[Parrothead]

After today's disasterous commute #36 (oh yes, we're counting) with my poor husband, I think Metrorail sucks big toes. Big nasty dirty toes at that. So, I am wondering how many here use the rail every single day and your thoughts on it.

BTW, today's disaster was a phantom wreck and they put all the riders on shuttle buses to get to downtown only to find there was no wreck at all, in fact the minute my husband was seated on the shuttle another train passed them right by... the shuttle driver didn't know which way to go, and we are now working on a 1 hour commute from MD Anderson hospital to right inside downtown at 45 and Main (56 minutes to be exact). I wonder how long it will take him to get home from there? My guess is another hour at least.

Thanks, Metro! You've done a bang-up job, no pun intended.

[citykid09]

I rode it once.

[UrbaNerd]

I rode it twice(well, I rode it about a million times for two dys, lol). It was great!

[Parrothead]

BTW, he's still not home yet

[ricco67]

Well, whenever I have business in the medical center that won't take that much time, I park the car over at the wheeler station, hop on the train, get there in about 6 minutes. I then complete my business and hop on the train and that takes another 6 minutes or so and I'm gone.

It's ALOT faster than trying to find a parking spot downtown.

Hell, it's definately faster than doing the valet parking in the various buildings.

Ricco

[dbigtex56]

Parrothead, on Monday, May 16th, 2005 @ 5:47pm, said:

BTW, today's disaster was a phantom wreck and they put all the riders on shuttle buses to get to downtown only to find there was no wreck at all

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Local news showed helicoper shots of the wreck, near the McGowen Station.

Another SUV ran into the train. Of course.

[Gary]

I also use the Wheeler station and have had no problems.

[Parrothead]

According to hubby, a wreck was reported--but trains were still running, and people were really pissed off about being put on the shuttle buses. He says he did not see any wreck at all. I cannot find anything on KTRK's website or KPRC's about a wreck today, but I wonder if they even report them anymore. Either way, it was an unorganized mess, it isn't the first time this has happened for him or for others that use this in their daily commutes, and he is really hating Metro right about now.

He got home at 6:35, following a walk to the train, off the train to a shuttle bus, a walk to the 131, and then to the Tollway and I-10, where he walks home. So it took him a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes to get home--for a 13 mile trip. This isn't his longest commute by far--the longest was when the 131 didn't show up for an hour on a Friday and he was about 2 hrs 20 min getting home that night.

His solution? He is thinking about driving in from now on and just paying the parking fare and dealing with traffic--or just going back to taking the 298 from Katy. He is seeing no benefit whatsoever with taking the train and frankly, neither am I! But it's nice to know all that money has helped those who occassionally use it.

Do I sound too bitter? Sorry!!! It's frustrating.

[debmartin]

for about a year i have been using the metrorail to get to the med center a few times a week, although recently we've been getting dropped off as i refuse to drive there anymore. besides paying up to $15 to valet the car, gas is through the roof and traffic on fannin is often bumper to bumper. there are also times we have to go to more than one building, and with no "in & out parking" this becomes impossible.

the trains run about every 7 to 10 minutes, although many times they have been delayed due to technical problems, wrecks, etc. when this happens they make announcements at the stations, although with traffic and noise it is not easy to hear. then there are the buses that are supposed to help navigate rail passengers past the problem and many times these bus drivers are clueless.

since i live by the galleria, i drive to hillcroft transit center, catch the 132 to wheeler and catch the rail to dryden tmc station. the 163 and 53/82 busses SHOULD connect to rail, but they sail through midtown and take you all the way downtown, forcing you to backtrack which is a waste of time. if i'm alone, i can get off at holman and walk a few blocks over to hcc/ensemble station - this just gives me more options since the 132 only runs once per hour off-peak.

right now my son's illness has taken a turn, and we are being dropped off because the dryden station is an impossible walk for anyone going to md anderson. i have said this before, but what i enjoy about taking metro busses and trains is that i can sit back, crank up my ipod and use the time to reduce my stress. i've been using metro since 2000, but can remember all the years i stressed myself out driving to the med center - i've often wondered if the stressed out drivers contribute to all the accidents with the light rail.

debmartin

[Casual Observer]

debmartin, on Monday, May 16th, 2005 @ 10:34pm, said:

the trains run about every 7 to 10 minutes, although many times they have been delayed due to technical problems, wrecks, etc.� when this happens they make announcements at the stations, although with traffic and noise it is not easy to hear.� then there are the buses that are supposed to help navigate rail passengers past the problem and many times these bus drivers are clueless.

since i live by the galleria, i drive to hillcroft transit center, catch the 132 to wheeler and catch the rail to dryden tmc station.� the 163 and 53/82 busses SHOULD connect to rail, but they sail through midtown and take you all the way downtown, forcing you to backtrack which is a waste of time.� if i'm alone, i can get off at holman and walk a few blocks over to hcc/ensemble station - this just gives me more options since the 132 only runs once per hour off-peak.

i've been using metro since 2000, but can remember all the years i stressed myself out driving to the med center - i've often wondered if the stressed out drivers contribute to all the accidents with the light rail.

debmartin

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You make good points in favor of using mass transit in lieu of private auto in the case of parking & traffic. However the above quoted paragraphs seem like they would cause more stress, at least for yourself, knowing that you are not in control of your travel, and even worse - that those in charge are "clueless" [sic].

I admire your courage to be one of a very few that are attempting to pioneer mass transit here in Houston. However, I know for myself that your written experience, along with other similar testimonials, are enough for me at this point to know that the light rail serves for nothing more than a novelity - only to be used on weekends. I wish it weren't the case though.

[The Voice of University Oaks]

This is another one of the drawbacks of building a street-level system: it's unreliable. If it's not the constant service disruptions caused by car-vs-train wrecks or by morons slamming into OCS poles or by trees falling onto the catenary wire, it's the fact that any system that runs in mixed traffic is going to be significantly slower than a system that operates in its own right-of-way. As anybody who rides the train knows, the signal synchronization system that's supposed to give the train a continuous green between stations doesn't work too well and the train oftentimes gets caught at red lights. And then there's the peculiar shared left turn lanes in the Medical Center, which slows trains down enormously during hospital shift changes.

And don't even get me started on the fact that the Main Street line has severe capacity constraints. Consists are limited to two cars because of downtown and midtown block lengths, and headways much shorter than six minutes will be difficult to acheive given the operating conditions.

It's too late to do anything about the Main Street line (which I used to ride all the time, by the way, until I moved). And like I've said in another post, don't blame the METRO PEC folks because they did the best they could do with the budget they were given. But it's clear that, as the extensions are built, something different needs to be done.

As for Parrothead: stick with the 298. You'll get much better service using park and ride service that operates in an HOV lane than you will using the slow-as-molasses 131 Memorial and the train.

[VelvetJ]

The Voice of University Oaks, on Monday, May 16th, 2005 @ 11:35pm, said:

And like I've said in another post, don't blame the METRO PEC folks because they did the best they could do with the budget they were given.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At times I think we as complaining Houstonians tend to forget the above statement. I personally applaud metro for it's efforts to make the light rail line succesful with the resources it had.

Also regarding the extentions, I also agree that something different needs to be done. The issue is "something different" would more than likely cost more money and too many in this city would scream bloody murder and predict the demise of our city if that were to happen, although "something different" is CLEARLY what's best for the city as a whole.

[Parrothead]

Here's something different: commuter rail!

Oh, I don't blame Metro necessarily. I mean, there's only so much brain power there to work with.

Well I've gotten off track (lol). I really just wanted to see who uses the light rail and their comments on it, just to see if anyone else feels our angst. Thanks everyone!

[ssullivan]

I use it a lot, although recently not as much just because I've been out of town for work. But when I'm home I use it often on the weekends. I rarely drive downtown anymore, because Metro is more convenient and really no slower. However, I also live less than two miles from a rail station, and have a quick trip on the 4 Beechnut which is fairly reliable most of the time to get over to the rail line.

I can imagine your husband's frustration Polly. I would be frustrated too in that situation, and so far I've been lucky to have had only one rail incident out of probably 200+ trips on it since it opened. That one incident was about a month into service in late January 2004 when there was a power outage north of Wheeler. It was handled well and we got off the train at Wheeler and boarded a local bus that was headed into downtown, because that was faster than walking over to a rail shuttle bus.

For future reference, in many areas of the rail line, you can catch a regular, local bus within one to two blocks of the rail line. In the Med Center, the 8 bus runs down Main to downtown. Northbound 1 buses will also get you from the Med Center to downtown. In midtown, there are buses running north to downtown on Louisiana, Milam, and San Jacinto, and southbound away from downtown on Smith, Travis, and Fannin. While these buses are local service buses that make more stops than the emergency rail shuttles, it may be faster than getting on a rail shuttle bus, especially if an incident has just happened. It does take a little time for Metro to dispatch the emergency shuttle buses.

I do think if I didn't live as close as I do to the rail line I wouldn't use it nearly as often. The farther away you live, the less usable it becomes because of the time it takes to commute on a local bus. It's a real shame in your case that Metro was forced to close the West Belt Park and Ride, as I'm sure it would have provided a much more convenient commute to downtown to transfer to MetroRail than the 131 Memorial Express does.

[ssullivan]

VelvetJ, on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 @ 10:29am, said:

At times I think we as complaining Houstonians tend to forget the above statement. I personally applaud metro for it's efforts to make the light rail line succesful with the resources it had.

Also regarding the extentions, I also agree that something different needs to be done. The issue is "something different" would more than likely cost more money and too many in this city would scream bloody murder and predict the demise of our city if that were to happen, although "something different" is CLEARLY what's best for the city as a whole.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is so true. The cost of right of way acquisition, or elevating the rail line, or putting it underground would easily double, if not triple, the construction costs. It becomes an issue then of much less rail mileage at a much higher cost, or more mileage at lower cost, with reduced speed and safety. And the way people yell about how much money is being spent on many projects, it's probably better to go cheaper with more miles by putting the rail in existing street and rail rights of way.

And I will say from having ridden many of the rail systems in the US, Houston's is by far one of the best when it comes to safety design for street median running segments.

[LTAWACS]

I use it all the time. I love it.

[westguy]

I think we should send everyone in this town back to driving school. JMO.

And seriously do something about all the drunks driving around here. It is not safe on any road in Houston.

[The Voice of University Oaks]

ssullivan, on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 @ 2:02pm, said:

It's a real shame in your case that Metro was forced to close the West Belt Park and Ride, as I'm sure it would have provided a much more convenient commute to downtown to transfer to MetroRail than the 131 Memorial Express does.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The 210 West Belt was by far METRO's worst-performing park and ride. Repeated attempts to increase ridership through marketing or bus operations changes didn't work.

[Parrothead]

I have to disagree, respectfully--the 210 was totally inconvenient as far as routes and times and only got worse over time. They could have increased ridership if they had offered the time frames the 131 Express does.

[skwatra]

westguy, on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 @ 11:37pm, said:

I think we should send everyone in this town back to driving school. JMO.

And seriously do something about all the drunks driving around here. It is not safe on any road in Houston.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

everyone here seems to be really critical about the drivers in houston. have you spent a lot of time driving in any other big city? i'm personally really happy with the overall driving situation here (other then the fact that you HAVE to drive to get anywhere). the freeway drivers are generally fast, and people got out of your way in the left lane. i spent 4 years in a city where even if there is no traffic, everyone is going 55mph in every lane. i've spent a lot of time on the freeways in orlando, st. louis, denver, austin, and dallas, and after that houston is heaven. rush hour is a different story, but i think with the number of cars we have, we do alright.
sure we have some terrible drivers here, but you're going to find those everywhere.
i'm just happy i can go 75mph in medium traffic and have most people, including cops, going right beside me.

i will agree we probably do have a lot of drunks on the road, not sure how we compare to other cities.