for
the CNYRTA
• Centro begins town meetings to obtain public input on service
1995
• Community Advisory council created
• 30-Day Monthly pass introduced
• Centro of Cayuga and Centro of Oswego garage expansions began
• Centro installs phones in selected shelters
• Customer Service Pledge adopted by Centro and union officials
1994
• Plans begin for the building of an intermodal transportation center
• Centro announces Fare Deal program
1993
• Centro assumes intercity routes from S&O
• Centro assumes intercity routes from Onondaga Coach
• Centro assumes transportation services for SUNY/Oswego
• Oswego County Loop begins to connect Mexico and other rural communities with the cities of Fulton and Oswego.
1989
• Wheelchair accessible service first becomes available on all of CNY Centro’s routes in Onondaga County. 1992
• Centro purchases eight natural gas buses as part of a three-year pilot project with Niagara Mohawk
• The first phases of ADA compliance take effect in Call-A- Bus. Call-A-Bus came into full ADA compliance in January
1997.
1985
• Downtown information booth and enclosed bus shelters completed on the corner of Fayette and Salina Streets to
comprise “Common Center”
1983
• CNY Centro and the CNYRTA’s new garage and office on Tallman Street is completed. The 184,252 sq. ft. facility sits
on the site of the Syracuse Railroad Co. Trolley Barn. The Centro facility houses 214 vehicles. The facility cost $9.6
dollars to build; 80% of the funding came from the Urban Mass Transit Administration and the remaining 20% was
derived from the NYSDOT and the CNYRTA.
• Centro named “Best Mid-Sized System in the US and Canada” by APTA
1981
• Bus fares raised for the first time in 10 years from 35 to 50 cents
• Parking contract is established with the New York State Dormitory Authority that allows Centro to operate the
parking facility at Upstate Medical Center
• First System Map is created
• First regular route wheelchair lift equipped service is tested with 25 buses
1980
• Carrier Dome shuttle service initiated
1979
• Centro of Oswego garage and office is built
• Fulton bus service added
1977
• Centro of Cayuga garage and office is built
1975
• CNYRTA receives APTA award for superior achievement in the field of public transportation
• Centro introduced its first buses equipped with wheelchair Assumed complete operations of SU campus shuttle
system-1,000,000 rides ◊lifts. per year
1974
• CNY Centro begins transporting Syracuse City School District students
• CNY Centro records its first million passenger month since assuming operations of Syracuse Transit. The total
passengers for the month of March was 1,004,000.
• Centro and Carrols Restaurant begin using token packets to distribute free Carrols food coupons. The marketing
program was a great success. During the first month, token sales increased by 94% over the same period the previous
year. This marketing strategy is now a staple in Centro’s corporate planning.
• Centro introduced the nation’s first computerized scheduling system called RUCUS for run cutting and scheduling.
1973
• Centro wins its first of 10 consecutive maintenance efficiency awards by Fleet Owner Magazine
• Cayuga County joins CNYRTA and Centro of Cayuga Inc. is founded-January 23, 1973
• Centro of Cayuga service begins - April 2, 1973
• Call-A-Bus created
1972
• CNY Centro, Inc. founded to assume operations of failed Syracuse Transit operations - January 17, 1972
• Oswego County joins CNYRTA and Centro of Oswego Inc. is founded - June 1, 1972
• Centro of Oswego service begins - August 28, 1972
1970
• CNYRTA founded by NY State legislature to enhance and improve public transportation in the region - May 12, 1970
• Onondaga County joins CNYRTA and CNY Centro Inc. is founded - May 12, 1970
1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (France) built the first self-propelled vehicle, a military tractor that ran on steam. It could go 2.5 miles per hour.
1787 John Fitch (United States) successfully tested his invention, a 45 foot steamboat, in the Delaware River.
1832-1839 Robert Anderson (Scotland) built the first electric car.
1840 The railroad was just getting started with only 3000 miles of track in the entire country.
1860 The railway system in the United States had grown to over 30,000 miles of track.
# 1870 By 1870, railroads had been built from coast-to-coast. Railroad companies continued to build hundreds of thousands of miles of new tracks over the next 30 years.
# Railroads provided a connection between rural areas and cities, and allowed farmers to sell there produce in far away places.
1880-1905 Electric street car/trolley systems were built in Washington D.C. and other U.S. cities. Streetcars made it easier for people to travel farther distances and encouraged the creation of new suburbs.
1885-1886 Karl Friedrich Benz (Germany) built the first gasoline powered automobile. It was a three wheeler.
1832-1839 Robert Anderson (Scotland) built the first electric car.
1876-1895 George Baldwin Selden (United States) invented and patented a horseless carriage powered with an internal combustion engine. The vehicle was never manufactured.
1893 Charles and Frank Duryea, who were brothers, started the first U.S. car company. Their company produced a gasoline powered limousine until 1920.
# 1908 Henry Ford (United States) first produced the Model T car. It was designed to use ethanol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels.
# Cities began switching from street cars to buses for public transportation.
1910 The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was America’s first airline. The company went out of business after only three months.
1918 The U.S. Post Office used airplanes to move the mail in order to establish an air transportation system. Lt. James Edgerton flew the mail from Philadelphia to Washington during the first scheduled air mail flight on May 15.
# 1920 The Ford Motor Company manufactured the Model T in large numbers.
# Americans owned 8 million cars.
# 1927 The airline business got its start when the U.S. Post Office turned over air mail delivery to private companies.
# Charles Lindbergh was the first lone pilot to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. His plane was called the Spirit of St. Louis.
1944 Rail travel grew during World War II, reaching a record 98 billion passenger-miles.
# 1950 Oil surpassed coal as the country’s number one fuel source.
# Americans owned 50 million cars.
1955 More Americans traveled by air than by train.
# 1956 Malcom McLean, a trucking magnate, loaded trailers onto a ship and sent them by sea for less than the cost of trucking them overland. He was credited with shipping the first load of containers (truck trailers) aboard a cargo ship, from New Jersey to Texas.
# President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which established the Interstate Highway System.
# 1958 Pan American ushered in the Jet Age with the Boeing 707. The "Jet Age" began when airline companies began replacing propeller planes with jet planes. Jet engines had far fewer moving parts; so were more reliable, safer, and cheaper to operate. They used kerosene, which was less expensive than gasoline, and produced tremendous thrust for their weight.
# 1969 80 percent of working men could drive.
# 86 percent of working women could drive.
# 1970 The Boeing 747 was the first "jumbo jet" with 4 engines and 400 seats.
# Freight moved by train surpassed the World War II peak of 771 billion ton-miles.
1971 Congress relieved railroads of the costs of running passenger trains. Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, started operations in 1971, taking over long-distance train service from nearly all of the rail carriers.
1974 President Richard Nixon signed The Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, which was part of a nationwide effort to reduce oil consumption.
1975 U.S. Congress passed The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which required car makers to begin building more fuel efficient cars. By 1985, the Act required new cars and trucks to meet an average Corporate Average Fuel (CAFÉ) Standard of 27.5 miles per gallon.
# By 1978 The Energy Tax Act of 1978 established a gas guzzler tax, a tax ranging from $1,000 to $7,700 per vehicle on gas-guzzling automobiles.
# President Jimmy Carter signed The Airline Deregulation Act, which increased competition among airlines. New car fleets were to have an overall average of 18 miles per gallon of gasoline.
1980 President Jimmy Carter signed The Staggers Rail Act and The Motor Carrier Act, which were efforts to deregulate the railroad and trucking industries.
By 1985 New cars and light trucks were required to meet a Corporate Average Fuel (CAFÉ) Standard for fuel economy of 27.5 miles per gallon.
# 1990 95 percent of working men could drive, compared to 80 percent in 1969.
# 86 percent of working women could drive, compared to 61 percent in 1969.
1994 The Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act continued the deregulation of the trucking inducstry.
# 1995 88 percent of working men could drive, down from 95 percent in 1990.
# 80 percent of working women could drive, down from 86 percent in 1990.
# 80 percent of households had at least one vehicle per driver.
1999 The first hybrid electric vehicle, powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline, became available in the United States.
2000 Americans owned 220 million cars.
2001 98.8 million households (92 percent) owned or possessed a light-duty vehicle (car, small truck, or motorcycle).
2003 Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) accounted for 27 percent of all light-duty vehicle sales, up 6.8 percent from 1990.
2005 Trucking accounted for 65 percent of energy used for transporting freight. Water transportation accounted for 18 percent, natural gas pipelines for 9 percent, and Class I railroads for 8 percent.
# 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set a new corporate average fleet efficiency (CAFE) standard for cars and light trucks. The new standard will require car makers to meet a fleet wide average of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40 percent increase over the old standard.
# The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 also set renewable fuel standards requiring an increase in the use of ethanol blended into gasoline.
# National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized new fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks, which are to be phased in by 2011.
February 10, 2009 10:31 AM
.......<(-_-)>.......this is a Cat-Monkey
American transportation
transportation by water or trail-16th thru 18th century
Lancaster Turnpike opened in 1794
Steamboats were made in 1807
Erie Canal made in 1825
Trains started in 1830
More and more railroad tracks were made
The wright airplane was made in 1909
Here is a cool time line:
Transportation Timeline
Prior to 1800, transportation as we know it today was almost non-existent. Railroads covered far less territory. Trains were much smaller. Horse-drawn carts moved food and all other items on land, and barges moved them on rivers.
1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (France) built the first self-propelled vehicle, a military tractor that ran on steam. It could go 2.5 miles per hour.
1787 John Fitch (United States) successfully tested his invention, a 45 foot steamboat, in the Delaware River.
1832-1839 Robert Anderson (Scotland) built the first electric car.
1840 The railroad was just getting started with only 3000 miles of track in the entire country.
1860 The railway system in the United States had grown to over 30,000 miles of track.
# 1870 By 1870, railroads had been built from coast-to-coast. Railroad companies continued to build hundreds of thousands of miles of new tracks over the next 30 years.
# Railroads provided a connection between rural areas and cities, and allowed farmers to sell there produce in far away places.
1880-1905 Electric street car/trolley systems were built in Washington D.C. and other U.S. cities. Streetcars made it easier for people to travel farther distances and encouraged the creation of new suburbs.
1885-1886 Karl Friedrich Benz (Germany) built the first gasoline powered automobile. It was a three wheeler.
1832-1839 Robert Anderson (Scotland) built the first electric car.
1876-1895 George Baldwin Selden (United States) invented and patented a horseless carriage powered with an internal combustion engine. The vehicle was never manufactured.
1893 Charles and Frank Duryea, who were brothers, started the first U.S. car company. Their company produced a gasoline powered limousine until 1920.
# 1908 Henry Ford (United States) first produced the Model T car. It was designed to use ethanol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels.
# Cities began switching from street cars to buses for public transportation.
1910 The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line was America’s first airline. The company went out of business after only three months.
1918 The U.S. Post Office used airplanes to move the mail in order to establish an air transportation system. Lt. James Edgerton flew the mail from Philadelphia to Washington during the first scheduled air mail flight on May 15.
# 1920 The Ford Motor Company manufactured the Model T in large numbers.
# Americans owned 8 million cars.
# 1927 The airline business got its start when the U.S. Post Office turned over air mail delivery to private companies.
# Charles Lindbergh was the first lone pilot to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. His plane was called the Spirit of St. Louis.
1944 Rail travel grew during World War II, reaching a record 98 billion passenger-miles.
# 1950 Oil surpassed coal as the country’s number one fuel source.
# Americans owned 50 million cars.
1955 More Americans traveled by air than by train.
# 1956 Malcom McLean, a trucking magnate, loaded trailers onto a ship and sent them by sea for less than the cost of trucking them overland. He was credited with shipping the first load of containers (truck trailers) aboard a cargo ship, from New Jersey to Texas.
# President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which established the Interstate Highway System.
# 1958 Pan American ushered in the Jet Age with the Boeing 707. The "Jet Age" began when airline companies began replacing propeller planes with jet planes. Jet engines had far fewer moving parts; so were more reliable, safer, and cheaper to operate. They used kerosene, which was less expensive than gasoline, and produced tremendous thrust for their weight.
# 1969 80 percent of working men could drive.
# 86 percent of working women could drive.
# 1970 The Boeing 747 was the first "jumbo jet" with 4 engines and 400 seats.
# Freight moved by train surpassed the World War II peak of 771 billion ton-miles.
1971 Congress relieved railroads of the costs of running passenger trains. Amtrak, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, started operations in 1971, taking over long-distance train service from nearly all of the rail carriers.
1974 President Richard Nixon signed The Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, which was part of a nationwide effort to reduce oil consumption.
1975 U.S. Congress passed The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which required car makers to begin building more fuel efficient cars. By 1985, the Act required new cars and trucks to meet an average Corporate Average Fuel (CAFÉ) Standard of 27.5 miles per gallon.
# By 1978 The Energy Tax Act of 1978 established a gas guzzler tax, a tax ranging from $1,000 to $7,700 per vehicle on gas-guzzling automobiles.
# President Jimmy Carter signed The Airline Deregulation Act, which increased competition among airlines. New car fleets were to have an overall average of 18 miles per gallon of gasoline.
1980 President Jimmy Carter signed The Staggers Rail Act and The Motor Carrier Act, which were efforts to deregulate the railroad and trucking industries.
By 1985 New cars and light trucks were required to meet a Corporate Average Fuel (CAFÉ) Standard for fuel economy of 27.5 miles per gallon.
# 1990 95 percent of working men could drive, compared to 80 percent in 1969.
# 86 percent of working women could drive, compared to 61 percent in 1969.
1994 The Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act continued the deregulation of the trucking inducstry.
# 1995 88 percent of working men could drive, down from 95 percent in 1990.
# 80 percent of working women could drive, down from 86 percent in 1990.
# 80 percent of households had at least one vehicle per driver.
1999 The first hybrid electric vehicle, powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline, became available in the United States.
2000 Americans owned 220 million cars.
2001 98.8 million households (92 percent) owned or possessed a light-duty vehicle (car, small truck, or motorcycle).
2003 Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) accounted for 27 percent of all light-duty vehicle sales, up 6.8 percent from 1990.
2005 Trucking accounted for 65 percent of energy used for transporting freight. Water transportation accounted for 18 percent, natural gas pipelines for 9 percent, and Class I railroads for 8 percent.
# 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 set a new corporate average fleet efficiency (CAFE) standard for cars and light trucks. The new standard will require car makers to meet a fleet wide average of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020, a 40 percent increase over the old standard.
# The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 also set renewable fuel standards requiring an increase in the use of ethanol blended into gasoline.
# National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized new fuel economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks, which are to be phased in by 2011.
Last revised: December 2008
Sources: U.S. Library of Congress, Everyday Mysteries – Who Invented the Automobile? (http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html ), March 2007.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History, America on the Move (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/), June 2008.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History, America by Air (http://www.nasm.si.edu/americabyair/ ), June 2008.
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Erie Canal Time Line
1800
In the early 1800s, while in prison, a miller named Jesse Hawley in the Town of Geneva, N.Y., conceived the idea of a Canal stretching from west to east across New York State from Lake Erie to the Hudson River. Between 1807 and 1808 he authored 14 essays on the virtues of a Canal across the State. President Thomas Jefferson thought the idea "a little short of madness," but the idea was fully supported by then-New York City Mayor DeWitt Clinton.
At that time there was no simple way to transport people, raw materials or manufactured goods from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. Overland transportation was arduous and expensive. New York State was covered with mile upon mile of wilderness, swamps, mountains, waterfalls, great inland lakes and only a handful of brave settlers.
1817
When Clinton became governor of the State, he made sure the legislature quickly appropriated funds for the Canal's construction. When construction began, the project was known as "Clinton's big ditch" and "Clinton's Folly." The naysayers stubbornly clung to the manifesto "in the big ditch would be buried the treasury of the state to be watered by the tears of posterity."
It was constructed by crews of untrained men, without the aid of a single professional engineer. The men who designed and engineered the Canal were highly skilled surveyors and very intelligent, capable people. They studied the publications and completed works of the legendary French and English Canal builders such as Paul Riquet, James Brindley and Thomas Telford. The French Canals, which began in the early 1600's, were the model for all the Canals, including the English and American Canals such as the Erie.
With the exception of a few places where black powder was used to blast through rock formations, the Canal was entirely built by the muscle power of men and animals who pulled a new type of plow called the slip scraper (a high-tech 19th century version of what today is a bulldozer). They also invented a unique device that pulled giant tree stumps out of the ground almost effortlessly.
The New York Canal System cost $7 million to construct and was acclaimed as the greatest engineering marvel in the world. It was the longest Canal in the world. The original Erie Canal stretched 363 miles from Buffalo and Lake Erie on the west to Albany and the Hudson River on the east. The Hudson River navigation then united New York City with the west and Lake Erie with Europe.
1825
The waterway, now world famous, opened October 26, 1825.
It was 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep, with 18 aqueducts to carry its waters across rivers and 83 locks to raise and lower boats a total of 682 feet from one end to the other.
The first fleet to travel all 363 miles of the Erie Canal was headed by Governor Clinton's boat the "Seneca Chief" which had on board several distinguished citizens and dignitaries. The boat took sail on October 26 from a commercial slip in Buffalo, along with a flotilla of two other boats.
Nine days later it arrived in New York harbor and was greeted by almost 150 vessels and thousands of New Yorkers. Generally referred to as the "Wedding of the Waters," Governor Clinton emptied two barrels of water from Lake Erie into the Atlantic Ocean in New York at a formal ceremony thereby commemorating not only the completion of the Canal, but the uniting of Lake Superior with the Atlantic Ocean.
The Erie Canal transformed New York State as cities blossomed almost overnight along the corridor and settlers flocked westward. The boomtowns had come to America. The cost to ship goods by Canal dropped to $10 per ton, as compared to $100 per ton by road. In 10 years, the Canal tolls more than recouped the entire cost of construction and maintenance. It showed a profit so large that it offset the state budget by two-thirds.
After the completion of the Canal System, statewide shipping costs were reduced by 94% and the first great westward movement of American settlers began, making New York City the busiest port in the U.S., surpassing Philadelphia as the nation's chief seaport.
1836
The Canal was rebuilt between 1836 and 1862 and was known as the enlarged Erie. It was widened to 70 feet and deepened to 7 feet; 72 double locks were added and minor course changes were made mostly by straightening the many sinuous bends (or curves).
1862
The enlarged Erie Canal reached a depth of 7 feet and could now handle freights carrying up to 240 tons. The earlier Canal could only hold boats with a 70-ton capacity.
1882
Tolls were abolished on the Canal, which already raised funds in excess of $113 million above its original cost.
1895
The State launched the second enlargement of the canal, called the "Nine Million Dollar Improvement," deepening the canal to nine feet.
1898
Work suddenly stopped on the partially completed "Nine Million Dollar Improvement" due to insufficient funds. The Canal was on the verge of abandonment.
1899
Governor Theodore Roosevelt appointed the Committee on Canals to study New York's Canal System and make recommendations as to a future course of action. This eventually resulted in the birth of the Barge Canal System.
1905
Between 1905 and 1918, an entirely new enlarged Canal, the Barge Canal System, was created to accommodate the large barges. Major course changes were made and most of the original channel was abandoned, except in Western New York, and rivers that were originally avoided became part of the system. Nearly 100 years after the beginning of its original construction, the Canal took on the structure it is today: an average width of 125 feet, a depth of at least 12 feet and 35 locks. Some of the old locks have been preserved as historic sites. The engineers changed the Barge Canal's western and eastern terminus from Buffalo to Tonawanda and from Albany to Waterford.
Today's Barge Canal System consists of the Erie Canal and three major branches - the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.
The Mohawk, Hudson, Seneca, Oswego, Clyde and Genesee Rivers were canalized by the Barge Canal construction through a system of fixed and moveable dams, locks reservoirs and dredged channels.
1918
All branches of the Canal System were finished and opened for traffic.
1991
The people of New York State ratified an amendment to the State's constitution allowing long-term leasing of Canal System lands to encourage development along the Canal.
1992
Legislation known as "Thruway 2000" was enacted transferring responsibility for the New York State Canal System from the New York State Department of Transportation to the New York State Thruway Authority.
1995
The Canal Recreationway Commission was created, a 24-member body to advise the Thruway Authority on its canal-related activities. The Commission finalized the Canal Recreationway Plan in September.
1996
A $32 million, five-year Canal Revitalization Program was developed in 1996 to serve as a realistic approach to Canal System development. The overall goals of the Revitalization Program are to preserve and rehabilitate the Canal infrastructure so that it is safe, accessible and available for future use; to enhance recreational opportunities; and to promote and foster economic development throughout the Canal Corridor.
2000
The New York State Canal System celebrated its 175th anniversary. The year-long celebration marked the tremendous historic, cultural and economic contributions of the New York State Canal System to New York State.
Present
Today, the mule-towed barges have given way to pleasure boats, hikers and cyclists as the waterways of the 524-mile New York State Canal System have evolved into a world-class tourism and recreation destination. 73.5 percent of New York State residents live within two miles of the waterways. The Canal System continues to produce dramatic growth for the state and the nation, creating an inland trade route and propelling economic development.
Well, it looks like the Erie Canal was a pretty good idea. I was surprised when I found out that for a long time, the Erie Canal was less than 10 feet deep! I thought it was a terrible idea to take out the canal. Tourism, trading, and city life would've been so much better if we kept the canal. I think it was Theodore Roosevelt who proposed the idea to divide it in the first place! That cheesed me a little. If I ever go into politics, maybe I will open the Erie Canal back up (supposing that it won't be opened again by the time I've finished college). Well, I'm signing off. Goodbye 20/20.
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