Austin the largest city with no light rail/rapid transit system

[LittleCityATX]

On another note, since city planning is such a big part of the success of mass-transit, I just made a rough estimate that with high capacity 50 story condo/apartment buildings, we could pack ALL of Austin's population into the central austin area roughly bounded by 290 to the south, MOPAC, 35, and Koenig to the north. Mass transit would work amazingly well with that city planning.

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by LittleCityATX

On another note, since city planning is such a big part of the success of mass-transit, I just made a rough estimate that with high capacity 50 story condo/apartment buildings, we could pack ALL of Austin's population into the central austin area roughly bounded by 290 to the south, MOPAC, 35, and Koenig to the north. Mass transit would work amazingly well with that city planning.

Or keep them sprawled like they are now, wasting 21st century technology on a 19th century power source, engine, and concept...and build another 3000 big box stores that will be sitting vacant and unused in 20 years like 1/3 of the ones we have now....lets face it, Austin's present use of cutting edge transport is nil to none...and that will ultimately be THE damper on growth if it continues to be ignored...

[pvande55]

It is worth noting that 1400 riders daily rode it in April. If ridership is growing that fast under the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, they must be on to something.

[eepstein]

Cap Metro isn't onto anything. As I have said many times before, overall the ridership on Cap Metro is FAR below what was predicted. This is for many reasons. I would point out that it is once again the city cutting corners and "half-assing" anything relating to infastructure.

1.) The train doesn't stop where people work. The majority of people in the Austin area do NOT work downtown. Huge numbers of people work in central austin, northwest Austin (along 183), north into Round Rock (Dell) and out to Samsung. ZERO planning was done to encorporate all of that. They used existing tracks ENTIRELY, because it was the CHEAP way.

2.) It is not bi directional. The entire line is ONE track, which is horribly inefficient and means slower and less frequent service.

3.) Now after stating Number 1, the train DOESN'T run when most people might actually WANT to go downtown for entertainment. No weekend hours.

Although this will never happen, CapMetro needs to take some advice from RTD in Denver, in the process of upgrading their light rail system to include more than 8 separate lines spanning the entire Denver Metro including DIA, Boulder, and Longmont. As an individual in the transportation field for the past 15 years, I can honestly say that CapMetro is never made a dime throughout it's entire existance because of horrible management and inability to plan ahead like most other cities do. Not to mention the influence from the city of Austin.

But keep it up Cap Metro! You are already a staple in the light rail/transportation network nationwide!

Originally Posted by pvande55

It is worth noting that 1400 riders daily rode it in April. If ridership is growing that fast under the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, they must be on to something.