MetroMogul

I've always enjoyed Red's verbal smackdowns and he only continues to become more vicious with each passing year.

Yes I rely on the bus. No, I don't think investing in billions of dollars of more rail is the solution. The bus system is the life blood of the Metro system. It is the brain, heart and skeleton of the system. The rail "system" we have amounts to three fingers. If the body is rotting does it make sense to add more fingers or to rehabilitate the body? I'm on the bus system re-imagining committee and it's refreshing all light rail talk is limited on how it will interact with a more robust and improved bus system instead of dominating the discussion with no regard or even acknowledgement of the bus system as has been the rule for a decade. Slick, you are what's wrong with the transit discussion in this region. You don't bring any viable solutions, only a child's wishlist.

Then why are you polluting this thread?

A rail system is limited when the bus system that it depends upon is crippled and deteriorating. It's like focusing on the usefulness of the three fingers while the rest of your body atrophies.

Thank you. God forbid we invest in what consists of about 90% of the system. And Vic, you're right, Houston did have a good bus system in the 1980s, well it's 2013 and it's in bad shape. It needs reinvestment.

What rail line were they planning to use? In my five years of riding the 50 - Harrisburg to work I've only seen two trains on the Galveston Rd. track. I seriously thought the line was abandoned. Then one day I saw a crew working on it and the next day the first train I ever saw ran on the track.

A year later though?

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Greanias-stepping-down-as-Metro-CEO-4119765.php Damn shame, he was really turning the agency around. I'd wager it has something to do with the recent GMP referendum. The wonderful pundits and analysts of the Chronicle's comments section said we need someone with "transportation experience" this next go round. Well, Shirley DeLibero and Frank Wilson had decades of transportation experience between them and we all know how that turned out. Let's see what comes of this.

You misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not talking about the fleet or overall operation and execution. I'm talking about the bus routes themselves. The 15 - Alabama, 66 - Bellaire and the 88 - Beechnut, among others, had been operating to and outside the old city limits since the late 60s and early 70s. Metro might be a bit constrained on where they can operate but there are communities within the service area that could have bus service but don't. Katy, Missouri City, and Clear Lake come to mind. Now before you mention it, I'm aware of the park and ride lots. I speak of local bus service. HouTran was a debacle but they tried to cram bus service everywhere they could. Red Metro refined that system and streamlined operations. Golden age Metro expanded it. Dark Ages Metro poisoned it. Time will tell what the New Metro has in store.

Go to the Julia Ideson library and request them. They have a number of them along with some pretty neat news clippings. I went in and asked on a whim and was rewarded with a bulging folder. I must've died and went to heaven. And Metro didn't cut those suburban routes. The area just grew around them. The 66 - Bellaire had a branch that served Beechnut @ Jorine back in the 70s. Bear in mind the Beechnut bridge over Brays Bayou was only completed in 1973. Rapid Transit/Houtran had a myriad of problems but they at least made attempts to tweak their services and be on the cutting edge so to speak. To the point they over extended themselves. Look at the large number of branches certain routes had. And there were more Limited and Express via Freeway trips back then.

You have the 70 - Memorial (which is pretty much a maid shuttle) and the 131 - Memorial Express. Combined with the 6 - Tanglewood, all three buses cover the entire length of Memorial Drive. And Metro seems to have halted any significant bus expansion for the foreseeable future. If you look at older bus maps from the HouTran and early Metro days you'll see that buses ran out ti the very edge of the suburbs. That doesn't happen anymore.

It's only fair to give Tata Nanas to every individual in the Metro service area, even children.

Sounds like most of that was done under Frank Wilson's watch surprise surprise. The only thing I fault the "New" Metro for is the continued light rail-centric policy while the bus system continues to be mediocre. But, I suppose that's better than the atrocious system we had under Wilson and cronies.

Why'd you quote me? I never hinted that these areas were racist. They just didn't utilize the provided bus service. But since we're on the subject now, I agree, your average suburbanite doesn't want "illegals" or "Obama supporters" (nice code words by the way) riding into their neighborhoods. I never understood that line of thinking though. Believe it or not, "thugs" drive so they could just drive into the neighborhood and clean out the place. Makes much more sense than riding unreliable Metro buses and trying to haul a 60' flat screen TV back to "da hood" via the same unreliable Metro service. It's not limited to the suburbs or white people. I'm sure the new urbanites of all colors and creeds don't like Metro buses rumbling down their streets, but unfortunately for them, the buses, much like the freight trains they also loathe, were there first.

You know the suburbanites would have a fit if Metro dared to run a non P&R ride bus through those areas "that get very little transit service." In the 80's Metro went crazy trying to run buses through every nook and cranny of the service area. There used to be local bus service in Clear Lake, Webster, and the other little communities bordering the bay, all operated by Metro. Ridership didn't justify the expenditure of dollars to operate the routes. But let's not act like Metro didn't try at one time.