[Mike 75]

They keep throwing numbers around re: busway ridership but in 18 months the state has yet to release any kind of official, audited numbers. Until that happens, these numbers mean nothing.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

I agree. I think this was covered in the transportation thread not long ago...I raised the point that I challenge anyone to show numbers that congestion on I-84 eastbound has gotten better since the Busway. They keep fairly accurate counts of car traffic per day through various sections (and if they didn't until now, surely they've been doing so for the reconstruction project). If the numbers or commuting times had gotten better, don't you think the DOT would be touting that by now?

What makes you think CT DOT counts traffic every day. They do not. They have a regular program for counting traffic at select locations on state roads once every three years. For the Aetna project they did a massive traffic count program in and around Hartford but that was on one day and cost a lot of money. To continuously do that would be insanely expensive and a complete waste of money.

In case you haven't noticed, traffic fluctuates. Traffic volumes go up and down each day. One day the numbers will be different than the next. Also the state does not measure travel times. And like volumes, speeds and travel times fluctuate. The data you ask for would be costly to obtain with any real certainty of accuracy. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Mike 75

They keep throwing numbers around re: busway ridership but in 18 months the state has yet to release any kind of official, audited numbers. Until that happens, these numbers mean nothing.

Audited numbers? Do you think this is a tax return? And what form would you like to see these numbers in to believe them? The state has to report ridership to the Federal Transit Agancy so it can't forge the numbers. I doubt Malloy would make up numbers when the FTA checks them. Jay

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by JayCT

What makes you think CT DOT counts traffic every day. They do not. They have a regular program for counting traffic at select locations on state roads once every three years. For the Aetna project they did a massive traffic count program in and around Hartford but that was on one day and cost a lot of money. To continuously do that would be insanely expensive and a complete waste of money.

In case you haven't noticed, traffic fluctuates. Traffic volumes go up and down each day. One day the numbers will be different than the next. Also the state does not measure travel times. And like volumes, speeds and travel times fluctuate. The data you ask for would be costly to obtain with any real certainty of accuracy. Jay

These are not exotic or extraordinary metrics, Jay. CT DOT in fact does track them all over the state:

ConnDOT: Traffic Monitoring Volume Information

My only point is that similar metrics no doubt exist or are being looked at for the New Britain/Hartford stretch of I-84. It would be interesting to corroborate whether the ridership has any impact on the traffic counts. It's a very fair question, in fact the very basis of how the busway was justified. If the state is not releasing these numbers, it should raise some eyebrows.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

These are not exotic or extraordinary metrics, Jay. CT DOT in fact does track them all over the state:

ConnDOT: Traffic Monitoring Volume Information

My only point is that similar metrics no doubt exist or are being looked at for the New Britain/Hartford stretch of I-84. It would be interesting to corroborate whether the ridership has any impact on the traffic counts. It's a very fair question, in fact the very basis of how the busway was justified. If the state is not releasing these numbers, it should raise some eyebrows.

Yeah, did you actually look at those numbers? They are based on counts taken every three years. They are not continuous.

Again, I am not sure what you expect or want on CTfastrak. The link below gives you the ridership figures. Here is also a link to the CTfastrak One Year Report. It shows ridership numbers. This shows the riders on the service. If you want more, then research it further or heck, even contact CT Transit for the numbers as their website indicates. Jay

ConnDOT: CTfastrak

http://ctfastrak.com/files/CTfastrak...One_Report.pdf

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

These are not exotic or extraordinary metrics, Jay. CT DOT in fact does track them all over the state:

ConnDOT: Traffic Monitoring Volume Information

My only point is that similar metrics no doubt exist or are being looked at for the New Britain/Hartford stretch of I-84. It would be interesting to corroborate whether the ridership has any impact on the traffic counts. It's a very fair question, in fact the very basis of how the busway was justified. If the state is not releasing these numbers, it should raise some eyebrows.

I don't think the busway was marketed as a way to reduce traffic. I think it was marketed as a way to remove buses from the highway and to make commuting times lower. Such as, Bristol to Hartford was 40 mins reduced to 30 mins. ( I do not know the actual times, but I'm sure the data exists )

Also, if you want to get crazy one can probably argue that the busway increased traffic on i-84 because more cars can fit on the road now that the buses have been removed.

I drive by the New Britain station a few times a week and there's a lot of activity there especially during rush hour(s). Not sure where these people are coming from or going to, because there's no jobs in downtown New Britain. I'd imagine it has removed people from the local bus routes though.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

I don't think the busway was marketed as a way to reduce traffic. I think it was marketed as a way to remove buses from the highway and to make commuting times lower. Such as, Bristol to Hartford was 40 mins reduced to 30 mins. ( I do not know the actual times, but I'm sure the data exists )

This would be news to me and a lot of people! I was in CT during the planning and commentary stages of this project...I don't have time to dig up links to old articles that clearly talked about reducing congestion on I-84, but I'm sure they can be found.

[Chukcha]

Originally Posted by HumpDay

Probably because of it's name and its staff has done a fantastic job getting the teams name out there. It's gotten not just statewide attention but national attention.

International even! I'm half the world away and I've been paying attention to Yard Goats. The brand is cool. Although they might've first grabbed my attention because of Hartford's stadia drama(s). That aspect of Hartford is also getting internationally famous.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

This would be news to me and a lot of people! I was in CT during the planning and commentary stages of this project...I don't have time to dig up links to old articles that clearly talked about reducing congestion on I-84, but I'm sure they can be found.

Did you even attend any of the public information meetings that were held for the project? I did, so I heard what was expected and a reduction in traffic on I-84 and adjacent streets was only part of it. It was NEVER going to solve the problems on I-84 west of Hartford. The problems are too big and complex to be solvable by one relatively small project.

The busway gives commuters a much needed option for travel into and out of Hartford. It provides reliable regulated bus service times because buses no longer have to sit in traffic on I-84 with the rest of the commuters (haven't you seen the CTfastrak commercials where a woman talks about now being home at a guaranteed time from work for her kids now?).

I think a lot of your perception of the busway is based on the naysayers who suddenly came out of the woodwork just before construction began on the project. Those people including some really uninformed politicians, just spewed out venom on their perception of what is the first major mass transit project for Hartford. They wrongly claimed the money for the busway could be used for improving I-84 (it can't) and they gave a lot of shaky reasons why it would not work. They also said it was too expensive but failed to mention that much of that expense was going to fix some significant problems on roadways in the area (the Flatbush Avenue rail crossing) or for some nice amenities like the New Britain trail.

Fortunately Malloy saw through the BS and went forward with the well planned, long vetted project and today we have a system that is doing better than it was hoped. Not sure why you don't see the value in that. Jay

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Did you even attend any of the public information meetings that were held for the project? I did, so I heard what was expected and a reduction in traffic on I-84 and adjacent streets was only part of it. It was NEVER going to solve the problems on I-84 west of Hartford. The problems are too big and complex to be solvable by one relatively small project.

The busway gives commuters a much needed option for travel into and out of Hartford. It provides reliable regulated bus service times because buses no longer have to sit in traffic on I-84 with the rest of the commuters (haven't you seen the CTfastrak commercials where a woman talks about now being home at a guaranteed time from work for her kids now?).

I think a lot of your perception of the busway is based on the naysayers who suddenly came out of the woodwork just before construction began on the project. Those people including some really uninformed politicians, just spewed out venom on their perception of what is the first major mass transit project for Hartford. They wrongly claimed the money for the busway could be used for improving I-84 (it can't) and they gave a lot of shaky reasons why it would not work. They also said it was too expensive but failed to mention that much of that expense was going to fix some significant problems on roadways in the area (the Flatbush Avenue rail crossing) or for some nice amenities like the New Britain trail.

Fortunately Malloy saw through the BS and went forward with the well planned, long vetted project and today we have a system that is doing better than it was hoped. Not sure why you don't see the value in that. Jay

In fairness, this is probably the case. But this opposition included highly respected officials such as Mayor Slifka of my town, West Hartford, who presumably did have all the facts at their disposal. So I didn't attend hearings granted, but was in touch with what our town people thought of and still think of this project.