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Yeah, and rightly so. Rail is really expensive, and if you don't have the ridership to spread out the costs...
Such is the state of Sacramento's light rail. It operates on the heaviest traveled routes, accounts for a very large percentage of overall ridership which is admittedly not that significant... and it still costs more per rider and per mile than the buses do. Most places can't justify the cost. Sacramento was hoping to spur a lot of development around light rail which is something that didn't really pan out. It's kind of trickling in now, especially with gas prices being hire and the shift towards more interest in urban living than 30 years ago when the light rail system was being planned and built (opened in '87). In another 20 years I can see it making sense, especially if it's extended through the Railyards site out to the airport... and the Railyards ever gets developed.
I want somebody to do a legitimate analysis of how much it costs (per mile) to have a car vs. a bus, train, bicycle, etc. Cars and vehicular transportation are so incredibly expensive I don't see how somebody can justify not spending money on rail when vehicular transportation has got to be much more expensive, especially on a per-commuter basis. Yet every time I see a naysayer for light rail I see the cost/mile argument, and every time I have to remind that person how expensive car ownership is!
I want somebody to do a legitimate analysis of how much it costs (per mile) to have a car vs. a bus, train, bicycle, etc. Cars and vehicular transportation are so incredibly expensive I don't see how somebody can justify not spending money on rail when vehicular transportation has got to be much more expensive, especially on a per-commuter basis. Yet every time I see a naysayer for light rail I see the cost/mile argument, and every time I have to remind that person how expensive car ownership is!
There are PLENTY of studies that analyze this but t doesn't matter because the huge difference is who bears the brunt of the cost. If you don't drive and own a car you aren't paying anything for one. If you don't use public transit you're still paying for it whether you like it or not.
Boston has light rail in tunnels (subway) with underground stations connecting to heavy rail and commuter rail. Above ground it has dedicated rights of way. Otherwise it is the same as other light rail systems.
There are often two or three cars hooked together and the cars can get very crowded but that is another story.
The E branch of the Green Line does not have a dedicated right of way for the full length, once it goes beyond the Brigham Circle stop. Granted Brigham Circle is near the end, there still is a decent stretch where it's right out there with the cars.
The Bay Area has several cities in the top 20 (including SF at #4), while Seattle is #15, Portland #28, and LA is #31. Otherwise, the top 30 is literally all Northeastern cities and Chicago at #10.
Average Weekday Ridership (by MSA) - Heavy Rail + Light Rail + Commuter Rail + Bus
1. New York - 11,828,400
2. Chicago - 2,136,500
3. Los Angeles - 1,873,300
4. Washington D.C. - 1,312,400
5. Boston - 1,253,700
6. Philadelphia - 1,138,900
7. San Francisco - 917,400
8. Miami - 476,000
9. Atlanta - 405,100
10. Baltimore - 366,500
11. Seattle - 347,800
12. Portland - 312,600
13. Houston - 275,500
13. Denver - 275,500
14. San Diego - 272,400
15. Minneapolis - 270,700
16. Dallas - 248,900
17. Pittsburgh - 207,200
18. Phoenix - 189,200
19. St. Louis - 148,700
20. San Antonio - 146,800
21. San Jose - 142,700
22. Detroit - 106,800
23. Orlando - 91,800
24. Salt Lake City - 68,400
25. Columbus - 62,100
26. Hampton - 58,000
27. Cincinnati - 52,30
28. Sacramento - 49,600
The SF MSA, which is just San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont is more than that:
BART 418,000
MUNI bus 285,000
AC Transit bus 220,000
MUNI trolley bus 200,000
MUNI light rail 160,000
CalTrain 47,200
Golden Gate Transit 29,100
MUNI cable cars 15,600
Contra Costa County Connection 12,600
East Contra Costa Transit 8,000
Livermore-Amador Valley Transit 6,300
Amtrak Capital Corridor 5,500
That's 1.4 million so far...
/\ and these arent all either. SamTrans for example has 50,000 daily riders but is not in this report
And just skimming the report I think LA is over 2 million.
The SF MSA, which is just San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont is more than that:
BART 418,000
MUNI bus 285,000
AC Transit bus 220,000
MUNI trolley bus 200,000
MUNI light rail 160,000
CalTrain 47,200
Golden Gate Transit 29,100
MUNI cable cars 15,600
Contra Costa County Connection 12,600
East Contra Costa Transit 8,000
Livermore-Amador Valley Transit 6,300
Amtrak Capital Corridor 5,500
That's 1.4 million so far...
/\ and these arent all either. SamTrans for example has 50,000 daily riders but is not in this report
And just skimming the report I think LA is over 2 million.
I put the list together only going off what was strictly listed in the APTA data provided by the OP. I didn't include the trolly bus section, nor any other info not in the report.
San Francisco Bay Area RTD 418,700 (Heavy Rail) + San Francisco Muni Rwy 160,100 (Light Rail) + Capitol Corridor Joint Power 5,500 (Commuter Rail) + Caltrain 47,200 (Commuter Rail) + Alameda-Contra Costa TD N/A (Bus) + San Franciso Muni Rwy 285,900 (Bus) = 917,400
If it's more, that's great.
Los Angeles County MTA 158,200 (Heavy Rail) + Los Angeles County MTA 203,400 (Light Rail) + Southern California RRA 42,300 (Commuter Rail) + Long Beach Transit 95,700 (Bus) + Los Angeles County MTA 1,118,500 (Bus) + Orange County Transp Auth 183,100 (Bus) + Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus 72,100 (Bus) = 1,873,300
I want somebody to do a legitimate analysis of how much it costs (per mile) to have a car vs. a bus, train, bicycle, etc.
Here in the DC area, we have a Metro system with 11,000 employees serving about 5 million people. Meanwhile, VDOT serves all 8 million people in Virginia with just 7,000 employees.
One reason why Metro is so expensive is inflated pensions, in addition to unions that demand riders pay more to protect those pensions.
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