Rush Hour

"Rush hour" is often believed (incorrectly) to have originated with the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883. "Rush hour" traffic occurred in the morning (when people…

Scarebus (Airbus nickname)

Airbus is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. People who believe that its planes are not safe have nicknamed the company "Scarebus" (or…

Schleppie Award

The Schleppie Award was started in 2007 by NYPIRG's Straphangers' Campaign and Transportation Alternatives. The award goes to New York City's least reliable buses. Since 2002, the…

Secret Subway (PATH)

During the subway strike of 2005, many took the "secret subway" from midtown to downtown -- the PATH trains. http://www.threematchbreeze.com/daily/010204.htmEarly next morn, picked up my…

Security Theater

"Security theater" is a term that was first used in Bruce Schneier's book Beyond Fear (2003). Schneier wrote, "But some countermeasures provide the feeling of security instead…

Selkirk Hurdle

The "Selkirk hurdle" describes the route that freight trains must travel to enter New York City. There is no freight crossing across the Hudson River into New York City, so trains must…

Seven O’Clockers

"Seven o'clockers" were those people (about 200) who lived in Philadelphia and wrote the 7 a.m. Reading Railroad train to Penn Station in New York. Then, at 5 p.m., they'd take…

Shiti Bike (Citi Bike nickname)

New York City's "Citi Bike" program was launched on May 27, 2013. The program was named and funded (in large part) by Citigroup, which paid $41 million for a six-year sponsorship.…

Sleeping Policeman (speed bump)

A speed bump has been called a "sleeping policeman" (often in the plural "sleeping policemen") since at least 1968, when it was used in Jamaica. A "sleeping policeman"…

Speed Bump

Entry in progress -- B.P.sleeping policeman Wikipedia: Speed bumpA speed bump, speed hump or ramp

Straphanger

A "straphanger" is someone who rides the trains or buses. NYPIRG has a branch it calls "Straphangers Campaign" that studies transit issues. The subway is about 100 years old,…