SA to have high speed rail ? (Houston, Dallas: moving, light-rail, classes)

[AnthonySA]

I'm not exactly sold on the claim that "build a light-rail system and they will come!" You agree to the logistical problems of our current bus system limiting the ability for many to make it to any hypothetical light-rail line. You also mention that several buses pass by your workplace daily.... so why aren't you riding public transportation now?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're just pushing this for the thrill of being able to ride a metro? I could see your argument a bit more, though not completely, if you actually road the VIA bus as is.

Building a light-rail system would require plowing through already established neighborhoods assuming that it goes through Downtown San Antonio for routes we cannot guarantee will sustain the necessary ridership. I don't see why we cant first fix the system we have in place before risking large sums of money on a system we do not know will work.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by AnthonySA

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're just pushing this for the thrill of being able to ride a metro? I could see your argument a bit more, though not completely, if you actually road the VIA bus as is.

I would answer everything, but it would make my post too long.

Cities don't get subways/lightrail just for the thrill to ride them.
Have you ever visited a city with a subway or lightrail?
I visited Seoul, South Korea (city about the same size as LA).
Thanks to their subway I was able to travel all over Seoul without having to worry about driving, parking, getting in a wreck, etc.

Subway/lightrail would make San Antonio much more appealing to tourists.
Especially if a station is built for the Airport.

Here's a map of their subway system
The map doesn't even show all of it. But I was able to travel about 30-40 miles from one side of the city to the other side.
Seoul Subway

[AnthonySA]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I would answer everything, but it would make my post too long.

Cities don't get subways/lightrail just for the thrill to ride them.
Have you ever visited a city with a subway or lightrail?
I visited Seoul, South Korea (city about the same size as LA).
Thanks to their subway I was able to travel all over Seoul without having to worry about driving, parking, getting in a wreck, etc.

Subway/lightrail would make San Antonio much more appealing to tourists.
Especially if a station is built for the Airport.

Here's a map of their subway system
The map doesn't even show all of it. But I was able to travel about 30-40 miles from one side of the city to the other side.
Seoul Subway

I have been on both subways and light-rails in multiple cities. I think they are neat, and when strategically planned and placed, extremely functional. However, what has yet to be proven after my multiple posts in this thread is justification for an inner-city metro system.

You now argue tourism. We also established Dallas has a light-rail system. Explain to me why San Antonio is consistently the most visited city in Texas when we don't have any light-rails?

[dendox]

re your question about buses and why I don't ride them - I posted this in another thread.

for instance - negating the 20 minutes it would take me to get to the HEB at 1604 and 281 - it would take me 132 minutes or 171 minutes to get to work from my home. Why would I ever chose NOT to make that drive?

VIA Metropolitan Transit

If there were light rail I could get through the toughest part of the commute in less than 15 minutes then catch a bus for the rest of the way. I currently make my whole commute in about 20 minutes (schools out) and will be able to make it in about 45-55 minutes when school is in session. I would be more than willing to spend that same amount of time on mass transit - but that is a pipe dream as it currently stands and roughly half the time it would take me excluding the first 20 minutes I would spend in my car.

Hope that answers your question.

[skeet09]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I would answer everything, but it would make my post too long.

Cities don't get subways/lightrail just for the thrill to ride them.
Have you ever visited a city with a subway or lightrail?
I visited Seoul, South Korea (city about the same size as LA).
Thanks to their subway I was able to travel all over Seoul without having to worry about driving, parking, getting in a wreck, etc.

Subway/lightrail would make San Antonio much more appealing to tourists.
Especially if a station is built for the Airport.

Here's a map of their subway system
The map doesn't even show all of it. But I was able to travel about 30-40 miles from one side of the city to the other side.
Seoul Subway

Thank you the link to the Seoul subway. It's wow!

[hello13685]

Well, yes, mass transit almost always takes longer than would driving oneself. Not only do you have to get to the station, but you have to wait for the train, etc. It's the price to pay for the other conveniences and the benefits for the environment. I'm just not sure that San Antonians are ready to make those sacrifices for the greater good. This is very much a "me me me" culture.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by AnthonySA

You now argue tourism. We also established Dallas has a light-rail system. Explain to me why San Antonio is consistently the most visited city in Texas when we don't have any light-rails?

You are putting words in my mouth,
I said that it would make SA more appealing to tourists = increase tourism = increase profits from tourism.

I never said that SA will get tourism IF SA got a lightrail

[dendox]

Originally Posted by hello13685

Well, yes, mass transit almost always takes longer than would driving oneself. Not only do you have to get to the station, but you have to wait for the train, etc. It's the price to pay for the other conveniences and the benefits for the environment. I'm just not sure that San Antonians are ready to make those sacrifices for the greater good. This is very much a "me me me" culture.

I hope this wasn't a direct response to me talking about the time differences in mass transit travel.

I am showing you that for me (negating the initial travel to the "station") it would take 200-350% longer to get to work. In no world is that "workable". If it were 100% longer I would do it in a heartbeat. I nearly moved to Dallas a couple months ago for a job and had a house picked out that would have made my commute about 1.2 hours via DART and about 50 minutes via car. I was planning on doing DART everyday. So, I get that mass transit isn't always as convenient and that it takes some sacrifices - but not 200-350% sacrifices.

[tgannaway89]

I utilize the VIA when I take classes at UTSA Downtown. A light rail option would be more efficient, likely be quicker, better for the environment, and attract more riders than a typical bus. I understand it is expensive, but I see it as a necessity moving into the future. It is also true that it will spur dense development along the line. Look at how successful light-rail has been in Dallas and Houston. Austin will start their system soon. San Antonio is already behind when it comes to transportation, whats wrong with us having nice things?

[Dopo]

This weekend I visited Little Rock, Arkansas
a city of about 200,000 people (10% of San Antonio) and I bet they have very little tourism.

I was surprised to find out that they have a very nice trolley with 2 lines.
(I'll post my pictures later)

Here's a few pictures from the internet.
Little Rock Trolley