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Hints of Comeback for Nation’s First Superhighway
Christopher Maag, New York Times
LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. — Most people do not believe that Tim Dufel can push 2,000 tons of steel all the way across New York State. Isn’t the old Erie Canal dried up, they ask him, its locks broken, its ditch filled in and forgotten?

They ask these questions even on days like this one, when Mr. Dufel is standing in an orange life vest, watching brown water flood Lock 16 here and lift his loaded barge like a toy battleship in a bathtub.

“Sixty percent of the people I meet have no idea the Erie Canal is even still functioning,” Mr. Dufel said. He is assistant engineer on the tugboat Margot and an owner of the New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company, one of the largest shippers on the canal.

After decades of decline, commercial shipping has returned to the Erie Canal, though it is a far cry from the canal’s heyday. The number of shipments rose to 42 so far this year during the season the canal is open, from 15 during last year’s season, which lasts from May 1 to Nov. 15.

Once nearly forgotten, the relic of history has shown signs of life as higher fuel prices have made barges an attractive alternative to trucks.

... Though diminished in the late 1800s by competition from railroads, commercial shipping along the canal grew until the early 1950s, when interstate highways and the new St. Lawrence Seaway lured away most of the cargo and relegated the canal to a scenic backwater piloted by pleasure boats.

The canal still remains the most fuel-efficient way to ship goods between the East Coast and the upper Midwest. One gallon of diesel pulls one ton of cargo 59 miles by truck, 202 miles by train and 514 miles by canal barge, Ms. Mantello said. A single barge can carry 3,000 tons, enough to replace 100 trucks.
(2 November 2008)

Cash-strapped motorists turn to car sharing
Paul Kelbie, The Guardian
Rising fuel costs have resulted in a sharp increase in the number of pay-as-you-go motorists joining car clubs across the UK.

City Car Club, one of the big four car-sharing companies in the UK, has seen a 46 per cent increase in members in the past 10 months, bringing the current total to nearly 2,200.

More than 700 have joined this year, with the vast majority recruited in the past few weeks as the credit crunch and rising running costs make the prospect of owning a vehicle uneconomical for many drivers. Instead, they pay per journey, using cars parked in designated places...
(2 November 2008)

Pedal pushers only
Laura Ruggeri, Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon)
Bicycles are the sole mode of transport in a move from an apartment to a house
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It took a little less than three hours and roughly six trips back and forth Saturday for April DeLaurier to move from her apartment on West 11th Avenue to her newly purchased house on Adams Street.

And she did it without a car, truck or motorized vehicle of any kind.

All of her belongings, including her cat, Thomas, were transported using bicycles.

DeLaurier’s friends and fellow members of GEARs cycling group moved her possessions using only bicycles, some with carts and trailers.

The idea came from Paul and Monica Adkins, who have seen bike moves in Portland, Monica Adkins said.

... DeLaurier thought it was appropriate to move by bike, she said, and pay tribute to the fact that she saved money to purchase her home by not owning a vehicle.
(2 November 2008)