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The D.C. Transportation Department has decided to move the proposed Anacostia light rail to city streets. Originally the proposed line was to run along the Anacostia waterfront on land owned by the railroad CSX. However, District officials learned that the proposed land purchase from CSX would not have given the city enough land on which to build the rail.
The Post article quotes a neighborhood activist who expresses my view perfectly:
"That seems crazy to take up the streets," said Lendia Johnson, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Anacostia. "We have bus service that serves those streets quite well. I just don't see disrupting what we currently have that is working to replace it with something we're not sure about."
Why pay millions for a bus on tracks? Rubber-tired diesels can do that job better, and cheaper! Take a look at my college town, Boulder, Colorado, which has a network of buses with cute names like "Skip," "Bound," and "Leap." The cute names, distinctive buses, frequent service (on small buses) and easy-to-understand routes have done wonders to boost bus ridership. All this in a typical, sprawled-out Western town. I think D.C. needs fewer engineers and more marketers.
Here's your chance to go to the annual Metro rodeos, which highlight the skills of various Metro employees. A bus rodeo will be held at the Landover Division, while the rail rodeo will be at the Branch Avenue Rail Yard.
Wouldn't you think the event should be called the "Roadeo"?
The New York Times has an article today about the long overduetrips123.com web site, which has traffic and transit info for the New York metropolitan region - including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. It also has a transit trip planner for the region. The article gives a glimpse of how hard it is to get anything done among the fragmented transportation agencies of the region, especially with a bit of bad luck mixed in.
The web site is okay, the transit trip planner is a bit clunky and needs a lot of help finding correct addresses, but hopefully that will be improved with time. The transit status is pretty useful, easily listing current conditions by line, and allowing you to look up scheduled maintenance and construction. The other site mentioned in the article, hopstop.com, has a bit better of in interface - I like the walking instructions with times - but its coverage, as mentioned in the article, is not as extensive.
If you would like to see a great example of how to do something like this, check out the San Francisco Bay area transit.511.org site.
People are finding all sorts of innovative uses for Google Maps, whose satellite maps I once praised in this space. Some innovators have now produced a map of the Chicago CTA and the Boston MBTA in Google Maps. I could not get the MBTA map to work, but the CTA one is quite good.
I am amazed at the technical know-how of the folks who did this, as I have no idea how people manage to fiddle with Google Maps as they do. Those who worked on the two maps above (and on another amazing project I saw, which shows craigslist apartment listings in Google Maps) are to be applauded. Even so, that doesn't stop me from dreaming a bit...wouldn't it be neat if one could overlay bus routes or subway stations on a Google Map, just as Google overlays driving directions on the political maps and satellite photos?
Oh, and sorry IE users...the maps work in Firefox only! Get Firefox.
The Washington Post has a very informative article about the highly congested Orange Line segment that connects Fairfax and Arlington counties in Virginia with downtown Washington. The Potomac River tunnel that connects Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom is only two tracks wide, yet it carries both Blue and Orange Line trains. Any Orange Line rider knows the result: unbearably packed trains. The situation will only get worse as Arlington continues its years-long project of urban densification in the Rosslyn - Ballston corridor.
Metro management has seemed particularly clueless about this problem, for two reasons that I can think of offhand. First, Metro has been a big promoter of a new rail line to Dulles Airport--a project that would certainly add many Orange Line riders from Northern Virginia. Yet Metro has not been particularly vocal about ways of solving the Potomac River capacity crunch.
Second, Metro keeps talking about running 8-car trains (rather than the current 6-car trains) when it acquires enough equipment. This makes sense, but for some reason every planning document I have seen has Metro adding 8-car trains on the Red Line first, rather than the Orange Line. Though the Red is busier than the Orange, the Red also has more frequent service. Personally I have never seen crowding on the Red that is as unbearable as that on the Orange, and figures I have seen from Metro regarding crowding on its lines verifies this. Despite this, they want to put 8 cars on the Red first. Makes no sense. I brought up this question at the first Metro town hall meeting, but I received no response.
But even more inane than any of Metro's behavior is a quote in the article from a former Department of Transportation official: "one of the biggest problems with rail is that it is so incredibly expensive that you can't really put out enough of it to make a difference." Huh? Metrorail carries forty percent of downtown commuters to their jobs, and this isn't making a difference? Arlington has built a property tax cash cow by building expensive high-rises above the Orange Line, and Metrorail isn't making a difference?
WMATA has announced it is adding a public comment period to board meetings. Interested persons will have two minutes to address the board on any relevant topic. Each person will be able to address the board only once every three months.
I'm glad to see that the board is encouraging greater public participation. I only wish it met at night; it would seem that more transit riders--bus and rail alike--are office workers and would be better able to attend night meetings.
Apologize. At least it's a start. MTA chief Peter Kalikow had to step in and tell New York City Transit boss Lawrence Reuter to stop making excuses and start doing something to stop the rash of problems the subways are having. Reuter has spent too much time staring at ridership and maintenance ratio/comparison graphs and forgot that the actual riders don't care about metrics (or that the 70's were worse), they care that their subway is on time and not broken.
I would have to say that it is probably true that New York City Transit has been trimming back their maintenance schedules to try and save money, hopefully that particular tactic won't go on any further. A little bit bigger wish would be that the governor got the message that more funding is needed down state for transit. But I am probably dreaming.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced $140 million in grants to help secure the nations public transportation infrastructure.
The Transit Security Grant Program specifically provides funding for the prevention and detection of explosive devices and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents. DHS said it designed the program in coordination with federal agencies and industry, including owners and operators of the nation's mass transit systems and the American Public Transportation Association.
APTA president William Millar is quoted as saying, This is definitely a step in the right direction; however, the public transportation industry needs $6 billion to meet its security needs.
The $140m represents about 2.3% of what the association feels it needs and about 7% of the $2 billion that the public transportation industry has invested on transit security since 9/11.
The grantswhich must be applied for by the jurisdictions for which they are allocatedinclude $13.6 million ($12.4 m for rail and 1.2 for bus) for the DC area and about $42 million (about $37.5 m for rail 4.48m for bus) for the New York metro area.
While WMATA is busily complaining that, unless funding is improved, the Washington D.C. metro system will fall into disrepair, the New York MTA is already there. Two major snafus brought to a halt four subway lines yesterday, suspending L, V, and local E & F train service.
We've said it once and we'll say it again -- until the feds start realizing the importance of funding and maintaining local transit networks, this is going to be more and more commonplace.
Mind you, MTA is more optimistic. One conductor, according to the NY Post article, told his riders, "Thank you for riding MTA New York City Transit. I hope we do better tomorrow."
WMATA board chairman Dana Kauffman made good on his promise to hold another town hall meeting, naturally in Kauffman's home county of Fairfax, Virginia. At the first town hall meeting, board members said they hope to hold meetings throughout the D.C. region.
If you want another chance to fire questions at Metro officials, CEO Richard White will hold another of his noontime online chats this Friday.
Finally, I would like to point out with glee that I had another flawless commute between Silver Spring and Judiciary Square on the Red Line this morning, as is almost always the case. I faced no wait for a train, and the train offered seats for all who wanted them. (Some folks like standing by the doors.) Griping when things go wrong is fun, but it is also good to smile with appreciation when things go right--as they usually do.
The CTA faces a budget shortfall and is considering hiking the rail fare from $1.75 to $2.50, according to this AP story.
Most interesting to me in this story is the CTA chairman's assertion that the state funding formula shortchanges CTA. In northeast Illinois, one agency called the Regional Transportation Authority funds the CTA, Metra commuter rail, and Pace suburban buses. As suburban populations have grown, these communities get more RTA money.
WMATA, Washington Nationals discuss game-day service
Washington, D.C.'s creatively named new baseball team, the Nationals, and WMATA are engaged in talks to determine who will pay for extra Metrorail service if a game runs past Metro's ordinary closing time of midnight Sunday through Thursday. According to Metro, keeping the system open costs $18,000 per hour. Ordinarily the beneficiaries of early Metrorail openings or late closings--from sports teams to charities sponsoring foot races--pay the cost of the service. However, last week the Nationals refused to pay a single penny.
I think Metro should settle for nothing less than full recoupment of the cost of keeping the system open late. If the Nationals refuse to pay, I wish Metro would shut the gates at midnight and strand thousands of fans. Metro could hang a sign at the Stadium - Armory station to blame the Nationals. I am tired of the millionaires of baseball lining up at the public trough to get slopped by us, the taxpayers and farepayers. Moreover, I am tired of seeing pathetic grown men such as D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, who line up eagerly for a chance to kiss and slobber all over baseball's feet.
Of course I understand that closing the system would be politically unwise for Metro and that they will not do such a thing. But so far baseball has learned that is has every reason to stick its nose up with arrogance as it feeds at the public hog trough. At least I can dream that Metro would stand up to them...
Those of us in the planning and related fields have been all aflutter this past week since the MTA board voted for the Jets Stadium bid for the west side rail yards. Some, like the New York Times, even remembered that Bloomberg and the City promised to pay for the extension of the 7 train if the stadium was built (or even if it wasn't, maybe). One problem with this is that no one believes that the $2 billion cost estimate is realistic, and the City has not said it will pay for the entire thing including cost overruns. Another big problem with this is that no one really believes that the city can actually come up with $2 billion to pay for the subway line extension in the first place.
It would be great to have the 7 train extended further west, but the MTA is already way in over its head with future capital projects financing, and serving a potential stadium, some potential high rise and mostly expensive apartments, and north Chelsea does not seem like the highest priority when the other boroughs are the ones with seriously long commute times.
Along the lines of the stranger arguments I've heard, Leone Skenazy writes in the NY Daily News that the "great new york transit strike" -- which exactly twenty five years ago -- was the major impetus for comfortable women's shoes. And she even has someone who edits a magazine called "Footwear News" backing her up.
You are missing out on some serious fun if you don't check out the new satellite maps available on Google Maps. A discreet link in the upper-right corner take any map and convert it to satellite view. It's like flying in an airplane, but better, because you can steer! Though I've seen satellite maps before, the smooth scrolling and zooming of the Google map is unprecedented. Of course, the first thing I did was zoom in to my home--which told me that the maps are at least several months old: my new building is not on the satellite view; instead there is a patch of asphalt.
The maps give a whole new perspective on transit which is fun, even if not immediately useful. For instance, 5917 Cherrywood Lane, Greenbelt, Md. will take you to WMATA's Greenbelt Station, at the end of the Green Line. You get an idea how enormous the parking lot is, as well as the huge size of the train yard that is just past Greenbelt station. You can also follow the tracks as they pass a lake and College Park station before they swoop dramatically westward and dive underground.
Thirdrailer A.M.G. has crossed the line from pajama-wearing truth-seeking iconoclastic blogger into the realm of the corrupt, biased MSM by writing an article for that bastion of liberal complacency, Metro, a trade magazine for the people who are in charge of things like picking out carpet for buses.
AMG's article is on the use of BlackBerrys by BART cops. If they use them in S.F. like we use them in D.C., you can guarantee that the amount of actual policing will drop near zero as officers email back and forth about who took the last Splenda packet next to the station's coffee machine.
WMATA and the D.C. Department of Transportation are studying ways to improve D.C.'s transit network. Thus they have identified several corridors that they will target for further analysis. As DCist points out, the study corridors follow the city's 30s, 70s, and 90s bus corridors. The corridors might eventually get light rail service similar to that being built in Anacostia.
An excellent DCist series about Metrobus brought a little order to the chaos that is the D.C. Metrobus route numbering system: numbered buses follow old streetcar routes. Thus, the study is looking at the idea of replacing old streetcars that were ripped out decades ago.
My hometown of Denver has light rail. Most of the system is fully grade separated, but downtown it runs on city streets and must contend with traffic signals in every block. My father called this a "bus on tracks." I think light rail can be a fine idea, but not if it is merely a smooth-riding electric bus that runs only two miles per hour faster than a diesel-belching conveyance. Fortunately it appears the Anacostia light rail project will not run entirely on a city street.
Another Heritage Foundation anti-transit canard busted
On the nation's worst thought-out transit lines, such as New Jersey's River Line or any of the single-tracked light rails that dot our newer cities, it is often argued that it would be far cheaper to just buy everybody who takes the system a new car rather than go thorugh the expense, disruption and (gasp) taxation required of new infrastructure construction.
Tedious conservative humorist P.J. O'Rourke, who if you didn't notice peaked around 1985, made an argument along these lines last month in the Wall Street Journal op-ed page, long a haven for nuts obsessed with the threats to the American Way of Life posed by Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, environmentalists, and did I mention Hillary Clinton?
Long story short, Janek Kozlowski of the U.S. military knocks over this ruse, which is propigated by the Heritage Foundation and other groups similarly opposed to government solving problems not experienced by the very rich:
"So, for the purpose of making an alternative point, let's treat Mr. O'Rourke's statements seriously: He says, for instance, that it would be cheaper to lease BMW SUVs for all of the folks who travel on Minneapolis's new light-rail system than it cost to build and operate the system. Well, I priced such a lease. For the 15,500 average daily riders the tab would run taxpayers $44 million a year. Each car leaser would pay an additional $2,800 a year for operating costs out of pocket. But wait! How will these cars get downtown? According to the Federal Highway Administration, highways cost an average $20.6 million per mile, while major urban interchanges cost $100 million per interchange. To replace the 12-mile light-rail system, Minneapolis taxpayers would need to build (conservatively) 12 miles of highway and one major interchange for both the airport and the Mall of Americas. Hmm, that comes out to $440 million -- before highway maintenance costs set in. Then where will all of these 15,500 BMWs park? In the new city parking lots! If built totally on the cheap, these single-level lots will cost taxpayers at least $31 million. Now, let's not forget that whereas a square foot of commercial space will bring in at least $50 in taxes per square foot, a parking lot at best brings in $3. Since our 15,500 BMWs will require almost two million square feet of parking, that equates to a loss of $91 million in tax revenue to the city of Minneapolis every year.
The rail line, which actually cost roughly $700 million, has a life expectancy of 50 years. Its operating costs are $13 million per year and farebox revenues are so far offsetting close to $10 million of that.
So how do these two options compare? Choosing the light rail's 50-year capital lifespan for both the light-rail and BMW options, and amortizing these capital costs over those 50 years, adding annual operating costs and subtracting annual tax revenue losses, and removing any effects of inflation, in present dollars light rail costs the Minneapolis taxpayers just over $17 million per year. But to get the same benefit courtesy of BMW and more highways, taxpayers would have to dish out $166 million per year."
That's a common debating tactic used by people who have more experience fudging numbers than your average citizen (WSJ readers may be another story). If you want to make the point that one project is more expensive than another, lump the entire cost of the project into one large sum, while paring costs from your preferred alternative.
There are plenty of "subsidies" going back and forth between government, tolls and free roads. A profitable toll road, like VA-267 to Dulles, requires hundreds of miles of free feeder roads to get toll-payers from their McMansions to the highway. So when anti-rail people whine about how their tolls are going to an unprofitable service, make sure that they understand all the costs, because the likely don't, thanks to our friends at Heritage.
Metro officials have often said that the two-track design of the rail system precludes the possibility of express train service. However, Metro is now investigating the possibility of express train service, "similar to the J and Z lines in New York City." I have never been to New York but from what I can tell at nycsubway.org, the J and Z lines sometimes have two tracks, sometimes three (please correct me if I'm wrong.)
There are a couple different issues here: closing token booths at stations, and moving to more automation on the trains (starting with the L train). We know the MTA lacks money, and maybe cutting some employees can save them a few dollars. But it is definitely a bad thing if rescue personnel cannot get through the entry gates. As I understand the police and firemen have been given unlimited Metrocards, but I think maybe a bigger issue might be the MTA's design of their turnstiles and station facilities. You enter a New York City Subway like an animal entering a cage, and if you have a big bag or luggage or something you have to get buzzed through a special gated door if you can get the attention of the attendant. I guess the MTA is trying to prevent people from jumping the turnstile and skipping out on their fare, but is it really that big a problem? Maybe the siege mentality design of the turnstiles is an overhang from the city's crazier days gone by. Could they just forgo that small partial percentage of revenue and have entry gates that are much more open, show a bit of respect for the passenger (like BART), and allow emergency personnel to get through no matter what (if regular people could jump the turnstile, so could a cop or rescue worker)?
As for the second issue, I won't talk about train automation right now, maybe at some later date.
Oh yeah - hello, my name is Chris Andrichak, and I guess I am now live from the third rail. I live in New York City, and am finishing up a degree in urban planning, transportation planning specifically. Like most New Yorkers, I only travel by transit, and even when I lived out in San Francisco I generally roamed the Bay Area by transit. I have my own blog where I talk about all kinds of things. Thanks to the folks here for having me on board!
WMATA has posters in many stations to make the public aware of its online chats. The posters show a young man whose face is lit up with the delight of receiving a "straight answer." However, as Friday's chat with Metro CEO Richard White shows, such straight answers can be difficult to obtain.
But first, an introduction: I'm Omari Norman, and I'm happy to join the team here at Live from the Third Rail. I live in Silver Spring, Maryland and work for the federal government, so you'll find me riding Metro's Red Line to work every day. I rely exclusively on public transport, so you'll also catch me riding Metro on the weekends. I ride a bus from time to time as needs warrant.
White's online chats are part of his effort to communicate with his customers, and I appreciate his effort. It seems he does learn new things in each of his chats, and he often promises to look into problems that customers bring up. Unfortunately though, he often does not provide straight answers to relatively simple queries. For instance:
Michael B from PA asked if New Carrollton Station's parking lot typically fills on weekdays and, if so, whether there is a "lot full" sign at the station so that he does not have to enter the lot and pay even when there are no spaces. White answered the first question (yes, it typically fills up) but not the second.
KSilver said that bus schedules need larger print. White merely responded that Metro is looking into ways to make them more readable and that they have added a second ink color.
KSilver asked why people can smoke in some areas of Metro stations. White gave a response with a fuzzy definition of "uncovered" and then said that Metro can enforce "public ordinance violations" inside the faregates. This seems to conflict with what happened in July, when a woman was arrested for eating a candy bar outside the faregates at Metro Center. It also seems to conflict with a September incident when a woman was arrested for talking too loudly on her cell phone at Wheaton, well outside the faregates on the bus platform.
DC Rider asked about the 5A route from DC to Dulles Airport. White said that the route was intended to provide transportation for workers coming from DC to employment areas in the Dulles corridor, including the airport. He then said it was not intended as a commuter service. hmm...aren't people going from home in the District to jobs in the Dulles corridor "commuters"?
I asked about occasional four-car trains on the Red Line and asked that Metro operate these short trains only from Silver Spring to Grosvenor, rather than running them all the way to the end of the line at Shady Grove and Glenmont. White said only that Metro usually runs six car trains on the Red Line during rush hour (I knew that) but that Metro may run a four car train if equipment breaks down (I knew that too, but it does not explain why Metro runs these trains to the end of the line, which makes them unbearably packed.)
Perhaps White is being intentionally evasive, or perhaps his sketchy answers are the result of mere oversight. But I would appreciate more direct answers from him in the future. He need not tell us what we want to hear--he could have told KSilver that "we aren't going to make the print in bus timetables larger; it uses too much paper. Get over it." Or he could have told me that "it's too tricky to ensure that four-car Red trains operate only between Silver Spring and Grosvenor, so it's just too bad that the four-car trains leave people on the platform at Wheaton." At least then he would have been being direct and honest.
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