Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Miami also has the bright line higher speed rail. Miami should be listed in the poll as Metrorail/Brightline rail/Tri Rail/Metro mover. That's all four rail based public transit lines in SoFla.
I figured the Metromover was part of the Metro system so its already implied. You can include Brightline and that would give Miami some points, although that's more intercity like Amtrak, in which case San Diego would get points since it has nearly hourly trains to Los Angeles/Orange County.
Then why do all of these systems have pathetic usage compared to Seattle? Only Atlanta and Miami are even large fractions. Dallas and San Diego have horrific numbers...illustrating that rail mileage means very little.
Seattle's buses get multiple times the ridership per capita of any of the others, aided by HOV lanes, decent frequencies, etc.
Seattle almost exactly halfway between Atlanta and Boston in terms of Transit ridership. So it’s just as logical to place it with either.
Miami's system hits most of its urban nodes as well, despite not reaching SoBe. And there's also an elevated metro rail line at MIA airport. And Tri rail is expanding to downtown Miami via the central station. Bright line takes you from Downtown Miami all the way to downtown WPB. Plus there's the ppl mover that takes you to all the hot spots in downtown and Brickell. If Miami finally connects to the beach, that'll change Miami's rankings almost overnight.
If Miami extended it to the beach, and to Wynwood, Midtown, Design District, man it would be set for the most part (at least for now).
This one's a stumper... I really can't choose. All have some qualities, although San Diego is the clear loser in my book: too slow, too much downtown street running, doesn't cover enough area given its sprawl...
Denver is the biggest (track-age wise, if you're only including electric service, otherwise Miami's diesel-electric commuter system beats it), but its weird and disjointed. It's got electric commuter lines to the north then LRT to the south (and there's not even a direct connection between the 2; thru riders must walk several blocks between the 2 stub terminals). It's high-speed hub is at the edge of the CBD and none of the lines serve the dense core areas of Denver, such as the Colfax corridor.
I'm leaning Atlanta/MARTA. It is all heavy rail, serves its core corridors and has the highest ridership by far... But its not comprehensive enough given its gigantic metro region (commuter rail is desperately needed here; you can't expect every city to build a DC Metro (which blows all these cities away, along with practically everybody else, save NYC) ... or even a BART.
Miami is not bad. Yes the rapid transit isn't comprehensive, (and there's a huge hole in the system with no service to crazy-dense South Beach), but there's the very comprehensive downtown Metro Mover, the expanding Tri-Rail and the new Brightline high(er) speed line connecting (for now) Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and (eventually) Orlando. All these, in concert, serve this sprawling region fairly well.
SIDE NOTE: Last summer we tried out Brightline when it was brand new riding from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami... It's a luxury train service like no other, including Acela in terms of the luxury, airplane-like service, smoothness and comfort. It will be a huge Miami and Florida asset when its fully built out to Orlando...
This one's a stumper... I really can't choose. All have some qualities, although San Diego is the clear loser in my book: too slow, too much downtown street running, doesn't cover enough area given its sprawl...
Denver is the biggest (track-age wise, if you're only including electric service, otherwise Miami's diesel-electric commuter system beats it), but its weird and disjointed. It's got electric commuter lines to the north then LRT to the south (and there's not even a direct connection between the 2; thru riders must walk several blocks between the 2 stub terminals). It's high-speed hub is at the edge of the CBD and none of the lines serve the dense core areas of Denver, such as the Colfax corridor.
I'm leaning Atlanta/MARTA. It is all heavy rail, serves its core corridors and has the highest ridership by far... But its not comprehensive enough given its gigantic metro region (commuter rail is desperately needed here; you can't expect every city to build a DC Metro (which blows all these cities away, along with practically everybody else, save NYC) ... or even a BART.
Miami is not bad. Yes the rapid transit isn't comprehensive, (and there's a huge hole in the system with no service to crazy-dense South Beach), but there's the very comprehensive downtown Metro Mover, the expanding Tri-Rail and the new Brightline high(er) speed line connecting (for now) Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and (eventually) Orlando. All these, in concert, serve this sprawling region fairly well.
SIDE NOTE: Last summer we tried out Brightline when it was brand new riding from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami... It's a luxury train service like no other, including Acela in terms of the luxury, airplane-like service, smoothness and comfort. It will be a huge Miami and Florida asset when its fully built out to Orlando...
As a frequent user of our very limited Sunrail system here (thankfully, its stops include quite a few places I frequent a lot during the week) I cannot wait for Brightline to reach here. Once our rail connects to Miami and Disney, all will be vastly different in Florida.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
10,749 posts, read 23,813,296 times
Reputation: 14665
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobdreamz
Hard to believe Miami which is only one of the two cities with heavy rail is losing this poll.
If South Beach had a connection, you'd probably see a lot more posts with people who have visited Miami and experienced riding transit there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
