Christof Spieler

But you still have to take into account the other modes of transportation in LA. Their commuter rail system definitely runs longer than the commuter buses in Houston. I guarantee you if those commuter buses were switched to rail, then there would be more riders.

I just looked up Metrolink hours, and some of their lines have the last train of the day leave Downtown LA by 7:00 pm. Most of our park and ride corridors have service to 9:00.

Commuter rail does have some advantages over bus -- it's more comfortable, for example, and you can get up and stretch your legs on a long ride. And it makes a great deal of sense in cities that have congested freeways with underused freight rail lines running parallel to them (which was the case in LA.)

But consider this:

In a corridor that has park-and-ride service running in an HOV (which makes it fast and relatively reliable), would you prefer to take a commuter rail line that:

- Runs less often the the bus (which it inherently will, since it takes more passengers to fill an entire train than one bus)

- Requires a transfer to get to your job when the bus is a one seat ride (since commuter trains can't run down Downtown streets like a bus can)

- Takes longer then the bus (since it makes multiple stops on the way)

if we're talking light rail or heavy rail that runs frequently all day and goes right into the heart of job centers, that's a different story. And some commuter rail lines have frequent service and routes that go right to where the jobs are (think Long Island Railroad.) But commuter rail isn't necessarily great transit just because it has steel rails underneath.

I read fairly regularly (though I can't find the time to read everything) but obviously post very irregularly. Tory pointed me to this thread.

I think that's the first article I ever wrote on transit -- little did I know I'd be on the METRO board eventually.

I agree that the old LA comparisons between subway and the Houston HOVs are incorrect. The LA subway is now carrying 150,000 people a day, more than any of their (or our) busways. That's what frequent all day service in a dense corridor does. But our HOVs do compare favorably to their commuter rail system, Metrolink, which serves the same purpose as the HOVs do in moving suburban commuters to Downtown. They have 40,000 average weekday riders on commuter rail, and our park-and-rides carry 32,000 on a system that's not as big in a considerably smaller metro area. The park and rides run more often than commuter rail does and don't require a transfer. So I think that freeway bus lanes are a very good solution to that particular transit problem.

Our fellow HAIFer Christof Spieler was eloquent and sane

I hope I was brief, too; that was a LONG meeting.

Would it help to write metro in support of a richmond line? who would be a good contact at metro?

I don't see any sign that the METRO board is about to drop Richmond. They heard loud and clear that there are lots of people who want them to study all the options.

• Talking to businesses isn't a bad idea.
  
• Letters to the Chronicle are always useful.
  
• If anybody lives near the line, you should get involved in your civic group's discussions. The anti-Richmond folks are trying to show that they represent all of Richmond by getting the local neighborhood groups on board.
  
• Writing your city council member is probably a good step -- they have the ability to have a lot of influence in the process, and they've been hearing a lot from anti-rail people.
  
• If any of you are represented by Martha Wong or John Culberson, write them.
  
• Keep paying attention to this issue -- this isn't over yet, and there are a lot of very passionate people trying to block rail on Richmond.
  

Thanks for the info...and that's a nice blog you've got, too.

Thanks! I stumbled onto this thread and was very impressed with the discussion -- we need more of this, and less of the knee-jerk stuff I tend to see in transit discussions.

The discussion of what to do west of Weslayan is a good one. I'll have to do a post soon to explain my reasoning, but by no means do I think that jogging south to Westpark is the one right answer. Connections to the Post Oak area are critical for the success of this line. I'm thinking the right answer is through service onto the Uptown line (earlier post).

I've got a new post up now with a link to FAQs. I'd love to hear comments on hat I've left out and what I could say better or more fully: The Missing FAQ

To sign up to talk to the METRO board, call Rose Gonzales at METRO (713) 739-4842. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is your last chance (by noon, I think).