Nine Shift

Working Up North This Summer

I don't want to suggest there were a lot of mosquitoes up north this summer, but while working on the net Julie also works in the net.

Are Boomers Now Concerned About Death by Auto?

Are Boomers starting to be concerned about death by auto? 

Jeff Horner asked for a comparison of transportation fatalities by miles travelled.

 Trains are 8 times safer than cars in the U.S. both per mile and per 100,000 residents.

“Traveling in a car is the most dangerous thing most of us do on a daily basis. If a person could be found who travels exclusively by rail, an average automobilist has a lifetime risk [of accidental death] an astounding 6,800 times greater.” See: http://steelinterstate.org/topics/rail-vs-truck-and-auto-safety-record

And states with more trains have fewer auto fatalities, because more people take trains.
This web site makes an interesting correlation between red and blue states and car fatalities.
http://www.fairwarning.org/2012/11/traffic-deaths-a-surprising-dimension-of-the-red-state-blue-state-divide/comment-page-1/#comment-53800

Train Accidents and Deaths

Greg Miller asked a great question earlier this month:
What is the number of people dying on trains per year?
I am guessing it is low but just curious with the high profile accidents in Spain (people train) and Canada (freight).

 Great question Greg. Thanks for asking.
So few people die on a train that it makes international news every time it happens.

There have been 134 people dying from train accidents (including the Canadians who were not on the train) this year worldwide,
This is the same number as about one hour of auto deaths worldwide; or about 1.5 days of U.S. auto deaths.

Over the past ten years, a U.S. source says there were around 300 train deaths in the U.S., so about 30 a year.

The source on worldwide train deaths has 1,861 train deaths over the past ten years,
or fewer than 200 a year worldwide (includes under developed nations such as India, Pakistan, Africa, etc.)

The U.S. alone has 35,000 or more auto deaths a year.
Worldwide, about a million people die every year in an auto accident.

Bottom line: you are so safe on a train.
Again, thanks for asking. Fun checking out the data worldwide.

 

There is no Digital Divide

NineShifter Paul Lucas of Butler, PA, wrote Julie Coates and said he has not heard much about the "digital divide" in the last few years.  Here is her response:

Here is what NineShift has to say about the digital divide. We think that mobile technology including smart phones and tablets will go a long way toward erasing any digital divide. Even people in remote villages in Africa use mobile phones to conduct business, do their banking and access the Internet. In the US, according to PEW research, 77% of adults aged 18-30 with incomes under 30,000 own a smart phone.

That said, we believe there will always be a human divide. There will always be a segment of the population that is less educated and less likely to desire education than other segments. This segment will also use smartphones, but will use them differently than more educated or affluent segments.

Overall, access to digital technology has the potential to provide more universal access to information, but people will still choose the information that is of greatest interest.

Thanks Paul for your question and interest!

The ROI On Trains: Jobs

Trains attract Gen Y, and thus jobs. The ROI is huge.

Recently Sue Haig, a spokeswoman for a new light rail line in southwest Minneapolis, noted that in coming up with the details of the $1 billion plus line, that saving a few hundred million dollars is not the only consideration in planning the route's details.

These smart planners instead are looking at ROI. And the return on investment is jobs, estimated to be 80,000 NEW jobs over the next 30 years.  As Haig correctly stated, the light rail line is "vital to the region" and will "increase prosperity." 

This is a turning point: government and business leaders are now understanding that the initial investment will reap enormous benefits in jobs and economic prosperity.  In this century, there will be winning cities and losing cities.  The winning cities are building light rail and trains now.

I'm Half Back At Work

After taking some or much of the summer off, reading and working on new publication, I'm half back at work now.

Movies and Gen Y Today

For Gen Y, the nightmare scenario is climate change. The evidence: the movies.

There is now a consensus on climate change and global warming, according to scientists. And actually according to the 80 million folks in Gen Y. 

Our son Willie told me last week that the movie Godzilla was originally made by Japanese film makers in 1954, and that it was about the atomic bomb, which had just been dropped on their country.  He says that the disaster movies today are often about natural disasters, and that's the parallel in experience, and nightmares, between Ge Y today and people in the 1950s.  What do you think?

Gen Y is working hard, such as supporting trains, buying fewer tangible goods, living in more environmentally friendly ways, so they can avoid that nightmare experience. 

Economic Impact of Trains

Trains are a key to economic success for communities in the 21st century.

With train ridership in the U.S. continuing to set records, it is becoming more clear that trains attract college educated professionals in Gen Y. Smart young knowledge workers in turn create productivity and profits for companies.

Amtrak President Joe Boardman is correct when he recently noted: "Amtrak is delivering record ridership across the country and serving as an economic engine to help local communities grow and prosper," Amtrak President and CEO Joe Boardman said in a news release.

If you look at communities with light rail and train service, and compare them with communities that do not have light rail and train service, you will understand the Amtrak assertion.

Trains Set Record: End of the Auto Age

It's the end of the Auto Age, even if older people and the media do not acknowledge it- - yet.
Last month's record train ridership is another sign.  Train ridership has increased 8 of the last 9 years.

From a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "July also saw record ridership for Amtrak nationally, with nearly three million passengers taking the trains, according to a news release. Strong ticket sales are forecast for the final two months of the fiscal year, and Amtrak says it likely will meet or exceed last year's record of 31.2 million passengers."

The Intangible Economy

Even in Iowa, the land of pork and corn, and factories, the intangible economy is growing. Here's the numbers:

Manufacturing employment 218,000   no change from 1990, down 4% to 14% as a percentage of employment

Private services (intangible economy)  $1.0 million    Up 39% from 1990

Professional and business services (intangible economy)  136,000  Up 102% from 1990

Finance and Insurance  92,000  Up 59% from 1990

Where do you think the growth is, with tangible sectors like manufacturing; or the intangible economy? (Hint: the latter) Photo: River I canoed last week.