If You Were Atlanta's Mayor? (Savannah, Martin: hotel, travel, car rental)

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by blackrabbit

High speed rail to Savannah is a great idea.

I'm confused- even at "high speed", you're still talking about a +/- 2 hour train ride, so who exactly is going to be using (and thereby paying for) this train?????

[JPD]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

I'm confused- even at "high speed", you're still talking about a +/- 2 hour train ride, so who exactly is going to be using (and thereby paying for) this train?????

There is probably not a train or train system on this planet that is payed for by ridership alone.

But, the people who would ride this train include, but are not limited to:

Tourists who fly into Atlanta and would like to make a quick side trip to Savannah without having to rent a car.

Atlanta residents headed to Savannah/Tybee for pleasure or business.

St. Patrick's Day partiers.

Savannah residents coming to Atlanta for conventions, concerts, plays, sports events, art & music festivals, etc.

SCAD students (there's now an Atlanta campus, so a train between the two would present all sorts of opportunites for them)

Savannah residents that wish to utilize Hartsfield-Jackson.

There are a lot of people that could use that train. The Brain Train to Athens should be a FAR bigger priority, though.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by JPD

There are a lot of people that could use that train. The Brain Train to Athens should be a FAR bigger priority, though.

True- there are alot who "could", but how many "would"? While I'll agree that many trains are somewhat subsidized, that only works to a certain degree- a decent amount of the cost still has to be recouped by ticket sales or the project will never get off the ground. With a high-speed train, the costs are even higher, the ticket costs (even subsidized) would be high enough that many of the people you've listed wouldn't be willing to use the train.

A perfect example is Amtrak's Acela train that runs from Providence, RI to Washington, DC. I had to go to DC on several occasions from central NJ for meetings, and would only use the Acela train if a client was paying for it- the standard Amtrak fares were roughly $90 roundtrip, while the Acela fares were almost $300 for the same trip. The distance between those points was around the same as the Atlanta-Savannah trip, so I'd expect similar fare costs, and you'd likely eliminate 75+% of the folks you listed at those rates.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

True- there are alot who "could", but how many "would"?

Very few, of course. Look around. Clearly, in many ways the US is a very un-progressive country.

The distance between Atlanta and Savanah is not much different than some of the stops on the trains throughout Europe. They make it work, yet we, the so-called "greatest country in the world", can not make it work.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JPD

Very few, of course. Look around. Clearly, in many ways the US is a very un-progressive country.

When the services within a country are decided by corporate interests rather than by national monopolies, the motivating factors for change tend to be rather different.

That's why cell phone and internet service in the US tends to fall behind many other countries, for example.

The distance between Atlanta and Savanah is not much different than some of the stops on the trains throughout Europe. They make it work, yet we, the so-called "greatest country in the world", can not make it work.

Is there an actual need for such a train? What cost benefits would it provide to a traveller who already likely owns a car? It's roughly 250 miles to Savannah, which isn't too bad (I'm used to driving 400+ miles to/from Chicago and the Twin Cities).

The US is rather autocentric, the concept of taking trips in the car is very deeply embedded in our culture, and we have a very good interstate road system.

I would certainly consider riding a train (I've had very good experiences with the train systems in London and in southern Scotland), but only if the cost was low enough to offset the relatively small inconvenience of driving, and to offset the lack of having a car on the other end.

[Vampgrrl]

With the overall cost of gas and the falling American dollar (and oil won't get any cheaper generally speaking) a robust train system is only logical to move goods and people accross distances.

To borrow a phrase, we are sleepwalking into the future.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I would certainly consider riding a train (I've had very good experiences with the train systems in London and in southern Scotland), but only if the cost was low enough to offset the relatively small inconvenience of driving.

And, of course, the COST of driving.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JPD

And, of course, the COST of driving.

True, but with my 94 Accord EX (our normal travel car) and my actual measured gas milage on the freeway I could come very close to driving to Savannah from my house in Mableton and back again on a single tank of gas.

17 gallon tank @ ~31 mpg = 527 miles
Distance from my house to Savannah according to Google Maps: 262 miles.
Double that: 524 miles.

Very close.

I normally fill it up between the 13 and 14 gallon mark, so I don't really know if I could actually use the full capacity, but with current gas prices in Mableton it'd be a $48 round trip. Roughly. For my wife and I, that's $24 per person.

How much would a pair of train tickets + parking be?

[Vampgrrl]

Carbon emissions, and/or
U.S. Reliance on oil (foreign oil mostly)
Wear and tear on car

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Vampgrrl

Carbon emissions, and/or
U.S. Reliance on oil (foreign oil mostly)
Wear and tear on car

It already has 162,000 miles on it. What's another 500?

The other points are good ones, though. I suspect my next car will be a hybrid of some type.