Wikipedia Transit Authority
| Wikipedia Transit Authority | |
| |
 WTA #3600 - WTA Wikipe-tan
| |
| Formed: | January 2001 |
|---|---|
| Preceding Agency: | Nupedia Transportation Corp. |
| Jurisdiction: | Greater Wikipedia Area (excluding Village Pump) |
| Employees: | 1,574 |
The Wikipedia Transit Authority is the primary public transit system operating in Wikipedia, Internet. The system runs buses, subways, non-existant streetcars and rapid transit through the large city, excluding the Village Pump community, which is operated by a separate entity of Administrators during their free time.
The WTA operates 470 surface transit routes, of which 287 routes make 20 connections with a subway or rapid transit station, and 101 subway routes. In 2007, the WTA carried 2.4 million passengers per day, and there were 237,179,613 passenger trips in total.
History[edit]
The Wikipedia Transit Authority was developed after the merging of the following transit systems:
- Nupedia Transportation Corp., since 2000 (turned into WTA after the 'N' in Nupedia's logo was considered to have emo connotations)
- Meatball Wiki, since 2000 (merged with WTA to provide catering services on buses)
- WikiWikiWeb, since 1994 (merged with WTA to allow use of defunct subway systems and airport shuttle buses)
The Wikipedia Transit Authority, having operated since January 2001 after the inauguration of Wikipedia, has provided seemless transportation around the Wikipedian community. Initially providing simple services from the Main Page Terminal to high-density areas of the online community, it has grown due to massive urban sprawl and now operates throughout the whole area. The Unified Community of the Village Pump, on the other hand, has its own transit system with no links to the WTA.
Throughout the history of the Wikipedia Transit Authority, the system has greatly expanded. Despite many efforts though, no deals have been reached with the Unified Community of the Village Pump to create a connection. Village Pumperites state this as "WP:POV, WP:DR and requires extensive oversight by an Arbitration Committee."
The system originally started off with a small 3 route bus system adopted from the Nupedia system and a fleet of 5 buses. Overtime, demand increased and routes were being added every month, which turned to weekly, and sometimes on a daily basis. President Jimbo Wales of WTA had to constantly hire more employees to the point where he was hiring administrators for the system more than he was hiring drivers.
Around 2003, it was decided to commence a subway system in Wikipedia. Much of Wikipedia was dug up and the system installed in no time after a mass hiring spree. After the system was installed, much of ground-level Wikipedia was given a facelift in what is called the 'Monobook Saga'. Unfortunately, as many of those hired to make the system were random IP citizens of Wikipedia, the system was poorly planned and many stations didn't link to any surface routes. Member denizens of Wikipedia have declared these 'Orphans' and avoid them as they have become "IP fodder" and rundown.
In 2004, a rapid transit system called the 'WikiMeta' was introduced after citizens complained they couldn't make heads or tails of all the subway stops in Wikipedia. A simple 'Point A to Point B' system was made using funding from the Wikimedia Corporation in association with WikiNews to provide advertising on the WikiMeta buses. Despite the complaints previously, ridership on the WikiMeta, from Main Page to Recent Changes, with service every 15 minutes, was slow to start. Connections were made to Help, Random Page and the city of WikiNews itself to increase use. By mid-2004, these additional connections drew ridership in, easing tensions that were occuring on the subway.
In September 2007, the WTA celebrated with the construction of its 2 millionth transit stop: El Hormiguero Stop at Nagareyama-centralpark Station. The route was created to allow Japanese citizens of Wikipedia access to a museum on Spanish television. Unfortunately, some citizens complained after discovering evidence that the SATD stop in the Entertainment district was the 2 millionth stop. After a quick investigation, the El Hormiguero Stop kept it's 2 millionth stop status, despite massive bottling at Jimbo Wales during the announcement.
In early 2008, a streetcar system was developed linking Main Page with all major areas of Wikipedia. Lack of funding during that year's funding drive, however, prevented the purchase of streetcars. Jimbo Wales, disappointed with the lack of sales and constant '1 Yen' donations, made a video to the public to have them donate or risk a levy for every portion of Wikipedia they visit. When that didn't help, Jimbo shrugged off the idea and used the money on developing a new colorful for the WTA as shown at the top of the page.
Today, Wikipedia Transit Authority has over four million stations. Its system is considered the best and the most reliable in the world, and is trusted by billions of users. Wikipedia once again was given a facelift, this time with a new style called Wikipedia Monobook 2: Electric Boogaloo.
The Fleet[edit]
The WTA operates a massive fleet of buses and subways, along with one Airbus A380 for local community routes between various major Portals in the Wikipedian community.
| Make/Model | Fleet number | Description | Fleet size | Year acquired | Division | Notes |
| Thomas-Dennis SLF-672.5 | 0420-0666 | Coal Bus | 246 | 1999 | Religion and Morality Division | Commonly used by religious guilt-riders and stoners. |
| Orion Bus Industries Orion 08.607 "VIII.607" | 0800-0899 | Hybrid-Electric Solar Diesel-Infused Bus | 100 | 2008 | Category Division | Replaces 15 year old buses from Encyclopedia Britannica Transit System. |
| Orion Bus Industries Orion 07.098 "VII" | 3600-3650* | Gas-Guzzling Hybrid Bus | 51 | 2008 | United States of America Division | Navigates the USA community of Wikipedia, constantly breaking down due to excess weight load. |
| New Flyer Industries D40LFRSTLNE | 5100-5300 | Paparazzi Ego-Diesel Bus | 300 | 2005 | Celebrity Division | Constantly utilized by paparazzi and young female adults to view their favorite celebrities, or to vandalise their articles. |
| VanHool AGGG300 | 5300-5351 | Diesel-Electric Bus | 52 | 2005 | Europe Division | Triple articulated-bus, known for the mess of free papers and coffee cups thrown on the floor, along with puke stains in the rear of the bus. |
| Nova Bus RTS-720200ANSTCE | 8000-8999 | High-Octane Diesel Bus | 1000 | 1995 | Random Articles Division | Nicknamed the 'I'm Sick And Tired Of Seeing These Buses' series, originally ran on the roads of New York until they finally decided to get rid of the pieces of crap. |
| Alexander Dennis Vertigo500 | 9000-9001 | Diesel-Lightning Rod Bus | 2 | 2004 | Photography Division | Used mainly by transit enthusiasts with their fascination of shiny things, lights, destination signs and tall buses. |
| Prevost H3H-60 | 47200-47222 | Jet Fuel-Diesel Mix Bus | 23 | 1995 | Rapid Transit Division | Popular amongst those on rapid transit, unpopular on accessibility routes. |
- 3647, 3649 and 3650 destroyed from floor stress issues.
| Make/Model | Fleet number | Description | Fleet size | Year acquired | Division | Notes |
| Fawker-Sidededeldey Canada T-1 | 00001-00100 | Electric | 100 | 1992 | North America & Iraq Division | Retired? |
| Fawker-Sidededeldey Canada T-800 | 00101-00200 | Electric-Solar | 100 | 2001 | South America & Africa Division | Rarely used, solar panels inoperational |
| Bombardmentier Canada T-1000 | 00201-01000 | Steam | 800 | 2007 | Asia Division | Although designed as 75 foot vehicles, usually crushloaded in service. Additional 200 on order. |
| Bombardmentier Canada T-X | 01001-01200* | Fusion-Nuclear Reactor Core | 200 | 2008 | Europe & Antarctica Division | Riders in the front cabins require Geiger counters. |
- 01165 retired due to fire.
| Make/Model | Fleet number | Description | Fleet size | Year acquired | Division | Notes |
| Airbus A380-800 | 01-27 | Dodge HEMI-powered "Compressive-Reactive"® gasoline turbine | 28 | 2008 | Portals | Used purely for between portals and to go between minor communities in Wikipedia. Operates at $700,000 per trip, special fare is $3 adults, $4 seniors and $175 students. 27 extra A380s are ordered in 2010. |
Divisions[edit]
Division Alpha[edit]
- Area served: Administration
- Operator: Violinia Transportation
- Facility: 742 Evergreen Terrace, Television City
Division Beta[edit]
- Area served: North America (incl. United States of America, excluding Idaho), South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica
- Operator: Last Student Enterprises
- Facility: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Divison Beta.2[edit]
- Area served: Africa, Rap Music, Idaho
- Operator: John's Used Car Lot
- Facility: 25 Freeloading Sideroad
Division Gamma[edit]
- Area served: Photography, Random Articles
- Operator: Magnussen's Mrazy Mus Marage
- Facility: 123 Phaycke Avenue
Division Delta[edit]
- Area served: Rapid Transit
- Operator: Fork Transportation
- Facility: Unknown (somewhere in underground Wikipedia)
Division Epsilon[edit]
- Area served: Celebrity, Category, Miscellaneous Community
- Operator: Administrators of Wikipedia Massive Transportation Committee of Administrators (AWMTCA)
- Facility: 2986 Rollback Crescent
Division Zeta[edit]
- Area served: New Article Development Areas (NADA in common parlance), Meta-Wiki, Sandbox
- Operator: Veolia
- Facility: 88 DeLorean Street
Fares[edit]
The Wikipedia Transit Authority has some of the most expensive fares in the Greater Internet Community of Alexa. Fares increase by 25 cents (W$) every January. The fares, as of this writing, are as follows:
| Age group | Individual Fare 1-Zone | Individual Fare 2-Zone | Individual Fare 3-Zone | 10 Tickets 1-Zone | 10 Tickets 2-Zone | 10 Tickets 3-Zone | Monthly Pass 1-Zone | Monthly Pass 2-Zone | Monthly Pass 3-Zone | Rapid Transit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High School Students | $3.21 | $5.42 | $9.74 | $32.01 | $42.01 | $55.00 | $110.00 | $220.00 | $320.00 | $7.00 |
| College Students | $3.50 | $5.97 | $10.02 | $32.02 | $42.03 | $55.07 | $132.23 | $260.45 | $360.65 | $1.50 |
| University Students | $5.00 | $9.00 | $20.00 | $67.00 | $87.49 | $95.93 | $286.51 | $482.37 | $872.29 | $2.00 |
| Elementary School Students | $2.99 | $5.63 | $9.98 | $27.55 | $37.45 | $55.10 | $110.00 | $221.00 | $321.11 | $0.50 |
| Apprenticeship Students | $9.00 | $4.44 | $2.22 | $4.00 | $8.00 | $12.00 | $1.76 | $2.00 | $3.45 | $10.62 |
| Adults | $3.00 | $4.00 | $5.00 | $24.00 | $34.00 | $44.00 | $95.00 | $140.00 | $185.00 | $2.00 |
| Children and 65+ Seniors | $2.47 | $4.00 | $6.29 | $14.00 | $24.00 | $42.00 | $74.00 | $148.00 | $238.05 | $1.00 |
| 100+ Seniors | $14.65 | $24.00 | $48.08 | $146.00 | $224.00 | $442.00 | $744.00 | $1488.88 | ##### | $1.50 |
Staff[edit]
Also known as Administrators, or "!staff", the operating staff are employed by Wikipedia through a long voting process by the community. They are judged on their driving skills, XP points, mana and ability to clean vandalism from buses. Once the community decides on their new drivers, the bureaucrats of Wikipedia decide whether the person is able to join the WTA by instigating a litigation issue on a bus as they train. If they can pass this, the driver is allowed to enter service on Route 75 'Detroit'. If they can successfully perform service for one week on this route, they are fully admitted to the WTA, signed into union and union dues and kept away from Route 75.
Uniforms and Style[edit]
Uniforms consist of, for males, a black shirt with black pants, with an optional black tie. Black shoes are required, black shoe polish is optional. Hair must be dyed jet black and full dark shades are a must. A light beard, as shown in the photo to the left, is looked highly-upon by Wikipedia Transit Authority board members, as are smug attitudes.
For females, a white shirt with short sleeves required with an optional red mini-tie. A short blue skirt must be worn at all times, even in cold weather with any-color high heels. Light-blue hair die is preferred, as are any form of an object in one's hair to hold it in place. When wearing said objects in hair, hair must not deviate from its location by more than 3 mm in any situation. Employees with anime-styled eyes are preferred, although WTA will fund surgery for anime-styled eyes if one so wants them.
Transit Enforcement[edit]
- See Robocop