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They build a huge rail network in Denver but most of the recent rail lines go through low density areas where there is little demand.
Denver expanded the rail system and spent billions and billions, and now the service is extremely unreliable and about triple-the price of many large cities with far higher taxpayer subsidies.
The price tag for a day on the rails in Denver is $10.50 because they spent way to much money revenue of choo-choo trains where the demand was very weak and now they are making huge cuts to the entire system, the service has become unreliable because they are way overextended and don't have the revenue to keep the service reliable.
I think San Antonio and Phoenix have a perfect balance in their transit systems. A very affordable transit system that is limited and focuses on areas where there is high demand and dense commercial and shopping areas.
Phoenix has a light-rail line that goes through the dense areas of the metropolitan area with a high-frequency connector bus usually to whisk people to other medium-density areas.
San Antonio has an extensive, high-frequency bus system that is affordable that gets people to get to where they need to go, at a low-cost to taxpayers and passengers without having to pay off the debt of multiple-billions of light-rail lines that Denver has.
Your link talks about cancellations due to driver shortages. It has little to do with the light rail system itself. Denver has also a very low unemployment rate currently. There have been restaurants that have closed due to not being able to find enough staff, there are hiring signs everywhere you go. It’s a complex issue.
It was a trade-off when Denver built their light rail system, they were able to save a lot of money and time for construction using old abandoned railroad ROW or building the line next to/in the the median of the interstate. Of course if they plowed through/under the most densely populated areas of the Denver metroplex, it could of taken another 20 or 25 years and $20-30 Billion more, so choose your poison!
I actually like the RTD system, is it perfect, no, is it better than most light rail systems in the US, most definitely.
I don’t understand the appeal of urban rail. A bus can go anywhere, a train can only go where the rails go.
Trains are often better maintained with less problem people in my experience, and I've lived in Denver, San Francisco, Philly, DC and used the rail in all of them. I never considered taking the bus.
Quote:
Granted, in high density cities like New York, subways make sense as a way to reduce traffic by moving people underground. But surface rail in mostly suburban cities? It makes no sense.
I don’t understand the appeal of urban rail. A bus can go anywhere, a train can only go where the rails go.
Granted, in high density cities like New York, subways make sense as a way to reduce traffic by moving people underground. But surface rail in mostly suburban cities? It makes no sense.
For large metro's like Denver it makes sense, but you need the infrastructure to support it. Parking lots by the stations, political support, etc.
I live in Northern Atlanta & the Marta station with garages by 8 to 8:30 are full. Why? because it's faster & easier to take the train, because you know the train schedule & have a time you are going to arrive by 99% of the time. Buses are subject o street traffic & are not as comfortable as rail or nice.
They build a huge rail network in Denver but most of the recent rail lines go through low density areas where there is little demand.
Denver expanded the rail system and spent billions and billions, and now the service is extremely unreliable and about triple-the price of many large cities with far higher taxpayer subsidies.
The price tag for a day on the rails in Denver is $10.50 because they spent way to much money revenue of choo-choo trains where the demand was very weak and now they are making huge cuts to the entire system, the service has become unreliable because they are way overextended and don't have the revenue to keep the service reliable.
I think San Antonio and Phoenix have a perfect balance in their transit systems. A very affordable transit system that is limited and focuses on areas where there is high demand and dense commercial and shopping areas.
Phoenix has a light-rail line that goes through the dense areas of the metropolitan area with a high-frequency connector bus usually to whisk people to other medium-density areas.
San Antonio has an extensive, high-frequency bus system that is affordable that gets people to get to where they need to go, at a low-cost to taxpayers and passengers without having to pay off the debt of multiple-billions of light-rail lines that Denver has.
I'd like to understand and/or agree with the OPs references here, but I'd like to shed just a flicker of light to the topic here based on my personal experience and/or observations. For one thing, I moved out of the Denver Metro area in about the tail end of 99' and continued to work up and down the Front Range of CoSprings to Loveland and Greeley until 2002. I don't think I've ever rode that lightrail, so I'm no expert here.
I agree the Denver Metro including Boulder have been tax dollar leeching liberal cesspools, but Denver isn't like your average mid-sized city STatistically.
If you follow stats, the city of Denver is smaller than San Antonio, Austin, Albuquerque, etc. This simply is not true. The Denver Metro greater MSA incorporates Aurora, five counties Adams, Denver, Jefferson, Douglas, Arapahoe, so... Keep this in mind.
Have you ever tried to drive around the Denver Metro? It's a nightmare. Compare the roadways to a rundown but superior eastern town like Rochester New York. There's no comparison.
It's my understanding the Light rail has expanded out to the DTC... Denver Tech Center, Olde Town Arvada? Maybe it's made a run all the way to the Airport? Or at least to Stapleton? What about Thornton-Westminster-Northglenn Area? What about the Littleton-Englewood area?
I don't know where all the lightrail goes, but I know it has a stop at the back end of my alma mater Auraria Campus on Colfax west of Speer, then off to the LoDo Denargo market area, then on towards Stapleton.
Denver Metro is a complicated mess. Any improvement seems necessary, or just bypass that bog, but keep in mind, Denver is VERY isolated from a Metropolitan standpoint. Who are the Enver BronDonkos' nearest neighbors? KC, Arizona Cardinals, the Seagulls, the VHS Cowboys... Think about that.
Oh, I forgot, the Minnesota Viqueens...
Quote:
Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie
The cost of living index in Denver is a very high 144.2. A lot of people don't want to move to that part of Colorado without first getting a high paying job and end up among the working poor trying to make ends meet.
You got that right. The Denver Metro is very expensive and wages there are horrible, but not near as bad as the rest of Colorado.
Ask folks from the Black Forest North Colorado Springs and Monument area why they build McMansions there and commute to the Denver Metro DTC for work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie
Whatever it takes to make Democrats or liberals look bad.
Spare me.
You're gonna upset a few people here, namely Nancy mushy-boned Pelosi, Chucklebuckets Schumer, Maxine Impeach-fotisix-Waters, Schiffy Schiff, Nadler, Fauxa-I-was-pregnantahontas, the Lamestream Blamestream Fakestream Mainstream media, academia, Hollywood, bobby deniro, the View... Hillary-not-my -fault, the "intelligence" gasp haha Community... JOE-He's Not My Son- Biden...
This is what the link says: RTD's driver shortages continue to cause daily cancellations
Why the misrepresentation?
Whatever it takes to make Democrats or liberals look bad. Meanwhile, I wonder how Oklahoma City's new street car system downtown is doing in which Republican leaders got people to vote in favor of.
Your link talks about cancellations due to driver shortages. It has little to do with the light rail system itself. Denver has also a very low unemployment rate currently. There have been restaurants that have closed due to not being able to find enough staff, there are hiring signs everywhere you go. It’s a complex issue.
The cost of living index in Denver is a very high 144.2. A lot of people don't want to move to that part of Colorado without first getting a high paying job and end up among the working poor trying to make ends meet.
This is what the link says: RTD's driver shortages continue to cause daily cancellations
Why the misrepresentation?
Whatever it takes to make Democrats or liberals look bad. Meanwhile, I wonder how Oklahoma City's new street car system downtown is doing in which Republican leaders got people to vote in favor of.
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