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A while back I had emailed the NC-DOT on why there isn't a better public transport system in the triangle area, when it is known that a majority of folk work in the RTP OR Durham area, there is no decent bus route between bedroom communities and dense work places.
So I get a response back from some inept manager on how THERE IS a way to do it, points me to a bus from Cary to near I-40, then another from near-I-40 to RTP, then another from RTP to Durham, involving lots of walking and transit times totaling to 3 hours. I threw my arms up.
These idiots spend our tax dollars on huge buses that are almost always empty or have one very overweight passenger in them. The feds or whoever who are overseeing state transport budgets are obviously looking the other way while folks here are the least bit interested in mass transport. They would rather face rash or horrible drivers on the interstate than demand better mass transit systems.
Why are so many opposed to a better bus/train system serving the many cities here
That would be Wake County, not the Triangle. I think it's just the sprawly nature of Wake. Probably why there's been such hesitation on light rail from Wake Co, too, while Chapel Hill and Durham have already approved it.
Chapel Hill has a very good free bus system, but is a much smaller geographic area.
Hard to take this post seriously after reading this statement. *throws hands up*
"Arms." I.e., "Threw my arms up."
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdrr
... I threw my arms up.
...
There was insufficient reference for you to make the leap to "hands."
It may have merely been a matter of throwing up elbows, and maintaining the position of the hands. Think "wings" from "Chicken Dance."
And.... I have seen fellers throw up wings after a big Saturday night, but never arms or hands. Eeeeewwww....
(This cannibalism stuff is pretty confusing and disgusting, you would have to agree.)
A while back I had emailed the NC-DOT on why there isn't a better public transport system in the triangle area, when it is known that a majority of folk work in the RTP OR Durham area, there is no decent bus route between bedroom communities and dense work places.
So I get a response back from some inept manager on how THERE IS a way to do it, points me to a bus from Cary to near I-40, then another from near-I-40 to RTP, then another from RTP to Durham, involving lots of walking and transit times totaling to 3 hours. I threw my arms up.
These idiots spend our tax dollars on huge buses that are almost always empty or have one very overweight passenger in them. The feds or whoever who are overseeing state transport budgets are obviously looking the other way while folks here are the least bit interested in mass transport. They would rather face rash or horrible drivers on the interstate than demand better mass transit systems.
Why are so many opposed to a better bus/train system serving the many cities here
I'm not opposed, it just wouldn't make sense for most people. Consider this:
I live two miles north of I-540 near Creedmoor Road, and need to get to Highway 54 and Davis Drive. Right now it takes me about twenty minutes and I use approximately six gallons of gasoline per week. If public transportation was enhanced, what realistically would you suggest they build to entice me to use it?
Let's go with the most obvious design where they mirror existing major thoroughfares with a light rail. So I drive to a park-and-ride lot by I-540 and Creedmoor Road. I take a train to a connection from the I-540 line to the I-40 line and take that to the Davis Drive station. I then transfer to a bus which will take me to the intersection of Davis Drive and Highway 54, or I walk approximately 1.2 miles. Under that scenario, and assuming wait times for trains to be a ridiculously conservative five minutes, it's now going to take me nearly an hour to get to work. Plus it will likely cost about $4-$5 per round trip and I still need a car.
As opposed to getting in my car, checking traffic on my smartphone and deciding whether to go highway or back roads, and getting to the office in well under thirty minutes and without having the hassles of making connections, finding a spot at the park-and-ride lot and worrying about the weather conditions.
So maybe you go with the "reduce your carbon footprint" argument to persuade me to consider public transportation. Nope, I'd rather buy either a hybrid or electric car (which I'm likely going to do anyway) and contribute on my own.
It's the way that the area is laid out. With many jobs being centered in RTP rather than downtown, it makes it difficult to place bus routes in an efficient manner where they would have maximum usage. Add in the fact that Americans generally see buses as a mass transit option for lower income people, and most people will almost always prefer to drive alone in their car if possible. NCDOT is better off just expanding the interstates in the Triangle to improve commute times.
Buses offer nothing that cars don't, and in fact represent a regression. Trains offer a consistent product that has advantages that buses can't offer. Trains are relatively immune to weather delays, immune to traffic, and smoother than buses.
NCDOT is better off just expanding the interstates in the Triangle to improve commute times.
The thing is, expanding interstates and adding lanes just isn't sustainable in the long run. Build more lanes, more people drive on them and they get clogged, build even more lanes and *they* get clogged and on and on till everything is covered in interstate. I know that's a long time coming, but thinking long term is a good strategy.
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