GETTING 'ROUND, 'ROUND, 'ROUND

Cities around the world deal with the traffic crunches in their areas in different ways. New York has its subways, Paris has Le Metro, New Delhi has a bus and taxi system that defies pretty much all known laws of physics.

Amsterdam employs a very effective and environmentally-friendly tram system.

The problem, of course, is deciding where you want to go....

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - MORNING TRAIN

Amsterdam is known for a good many things. Some historic, some efficient, and some permissive.

On the efficient side are the ubiquitous Amsterdam tramway system, which whisks travelers on more than 200 million rides a year in and around town.

Operated by GVB - Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf - the foreign visitor quickly learns it's a far more dependable and useful system than trying to navigate by car in this dense and sometimes confusing city.

Pic of the Day: Disney, Futures' Past

The Disney monorail system is commonly held up as a shining example of the technology in regular use. Despite the fact the system has never been truly successful other than a short-distance transit system (like Seattle's or many major airports') the monorail has been replaced in futurists' minds by electromagnetic and rail-based high speed machines. There are a few still under consideration and construction (operational in Mumbai, Seattle and Las Vegas and under consideration in Tennessee), but by and large other, grander, systems seem to have become the norm.

This is unfortunate, because as an image of the future, you really can't get more iconic than a monorail -- and for many of us, the Disney versions were the first we not only saw, but rode. And in a way, we touched the future.

(Taken in EPCOT Center, April, 2004)