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Like m378 said, nobody here is going to take rail, let's get real. No sense is spending so much money on rail. Look at Atlanta and MARTA. Nobody rides it. And if they do, they'll realize it sucks and switch back to their vehicle. Yes, traffic will get worse here but it won't be like DC/NOVA/Boston, etc because this is not a metropolis city.
But the cost comparison is meaningless if ridership isn't where they expect it to be. That's why I'm curious what the proposed typical rider is. Because I don't see anyone that commutes to their office job at RTP, DT Raleigh, or DT Durham taking rail unless there is a significant time savings.
We do not have a city big enough in the Triangle to support rail. We're too spread out. The last thing people are going to want to do is drive to the rail station at 5am, fight for a parking spot, and take a crowded train to work.
that's what "user" means in my post. How many people use 540 and 40 and US1, etal every day to commute, and what is our investment per user? What will be required for rail?
If they couldn't get Duke to buy-in on a relatively short and theoretically "easy" people-moving system between 2 large hospitals, how are they going to convince folks that live in Apex to drive to Tryon/Us1 to catch a train?
Pro-train people need to use the #'s on people like me; perhaps you want them to somehow identify the exact 10,000 people (or whatever # it is) needed to use it daily for it to "make sense".
Like m378 said, nobody here is going to take rail, let's get real. No sense is spending so much money on rail. Look at Atlanta and MARTA. Nobody rides it. And if they do, they'll realize it sucks and switch back to their vehicle. Yes, traffic will get worse here but it won't be like DC/NOVA/Boston, etc because this is not a metropolis city.
I'm pretty skeptical too about any rail system getting any significant ridership if the status quo continues and we keep trying to make it easier for people to drive (people won't unless it's competitive with driving travel time). I don't think I'm pro or anti train but it's sad that we've pivoted heavily towards one side and allowed our city to develop around that, that there's really no other alternative than to double down on it, even as we're figuring out the negative impacts of doing so.
The one thing working against the Raleigh area is that we're much more sprawled out than the northeast areas so the average vehicle trip/person is likely farther (as are most of the other southeast cities). More miles driven = more traffic. Whether we end up doing rail or not, it's going to take a lot of money/resources to move people around the area.
Like m378 said, nobody here is going to take rail, let's get real. No sense is spending so much money on rail. Look at Atlanta and MARTA. Nobody rides it. And if they do, they'll realize it sucks and switch back to their vehicle. Yes, traffic will get worse here but it won't be like DC/NOVA/Boston, etc because this is not a metropolis city.
when folks are sitting on I-40 in one of 3 lanes, while buses full of happy commuters zip by 6 times an hour, then folks will take the bus - right? I'm being serious.
when folks are sitting on I-40 in one of 3 lanes, while buses full of happy commuters zip by 6 times an hour, then folks will take the bus - right? I'm being serious.
I think it depends on what it takes to get yourself on that bus. If you can't walk to it, do you have to get up at 5am in order to get a parking spot at a bus stop somewhere? Do you have to transfer off 2 other buses? How frequently do the buses come, and what happens if you miss it? Are you able to get a seat, or are you piled in like sardines with broken AC and a bunch of smelly sweaty people touching you?
when folks are sitting on I-40 in one of 3 lanes, while buses full of happy commuters zip by 6 times an hour, then folks will take the bus - right? I'm being serious.
From the frame of reference I know; yes (although as I said in the recent rail thread, I’m not for or against it; I don’t think it would be sustainable here but the future is a hybrid world; many solutions solving singular problems)
But I heard more than once in that thread that only poor, disgusting people take mass transit...so maybe that outweighs logic.
.....nobody here is going to take rail, let's get real
I know I certainly would, and gladly, and I am sure many others would as well. As long as it actually worked and was efficient, cost effective, and safe.
Get back to my podcasts, reading, sleeping, work emails, talking with commuter buddies, etc. like I used to, and not put more wear and tear on the car, white knuckle 40/440 drives, gas, etc.
when folks are sitting on I-40 in one of 3 lanes, while buses full of happy commuters zip by 6 times an hour, then folks will take the bus - right? I'm being serious.
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