Why not public transportation? Here's why. (1 Viewer)

[NCCommish]

Some places have bullet trains.

In Minneapolis, we have trans that go 11 miles in 48 minutes, making 23 stops along the way. I just think that's kind of funny.

In fairness, not everyone is going to go end to end.

There are 47 new trains and the total cost for all of it comes in at $957 million, which is on budget. The federal government is covering half the costs. So that's nice.

That is a lot of stops.

That's really not that bad. Used to take me about 35 minutes to go 17 stops on my daily commute to work, over a distance of about 8 miles. All those stops means it's easy to live near a station and easy to make a variety of trips by train, and in a cold-weather climate like Minneapolis, those are big factors.

That makes sense.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Some places have bullet trains.

In Minneapolis, we have trans that go 11 miles in 48 minutes, making 23 stops along the way. I just think that's kind of funny.

In fairness, not everyone is going to go end to end.

There are 47 new trains and the total cost for all of it comes in at $957 million, which is on budget. The federal government is covering half the costs. So that's nice.

That is a lot of stops.

That's really not that bad. Used to take me about 35 minutes to go 17 stops on my daily commute to work, over a distance of about 8 miles. All those stops means it's easy to live near a station and easy to make a variety of trips by train, and in a cold-weather climate like Minneapolis, those are big factors.

In fairness, I did say "In fairness, not everyone is going end to end".

 

[Foosball God]

This thread makes me miss Shining Path. :(

 

[pantagrapher]

Some places have bullet trains.

In Minneapolis, we have trans that go 11 miles in 48 minutes, making 23 stops along the way. I just think that's kind of funny.

In fairness, not everyone is going to go end to end.

There are 47 new trains and the total cost for all of it comes in at $957 million, which is on budget. The federal government is covering half the costs. So that's nice.

That is a lot of stops.

That's really not that bad. Used to take me about 35 minutes to go 17 stops on my daily commute to work, over a distance of about 8 miles. All those stops means it's easy to live near a station and easy to make a variety of trips by train, and in a cold-weather climate like Minneapolis, those are big factors.

In fairness, I did say "In fairness, not everyone is going end to end".

Oh I know. I just think when people hear 11 miles, 48 minutes, 23 stops, it sounds a bit ridiculous and inefficient, when in reality it's not (or, it doesn't have to be). Another factor: I've never been to Minneapolis (some day!), but I assume it's a denser urban environment than, say, Dallas, so covering short distances can bring you to a lot more stuff. Put that many stops over that distance in Dallas and you'd be dropped off at a lot of vacant lots or dead areas.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I'm supportive of mass transit in general. Unfortunately, the current regulatory system in California makes it ridiculously expensive and time consuming. It's a shame.

I actually think the bus/trolley/coaster system in San Diego is pretty good for the most part. It's a challenge because San Diego is so spread out, but it's generally workable.

 

[dgreen]

Some places have bullet trains.

In Minneapolis, we have trans that go 11 miles in 48 minutes, making 23 stops along the way. I just think that's kind of funny.

In fairness, not everyone is going to go end to end.

There are 47 new trains and the total cost for all of it comes in at $957 million, which is on budget. The federal government is covering half the costs. So that's nice.

That is a lot of stops.

Yeah, a stop every half mile should be what a bus does, not a train.

1/2 mile is pretty common for downtown station spacing. Sometimes even closer.

 

[Koya]

Some places have bullet trains.

In Minneapolis, we have trans that go 11 miles in 48 minutes, making 23 stops along the way. I just think that's kind of funny.

In fairness, not everyone is going to go end to end.

There are 47 new trains and the total cost for all of it comes in at $957 million, which is on budget. The federal government is covering half the costs. So that's nice.

That is a lot of stops.

Yeah, a stop every half mile should be what a bus does, not a train.

A half mile is a 10 min walk. Lil quicker if you wish. After ten min you are getting out of a transit shed, so half mile, or maybe .7 miles apart would make a lot of sense for the right system. The key is to have activity at and around those stops to justify the time for a stop, and I have no idea the specific densities and mix of uses on that line.

I do know that areas like Clarendon in NoVa outside of DC are spaced about that distance and it's worked absolute wonders in terms of economic and transit oriented growth. It's enough space to let each stop be its own small center/ hub and neighborhood while not having anyone much further than 10min walk from the train throughout that transit corridor.