Comments on: New Transit

By: Cliff Lippard

Cliff Lippard — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:02:56 +0000

We are going BRT (bus rapid transit) in Nashville. The first line is up with shiny, new hybrid buses. It won’t be a true BRT for another few months when the buses get signal prioritization. I don’t think they will get separate lanes for several years. That is one of the nice things about BRT; it can be introduced incrementally. It can start as little more than an enhanced bus service, but with improvements, can include stations, a fixed guideway, etc. We are also going to add a circulator route downtown. I imagine it will also be rubber tired.

Oh, I’m a regular rider and I see a nice mix of folks on the buses here.

By: Buzzcut

Buzzcut — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:33:49 +0000

Well, Michael, all you really need to know about busses you can learn from “Crash”. Busses are the transportation of the damned.

The latest issue of “Make” has a section called “Rules of Thumb”. You know, like “measure twice, cut once”.

One of them was “always sit in the middle of the bus. The over-social nuts sit in the front, and the anti-social nuts sit in the back. You never get bothered in the middle.”

They could easily make busses SWPL. Just make free wi-fi available on them. White people love free wi-fi. And make it so you can track their location in real time on Google Earth. White people love Google Earth.

By: Swordsman

Swordsman — Sun, 03 May 2009 13:03:07 +0000

And Houston’s rail is stupidly and cheaply put at grade level.

By: Mike L.

Mike L. — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:05:13 +0000

In 2006, “Houston’s light rail was about $300 million for 7.5 miles, or $40 mil per mile.” ( http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/lofiversion/index.php/t4519.html )

By: Michael Wells

Michael Wells — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:37:52 +0000

I thought Houston was $300 million/mile?

I guess the developers could fund it, although I’d guess the profits from say $1 billion in construction aren’t much more than $150 million, if that. But the reason for the development is that people want to live/work/shop near the streetcar, so the riders and nearby residents, shopkeepers, businesses benefit too. At least on the Westside streetcar, the adjacent property owners pay fees/taxes, which I think is the source of the local government money.

I think its a good deal in terms of economic development and keeping the central city healthy. If you look at downtowns like Kansas City or Buffalo which haven’t done this kind of development, they’re dead.

By: Mike L.

Mike L. — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:12:11 +0000

Thank you for your comments, everyone.

$75 million, Federal, $55 million from local governments and another $20 million from state lottery bonds = $150 million. There are going to be about another 3 miles = $50 million per mile (roughly the same as Houston’s light-rail cost).

According to the Oregonian: “Within a three block distance from the streetcar, real estate investment has surged,”

This suggests that speculative developers could easily have funded all $150 million out of their own pockets.

By: Michael Wells

Michael Wells — Sat, 02 May 2009 22:55:48 +0000

Buzzcut,

I know it’s a joke. But of course as a caricature it has some truth, or it wouldn’t be funny. Actually made me think about who I see riding buses.

By: Ilkka Kokkarinen

Ilkka Kokkarinen — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:52:27 +0000

The ridiculously high cost and inflexibility of streetcars and light rail compared to buses certainly is no joke.

By: Buzzcut

Buzzcut — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:48:17 +0000

Good god, Michael, IT’S A JOKE! You’re seriously arguing with a caricature?

I was going to post that streetcars are SWPL, but Ilkka beat me to it.

By: Fred

Fred — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:21:52 +0000

Seattle has a lot of middle class bus riders that pretty much seem to match the ethnic distribution of the population. However, there does seem to be the belief that real transit runs on steel wheels. So we wasted $100 million on a 2 mile street car line that runs no faster than the buses.

We are also spending billions on a light rail sytem that should run a lot faster than street cars and I think is a worthwhile investment.

Microsoft runs a private bus services for it’s employees that do not have direct access to regular bus service to the MS campus. Apparently 3000 riders a day.