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I believe that each method of transportation serves a purpose, and that much of the problems we currently experience are due to a mismatch between what a mode should do and what it is expected to do.
So, then, in what niche does each transit mode fit?
These niches are not necessarily mutually exclusive; they can overlap.
Cars, buses, BRT, LRT, heavy rail, commuter rail, and air.
I believe that each method of transportation serves a purpose, and that much of the problems we currently experience are due to a mismatch between what a mode should do and what it is expected to do.
So, then, in what niche does each transit mode fit?
These niches are not necessarily mutually exclusive; they can overlap.
Cars, buses, BRT, LRT, heavy rail, commuter rail, and air.
Cars- great for point to point transit. Not efficient at moving large numbers of people. Not good for the poor, elderly, too young to drive, handicapped. Then there is the parking problem in some cities. Where I live people who work downtown prefer using public transit downtown due to the bad traffic and parking costs. There are also car rental services like Igo that rent by the hour. The car is perhaps the best when it comes to shopping (just fill the trunk). Or when you need to travel different directions in a short time period.
Buses- Great for short distance travel say 15 miles or so on the street, sucks at longer distance travel when making many stops.However there are express busses that make fewer stops. Can get stuck in traffic like a car however far more flexible than trains. Does not carry as many passengers per unit as a train.
BRT-New idea to use busses in a train like fashion giving the bus its own right of way and boarding infrastructure. This solves the stuck in traffic issues but then can be almost as costly as LRT.
LRT-Compared to heavy rail(I am guessing you mean rapid transit) it can be cheaper to install. Heavy rail requires dedicated right of way along the whole path. Light rail can mingle in traffic with the cars. It can have partial dedicated rights of way. It can carry more passengers than a bus and has a longer lifetime than a bus, but higher fixed costs.
Heavy rail(I am guessing you mean rapid transit). Great for moving large amounts of people long distances (say across the city). Chicago’s EL is an example of this sort of system as is the New York subway system. The trouble is it requires dedicated rights of way along the whole path this makes it very expensive to install. The El rarely runs at grade level and when it does it has priority over crossings (like any train). A light rail system might stop at the lights. With the EL everyone else stops to allow it to cross. Heavy rail is not built to move people extreme distances(say distant burb to city). Heavy rail cars are wider than LRT cars and can carry more people per unit. Stops are further apart than busses (In Chicago the buss might have stops every 2-3 blocks where as the EL when it is outside downtown tend to have stops 5-10 blocks away.
commuter rail- Great for burb to city travel. Moves long distances. Can share rail with Amtrak and Freight services. Generally has lower service frequency than other forms of transits. CTA usually has more than buss/train per hour while Metra often slows down to one train per hour outside of rush.
Air, ah few people fly in and out daily for work or school and there are different types of air travel commuter air, helicopter, ect..
Streetcars exist in a quasi-space between buses and LRT. They are great for large CBDs, as they can move more people per vehicle than a bus, even a BRT. But they are limited to the path of the rails, and suffer from a shared ROW with street traffic.
How EMU use (instead of diesel locomotives) in commuter rail affect its niche vs. heavy rail (eg, BART)
Walking: Great for short trips (1 mile or less) and multi-stop trips. Environmentally friendly, requires minimal transportation infrastructure, minimal cost (shoes.) Special equipment needed for cargo hauling (cart or wagon, shopping bag) and impractical in high heels. Works well in conjunction with all forms of public transit. Greater distances and higher speeds are possible, with side effects of better cardiovascular health, reduced bodyfat, and sexier tush.
Bicycles: Greater range than walking (1-5 miles) and higher speeds, most energy-efficient form of transportation ever invented, economical, environmentally friendly. Needs some transportation infrastructure (hard surfaced streets) to function efficiently, functions better where there is dedicated right-of-way, bike lanes, or just a large volume of cyclists on the street. Can carry cargo (using baskets, panniers, trailers or specialized cargo bikes/trikes) and passengers (rear seat, tandem bikes, stroller trikes, seat trailers.) Special accommodation sometimes needed for public transit (bike racks or floor-entry rail vehicle.) Already common for commuting in most of the world, growing interest in North America as other options grow more expensive.
How EMU use (instead of diesel locomotives) in commuter rail affect its niche vs. heavy rail (eg, BART)
Actually depends. Locally the south shore line, and Metra's electric line are electric, but the rest of the Metra lines are diesel. However the electric line cars are built quite differently from Rapid transit cars. They are larger and much heavier and get power from overhead cable instead of third rail.
Actually depends. Locally the south shore line, and Metra's electric line are electric, but the rest of the Metra lines are diesel. However the electric line cars are built quite differently from Rapid transit cars. They are larger and much heavier and get power from overhead cable instead of third rail.
You're right, EMU commuter rail, like HSR and LRT, use suspended cables for power. This offers better acceleration and versatility vs. diesel.
But there seems to be an unfilled space between heavy rail and commuter rail.
EMU commuter rail mostly gets its power from third rail in the NYC metro (at least in the NY State suburbs and city itself).
Certain segments are electrified third rail, but not the whole system, requiring some change-overs. Is that accurate?
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