I’ve been busy busy busy and haven’t made time to blog lately!   Actually I’ve had some time on weekends and evenings, and have even been at the coffee shop with the laptop for “designated writing and blogging” time, but got so engrossed in other projects that I ran out of time.   It’s all about juggling time and priorities, and getting enough sleep, too, I think.

I had an interesting experience this week.   I was riding the N-Judah in to work and everything just felt really bright and alive and colorful; enough that I noted the difference without really figuring out why.   It wasn’t until we went into the Buena Vista Tunnel that I (and everyone else, I think) noticed that the lights inside the train weren’t on.   So not only did we get to ride above ground with nothing but fantastic natural morning light, when we went into the tunnels we were treated to the unique experience of riding in partial darkness with the tunnel lights whooshing past.   It was really quite cool.

The lights being off got me thinking (as I often do) about energy consumption.   It seems to me that turning the lights off inside the Muni trains when they’re running above ground makes a lot of sense.   On a sunny day, and really even on on overcast day, there is more than enough light coming in the windows to light the interior of the train.

So, yeah, let’s shut off the interior lights above ground during the day and enjoy the natural light and beauty of the city we’re rolling through.   And when we get to the tunnels, well, the lights could be turned on (I don’t think that is even really needed, but I doubt the tunnel lighting outside the train would be considered bright enough to meet whatever safety guidelines are in place).   If they can raise and lower the stairs when they enter and exit the tunnels, they can certainly turn the lights on and off.

I’m all for “every little bit makes a difference” and I think turning off all those lights on the trains — and buses for that matter — could make a nice difference in electrical and fuel consumption.

You know, that gets me thinking that solar cells on top of the trains and buses would also be a great way to conserve energy.