MASS TRANSIT in dallas (Houston, Arlington: construction, buses, trains)

[jon_of_mckinney]

i would say if you live within proximity of downtown dallas, the mass transit is pretty good. However, I feel that if you live in the suburbs. Driving will be your only option :/

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Hamilton, Guerilla is a Houstonian who would really rather be down on the bayou than in Arlington..but he just got his driver's license so he might not be up to speed on transportation issues.

I just got it you say?

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Or and indicator of how many people ride it per mile. You can have the most expansive system, but if only 1,300 people ride it per mile, then something is wrong.

Houston's problem is that it doesn't have many miles... it's puny. So a rides per mile figure is meaningless.

Bus riders transfer to Houston's little line to get downtown or to the medical center, so you have to add the number of miles a passenger rode on a bus to get to the train. Plus the inconvenience of having to transfer. DART passengers are more likely to start and end their journey on rail, since it has more miles and more stations. Also because it reaches farther into residential areas and connects more business centers.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Or and indicator of how many people ride it per mile. You can have the most expansive system, but if only 1,300 people ride it per mile, then something is wrong.

Or it could be that a city has very few miles of light rail and therefore ridership is higher because it is easier to stoke a 7 mile light rail track with passengers than it is one that covers over 45 miles.

[rantanamo]

Originally Posted by jon_of_mckinney

i would say if you live within proximity of downtown dallas, the mass transit is pretty good. However, I feel that if you live in the suburbs. Driving will be your only option :/

Plano and Garland residents seem to have no problems with it. Those trains are packed from the get go every morning.

[dallas,texas]

thats good to hear they are packed

[lh_newbie]

If you don't make it to the Plano station by about 7:30 or so, you're not going to find an open parking space. I swear they could double the parking spots and fill them all up still!

[Spade]

Originally Posted by Guerilla

Nothing is wrong, just ridership numbers haven't caught up to the miles of rail yet. I worded that wrong.

The wrong thing may be that no one wants to use it and would rather drive in their cars though.

I don't think anything is wrong. I think it's a matter how each system was built. Houston built there system in dense areas already. They also built the lines through the TMC and medical workers are known to use mass transportation.

Dallas built their stations in the middle of nowhere to encourage massive TOD's so therefore, you will have less ridership per mile. I think the Dallas number will grow rapidly once the green lines opens through there own medical district and once the orange lines opens at DFW in six years. Once that line opens at DFW, expect the numbers to put Dallas in the top 5.

[Guerilla]

^^That is if the other systems ahead of it don't grow. Houston is expanding as well. The way Houston is laid out is why the rail lines go through dense, urban areas before reaching single-family homes quickly like in Dallas.

I have heard rumors that Houston's BRT Lines will be LRT lines from the get-go. John Culberson is losing power (I don't know why, but I am glad), and once he is gone, Houston can get more funding for rail. Tom DeLay rail stopped it during the 90's, and Culberson helped. Well, DeLay is gone, and Culberson is withering away, creating more opportunities for Houston, who wants rail. Now, our commuter rail service will be up quick. The 290 commuter rail line could be up in 18 months once METRO gets permission from the rail company (I believe it is Union Pacific, but I am not sure).

[Guerilla]

Originally Posted by aceplace

Houston's problem is that it doesn't have many miles... it's puny. So a rides per mile figure is meaningless.

Bus riders transfer to Houston's little line to get downtown or to the medical center, so you have to add the number of miles a passenger rode on a bus to get to the train. Plus the inconvenience of having to transfer. DART passengers are more likely to start and end their journey on rail, since it has more miles and more stations. Also because it reaches farther into residential areas and connects more business centers.

What does that have to do with having a small rail system? There are plenty of smaller rail systems that don't achieve Houston's ridership numbers. And don't act like people don't drive to those DART stations. DART doesn't reach everywhere you know. Do you think people walk from their big mansion in Plano to the DART station?

You also don't know Houston. Houston only eliminated a few bus lines, but the buses are still intact. The buses you see going into Downtown are the Park and Ride buses. They go to METRO's temporary transit station. We already approved the intermodel station Downtown, which will connect all rail lines, and three commuter rail lines.