[BBMW]

Here in NYC, they're trying to figure out how to come up with $20 billion to bring our creaking old subway system up to date. Our MTA is a cesspool of corruption mismanagement and inefficiency. It continuously runs a huge deficit that to this point has been spackled over with debt.

There's a lesson in there, if you want to learn it.

[calisoccer99]

If Vegas had light rail from downtown summerlin to the strip I would go to the strip a lot more than the maybe one time a year I do now

[BBMW]

Assuming you have a car, you could likely drive there more quickly than the light rail would get you there. And if you figure out and exploit the loopholes in the parking fee structure, it would probably be cheaper.

Originally Posted by calisoccer99

If Vegas had light rail from downtown summerlin to the strip I would go to the strip a lot more than the maybe one time a year I do now

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by BBMW

Assuming you have a car, you could likely drive there more quickly than the light rail would get you there. And if you figure out and exploit the loopholes in the parking fee structure, it would probably be cheaper.

Yeah, but there's this thing called DUI. Ya know?

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by BBMW

Here in NYC, they're trying to figure out how to come up with $20 billion to bring our creaking old subway system up to date. Our MTA is a cesspool of corruption mismanagement and inefficiency. It continuously runs a huge deficit that to this point has been spackled over with debt.

There's a lesson in there, if you want to learn it.

How many years did it serve you well until it turned to poop?

Those Bay Area folks like thiers. a Lot.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by NLVgal

How many years did it serve you well until it turned to poop?

Those Bay Area folks like thiers. a Lot.

It actually is more a story of bad governance. The city is utterly dependent on the subway system and would pretty well stop functioning if it went away. I used it daily for five years of my live and considered it a really neat thing.

Basically there has been a war between the state and the city over it which has let the MTA starve to death.. It needs new equipment, new signalling, and automation. This is all very hard as you cannot shut down more than small pieces. So basically you have to design a new system compatible with the old...a daunting task.

[EA]

Government and unions ruin everything.


(Unions are great for employees. Horrible for the country and economy.

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

It actually is more a story of bad governance. The city is utterly dependent on the subway system and would pretty well stop functioning if it went away. I used it daily for five years of my live and considered it a really neat thing.

Basically there has been a war between the state and the city over it which has let the MTA starve to death.. It needs new equipment, new signalling, and automation. This is all very hard as you cannot shut down more than small pieces. So basically you have to design a new system compatible with the old...a daunting task.

Exactly. NYC economy doesn't exist anywhere near like it does without the subway. Typical government reaction though, passing the buck acting like you are a victim and need someone else to pay for it. Take the benefits of the economy created, all the taxes and high paying jobs, the tourism, the density of the population and then pretend like you never have to invest to keep that going. $20 billion is pocket change for the trillion dollar economy of the NYC area, but we have nothing but malfunctioning cities wrecked by corruption and the disaster of the political system. No elected official is going to be willing to try to raise the funds to pay that bill, he or she won't survive their next election.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by NLVgal

Yeah, but there's this thing called DUI. Ya know?

I've yet to read of someone getting a DUI riding a light rail train!

[BBMW]

Yes. NYC grew up around the subway, and is utterly dependent on it. There were still farms along some of the lines when they were built.

Vegas is just the opposite. It's auto-centric, and has grown up around it's highway system. The highways seem vastly cheaper to build and maintain, but saturate at a much lower density than the subways. So the question is, should Vegas start to go down the rail transit path. When NYC built it's subway lines, it could be done much more cheaply than it is now. Vegas would have to pay the current costs, which are pretty exorbitant. They would also have to pay to staff and maintain them. Given how much of a fixed target they are, you can pretty much count on the staff becoming unionized and demanding top dollar. The unions (both operating and construction) are a huge part of the cost issues with our transit system.

So Vegas might think twice (or more) before hopping down this rabbit hole.

Originally Posted by lvmensch

It actually is more a story of bad governance. The city is utterly dependent on the subway system and would pretty well stop functioning if it went away. I used it daily for five years of my live and considered it a really neat thing.

Basically there has been a war between the state and the city over it which has let the MTA starve to death.. It needs new equipment, new signalling, and automation. This is all very hard as you cannot shut down more than small pieces. So basically you have to design a new system compatible with the old...a daunting task.