Metrorail Update? (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: quality of life, tax, live)

[jobert]

I looked at the map, and it seems odd and circuitous, but I think it's a good start. One benefit of the route is that it runs through the lowest income neighborhoods in Austin and gives individuals within these areas means to get out to Cedar Park.

[verybadgnome]

Originally Posted by eepstein

Metrorail when and if it ever begin running will be the biggest waste of resources in the austin area. It will be completely under utilized just as most of the Cap Metro bus sytem is. Capitol Metro has a whole is pretty much a complete and total failure. Austin has one of the lowest bus riderships in the country. You would have to be INSANE to ride the metrorail DEATHTRAP when it's operated by 15 and 16 year olds who just got there licenses!!!

Austin is a gas guzzling kinda place, not a place where many care about public transportation!!

So what is your source for bus ridership numbers comparing Austin to other cities/transit agencies?

I do know that Capmetro/UT has the largest university shuttle service in the US and overall CapMetro has 140,000 trips per day on its system.

Don't think metrorail will be operated by high schoolers. Statistically speaking buses have 1/10 and rail systems 1/80 the death rates of cars (Source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute).

[passionatearts]

Check out this latest update on the light rail situation: Why commuters are still waiting on Cap Metro's train (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/09/20/0920raildelay.html - broken link)

I love Capital Metro's pathetic excuses for the delay in light rail implementation: "We didn't know how hard it would be to get light rail in place." Sure, whatever you say, Capital Metro.

Among my favorite parts of the article is where it says that Capital Metro didn't realize that they would need a computerized to coordinate rail traffic. Are you kidding me? How stupid are these people? Who's running this agency?!

One part of the article really made me mad: "It remains unclear when the MetroRail line will open. This year, agency executives adopted a policy of making no predictions." I guarantee you that in any private company, if an employee bungled a project and then told his boss: "Well, I'm sorry about the delay, but I really can't tell you when I'll have the project ready," that employee would be fired for incompetence.

So, is there anything that we, the poor suckered citizens of Austin can do to get these losers at Capital Metro to do their job right?

[Trainwreck20]

"We didn't know how hard it would be to get light rail in place."

And people wonder why the full $1 billion+ plan got shot down some years ago.....this is EXACTLY why it got voted down, and, honestly, CapMetro is much better than it used to be.

[passionatearts]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

CapMetro is much better than it used to be.

That's a scary thought! BTW, do you find it ironic that you're commenting on this article with a name like "Trainwreck20."

[twange]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

And people wonder why the full $1 billion+ plan got shot down some years ago.....this is EXACTLY why it got voted down, and, honestly, CapMetro is much better than it used to be.

There are a lot of reasons why that plan got shot down. Unfortunately, the 2000 LR plan was 100 times better and would have been useful(provided CM would have been able to execute it properly). This "metrorail" plan (which is not LR passionhearts) is bad on many levels and that's why it's floundering. It was done on the cheap for starters, and projects that crucial can't be done that way. CapMetro wasted taxpayers money by taking the "any rail is better than none" approach. They would have been better off putting that money into improved bus service and waiting until the funds were right for a quality rail plan.

The plan that the CITY OF AUSTIN is studying - which will NOT include CapMetro - looks like the best chance Austin has of attaining any decent rail in the near future. I hope they are able to overcome the perceptual damage caused by CapMetro when they try to pitch it to the voters. I think it's embarrassing that Houston and especially Dallas are light years ahead of Austin on PT. I know they are much larger but Austin is supposed to be the more progressive and green city. You would think that PT would be a priority here.

BTW, the CEO of CapMetro "retired" last week. See ya'.

Cap Met CEO Gilliam Retires -Chronolog: Austin Chronicle Blogs - AustinChronicle.com

[Nomadic9460678748]

Originally Posted by twange

There are a lot of reasons why that plan got shot down. Unfortunately, the 2000 LR plan was 100 times better and would have been useful(provided CM would have been able to execute it properly). This "metrorail" plan (which is not LR passionhearts) is bad on many levels and that's why it's floundering. It was done on the cheap for starters, and projects that crucial can't be done that way. CapMetro wasted taxpayers money by taking the "any rail is better than none" approach. They would have been better off putting that money into improved bus service and waiting until the funds were right for a quality rail plan.

The plan that the CITY OF AUSTIN is studying - which will NOT include CapMetro - looks like the best chance Austin has of attaining any decent rail in the near future. I hope they are able to overcome the perceptual damage caused by CapMetro when they try to pitch it to the voters. I think it's embarrassing that Houston and especially Dallas are light years ahead of Austin on PT. I know they are much larger but Austin is supposed to be the more progressive and green city. You would think that PT would be a priority here.

Everything you've said is spot on.

I've read the Stateman's various editorials on the entire subject of Capital Metro and its inability to start MetroRail and while I'm not prone to conspiracy (a natural residual of growing older I believe), it does at times seem as though the Statesman has anointed itself Personal Cheerleader for an organization which has not done anything to deserve the confidence and support of the voting public, much less people who actually RIDE the buses in this town. It was interesting that the departing Mr. Gilliam was credited with decreasing driver accidents (a laudable achievement) and improving on-time performance of buses (a laughable achievement if you actually ride the buses, because you'll realize that it is a rare occurrence to catch a bus on time unless it's the #1L, 1M, 5, 7, sometimes the 3, 10, and also sometimes the 17--notice how many of these buses serve student-centric areas). Indeed, it is a mar upon Mr. Gilliam's tenure that he was so willing to relinquish the idea of genuine light rail in favor of the current, ill-suited alternative of limited commuter-rail, an alternative which is actually a very poor foundation upon which to plan for long-term public transport growth. The Statesman insists that Capital Metro's preposterously proposed fare increase (the second within two years after not having raised fares in over 20) should be implemented, because as it stands now the fare increase was averted through a diversion of stimulus funds previously budgeted for the still inoperative MetroRail. How can The Statesman support this in light of the fact that Capital Metro's fare increase includes an increase/projected budget based on higher MetroRail fares, higher than those initially proposed. THE TRAIN IS NOT EVEN RUNNING YET!!!

Capital Metro is filled with yahoos. Until there is more citizen involvement and a collaborative, comprehensive transformation of how this region envisions its growth, there will be no opportunities to thread meaningful mass transit into future planning. Any steps forward will have to be made with a fresh and different perspective. I don't believe any current Capital Metro Board member has the vision or planning expertise required to move us forward. I hope a very, VERY thorough job is done selecting Gilliam's replacement. This is a very important choice for Austin's economic and ecological health. We shall see.

[justanothercalifornian]

If it's ever up and running both my husband and I will be using it. He for work and I will use it to take my kiddos downtown for fun outings. I'm totally excited about it. The routes are actually perfect for where we live. I hope it is not a total failure as some are suggesting.

[verybadgnome]

It still costs less than TxDOT spent on the Trans Texas Corridor ($131M) so at least its not the biggest waste of money in the state. Seriously though I can't imagine voters authorizing any type of expansion to me be managed by CapMetro in the foreseeable (~10 years) future. Still I don't understand how COA would be able to operate their own rail system. A collaboration with CapMetro perhaps?

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by passionatearts

One part of the article really made me mad: "It remains unclear when the MetroRail line will open. This year, agency executives adopted a policy of making no predictions." I guarantee you that in any private company, if an employee bungled a project and then told his boss: "Well, I'm sorry about the delay, but I really can't tell you when I'll have the project ready," that employee would be fired for incompetence.

You have a lot of faith in private companies, but what about all the banks and financial institutions whose employees screwed up royally, and they were rewarded with bonuses. Government agencies don't have a monopoly on incompetence.