1.
Vallejo, California
–
Vallejo is a waterfront port city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census and it is the tenth most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the largest in Solano County. Vallejo sits on the shore of San Pablo Bay,30 miles north of San Francisco. Vallejo is home to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom theme park, the now-defunct Mare Island Naval Shipyard, the colleges and universities in Vallejo are California Maritime Academy, the Vallejo Center campus of Solano Community College, and Touro University California. Ferry service runs from a terminal on Mare Island Strait to San Francisco, Vallejo has twice served as the capital of the state of California, once in 1852 and again in 1853, both periods being brief. The State Capitol building burned to the ground in the 1880s, as there were no bridges at that time, the Mare Island Fire Department had to be ferried across the Napa River, arriving to find only the foundation remaining. This was the first recorded mutual aid response in the state of California, some of the first Europeans drawn to the Vallejo area were attracted by the sulfur springs, in the year 1902 the area was named Blue Rock Springs. It was also known as White Sulfur Springs and that was the name of the leading to it from town. Vallejo is best known for the Zodiac Killer and being the hometown of Bay Area rappers E-40, according to United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.5 square miles. Land area is 30.7 square miles, and 18.9 square miles is water, the Napa River flows until it changes into the Mare Island Strait in Vallejo which then flows into the San Pablo Bay. Vallejo is located on the edge of Solano County, California in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Vallejo is accessible by Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento, and is the location for the half of the Carquinez Bridge. It is also accessible by Interstate 780 from neighboring Benicia to the east, Route 29 begins in the city near the Carquinez Bridge and travels north through the heart of the city and beyond into Napa County, entering neighboring American Canyon and eventually Napa. Several faults have been mapped in the vicinity of Vallejo, the San Andreas Fault and Hayward Faults are the most active faults, although the San Andreas is at some distance. Locally, the Sulphur Springs Valley Thrust Fault and Southampton Fault are found, no quaternary seismic activity along these minor faults has been observed with the possible exception of a slight offset revealed by trenching. The Sulphur Mountain and Green Valley faults have been associated with the Concord Fault to the south, the Concord Fault is considered active. Historically there have been local cinnabar mines in the Vallejo area, the Hastings Mine and St. Johns Mine contribute ongoing water contamination for mercury, furthermore, mine shaft development has depleted much of this areas spring water. Both Rindler Creek and Blue Rock Springs Creek have been affected, the city of Vallejo is located 24 miles northeast of San Francisco,20 miles north of Oakland,56 miles north of San Jose and 52 miles south of Sacramento
Vallejo, California
–
former Vallejo City Hall and County Building
Vallejo, California
–
Mariano Vallejo, ca. 1880-85, founder and city namesake
Vallejo, California
–
Bodies of water
2.
Benicia, California
–
Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It served as the capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census, the city is located in the San Francisco Bay Area along the north bank of the Carquinez Strait. Benicia is just east of Vallejo and across the strait from Martinez, elizabeth Patterson has served as Mayor of Benicia since 2007. The town is divided into four areas, the East Side, the West Side, Southampton, most of the towns older homes are on the east and west sides. Southampton contains primarily single-family housing developments and condominiums, most of which were built between 1970 and 2000. The East Side includes the Benicia Arsenal, a former United States Army armory, the Arsenal is home to several historic landmark buildings such as The Clock Tower, the Camel Barn, and the Jefferson Street Mansion. The industrial park lies to the northeast of the areas of the city. The Benicia State Recreation Area is on the far west edge of the city, the main retail area in Benicia is First Street, which attracts out-of-town antique and boutique shoppers and those seeking small-town, historic charm. In 1987 Benicia was selected to participate in the California Main Street Program, connections to Benicia include Interstate 680 from Martinez to the south and Cordelia Junction to the north, and Interstate 780, Columbus Parkway, and other local roads from Vallejo to the west. Amtrak also runs past the city north towards Sacramento, but the nearest train station lies in Martinez across the Carquinez Strait, Railroad tracks carrying Amtrak and Union Pacific Railroad lines cross the strait alongside the Benicia–Martinez Bridge. The City of Benicia was founded on May 19,1847, by Dr. Robert Semple, Thomas O. Larkin and it was named for the Generals wife, Francisca Benicia Carillo de Vallejo. The General intended that the city be named Francisca after his wife, vallejos second given name was used instead. In his memoirs, William Tecumseh Sherman contended that Benicia was the best natural site for a city in the region. Benicia was the site selected to serve as the California state capital. Soon after the legislature was moved to the courthouse in Sacramento, the restored capitol is part of the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park, and is the only building remaining of the states early capitols, which were in San Jose and Vallejo. Benicia was also the county seat of Solano County until 1858, the original campus of Mills College was founded in Benicia in 1852 as the Young Ladies Seminary, and was the first womens college west of the Rockies. Before moving to Oakland in 1871, it was located on West I Street, on June 5,1889, the legendary prize fight between James J. Corbett and Joe Choynski was held on a barge off the coast of Benicia
Benicia, California
–
California's
third capitol at Benicia. The
Senate chambers on first floor, and the
Assembly chambers above.
Benicia, California
–
Location in
Solano County and the state of
California
Benicia, California
–
Railroad connections to Benicia in 1885
Benicia, California
–
1902 SPRR rail ferry depot in Benicia
3.
Solano County, California
–
Solano County is a county located in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 413,344, Solano County comprises the Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. Solano County is the county in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region. A portion of the South Campus at the University of California, Solano County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Chief Solano at one time led the tribes between the Petaluma River and the Sacramento River, the chief was also called Sem-Yeto, which signifies brave or fierce hand. The Chief was given the Spanish name Francisco Solano during baptism at the Catholic Mission, Solano is a common surname in the north of Spain, especially in Navarra, Zaragoza and La Rioja. Travis Air Force Base is located just east of Fairfield, Solano County is the easternmost county of the North Bay. As such, it is reported by news agencies as being in the East Bay. Additionally, a portion of the county extends into the Sacramento Valley, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles, of which 822 square miles is land and 84 square miles is water. Service also connects with BART stations in Contra Costa County, transit links are provided to Napa, Yolo and Sacramento counties as well. Greyhound and Amtrak provide long-distance intercity service, general aviation airports in Solano County which are open to the public are the Nut Tree Airport and Rio Vista Municipal Airport. The following table includes the number of reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense. The 2010 United States Census reported that Solano County had a population of 413,344. The racial makeup of Solano County was 210,751 White,60,750 African American,3,212 Native American,60,473 Asian,3,564 Pacific Islander,43,236 from other races, and 31,358 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 99,356 persons, at 52,641 Filipinos in the County making up 12% of the population, Solano County has the largest percentage Filipino population of any County in all of the United States. As of the census of 2000, there were 394,542 people,130,403 households, the population density was 476 people per square mile. There were 134,513 housing units at a density of 162 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 56. 4% White,14. 9% Black or African American,0. 8% Native American,12. 8% Asian,0. 8% Pacific Islander,8. 0% from other races, and 6. 4% from two or more races
Solano County, California
Solano County, California
Solano County, California
Solano County, California
4.
Contra Costa County, California
–
Contra Costa County is a county in the state of California in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,049,025, the name is Spanish for opposite coast, referring to its position on the other side of the bay from San Francisco. Contra Costa County is included in the San Francisco–Oakland–Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area and it occupies the northern portion of the East Bay region and is primarily suburban. In the northern part of the county, significant coal and sand deposits were formed in even earlier geologic eras, other areas of the county have ridges exposing ancient but intact seashells, embedded in sandstone layers alternating with limestone. Layers of volcanic ash ejected from geologically recent but now extinct volcanoes, compacted and now tilted by compressive forces, may be seen at the site of some road excavations. This county is an agglomeration of several distinct geologic terranes, as is most of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, younger deposits at middle altitudes include pillow lavas, the product of undersea volcanic eruptions. There is an extensive but little recorded human history pre-European settlement in this area, the earliest definitively established occupation by modern man appears to have occurred six to ten thousand years ago. However, there may have been human presence far earlier, at least as far as non–settling populations are concerned, extensive trading from tribe to tribe transferred exotic materials such as obsidian throughout the region from far distant Californian tribes. Unlike the nomadic Native American of the Great Plains it appears that these tribes did not incorporate warfare into their culture but were generally cooperative. Within these cultures the concept of individual or collective land ownership was nonexistent, early European settlers in the region, however, did not record much about the culture of the natives. Most of what is known comes from preserved contemporaneous and excavated artifacts. Although there were no missions established within this county, Spanish influence here was direct and extensive, in 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain. Mission lands extended throughout the Bay Area, including portions of Contra Costa County, between 1836 and 1846, during the era when California was a province of independent Mexico, the following 15 land grants were made in Contra Costa County. Rough surveying was based on a map, or diseño, measured by streams, shorelines, and/or horseman who marked it with rope, lands outside rancho grants were designated el sobrante, as in surplus or excess, and considered common lands. The law required the construction of a house within a year, fences were not required and were forbidden where they might interfere with roads or trails. Locally a large family required roughly 2000 head of cattle and two leagues of land to live comfortably. Foreign entrepreneurs came to the area to provide goods that Mexico couldn’t, Rancho Canada de los Vaqueros was granted to Francisco Alviso, Antonio Higuera, and Manuel Miranda. Two ranchos, both called Rancho San Ramon, were granted by the Mexican government in the San Ramon Valley, in 1833, Bartolome Pacheco and Mariano Castro shared the two square league Rancho San Ramon
Contra Costa County, California
–
The west face of
Mount Diablo, the most notable natural landmark in Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County, California
–
Seal
Contra Costa County, California
–
Mount Diablo from the Shell Ridge Open Space
Contra Costa County, California
–
View of the Shell Martinez oil refinery
5.
Bus service
–
A transit bus is a type of bus used on shorter-distance public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including Low-floor buses, high-floor buses, double-decker buses and these are distinct from all-seated coaches used for longer distance journeys and smaller minibuses, which are typically used for paratransit services. Some industry members and commentators promote the idea of making the interior of a bus as inviting as a private car. Due to the local authority use, transit buses are built to a third-party specification put to the manufacturer by the authority. Early examples of such include the Greater Manchester Leyland Atlantean. New transit buses may be purchased each time a route/area is contracted, the operating area of a transit bus may also be defined as a geographic metropolitan area, with the buses used outside of this area being more varied with buses purchased with other factors in mind. Some regional-size operators for capital cost reasons may use transit buses interchangeably on short urban routes as well as longer routes, sometimes up to 2 or 3 hours. Often transit bus operators have a selection of dual-purpose fitted buses, sometimes transit buses may also be used as express buses on a limited-stopping or non-stop service at peak times, but over the same distance as the regular route. For rear doors, most buses have doors opened by the controls or patron. Most doors will signify that they are unlocked and open with lights, transit buses can be single-decker, double-decker, rigid or articulated. Depending on local policies, transit buses will usually have two, three or four doors to facilitate rapid boarding and alighting. In cases of low-demand routes, or to small local streets, some models of minibus. Due to their public role, transit buses were the first type of bus to benefit from low-floor technology. Transit buses are now subject to various disability discrimination acts in several jurisdictions which dictate various design features also applied to other vehicles in some cases. Fare collection is also seeing a shift to off-bus payment, with either the driver or an inspector verifying fare payments
Bus service
–
Busan urban bus route No. 2000 in Yeoncho,
Geoje,
South Korea. The model is
Hyundai Universe Space Elegance
Bus service
–
An Orion VII
hybrid electric transit bus in
Toronto,
Canada. It is a common transit bus model found in major North American cities.
Bus service
–
A
Volvo City Bus named Vajra Service in
Bengaluru,
India.
Bus service
–
Interior of a wheelchair-accessible transit bus, with
bucket seats and smart-card readers at the exit. This particular one is a demonstrator bus for SMRT Buses' Mercedes-Benz OC500LE in Singapore, registered as SMB1H.
6.
Paratransit
–
Paratransit services may vary considerably on the degree of flexibility they provide their customers. At their simplest they may consist of a taxi or small bus that will run along a more or less defined route, in addition to public transit agencies, Paratransit services are operated by community groups or not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit private companies or operators. Typically, minibuses are used to provide paratransit service, most paratransit vehicles are equipped with wheelchair lifts or ramps to facilitate access. In the United States, private companies often provide paratransit service in cities. Veolia Transport, First Transit and MV Transportation are among the largest private contractors of paratransit services in the United States, definition, any type of public transportation that is distinct from conventional transit, such as flexibly scheduled and routed services such as airport limousines, carpools, etc. Etymology, para- alongside of + transit The use of paratransit has evolved and these are still extremely important in many parts of the world. Paratransit is a mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Since the early 1980s, particularly in North America, the term began to be used increasingly to describe the second meaning, in this respect, paratransit has become a subsector and business in its own right. The term paratransit is rarely used outside of North America, Section 504 prohibited the exclusion of the disabled from any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Most transit agencies did not see fixed route accessibility as desirable and opted for a system of small paratransit vehicles operating parallel to a system of larger. With the passage of the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was extended to all activities of state. Its provisions were not limited to programs receiving federal funds and applied to all public transit services, Title II of the ADA also more clearly defined a disabled persons right to equal participation in transit programs, and the providers responsibility to make that participation possible. In revisions to Title 49 Part 37, the Federal Transit Administration defined the requirements of the ADA. These requirements included complementary paratransit to destinations within 3/4 mile of all fixed routes, Paratransit service is an unfunded mandate. Title 49 Part 37 details the eligibility rules along with requirements governing how the service must be provided and managed, in the United States, paratransit service is now highly regulated and closely monitored for compliance with standards set by the Federal Transit Administration. As the ADA became effective in 1992, the FTA required transit systems in the United States to plan and begin implementing ADA compliant services, during this period, paratransit demand and services rapidly expanded. This growth led to new approaches to manage and provide these services. Since the passage of the ADA, paratransit service has grown rapidly as a mode of transit in the United States
Paratransit
–
Two
Maui Bus buses engaged in paratransit services. One is picking up a person who uses a
wheelchair, while another is discharging another person using a
mobility scooter.
Paratransit
–
A
NYC Transit paratransit bus.
Paratransit
–
MTA Mobility vehicle operator assisting a customer board a paratransit vehicle
7.
National Express Group
–
It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index. In 1972 the state owned National Bus Company decided to bring together the scheduled services operated by its bus operating companies in the United Kingdom under one brand. Sir Frederick Wood, a prominent businessman and industrialist, was asked to oversee the creation of new business model. Initially branded as National, the National Express brand was first used in 1974, with the privatisation of the National Bus Company in the 1980s, National Express was subject to a management buyout in March 1988. The management team began to diversify, and in 1989 purchased Crosville Wales, a new management team took over the company in July 1991, with the backing of mid-market private equity firm, ECI Partners. The new team refocused the group on its activities and sold Crosville Wales to British Bus. In October 1991 it purchased Speedlink, an operator of services between Gatwick and Heathrow Airports. In December 1992 National Express Group plc was floated on the London Stock Exchange, in 1993 Scottish Citylink, Eurolines and East Midlands Airport were acquired. In April 1995 National Express purchased West Midlands Travel, the council owned bus network of Birmingham. This began the family of Travel. Bournemouth Airport was acquired in April 1995, in April 1996 National Express commenced operating its first UK rail franchises, Gatwick Express and Midland Mainline. Other franchises won in 1997 were Silverlink, Central Trains and ScotRail, to comply with a Competition Commission ruling on it winning the ScotRail franchise, National Express sold the Scottish Citylink operation to Metroline in August 1998. In February 1997 Taybus Public Transport was acquired and rebranded Travel Dundee, in February 1999 Robinson Bus Service was purchased followed in August 1999 by Durham Transportation. These acquisitions placed National Express as one of the top three United States school bus operators, in May 1999 National Express purchased Australias largest private bus operator, National Bus Company. National Bus Company had bus operations in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, Westbus also had a London coach operation. In August 1999 National Express won the M>Train, M>Tram and V/Line Passenger rail franchises in the Australian state of Victoria, in January 2000, National Express expanded into the American market by acquiring ATC, a public transportation operator. In July 2000 Prism Rail was purchased adding the c2c, Wales & Borders, Wessex Trains, in December 2002 National Express handed in its Victoria rail franchises having been unable to renegotiate financial terms with the State Government. In February 2004 the London bus operations of Connex were purchased and rebranded Travel London, in April 2004 National Express East Anglia commenced operating the Greater Anglia rail franchise
National Express Group
–
Duple Dominant bodied
Leyland Tiger in
Liverpool in 1982 in the original livery
National Express Group
–
Midland Mainline High Speed Train at
London St Pancras
National Express Group
–
Alexander ALX400 bodied
Dennis Trident 2 on
route 3 at
Trafalgar Square in April 2008
National Express Group
–
Dot2Dot Volkswagen in
London in April 2008
8.
Public transportation
–
Public transport modes include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail, high-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world. Most public transport runs to a timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway. Share taxis offer services in many parts of the world. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service, there are distinct differences in urban public transit between Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, mass transit operations are run by profit-driven privately owned and publicly traded mass transit. In North America, mass transit operations are run by municipal transit authorities. In Europe, mass transit operations are run by both state-owned and private companies. Public transport services can be profit-driven by use of pay-by-the-distance fares or funded by government subsidies in which flat rate fares are charged to each passenger. Services can be profitable through high ridership numbers and high farebox recovery ratios, or can be regulated. Fully subsidized, zero-fare services operate in some towns and cities, for geographical, historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. It has 3,400 members from 92 countries, conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferries, and the earliest public transport was water transport, on land people walked or rode an animal. Ferries appear in Greek mythology—corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon to take them to Hades, the omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829. The first passenger railway opened in 1806, it ran between Swansea and Mumbles in southwest Wales in the United Kingdom. In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northeast England, the usability of different types of public transport, and its overall appeal, can be measured by seven criteria, although they overlap somewhat. These are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers have to walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey, timeliness is how long they have to wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from the shortest route, an airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports
Public transportation
–
New York City Subway, the world's largest
rapid transit system by length of routes and by number of
stations
Public transportation
–
The
Moscow Metro is one of the
busiest metro systems in the world and is the busiest in Europe.
Public transportation
–
A hybrid-engine fully accessible
Toronto Transit Commission transit bus in Toronto
Public transportation
–
Early trolley car in
Newton, Massachusetts
9.
Solano County
–
Solano County is a county located in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 413,344, Solano County comprises the Vallejo-Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. Solano County is the county in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area region. A portion of the South Campus at the University of California, Solano County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Chief Solano at one time led the tribes between the Petaluma River and the Sacramento River, the chief was also called Sem-Yeto, which signifies brave or fierce hand. The Chief was given the Spanish name Francisco Solano during baptism at the Catholic Mission, Solano is a common surname in the north of Spain, especially in Navarra, Zaragoza and La Rioja. Travis Air Force Base is located just east of Fairfield, Solano County is the easternmost county of the North Bay. As such, it is reported by news agencies as being in the East Bay. Additionally, a portion of the county extends into the Sacramento Valley, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles, of which 822 square miles is land and 84 square miles is water. Service also connects with BART stations in Contra Costa County, transit links are provided to Napa, Yolo and Sacramento counties as well. Greyhound and Amtrak provide long-distance intercity service, general aviation airports in Solano County which are open to the public are the Nut Tree Airport and Rio Vista Municipal Airport. The following table includes the number of reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense. The 2010 United States Census reported that Solano County had a population of 413,344. The racial makeup of Solano County was 210,751 White,60,750 African American,3,212 Native American,60,473 Asian,3,564 Pacific Islander,43,236 from other races, and 31,358 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 99,356 persons, at 52,641 Filipinos in the County making up 12% of the population, Solano County has the largest percentage Filipino population of any County in all of the United States. As of the census of 2000, there were 394,542 people,130,403 households, the population density was 476 people per square mile. There were 134,513 housing units at a density of 162 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 56. 4% White,14. 9% Black or African American,0. 8% Native American,12. 8% Asian,0. 8% Pacific Islander,8. 0% from other races, and 6. 4% from two or more races
Solano County
Solano County
Solano County
Solano County
10.
Merger
–
Mergers and acquisitions are transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations or their operating units are transferred or combined. As an aspect of management, M&A can allow enterprises to grow, shrink. An acquisition or takeover is the purchase of one business or company by company or other business entity. Specific acquisition targets can be identified through a myriad of avenues including market research, trade expos, or sent up from internal business units, such purchase may be of 100%, or nearly 100%, of the assets or ownership equity of the acquired entity. Consolidation occurs when two companies combine to form a new enterprise altogether, and neither of the previous companies remains independently, Acquisitions are divided into private and public acquisitions, depending on whether the acquiree or merging company is or is not listed on a public stock market. Some public companies rely on acquisitions as an important value creation strategy, an additional dimension or categorization consists of whether an acquisition is friendly or hostile. Achieving acquisition success has proven to be difficult, while various studies have shown that 50% of acquisitions were unsuccessful. Serial acquirers appear to be successful with M&A than companies who only make an acquisition occasionally. It is normal for M&A deal communications to take place in a so-called confidentiality bubble wherein the flow of information is restricted pursuant to confidentiality agreements. Hostile acquisitions can, and often do, ultimately become friendly and this usually requires an improvement in the terms of the offer and/or through negotiation. Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of a firm by a larger one. Sometimes, however, a firm will acquire management control of a larger and/or longer-established company. This is known as a reverse takeover, another type of acquisition is the reverse merger, a form of transaction that enables a private company to be publicly listed in a relatively short time frame. A reverse merger occurs when a privately held company buys a publicly listed company, usually one with no business. The overall net effect of M&A transactions appears to be positive, almost all studies report positive returns for the investors in the combined buyer and this implies that M&A creates economic value, presumably by transferring assets to management teams that operate them more efficiently. The buyer buys the assets of the target company, the cash the target receives from the sell-off is paid back to its shareholders by dividend or through liquidation. This type of leaves the target company as an empty shell. A buyer often structures the transaction as a purchase to cherry-pick the assets that it wants and leave out the assets
Merger
–
Corporate finance
Merger
–
Accounting
Merger
–
Capital structure
11.
Demand responsive transit
–
DRT systems typically provide a public transport service for areas of low passenger demand, such as rural areas, where a regular bus service would not be viable. DRT services may also be provided especially for disabled passengers, as with paratransit programs, ridership on DRT services is usually quite low, but DRT can provide coverage effectively. DRT schemes may be fully or partially funded by the transit authority. As such, operators of DRT schemes may be selected by public tendering, other schemes may be partially or fully self-funded as community centred not for profit social enterprises. Additionally, journeys may divert en route for new bookings, a DRT service will be restricted to a defined operating zone, within which journeys must start and finish. Journeys may be free form, or accommodated onto skeleton routes and schedules. As such, users will be given a specified pick-up point, some DRT systems may have defined termini, at one or both ends of a route, such as an urban centre, airport or transport interchange, for onward connections. DRT systems require passengers to request a journey by booking with a central dispatcher who determines the journey options available given the location and destination. DRT systems take advantage of fleet telematics technology in the form of vehicle systems, scheduling and dispatching software. In some cases Taxicabs are hired by the DRT provider to serve their routes on request, the status has caused controversy between bus and taxi operators when the DRT service picks up passengers without pre-booking, due to the licensing issues. Issues may also arise surrounding tax and fuel subsidy for DRT services, the large majority of 1,500 rural systems in the US provide demand-response service, there are also about 400 urban DRT systems. For more see or projects web page, some services such as LinkUp only pick up passengers at meeting points, but can set down at the passengers destination. PocketRide, a door-to-door DRT system being developed in Ballarat, Victoria, following some pioneering DRT schemes implemented in the eighties, in Italy a new generation of applications have been launched and are in operation starting from mid nineties. Current schemes are provided in urban and peri-urban areas as well as in rural communities, operated by different kind of organisations such schemes are offered either as intermediate collective transport services for generic users or as schemes for specific user groups. Some information about the scheme can be found on the relevant pages of MPK web site as well as in a short video, DHD provides booking and organization, however, the transport is implemented by several local transport companies. DHD is trying to extent this system as an alternative to the effective and expensive rural public transport with fixed timetables. There are several smaller DRT lines, some of them are listed on this page in Czech cs, more than 200 of the 1700 local governments in Japan have introduced the DRT. For more information see the following On Demand Bus, public transport authority in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik and the surrounding municipalities
Demand responsive transit
–
Dial a Ride in New Jersey, 1974
Demand responsive transit
–
DRT and other kinds of transport
12.
Pleasant Hill / Contra Costa Centre (BART station)
–
The station consists of two elevated side platforms. Service at this station began on May 21,1973 and this station is in BART District 1 and is represented by Gail Murray. A new parking garage opened at the station with 1,547 spaces on June 30,2008, the former station parking lot was converted into the Contra Costa Centre transit village. An improved access path to the station connecting it with the Iron Horse Regional Trail was proposed before the Walnut Creek city council on July 15,2008. The proposal gained support from BART and the local cycling organization, a bridge over Treat Boulevard carrying the Iron Horse Regional Trail was completed on October 2,2010. The Contra Costa County Redevelopment Agency and AvalonBay Communities will cover the cost of changing the signage as part of a planned $3 million upgrade
Pleasant Hill / Contra Costa Centre (BART station)
–
The front entrance of the Pleasant Hill BART Station
13.
Laidlaw
–
In February 2007, FirstGroup, a bus and rail transportation operator in the United Kingdom with subsidiaries in North America, acquired Laidlaw International, Inc. FirstGroup completed the acquisition of Laidlaw International on October 1,2007, the deal combined North America’s two largest private school bus operators — Laidlaw Education Services and First Student Inc. — giving them a combined 40% of the school bus contractor market. Laidlaw had grown primarily through acquisitions of companies and contracting of services formerly directly provided by government entities. In acquiring Laidlaw, FirstGroup announced that the Laidlaw name would not be kept, Laidlaw began in 1924 when founder Robert Laidlaw created Laidlaw Transit, a trucking service company in Hagersville, Ontario, Canada. Beginning in 1972, under the leadership of Michael DeGroote, Laidlaw, Inc. began growing through acquisitions of companies when it acquired a Canadian intercity. In 1979, it acquired a Canadian contract school bus business, in 1978 it entered the U. S. solid waste industry. In 1983, Laidlaw entered the U. S. school bus transportation sector with its acquisition of ARA Transportation, in 1984, Laidlaw Inc. exited the trucking business, as the company began a consolidating smaller school bus contracting companies in the U. S. and Canada. In 1988, Laidlaw, Inc. purchased a controlling interest in itself from Canadian Pacific Limited, instances of reverse privatization were rare, but did occur during Laidlaws years of expansion. In Virginia, several school districts canceled their school bus contracts with private operators, by the late 1980s, the only 3 remaining district school bus contracts were at Petersburg, Norfolk and Hopewell. Self-operation conversions for all three were urged by Virginia Department of Education officials as cost-saving, Virginia Overland Transportation was an operator of public service transportation and a much smaller industry consolidator in the state. The company had also lost their contract in Petersburg to self-operation in 1989, the latter converted in 1996, and Virginia Overlands parent company based in Richmond closed in 2004. The former Virginia Overland subsidiary operation in the Norfolk area acquired from Laidlaw operates as Transquest and is now owned by Serco, as of 2007, Transquest was continuing bus contract operations transporting students to many independent schools in South Hampton Roads, including Norfolk Academy. In the 1990s, Laidlaw continued to acquire hundreds of school bus and public transit contractors in the U. S. These also included major competitors, including Mayflower Contract Services in 1995, around the same time, the company acquired American Medical Response, a nationwide U. S. ambulance service provider and CareLine, Inc. U. S. ambulance consolidator of smaller ambulance contractors, in 1996, Laidlaw sold its solid waste business to Allied Waste Industries. Allied Waste sold the Canadian operations to USA Waste Services, Inc, Laidlaw American branches were re-branded to many different names, depending on their location. In 1998, a year, Laidlaw Inc. acquired Greyhound Lines U. S. operations, Greyhound Canada. Laidlaw International, Inc. listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, on February 10,2004
Laidlaw
–
Laidlaw International, Inc.
14.
Gillig Phantom
–
The Gillig Phantom is a high-floor bus that was produced from 1980 to 2008 by the Gillig Corporation in Hayward, California. The successor to the Gillig Transit Coach, the production of the Phantom marked the transition of bus production from yellow school buses to transit buses. While a few examples of the Phantom were produced as a bus, most were sold in the latter configuration, as of 2016. The Phantom is the first transit bus assembled entirely by Gillig, from 2005 onward, only the 102-inch-wide version was available due to stricter emissions and accessibility requirements. A liquefied natural gas fueled version was produced beginning in 1992, a diesel-electric hybrid powered version was sold from 1996 to 2006, MTA in New York purchased a Gillig Phantom hybrid demo bus as well as diesels for MTA Long Island bus. The Phantom was available with a rear door or a wide rear door. Initially, the rear door option consisted of two narrow doors, but this was reduced to one wide door by the 1990s. Most Phantoms transit authorities opted for the rear door. The Phantom could be ordered with dual headlights or quad headlights, Phantoms could be ordered with the wheelchair lift in either the front door or rear door. Those with the lift in the door had a slightly wider rear door to accommodate the lift. Most Phantoms were ordered with the lift in the front door. A rare option for the Phantom was a rear window, monterey-Salinas Transit and King County Metro are the only two transit authorities known to have ordered Phantoms with a rear window. Another rare option was windows that did not open, theBus in Honolulu, Hawaii ordered their 1995-2003 Phantoms that way. Sound Transits 2008 Phantoms also had windows that didnt open, the Gillig Phantom is also available with luggage racks on the top for the baggage for the suburban version. Production of the Phantom ended in September 2008, with some of the last buses going to Sound Transit, with the Phantom discontinued, Gillig produces only low-floor buses. There is also trolley bus version used on the Seattle King Metro Service, in 1986, Gillig introduced a school bus variant of the Phantom, the successor to the Transit Coach, the Phantom School Bus was the first all-new school bus from Gillig in 42 years. Although well received by its operators, sales dropped off in the late 1980s, aside from the obvious school bus yellow color scheme and warning lights, Phantom school buses were distinguished from the standard Phantom by several exterior design features. As it was the maximum approved width at the time for the type, additionally, they were equipped with dual vertical windshields, a rear window, left-side emergency exit door, and single curbside door
Gillig Phantom
–
2008 Phantom operated by
Sound Transit; one of the last models to be built.
Gillig Phantom
–
Gillig Phantom school bus of
Los Angeles Unified School District (California)
Gillig Phantom
–
A 1998 Gillig Phantom operated by
DASH services
King Street – Old Town station in
Alexandria, Virginia.
Gillig Phantom
–
A 1999 Gillig Phantom operated by
Mountain Metropolitan Transit in
Colorado Springs, CO.
15.
Martinez (Amtrak station)
–
Martinez is an Amtrak passenger train station in Martinez, California, United States, the county seat of Contra Costa County. The station was opened in September 2001, superseding an earlier building that still stands a couple of blocks to the east. Prior to the creation of Amtrak on May 1,1971, the station is served by local County Connection bus service and connecting service from WestCAT, and Tri-Delta Transit, as well as an Amtrak Thruway Bus Service. The station includes a center for buses, passenger drop off and pick-up zones, a taxi stand. The station is served by 42 Amtrak passenger trains each weekday and 34 per day on the weekends, the Capitol Corridor service runs between San Jose, CA and Sacramento, CA and offers 30 trains per weekday. The San Joaquin service offers 8 trains daily between Oakland, CA and Bakersfield, CA, the California Zephyr and the Coast Starlight each operate one train daily in each direction. Of the 74 California stations served by Amtrak, Martinez was the sixth-busiest in fiscal 2013 and this Station is located in Contra Costa County. County Connection is the transit agency charged with providing bus service. Route 98X offers a bus service to the Walnut Creek BART station. Routes 3,16,18,19, and 28 provide local bus service to the Concord, North Concord/Martinez, and Pleasant Hill BART stations, as well as points in between, including Diablo Valley College. There is an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service to McKinleyville, CA300 miles to the north of Martinez, via Vallejo, Napa, Santa Rosa, Ukiah, Garberville, Amtrak – Stations – Martinez, CA Martinez Amtrak Station Martinez -Great American Stations
Martinez (Amtrak station)
–
Martinez
16.
MV Transportation
–
MV Transportation, Inc. based in Dallas, Texas. Is the largest private provider of services and the largest privately owned transportation contracting firm in the United States. MV Transportation, Inc. was founded in 1975 in San Francisco, California, by husband and wife team Alex and Feysan Lodde, for the first twenty years of service, the company remained small, operating in fewer than 10 locations. In the mid 1990s the transportation industry experienced a wave of consolidation when several small, as a result, privately held MV found itself facing major multinational corporations. At this time, MV Transportation recruited a number of top professionals who developed and expanded the company under the guidance of the Loddes. Today, MV Transportation has $1 billion in revenue and operates nearly 10,000 vehicles across the United States. It offers cities, counties, transit authorities and private transportation in paratransit, fixed route, flex route, commuter service. MV also contracts with several entities to provide services, operating all modes of service under one contract. 1978, incorporated in the State of California as MediVan 1984,2010, MV Transportation was celebrated by client, Bechtel Corporation for its work at Motiva Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. The MV division drove one million miles and carried one million passengers at the site,2012, MV Transportation relocated its global headquarters from Fairfield, California to Dallas, Texas
MV Transportation
–
MV Transportation, Inc.
17.
Controlling interest
–
A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders motion. A majority of voting shares is always a controlling interest, in the United States, Delaware corporations have a 2/3 vote requirement for a motion to pass. In theory, this could mean that a controlling interest would have to be one third of the voting shares. Consolidation Minority interest Holding company Parent company Subsidiary
Controlling interest
–
Accounting
18.
Walnut Creek, California
–
Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located 16 miles east of the city of Oakland in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its active downtown neighborhood features hundred-year-old buildings and extensive high-end retail establishments, restaurants, as of 2014, the citys total estimated population is 67,673. Diablo, and the Tactan at Danville and Walnut Creek, on San Ramon Creek, todays Walnut Creek is located amidst the earlier site of four Mexican land grants. One of these land grants – measuring 18,000 acres – belonged to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, Ygnacio Sibrian, one of the grandsons, created the first roofed home in the valley in about 1850. The grant was called Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones, named after the principal waterway, the Arroyo de las Nueces was named for the occurrence in the valley of the native species of walnut tree, the California Walnut. With the coming of American settlers following the Mexican-American War, a settlement called The Corners emerged, named because it was the place where roads from Pacheco. The site of this first American settlement is today at the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard. The first town settler was William Slusher, who built a dwelling on the bank of Walnut Creek, in the year 1855, Milo Hough of Lafayette built the hotel named Walnut Creek House in the corners. A blacksmith shop and a store soon joined the hotel, two decades later, the community changed its name from The Corners to Walnut Creek. In December 1862 a United States Post Office was established, the downtown street patterns laid out in 1871–1872 by pioneer Homer Shuey on a portion of one of his familys large cattle ranches are still present today. Walnut Creek began to grow with the arrival of Southern Pacific Railroad service in 1891, on October 21,1914, the town and the surrounding area of 500 acres ), were incorporated as the 8th city in Contra Costa County. A branch line of the Southern Pacific railroad ran through Walnut Creek until the late 1970s, the East Bay Regional Park Districts Iron Horse Trail, used by walkers, runners and bikers, runs over what were portions of that branch line. The mainline of the Sacramento Northern Railway passed through Walnut Creek, today, the Pittsburg/Bay Point – SFO Line line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit serves Walnut Creek with a station adjacent to Highway 680. Walnut Creek is located at 37°54′23″N 122°03′54″W, portions lie in both the San Ramon Valley and the Ygnacio Valley below the western slopes of Mount Diablo. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 19.8 sq mi,0.06 percent of which is water. Walnut Creek owns more open space per capita than any community in the state of California. In 1974, Walnut Creek voters approved a $6.7 million bond measure that allowed the city to purchase 1,800 acres of undeveloped hillsides, ridge lines, and park sites. Walnut Creek owns parts of Lime Ridge Open Space, Shell Ridge Open Space, Acalanes Ridge Open Space, the East Bay Regional Park District operates Diablo Foothills Regional Park and Castle Rock Regional Recreation Area, both in Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, California
–
Walnut Creek as seen from Acalanes Open Space
Walnut Creek, California
–
Downtown Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, California
–
Shell Ridge Open Space
Walnut Creek, California
–
Northgate community, looking towards Mt. Diablo
19.
Great Recession
–
The Great Recession was a period of general economic decline observed in world markets during the late 2000s and early 2010s. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country, in terms of overall impact, the International Monetary Fund concluded that it was the worst global recession since World War II. According to the US National Bureau of Economic Research the recession, as experienced in that country, began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, the Great Recession was related to the financial crisis of 2007–08 and U. S. subprime mortgage crisis of 2007–09. The Great Recession has resulted in the scarcity of valuable assets in the market economy, under the academic definition, the recession ended in the United States in June or July 2009. In the broader, lay sense of the word however, many use the term to refer to ongoing hardship. The Great Recession met the IMF criteria for being a recession, requiring a decline in annual real world GDP per‑capita. According to the U. S. National Bureau of Economic Research the recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, the years leading up to the crisis were characterized by an exorbitant rise in asset prices and associated boom in economic demand. Further, the U. S. shadow banking system had grown to rival the depository system yet was not subject to the regulatory oversight. US mortgage-backed securities, which had risks that were hard to assess, were marketed around the world, the emergence of sub-prime loan losses in 2007 began the crisis and exposed other risky loans and over-inflated asset prices. With loan losses mounting and the fall of Lehman Brothers on 15 September 2008, the global recession that followed resulted in a sharp drop in international trade, rising unemployment and slumping commodity prices. Several economists predicted that recovery might not appear until 2011 and that the recession would be the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, Economist Paul Krugman once commented on this as seemingly the beginning of a second Great Depression. Governments and central banks responded with fiscal and monetary policies to national economies. The recession has renewed interest in Keynesian economic ideas on how to combat recessionary conditions, economists advise that the stimulus should be withdrawn as soon as the economies recover enough to chart a path to sustainable growth. Income inequality in the United States has grown from 2005 to 2012 in more than 2 out of 3 metropolitan areas, median household wealth fell 35% in the US, from $106,591 to $68,839 between 2005 and 2011. The majority report of the U. S, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, composed of six Democratic and four Republican appointees, reported its findings in January 2011. There were two Republican dissenting FCIC reports, one of them, signed by three Republican appointees, concluded that there were multiple causes. He wrote, When the bubble began to deflate in mid-2007, There are several narratives attempting to place the causes of the recession into context, with overlapping elements. Four such narratives include, There was the equivalent of a run on the shadow banking system
Great Recession
–
Relationship between fiscal tightening (austerity) in
Eurozone countries with their GDP growth rate, 2008–2012
Great Recession
–
The great asset bubble: 1. Central banks' gold reserves: $0.845 trillion. 2. M0 (paper money): $3.9 trillion. 3. Traditional (fractional reserve) banking assets: $39 trillion. 4. Shadow banking assets: $62 trillion. 5. Other assets: $290 trillion. 6. Bail-out money (early 2009): $1.9 trillion.
20.
Fairfield, California
–
Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Solano County, California, United States. It is located in the North-eastern part of the Bay Area, Fairfield was founded in 1856 by clippership captain Robert H. Waterman, and named after his former hometown of Fairfield, Connecticut. It is the home of Travis Air Force Base and the headquarters of Jelly Belly, with a population of 108,321 at the 2010 census, it is slightly smaller in population than Vallejo. Other nearby cities include Suisun City, Vacaville, Rio Vista, Benicia, and Napa. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 37.6 square miles. The total area is 5. 65% water, the city is located within the California Coastal Ranges. The city is centered directly north of the Suisun Bay and northeast of the San Pablo Bay, much of the Suisun Bay contains the Suisun Marsh, the largest saltwater marsh on the west coast of the United States. According to the City of Fairfield website, Native Americans, such as those from the Ion culture, settled in the Rockville, the first European contact came in 1810 when the Spanish army was ordered to attack the Suisun Indians. In 1835 the Mexican General Vallejo was so magnanimous in victory over the Indian Chief Sem Yeto that the later became his ally in conflicts against other tribes. In 1837 the Indian Chief Solano received the Rancho Suisun Mexican land grant and this grant eventually came into the hands of a clipper ship captain from Fairfield, Connecticut named Robert H. Waterman. He not only parceled out the town in 1856, but also, in a shrewd move, entered Fairfield in the race for Solano County seat in 1858. As an inducement he granted 16 acres of land for the construction of county buildings, in 1903 Fairfield was incorporated as a city. The 2010 United States Census reported that Fairfield had a population of 105,321, the population density was 2,798.5 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Fairfield was 48,407 White,16,586 African American,869 Native American,15,700 Asian,1,149 Pacific Islander,13,301 from other races, and 9,309 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28,789 persons,21. 2% of Fairfield is Mexican,1. 1% Puerto Rican,1. 0% Salvadoran,0. 5% Nicaraguan,0. 3% Guatemalan,0. 2% Cuban, and 0. 2% Peruvian. The Census reported that 102,832 people lived in households,1,221 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 2,052 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 237 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,802 households were made up of individuals and 2,500 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.98. There were 25,843 families, the family size was 3.42
Fairfield, California
–
The "Welcome to Fairfield" roadside sign along
Interstate 80
Fairfield, California
–
Aerial view of Fairfield, with Travis Air Force Base in the upper center.
Fairfield, California
–
West Texas Street in Downtown
Fairfield, California
–
The
Solano County Government Center in Downtown Fairfield
21.
El Cerrito, California
–
El Cerrito is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 23,549 according to the 2010 census, El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It was incorporated in 1917 as a village with 1500 residents, as of the census in 2000, there were 23,171 people,10,208 households and 5971 families in the city. El Cerrito was founded by refugees from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and they settled in what was then Don Víctor Castros Rancho San Pablo, and adjacent to the ranch owned by the family of Luís María Peralta, the Rancho San Antonio. A post office opened at the settlement in 1909 and the camp became known as Rust, after Wilhelm F. Rust. The villages residents did not care for the name and changed it to El Cerrito in 1916, a year later, El Cerrito was incorporated as a village with 1,500 residents. The name means hill or knoll. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.7 square miles. The city is at an elevation of 69 feet, El Cerrito is located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. The hilly areas of El Cerrito provide spectacular views of its famous neighbor, El Cerrito is located along Interstate 80, and nearby Interstate 580. The city is less than 30 miles from two major airports, El Cerrito is bordered by Albany and Kensington to the south, the Richmond annex to the west, East Richmond Heights to the north, and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park to the east. Local landmark Albany Hill is in Albany, just across the border with El Cerrito, the Hayward Fault runs through El Cerrito. In addition, El Cerrito is within 150 meters of Berkeley to the southeast, El Cerrito is approximately 5 miles from the University of California Berkeley campus and has two BART stations, El Cerrito del Norte and El Cerrito Plaza. FAST, Golden Gate Transit, Vallejo Transit, Napa VINE, San Pablo Avenue stretches the length of El Cerrito and is the primary commercial and retail corridor of the city. The shopping center is surrounded by commercial and retail businesses along San Pablo Avenue. El Cerrito city parks include both recreation/sports parks as well as undeveloped nature areas, most notable are the 80-acre Hillside Natural Area open space, Huber Park, Cerrito Vista Park, and Arlington Park, Tassajara Park, Poinsett Park, and the Canyon Trail Park and Art Center. The city is home to Arhoolie Records, part of the Smithsonian Institution, also located in the city is Playland-Not-At-The-Beach, a popular amusement park museum. The 2010 United States Census reported that El Cerrito had a population of 23,549, the population density was 6,385.3 people per square mile
El Cerrito, California
–
San Pablo Avenue, with the historic Cerrito Theater
El Cerrito, California
–
Bodies of water
22.
Pleasant Hill, California
–
Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 33,152 at the 2010 census, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.1 square miles. Pleasant Hill has a landscape with some valleys and rolling hills. In undisturbed wilderness, oak woodlands and mixed woods can be found and it is located in the central East San Francisco Bay. Winter daytime temperatures tend to be in the fifties and sixties, on very rare occasions, the temperatures can reach the one hundred degree range during extreme heat waves. Freezing in winter is rare, but it does happen, summer fog is occasional but winter fog is very common. This area began to be developed more in the 1920s, as agricultural land was subdivided for housing. Monument Boulevard was named after the Soldiers Memorial Monument to commemorate soldiers of the Great War and it was erected on December 11,1927. The monument depicts one black and three white soldiers and it is 45 feet tall, constructed of formed concrete, and weighs 150 tons. In 1954 the monument was moved to its current site at Boyd Road, developed largely in the years following World War II, this area did not have a post office until 1948. On February 21,1967, Century 21 Theaters opened an 895-seat dome theater between Monument Boulevard and Hookston Road, visible from the freeway after it was constructed, the futuristic dome-topped cinema became an iconic landmark for the newly incorporated city. The theater was designed by prolific Bay Area architect Vincent G. Raney and it had a distinctive 50-foot-high domed ceiling and oversized curved screen. The theater was built to showcase the Cinerama widescreen process developed in the 1950s. The screen was later updated to standard flat-screen, in 1973, four additional single-screen auditoriums were added to the front of the building. Renamed as Century 5 Theatres, it continued to be known familiarly as the Dome, the city hall of Pleasant Hill, completed in the late 20th century, has won several awards for architectural design. For most of its history, Pleasant Hill did not have a true downtown or Main Street, in 1991, the city began planning the redevelopment of the area around the intersection of Monument and Contra Costa boulevards. In July 2000, Downtown Pleasant Hill finally opened, the privately owned and operated outdoor shopping center was designed to resemble a typical small Main Street. Starting in 2003, CinéArts operated the former Century 5 Theatres, screening primarily independent, due to changes in viewing habits, as many people screened movies at home, business continued to decline
Pleasant Hill, California
–
City Hall - Pleasant Hill, California
Pleasant Hill, California
–
CinéArts "Dome" Theater, 2013
Pleasant Hill, California
–
Interior of the CinéArts "Dome" Theater on its last night of operation - April 21, 2013
Pleasant Hill, California
–
Bodies of water
23.
Bay Area Rapid Transit
–
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The rapid transit elevated and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in Alameda, Contra Costa, BART operates 5 routes on 104 miles of track connecting 45 stations, plus a 3. 2-mile automated guideway transit line to the Oakland International Airport which adds an additional station. A spur line in eastern Contra Costa County will utilize other rail technologies, with an average of 433,000 weekday passengers and 128.5 million annual passengers in fiscal year 2016, BART is the fifth-busiest heavy rail rapid transit system in the United States. The systems acronym is pronounced Bart, like the name, BART is operated by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, formed in 1957. As of 2017, it is being expanded to San Jose with the consecutive Warm Springs, some of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Systems current coverage area was once served by an electrified streetcar and suburban train system called the Key System. This early 20th-century system once had regular trans-bay traffic across the deck of the Bay Bridge. By the mid-1950s, that system had been dismantled in favor of highway travel, a new rapid-transit system was proposed to take the place of the Key System during the late 1940s, and formal planning for it began in the 1950s. Some funding was secured for the BART system in 1959, passenger service began on September 11,1972, initially just between MacArthur and Fremont. All nine Bay Area counties were involved in the planning and envisioned to be connected by BART, before the system began revenue service, serious problems in the design and operation of the Automatic Train Control system were observed. Three engineers working for BART, Max Blankenzee, Robert Bruder, BART management was dismissive of their concerns, so the three took the issue to the board of directors. All but two of the directors voted in February 1972 to support management and reject the safety concerns, management retaliated against the engineers, firing them in March 1972. The IEEE later filed the first amicus brief in its history to support the engineers. The California Society of Professional Engineers reported to the California State Senate in June 1972 that there were serious safety risks with the ATC. Legislative analyst A. Alan Post, opened an investigation immediately, an ATC failure caused the train to run off the end of the elevated track and crash to the ground, injuring four people on-board, and drawing national and international attention. The “Fremont Flyer” led to a redesign of the train controls. The California State Public Utilities Commission imposed stringent oversight over train operations, the legislative analyst issued the first of three “Post Reports” in November 1972. The report was “sharply critical” of BART, finding that the ATC system was unreliable, the ATC program was mismanaged, and “no solution was in sight. ”The report accused BART of paying excessive fees for engineering services. BART’s general manager called the indictment of safety in the Post Report “not only disappointing, telephone calls were placed manually between stations, instead
Bay Area Rapid Transit
–
A
Pittsburg / Bay Point bound train at
Walnut Creek in July 2008.
Bay Area Rapid Transit
–
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
Bay Area Rapid Transit
–
Location of the third rail changes at the station. On the left side of the track in the distance is the emergency walkway — the third rail is across the track from this walkway.
Bay Area Rapid Transit
–
Ticket vending machines at the
Powell Street Station
24.
Dial a Ride
–
DRT systems typically provide a public transport service for areas of low passenger demand, such as rural areas, where a regular bus service would not be viable. DRT services may also be provided especially for disabled passengers, as with paratransit programs, ridership on DRT services is usually quite low, but DRT can provide coverage effectively. DRT schemes may be fully or partially funded by the transit authority. As such, operators of DRT schemes may be selected by public tendering, other schemes may be partially or fully self-funded as community centred not for profit social enterprises. Additionally, journeys may divert en route for new bookings, a DRT service will be restricted to a defined operating zone, within which journeys must start and finish. Journeys may be free form, or accommodated onto skeleton routes and schedules. As such, users will be given a specified pick-up point, some DRT systems may have defined termini, at one or both ends of a route, such as an urban centre, airport or transport interchange, for onward connections. DRT systems require passengers to request a journey by booking with a central dispatcher who determines the journey options available given the location and destination. DRT systems take advantage of fleet telematics technology in the form of vehicle systems, scheduling and dispatching software. In some cases Taxicabs are hired by the DRT provider to serve their routes on request, the status has caused controversy between bus and taxi operators when the DRT service picks up passengers without pre-booking, due to the licensing issues. Issues may also arise surrounding tax and fuel subsidy for DRT services, the large majority of 1,500 rural systems in the US provide demand-response service, there are also about 400 urban DRT systems. For more see or projects web page, some services such as LinkUp only pick up passengers at meeting points, but can set down at the passengers destination. PocketRide, a door-to-door DRT system being developed in Ballarat, Victoria, following some pioneering DRT schemes implemented in the eighties, in Italy a new generation of applications have been launched and are in operation starting from mid nineties. Current schemes are provided in urban and peri-urban areas as well as in rural communities, operated by different kind of organisations such schemes are offered either as intermediate collective transport services for generic users or as schemes for specific user groups. Some information about the scheme can be found on the relevant pages of MPK web site as well as in a short video, DHD provides booking and organization, however, the transport is implemented by several local transport companies. DHD is trying to extent this system as an alternative to the effective and expensive rural public transport with fixed timetables. There are several smaller DRT lines, some of them are listed on this page in Czech cs, more than 200 of the 1700 local governments in Japan have introduced the DRT. For more information see the following On Demand Bus, public transport authority in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik and the surrounding municipalities
Dial a Ride
–
Dial a Ride in New Jersey, 1974
Dial a Ride
–
DRT and other kinds of transport
25.
San Francisco, California
–
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
San Francisco, California
–
San Francisco and the
Golden Gate Bridge from
Marin Headlands
San Francisco, California
–
Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores)
San Francisco, California
–
1853
United States Coast Survey Map
San Francisco, California
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Francis Samuel Marryat, Hilltop of San Francisco, California, Looking toward the Bay, 1849. M.& N. Hanhart Chromolithograph
26.
San Francisco Bay Ferry
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San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. John Reed established a ferry service in 1826. One of the earliest ferry routes ran between San Francisco and Oakland on what was called the creek route. The name derived from the Oakland landing site located at the foot of Broadway where Jack London Square is today, fronting on what is called the Oakland Estuary. The estuary, which in the 1800s included what is todays Lake Merritt, was the creek, in 1851, Captain Thomas Gray, grandfather of the famous dancer Isadora Duncan, began the first regular ferry service to San Francisco from the East Bay. Service started with the stern-wheel Sacramento River packet General Sutter and the iron steam ferry Kangaroo. Service was augmented in 1852 by Caleb Cope, the small ferry Hector powered by a sawmill engine. Boston burned that year and was replaced first by William Browns San Joaquin River packet Erastus Corning, in 1853, Minturn formed the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Company and had the ferry Clinton built expressly for trans-bay service. A second ferry, Contra Costa began operating over the route in 1857, the earliest railroad ferries ran from Oakland Point and from Alameda Terminal when Alameda was still a peninsula. The ferry pier at Oakland Point was greatly enlarged to form the Oakland Long Wharf and these railroad ferries mostly carried passengers, not trains, although there was some ferrying of freight cars to San Francisco. This railroad ferry actually carried whole trains and these ferries became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad when it assumed many of the facilities of its affiliate, the Central Pacific. These large train ferries were idled when a bridge was completed over the Carquinez Strait in 1930. Ferries began serving north bay rail connections with the Petaluma and Haystack Railroad in 1864, San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad and Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad ferries connected Petaluma River landing locations with San Francisco. North Pacific Coast Railroad ferries connected Sausalito with San Francisco, some of these ferries operated on Northwestern Pacific Railroad schedules from 1907 to 1938. The Napa Valley Railroad established service in 1865 and connected with ferry service in Vallejo. Monticello Steamship Company began operating ferries between Vallejo and San Francisco in 1895, and began coordinating with train schedules in 1905, Golden Gate Ferry Company gained control of Monticello in 1927 and, after merging with Southern Pacific, discontinued ferry service to Vallejo in 1937. Santa Fe and Western Pacific both ran passenger ferries connecting their east bay terminals to San Francisco, but both discontinued ferry service in 1933, service to Sausalito was suspended in 1938 by order of the State Railroad Commission, and the last ferry to Alameda ran in 1939. The last Southern Pacific ferry ran between Oakland and San Francisco on 29 July 1958, Southern Pacific ferries Melrose and Thoroughfare were designated to carry automobiles to and from San Francisco on the original Creek Route in 1911
San Francisco Bay Ferry
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The Southern Pacific Company's Bay City ferry plies the waters of San Francisco Bay in the late 19th century.
San Francisco Bay Ferry
San Francisco Bay Ferry
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Contra Costa, in the foreground, was one of the earliest ferries built expressly for trans-bay service. Capital, in the background, formerly a Sacramento River steamboat, served the route from 1876 to 1896. Both were built by
John Gunder North.
San Francisco Bay Ferry
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Central Pacific ferry El Capitan was the largest ferry on San Francisco Bay when built in 1868.
27.
AC Transit
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AC Transit is an Oakland-based public transit agency serving the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. AC Transit also operates Transbay routes across San Francisco Bay to San Francisco and selected areas in San Mateo, AC Transit is constituted as a special district under California law. It is governed by seven elected members and it is not a part of or under the control of Alameda or Contra Costa counties or any local jurisdictions. Buses operate out of three operating divisions, Emeryville, East Oakland, and Hayward, the Operations Control Center is located in Emeryville. The Richmond operating division closed in 2011, the District is the public successor to the privately owned Key System. The Districts bus lines also serve parts of some other East Bay communities, including Milpitas, Pinole, most routes connect with regional train service, primarily BART, in addition to ACE and Amtrak, including the Capitol Corridor. While most AC Transit service consists of lines throughout the East Bay. Most of these run across the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge to connect communities as distant as El Sobrante, Bus service is also provided across the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges to the south. AC Transits primary hubs include BART stations, major shopping centers, and points of interest, most routes serve and/or terminate at BART stations, providing convenience for transit users. The hubs include, See also AC Transits page on fares and passes or AC Transits page on bus fares, on July 1,2014, AC Transit introduced a Day Pass, designed for customers taking more than two local buses in a day. The pass is good for unlimited rides on local routes from 3,01 a. m. to 3,00 a. m. Customers can obtain a Day Pass in one of two ways, Using Clipper, Customers keep cash value on their card. Once fares equalling the Day Pass price have been deducted, the Day Pass automatically activates, on subsequent rides, the card is tagged but no additional fare is deducted. On-Board, Customers deposit the amount in the farebox and request a Day Pass from the bus operator. On subsequent rides, the pass is swiped at the farebox, AC Transit fares are structured to promote the use of Clipper. Not only are local bus rides cheaper, but certain interagency transfers and day passes are easier to obtain, monthly passes are only available on Clipper. Local BART-to-bus transfer, $0.25 cash discount to and from BART with paper transfer issued at BART, applied as $0.50 Clipper discount on bus trip away from BART only. To transfer from AC Transit to another bus agency without Clipper, to transfer from another bus agency to AC Transit without Clipper, ask the other bus driver for a transfer. Notes, All fares are in USD,1 Issued upon request when full price is paid
AC Transit
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A collage of AC Transit's buses
AC Transit
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AC Transit buses at Bay Fair BART Station.
AC Transit
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AC Transit bus 2203, a New Flyer Xcelsior D60 photographed on June 5, 2013, at Jack London Square in Oakland.
AC Transit
28.
County Connection
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The County Connection is a Concord-based public transit agency operating fixed-route bus and ADA paratransit service in and around central Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area. Upon their incorporation, the town of Danville and the city of San Ramon also joined CCCTA, CCCTA is governed by a board of directors, with a representative appointed from each of its member cities and the county. Day-to-day operations are overseen by the General Manager, on 1 July 1980, CCCTA began operating service with its first route serving Walnut Creek. The changeover from AC Transit to County Connection was somewhat gradual, among its 30 weekday routes, the County Connection operates seven express routes. With support from the city of Walnut Creek, the County Connection also operates a downtown circulator with trolley livery with service between Walnut Creek and Broadway Plaza. 600-numbered series routes are select service trips convenient to area schools, service is provided on the following 11 routes, Fares are effective 22 March 2009 † Children five years of age and under may ride free, but may ride only when accompanied by an adult. ‡ Proper identification must be presented to obtain the reduced Senior/Disabled fare, ₮ In order to facilitate passenger connections between County Connection buses, transfer slips are issued upon request at the time the proper fare is paid. Transfers are good for up to two uses and are valid for two hours on weekdays and three hours on weekends, bART-Bus Transfers do not require an additional fare. It is $1, and transfers are available at machines inside connecting BART stations, the current fixed-route fleet consists of 132 wheelchair-accessible buses manufactured by Gillig. Each bus is accessible by a ramp, and has space for two wheelchairs, buses feature Clever Devices GPS-based automatic voice annunciation and visual next-stop announcements. Each bus has the capacity for two bicycles on a front bumper-mounted rack, with an additional two bicycles permitted aboard at the bus operators discretion. In 2006, the County Connection partnered with Moore & Associates, Inc. a public transit marketing firm, to develop and this resulted in the transit agencys Amigos de Viajar program. The program was created to provide one-on-one instructional outreach to Spanish-speaking persons within Concords Monument Corridor community, as a result,12 volunteers were trained in how to provide fellow community members with trip planning assistance. The volunteers, identified by their high-visibility yellow vests, can be seen at area bus stops, transit centers, the film was printed to DVD and distributed to organizations throughout the Monument community and greater Concord
County Connection
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Bus 316 (with special "Free Ride" trolley livery) in service on then-Route 104 at
Broadway Plaza
County Connection
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Bus 404 on then-Route 126 at BART Orinda
29.
Golden Gate Transit
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Golden Gate Transit is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It primarily serves Marin and Sonoma counties, and also limited service to San Francisco. Funding for cross-bridge Transbay bus service is subsidized by Golden Gate Bridge tolls in addition to traditional federal. GGT provides some bus service within Marin County under contract with Marin Transit, Golden Gate Transit is constituted as a special district under California State Law, as evidenced by Assembly Bill 584, creating the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Napa, Mendocino, and Del Norte,1 Director each, Golden Gate Transit has alleviated congestion on the Golden Gate Bridge and along the Golden Gate Corridor since 1972. A history of service is listed below, with average annual increase in traffic of 70% over 30 years, the Bridge was close to reaching its saturation point. As congestion mounted, several studies were undertaken to identify alternate means of travel between Marin County and San Francisco, the San Francisco-Marin Crossings report of May 1967 looked at the possibility of building another bridge. The District also considered adding a second deck to the Bridge, the Marin County Transit District considered taking over the existing Greyhound system as a commute service to San Francisco. Greyhound provided transit between Marin County and San Francisco at the time and it was unprofitable, so Greyhound management planned to abandon it. As air pollution increased and congestion took its toll on commuters, San Francisco, Marin, the plan called for bus service from neighborhoods in Marin and Sonoma Counties to the San Francisco Financial District and Civic Center areas. By the late 1960s, the Bridge was operating at capacity during the commute period. Original Bridge construction bonds were due to be retired in 1971, and this included any and all forms of transit, including buses and ferries. The word Transportation was added to the Districts name at that time to indicate its new commitment to public transportation, the legislature did not give the District the authority to levy taxes. Legislation also restricted the use of Bridge tolls to support only regional transit services, on 10 December 1971, Assembly Bill 919 was passed, requiring the District to develop a long-range transportation program for the corridor. Bus service began in December 1970 when the District initiated a service to the Sausalito Ferry Terminal using 5 buses leased from Greyhound on 4 bus routes driven by 4 drivers. The District soon bought 132 buses to start its operations, in September 1971, the District hired 30 experienced Greyhound drivers to operate the new bus service. GGT began operating bus service in December 1971 under contract with MCTD. The initial GGT system was operated with 152 buses and facilities in Novato and Santa Rosa, in 1974, the District opened its permanent bus administration and central maintenance facility at 1011 Andersen Drive in San Rafael
Golden Gate Transit
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Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit
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Golden Gate Transit's original logo, in use since the start of service, as seen on a bus stop sign in San Rafael.
Golden Gate Transit
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Golden Gate Transit's second generation logo, in use until 2010, as seen on a bus stop sign in Novato.
