Commute times.....

[Soonhun]

Originally Posted by J800

Such an exaggeration. Yes, sometimes the trains have a smell to them but that's literally going to be the case with public transportation in almost every big city. DCTA does not count.


I drive my car to the nearest DART Station (3 min drive away) and hop on a train into downtown which is another 8-10 minutes. It's convenient if you live in certain areas. Most people I know that take the train from Parker hop on at the same time every morning. Frequency might be an issue but most people know when they need to be at the train stop to avoid waiting another 20-30 minutes for the next train so it's usually never an issue. If you're going from Downtown > Parker Road, the red line trains run very frequently.

I'm used to Seoul's subway system and the DCTA A-Train. The second does not smell at all, but it is just a commuter line, so I'll give you that. However, Seoul's system serves a MUCH more populous region and it also does not smell, especially compared to DART. In fact, compared to Seoul's system (which is a complicated mess controlled by four different entities at different sections, extending beyond Seoul and well into its suburbs, like DART), DART should be much more manageable.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

Something I've wondered about is about those who can park and ride DART (Plano, Richardson, Dallas). I'm not in this position but I wonder about those who are and if it is or is not appealing to them. If it's convenient (and that's a big if considering how far a walk to an office from a station), then isn't it nice to sit on a train and read a paper or a book rather than sit in stop and go traffic and waste gas? Maybe because I lived in Boston for many years and it was so much easier to just take the T.

We live in Richardson. I know people who work or have worked in downtown Dallas. If they can get reasonable parking either paid for or partially reimbursed, they always go for that. Most did try riding DART and gave up on it due to late or canceled trains, full trains with no seats left, or simple cost. They preferred driving all the way downtown to paying to ride DART.

Full disclosure: The nearest DART station to us is off Spring Valley near 75. By the time you get through rush hour traffic to the station, you could be south of Royal or Meadow on 75. I'm told it's a huge pain in the butt to get there. Then there's the matter of leaving your car parked all day at the DART station. I don't know from personal experience but I've heard stories from neighbors of high rates of theft from vehicles. Then again, a lot of my neighbors seem to be on the dumb side when it comes to leaving valuables in plain sight in their cars.

[PlanoGirl]

Interesting. Though I have to wonder how accurate and recent their data is...They have populations for Frisco and McKinney as 35,000 and 62,000, respectively!?!? Uhhhh...try adding 100,000 people to each of those!

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by PlanoGirl

Interesting. Though I have to wonder how accurate and recent their data is...They have populations for Frisco and McKinney as 35,000 and 62,000, respectively!?!? Uhhhh...try adding 100,000 people to each of those!

I noticed that as well and almost didn't link to the page but after checking some of the claimed commute times versus the same from The US Census Bureau I decided the commutes times data seems accurate and easy to use. All of the population data on the page is way off. My guess is they have a factoring issue in that regard. For example their posted Texas population equals ~1999/2000 levels.

[nissan]

Originally Posted by BigDGeek

I know people who work or have worked in downtown Dallas. If they can get reasonable parking either paid for or partially reimbursed, they always go for that. Most did try riding DART and gave up on it due to late or canceled trains, full trains with no seats left, or simple cost. They preferred driving all the way downtown to paying to ride DART.

Yep, I'm in SW McKinney, so it's a longer commute downtown via 75, but I still have no interest in getting off at Parker and then taking DART from there into DT. Too much a hassle and DT parking is pretty cheap (relative to other cities). Yes, I end up paying more in gas/wear & tear, but an hr or so isn't too bad. I'm jaded though, bc I used to have a 2 hr (ea. way) commute when I was in Philly

[jdallas]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

Something I've wondered about is about those who can park and ride DART (Plano, Richardson, Dallas). I'm not in this position but I wonder about those who are and if it is or is not appealing to them. If it's convenient (and that's a big if considering how far a walk to an office from a station), then isn't it nice to sit on a train and read a paper or a book rather than sit in stop and go traffic and waste gas? Maybe because I lived in Boston for many years and it was so much easier to just take the T.

It's convenient for me to use either Spring Valley or Arapaho park 'n ride locations and I've never experienced any fear of leaving my car or personal safety at either location. That said, I don't take the train often for a variety of reasons. On the downtown side, I could either exit at Pearl or Victory Park stations and walk to my office in Harwood. Either choice results in the same 15 minutes (either more stops or a longer walk) added to the train so it ends up being a 45 minute trip IF I time it so I catch the train as it arrives at Arapaho or Spring Valley. Supposedly, there are transfer buses downtown but I've never encountered one along the walk in the morning.
As far as cost, parking is free in the office building and mass transit passes are not subsidized by my employer so there's little financial incentive.
Door to door is 25 miles and my car gets about 28mpg during the commute so a $5 day pass is saving me neither time nor money as it takes me anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes to drive.
Basically, taking the train is a net loss for me in pretty much every way other than the exercise and mental health benefits.


Before my current employer, I worked in the west end roughly 2 blocks away from the station. transit passes were 50% covered by my employer and I had to pay for parking so the equation worked out much better in favor of DART.


Also, Spring Valley is usually standing room only for the morning commute. I don't mind standing so that doesn't bother me at all but I have also used the Forest/Jupiter Blue line station and there's always been plenty of seats during the same time. I'm considering moving out that direction so the scales may tip back in favor of DART at that point.