Bay Area & Sacramento lead soaring Amtrak ridership gains in California

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I know. I didn't want to mention that, because we have a vocal poster who lives in one of those "nowhere" places, lol!

But yeah, more rational (and less political) planning would have really helped that train. Plus, they have it making so many stops in the SD and LA areas, that it won't be high speed, it'll just be more of a local train. It's as if they want it to do two jobs at once: be local in certain areas, but also be high speed. It just goes to show how far behind the US is with investment in rail travel in general.

The problem is, so many transit projects pick crappy routes (and are very expensive) and then they have no chance for success. The failure is blamed on transit, and not crappy planning.

I'd rather see cheaper, and successful projects get funding, prove their worth, and expand.

The B Shuttle in Oakland is an excellent example of this:
Despite cuts, operators of the Free B shuttle hope to keep the free rides coming | Oakland North

They spent $500k, and it was a huge success so they exmapnded the days of operation. I hope the funding will keep coming, it is a drop in the bucket compared to other useless projects.

So the question is (and this should go in the BART thread), why can't we find what $1M to make this work 7 days a week from 8a-11p?

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

The OP and I both abhor so called HSR.

It is a tragedy of the commons. Money is best spent on existing intra and inter city systems. Not the train to nowhere.

I cant rep you but this is exactly how I feel about the HSR plan in its current form.

Its a boondoggle as far as Im concerned and I cant believe the governor has rammed it through just to appease the Obama administration(who I voted for btw).

[krudmonk]

If HSR is a boondoggle, what is the new bay bridge?

[Senno]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Res...es%20tomer.pdf

Percentage Change in Amtrak Ridership, 2007-2011
Sacramento-Arden Arcade-Roseville +197.2%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara +140.2%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont +113.2%
Fresno +84.0%
Modesto +74.7%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario +74.2%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana +71.5%
Stockton +67.4%
Bakersfield +65.4%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura +52.0%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos +26.5%

Well, I guess rising gas prices are amongst the causes of increased ridership.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

If HSR is a boondoggle, what is the new bay bridge?

The cost of the new bay bridge was also a boondoggle. It should have costed $1-$2 Billion tops.

But the bridge itself is needed because it is the terminus of a cross-continental interstate(80), is the primary connector between 2 major cities and their suburbs, is used by 300,000 cars a day and moves trade and commerce.

Comparing the high speed rail to the bay bridge is like comparing a boob job to heart replacement surgery. One is elective, the other is life saving.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Um, well...LA and SF technically aren't quite "nowhere", but your point is taken.

I was referring to the fact that funding only exists for a short stretch in the San Joaquin Valley. The rest of it is more like wishful thinking at this juncture.