Houston's Own Grand Central Station-Downtown Transit Hub

[The Great Hizzy!]

Well, I actually agree that I would've felt even better about the Red Line had it been built as part of a more elaborate system that provided rail connectivity off the bat to other corridors, particular E-W and perhaps the two airports.

Unfortunately, METRO sort of invested in what some have called "The Dog & Pony Show" line to announce to DeLay and Culberson that they're building rail, regardless of their stances.

There have been benefits to both the bus and rail sides as a result of the current Red Line but I'm not about to say that the cost-benefit is entirely encouraging--I agree with this. But I think you have to look at any rail line (with a possible exception for commuter rail) long term, because initial construction costs are naturally higher compared to, say, implementing a new bus route. Operating a bus route, for example, over time can be very expensive when you look at maintenance cost, operator salaries and benefits, number of vehicles used per route, etc, etc.

My biggest concern right now is with the proposed E-W line and the potential concessions or what have you that might be involved. Your next rail segment is usually less efficient than your original, and if METRO proves to be too conceding in terms of design and location, it could really effect ridership and thus the overall efficiency of METRO Rail.

We'll see, though.

Also, other disatisfactions that I have with the current rail line:

1) the Bell Station shouldn't exist and the DTC and METRO Headquarters should've been built on land further up Main Street, maybe around Leeland. The Bell Station, as it stands, is a very low yield station and more than anything, slows down the travel time of the train through DT. A few Exxon employees enjoy some benefit along with a handful of people who decided to park in southern downtown in order to get to the Historic District for the really big events (NBA All-Star Game, etc).

2) Traffic light synchornization has turned out to be, for the most part, a small disaster. This is more on the end of COH but still... the idea was for the trains to have immediate signal override except for in the presence of emergency vehicles. There were glitches initially and it's like the city and METRO have mutually decided to throw in the towel.

3) Too many concessions to the TMC, which results in about 3-5 minutes lag time in the TMC. The Dryden Station is often a delayed stop due to those odd left turn lanes and signals that, frankly, shouldn't exist.

There are others, but those are the ones that, from a logistical and ergonomics standpoint, really sit in my craw.

[musicman]

Again , the constituents in Midtown would ...love ....to see this business be relocated , but if I had to go to the Hardy Rail Yards on the Metro Rail that would hardly be a destination for me, a middle class person to wind up in the Greyhound bus station completely surrounded by low income people....who are not icky as you would put it but who are not my peers or people I have association with on any level. Most people in Houston feel this way and if you think that this rail system is some day going to be efficient you haven't been taking the rail.

While his statements may not be politically correct, in all honesty his comments are true. The Midtown association is trying to get the the bus station moved in conjunction with the new facility north of UHD. I would definitely say that people who utilize the Greyhouse station are not the same ones that utilize the airport. They are a lower income people as a whole. Since the light rail opened, there seems to be even more people hanging around the greyhound station, mcdonalds, etc. Many of these same people didn't ride the bus cause you needed money. But now they are willing to take a chance and ride the rail because they don't check tickets often. I know they sure do go to the church on mcgregor and fannin to get free meals in the morning. after breakfast, they get back on the train and head north.

Pssst. Musicman. Read the thread title.

Oh, and according to METRO:

Again, why is light rail the crown jewel? METRO statement confirms that park and ride is more popular. The park and ride was up 6.4 millions boardings or 11.1 percent and more than 8 million rode the rail last yr, an increase of 10.6 percent.

[bachanon]

the crown jewel is the grand central transit hub, not the red line.

[musicman]

Though, I agree with musicman that METRO's light rail, though a great achievement given the number of obstacles placed against it, isn't so much a crown jewel in general, but it's nothing to shake off when you consider that it's ridership is almost three times as great as any single bus line (2 Bellaire, 163 Fondren, 82 Westheimer, etc). That's not insignificant considering that METRO Rail's length of service is no greater than any of the aforementioned bus routes.

One major consideration that has been left out of your argument is the money spent to start the single bus line vs to start the light rail. A cost/benefit analysis would show that the bus is more effective.

Good lord. It's already efficient. The most efficient in the U.S. currently.

I have to ask what data you are looking at to determine that the light rail system is the most efficient in the country?

[musicman]

Also, other disatisfactions that I have with the current rail line:

1) the Bell Station shouldn't exist and the DTC and METRO Headquarters should've been built on land further up Main Street, maybe around Leeland. The Bell Station, as it stands, is a very low yield station and more than anything, slows down the travel time of the train through DT. A few Exxon employees enjoy some benefit along with a handful of people who decided to park in southern downtown in order to get to the Historic District for the really big events (NBA All-Star Game, etc).

2) Traffic light synchornization has turned out to be, for the most part, a small disaster. This is more on the end of COH but still... the idea was for the trains to have immediate signal override except for in the presence of emergency vehicles. There were glitches initially and it's like the city and METRO have mutually decided to throw in the towel.

3) Too many concessions to the TMC, which results in about 3-5 minutes lag time in the TMC. The Dryden Station is often a delayed stop due to those odd left turn lanes and signals that, frankly, shouldn't exist.

There are others, but those are the ones that, from a logistical and ergonomics standpoint, really sit in my craw.

1) concur. I personally would add the Rice station as well.

2) concur.

3) concur. I continue to wonder if better engineering could have resulted in a better setup in the med center. placing train in right lane would avoid they left turn problem but then would result in problems with people leaving the various buildings in the med center. elevating it would not be likely since there are elevated walkways in the area. etc.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

I would like to see the LRT city wide. I would like for it to remove as many diesel busses off the streets as possible without compromising mobility. I hate busses and i really hate driving beside them and behind them. Some of those drivers are a bit "loose" on some streets/roads.

[RedScare]

Again, why is light rail the crown jewel? METRO statement confirms that park and ride is more popular. The park and ride was up 6.4 millions boardings or 11.1 percent and more than 8 million rode the rail last yr, an increase of 10.6 percent.

Those are typos. If P&R was UP 11.1%, then total 9 month ridership would be 57.7 million and annual ridership would be 76.7 million. TOTAL METRO ridership last year was only 95 million, including Rail, P&R, and Local Routes, with Local being the biggest component, at around 80 million. Under your math, the Park & Rides would be carrying 295,000 patrons per DAY. On a 45 seat bus, that would be over 6,500 trips, virtually all during rush hour, and all to Downtown. That is virtually the ENTIRE working population of Downtown.

[TheNiche]

But I think you have to look at any rail line (with a possible exception for commuter rail) long term, because initial construction costs are naturally higher compared to, say, implementing a new bus route. Operating a bus route, for example, over time can be very expensive when you look at maintenance cost, operator salaries and benefits, number of vehicles used per route, etc, etc.

So how is that any different than a light rail system, except that the vehicles are more expensive and that the tracks also must be maintained in addition to the pavement? Not to mention the greater number of vehicles per mile of route (in order to keep in line with that 3-minute interval). And don't forget: just because you save on gasoline doesn't mean that electricity prices are any better. In TX, much of our electricity comes from natural gas, which correlates pretty well with the price of oil.

My biggest concern right now is with the proposed E-W line and the potential concessions or what have you that might be involved. Your next rail segment is usually less efficient than your original, and if METRO proves to be too conceding in terms of design and location, it could really effect ridership and thus the overall efficiency of METRO Rail.

If it doesn't at least connect with Greenway AND Galleria/Uptown, I'm going to be pissed. Doing so will create synergy with the existing Red Line, inducing more pure systemwide ridership.

We'll see, though.

Also, other disatisfactions that I have with the current rail line:

1) the Bell Station shouldn't exist and the DTC and METRO Headquarters should've been built on land further up Main Street, maybe around Leeland. The Bell Station, as it stands, is a very low yield station and more than anything, slows down the travel time of the train through DT. A few Exxon employees enjoy some benefit along with a handful of people who decided to park in southern downtown in order to get to the Historic District for the really big events (NBA All-Star Game, etc).

You are correct. Especially about the DTC. Bell may come in handy for Pavilions, but the location of the DTC was very poorly thought-out. I still say that they should've kept leasing space until they built the central hub at Hardy Yards, and then made that their home. I even wonder sometimes whether they intentionally put their DTC in a desolate area just to create incentive for bus riders to hop on the rail for a couple stops instead of walking, thus boosting ridership counts.

2) Traffic light synchornization has turned out to be, for the most part, a small disaster. This is more on the end of COH but still... the idea was for the trains to have immediate signal override except for in the presence of emergency vehicles. There were glitches initially and it's like the city and METRO have mutually decided to throw in the towel.

No kidding. It is always annoying when driving E/W through downtown when there is a sea of green lights except for that lone pesky red on Main Street.

3) Too many concessions to the TMC, which results in about 3-5 minutes lag time in the TMC. The Dryden Station is often a delayed stop due to those odd left turn lanes and signals that, frankly, shouldn't exist.

This is where I would've pressed for an elevated route with air-conditioned platforms inside the skybridges. The TMC already has an excellent pedestrian skybridge system master plan. It'd have been great if they could have made it so that someone could get off of the LRT and immediately step onto moving conveyors to quickly get across the TMC.

There are others, but those are the ones that, from a logistical and ergonomics standpoint, really sit in my craw.

The park and ride was up 6.4 millions boardings or 11.1 percent and more than 8 million rode the rail last yr, an increase of 10.6 percent.

I can't guarantee those numbers, but back in Bart Smith's cost-benefit analysis class at UH, he made a point to emphasize the incredible score that the P&Rs made. The benefit-to-cost ratio at Kuykendahl was in the double digits. That is, for every one dollar of public money invested, there were XX dollars in benefit, mostly through congestion reduction. It is by far METRO's most successful program.

The beauty of the P&R is cost-efficiency. That's all.

1) concur. I personally would add the Rice station as well.

Agreed. The boarding numbers are very weak for Rice/Hermann Park. I think that they should've combined the stop with the Museum District stop.

[Guest Plastic]

The Transit Hub is supposed to be a center for everything,buses,Park&Rides,trains,commuter rail,Greyhoundm and even HI Speed Rail.

Putting it all in one place makes it easier to travel. The current Greyhound station is not at an train station although the train runs right buy it. They built the train station 2 blocks or so up from The Greyhound, stupid honestly.

In creating a "Times Sqaure" and "Grand Central Station" you want to bring all the elements of the city together. It's like all of the city but condensed. That's all the things and people you woul d find aroun the city. Resteraunts,shops,nightclubs,entertainment,offices,rich poeople,middle class, low income all in ine space.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

The Transit Hub is supposed to be a center for everything,buses,Park&Rides,trains,commuter rail,Greyhoundm and even HI Speed Rail.

Putting it all in one place makes it easier to travel. The current Greyhound station is not at an train station although the train runs right buy it. They built the train station 2 blocks or so up from The Greyhound, stupid honestly.

In creating a "Times Sqaure" and "Grand Central Station" you want to bring all the elements of the city together. It's like all of the city but condensed. That's all the things and people you woul d find aroun the city. Resteraunts,shops,nightclubs,entertainment,offices,rich poeople,middle class, low income all in ine space.

Well said

[Guest Plastic]

For all the routes it's very simple, take a 20-25 mile route ending at the suburbs. Going in there's be a stop at HWY6/q960,The Belt, The Loop, and eventually the Downtown transit hub.

They should run along the freeways. An express train could run on the tracks as well, this would be for a lower cost, les freqeunt, make more stops, and on wekend. Although they're not at Beltway or Loop junctions Sharpstown Mall, and The University Of Housotn could be on express routes. It would be cool to run a train along S.Main and The Southwest Freeway, then you could have a Greenway Plaza stop.

Screw the Sugarland train ending at Fannin South, that takes too much time. It ould stop but only to let other riders onto the MainSt train. The rest of the riders would continue on to Downtown. Fannin South would be a true Transit Hub, if only they could have built it adjacent to The Astrodome there'd be no need to use the LRT.

[TheNiche]

For all the routes it's very simple, take a 20-25 mile route ending at the suburbs. Going in there's be a stop at HWY6/q960,The Belt, The Loop, and eventually the Downtown transit hub.

They should run along the freeways. An express train could run on the tracks as well, this would be for a lower cost, les freqeunt, make more stops, and on wekend. Although they're not at Beltway or Loop junctions Sharpstown Mall, and The University Of Housotn could be on express routes. It would be cool to run a train along S.Main and The Southwest Freeway, then you could have a Greenway Plaza stop.

Screw the Sugarland train ending at Fannin South, that takes too much time. It ould stop but only to let other riders onto the MainSt train. The rest of the riders would continue on to Downtown. Fannin South would be a true Transit Hub, if only they could have built it adjacent to The Astrodome there'd be no need to use the LRT.

Perhaps there is a very simple answer to this that I am overlooking...but question:

Is it possible for there to be express rail routes without adding additional track parallel to the existing track (i.e. a third track)?

[Guest Plastic]

OK take 59, the route would start at First Colony Mall Sugarland, then ride up 49 to The Park&RIde in Stafford. After that go to a new transit center at The Galleria. Then it's off to DOwntown.........that's the commuter route.

Then there's the express route, it would go to First Colony, The FOuntains in Stafford, The Stafford Park and Ride, Sarpstown Mall, The Galleria, Greenway Plaza and finally Downtown. Yes it'spossible if they can run 2 routes on 1 bus they can run 2 routes on 1 track.

[Guest danax]

Also, it would be interesting to write our city council members and ask them why they feel the need to put the Greyhound bus terminal on the border of the Hardy Rail Yard project and tie this in to the rail system. Is that supposed to make our city livable or humanitarian? People in Midtown would be extremely happy to see the Greyhound bus terminal leave the area as this has only attracted street people and local drug pushers to easily blend into the already down and out crowd at the bus station. Now we want to take this bus crowd and happily bring them into the Hardy Rail Yard developement where city council wants low income housing.

Yes, there will be some riff-raff, but the fear that the area will suffer and decline is really an outdated 20th century scene;

Downtown bus depot/train station, drifters with duffle bags thrown over their shoulders wandering the streets, bumming a smoke here and there, only to finally settle in for the night in a roach-infested boarders hotel. Hookers strutting along the sidewalk, bums laying in their own urine, maybe an occasional flasher exposing himself, muggings, perhaps a serial rapist or killer every so often, drug dealers crusing in cars, honking beneath the windows of multi-storied tenements at all hours.

In other words, a Skid Row scenario, which has been rendered an economic impossibility in the 21st century American downtown. Land will be too valuable to start having any new, low-end retail develop. That little section of Main has some nice older buildings that could sprout some NICE retail and turn that into a yuppie village once the big wave of gentrification kicks in.

Even in Midtown, there's not a flea-bag motel anywhere near there that I know of, just a bunch of homeless, who are going to be there with or without the Greyhound. The Near North is already on the skids in many ways so this project will speed the upliftment of the area, not the reverse. The walking eyesores will likely be more like walking eye candy for many of the population that will slowly move in. The place has potential to attract many a modern urbanite who desire the true "city feel", as long as they're watching the scene from their balcony or in a brief passing and the movie doesn't get too real in the form of crime or high density of panhandling. Since the place will be getting in on the ground floor development-wise in that area, the residential projects should also develop "organically" with the "cheaper" ones being at ground-zero distance to the Intermodal, the the nicer ones in not-too-close proximity in a 1/4 mile radius (a reasonable walking distance in Houston) or close to the rail stations further upstream.

I am a little disappointed in the Mayor's attempts to force an affordable housing element there, not that a small population of lower income residents will cause any problems, but that, in a city with a hands-off policy for development in general, and with a mayor who comes from that side of things, he feels the need to interfere at the taxpayer's expense (in one form or another). Maybe this is something he really believes in, or maybe he's just going along with Adrian Garcia.

The one thing that Metro will hopefully recognize is that they need to make this place an architectural gem, a true landmark. I remember Metro's Wolff, I think, saying that it would be. Lots of exotic landscaping too. It's all about balance. The more beautiful the backdrop, the less noticable and distasteful the less-fortunate will appear in the eyes of investors and residents alike.

Cosmo's topic "Hardy Rail Yard's Grand Central Trans Hub" merged with this one.

[ricco67]

I would have to agree with alot of comments on here, but the only reason that the greyhound should be moved is merely because it's in an awkward location and.

Move it north of the Hardy Yard, move it to the east, or move it to the west, the only thing is that it shold stay somewhere in the downtown area. The reason why greyhound picked that location (if memory serves me correct, it used to be located somewhere on Labranch near Texas) is due to the fact that all the freeways were in the immediate area, and the bus drivers are within easy distance to rest at hotels for a rest.

[RedScare]

I am a little disappointed in the Mayor's attempts to force an affordable housing element there, not that a small population of lower income residents will cause any problems, but that, in a city with a hands-off policy for development in general, and with a mayor who comes from that side of things, he feels the need to interfere at the taxpayer's expense (in one form or another). Maybe this is something he really believes in, or maybe he's just going along with Adrian Garcia.

The one thing that Metro will hopefully recognize is that they need to make this place an architectural gem, a true landmark. I remember Metro's Wolff, I think, saying that it would be. Lots of exotic landscaping too. It's all about balance. The more beautiful the backdrop, the less noticable and distasteful the less-fortunate will appear in the eyes of investors and residents alike.

Or maybe the Mayor has not done anything at all. Remember, only one poster relayed a rumor secondhand. There has been no confirmation, either by media accounts or naming names. Further, there are numerous forms "affordable housing" can take. The worst ones, housing projects and apartment towers, are long gone, quaint relics of the segregated 50s and 60s. Likely, if there is any affordable housing at all, it will be hidden, in the form of occasional apartments spaced among the market priced ones. No one will even notice.

[musicman]

Those are typos. If P&R was UP 11.1%, then total 9 month ridership would be 57.7 million and annual ridership would be 76.7 million. TOTAL METRO ridership last year was only 95 million, including Rail, P&R, and Local Routes, with Local being the biggest component, at around 80 million. Under your math, the Park & Rides would be carrying 295,000 patrons per DAY. On a 45 seat bus, that would be over 6,500 trips, virtually all during rush hour, and all to Downtown. That is virtually the ENTIRE working population of Downtown.

Those are the numbers you provided earlier in the thread that were put out by METRO. Check out your post #41 as a refresher.

[musicman]

Question for anyone that actually uses Metro.

I havent ridden the LRT in 6 months, and a Metro bus in 16 years.

However, Im moving soon and this will soon change.

Does Metrorail and metro busses use the same ticket system. If i buy a monthly pass, that gets me on anything, including rail, right ?

I only ask becasue I remember hearing wierd stories about transfers when the LRT started up, and when i did use the rail, it was a completely different payment system than i remember from using the bus oh so long ago.

Stupidly the tickets purchased on train and bus differ. yes they are compatible but the bus driver has to look at the rail ticket when you get on the bus. I personally only buy day passes.

I can't guarantee those numbers, but back in Bart Smith's cost-benefit analysis class at UH, he made a point to emphasize the incredible score that the P&Rs made. The benefit-to-cost ratio at Kuykendahl was in the double digits. That is, for every one dollar of public money invested, there were XX dollars in benefit, mostly through congestion reduction. It is by far METRO's most successful program.

The beauty of the P&R is cost-efficiency. That's all.

Agreed. The boarding numbers are very weak for Rice/Hermann Park. I think that they should've combined the stop with the Museum District stop.

Niche you seem to be hitting the mark with me on so many points. My only comment would be your notion of elevating the line in the med center. there were elevated walkways connecting buildings already which i think METRO was afraid to touch for cost reasons. But with some thinking, it could've worked well.

Also your comment on gasoline vs. electricity was a good one. i would have to add that METRO is still having problems with power loss due to leakage and that they are unable to determine the cause i.e. not efficient.

[Montrose1100]

Will METRO move thier HQ towards or perhaps at the new centralized station?

Also mentioned was the Hermann Park/Rice U. station... Won't the little train (the one that runs by the zoo) with the proposal to have a stop by this station to somehow connect everything in the park, help the overall usage of the Hermann Park/Rice U. station?

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks Bell is a complete waste of time.

[Guest danax]

Or maybe the Mayor has not done anything at all. Remember, only one poster relayed a rumor secondhand. There has been no confirmation, either by media accounts or naming names.

Right, but I believe this same idea was mentioned here about the time Cypress bought the Hardy Yards property, although I searched and couldn't find it.

NOTE: Earlier topic merged with most recent two.

[RedScare]

Those are the numbers you provided earlier in the thread that were put out by METRO. Check out your post #41 as a refresher.

Hey, if you want to use an obvious typo as your basis, knock yourself out.

Moving along, even 6.4 million Park&Ride patrons in 9 months is nothing to sneeze at. It is my opinion that replacing some of those routes with commuter rail would increase the total even more, due to the undefinable 'rail bias'. Whether that is worth it economically is debatable, but the ridership is already there.

[Highway6]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks Bell is a complete waste of time.

Bell might be a waste now, but the station is needed for future growth.

In addition to servicing the Toyota Center and STCL... It appears to be a block closer to the future Pavillions than the Main Street Square exit.

One hopes the pavillions will bring about other development to the southeast in the endless sea of parkinglots on that side of downtown.

It would have been bad planning to not have the Bell station and go 10 blocks without a station to service an area with that much potential.

[musicman]

Hey, if you want to use an obvious typo as your basis, knock yourself out.

Moving along, even 6.4 million Park&Ride patrons in 9 months is nothing to sneeze at. It is my opinion that replacing some of those routes with commuter rail would increase the total even more, due to the undefinable 'rail bias'. Whether that is worth it economically is debatable, but the ridership is already there.

The study tex transportation inst performed several yrs ago indicated that park and ride/hov was successful. It states "In 2003, the lanes carried some 121,079 passengers in on a daily basis." Which equates to 600,000/week which is higher than 6.4 million in 9 months. Cities are studying our system because it has been so successful

[nmainguy]

Bell might be a waste now, but the station is needed for future growth.

In addition to servicing the Toyota Center and STCL... It appears to be a block closer to the future Pavillions than the Main Street Square exit.

One hopes the pavillions will bring about other development to the southeast in the endless sea of parkinglots on that side of downtown.

It would have been bad planning to not have the Bell station and go 10 blocks without a station to service an area with that much potential.

Exactly. And how unusual that we've actually thought more than 2 weeks ahead.

[RedScare]

The study tex transportation inst performed several yrs ago indicated that park and ride/hov was successful. It states "In 2003, the lanes carried some 121,079 passengers in on a daily basis." Which equates to 600,000/week which is higher than 6.4 million in 9 months. Cities are studying our system because it has been so successful

This may be the study you quoted.

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/docs/Houston/chapter2.htm

You are correct that the HOV system has been and continues to be an overwhelming success. Here is a quote from the study about the HOV use:

Use Levels. Table 2 presents key information on use of the Houston HOV lanes. In 2003, some 212,079 passengers used the HOV lanes on a daily basis. Buses carried 43,225 passengers, vanpools accounted for 2,500 riders, carpools had 74,867 occupants, and 407 motorcycles used the lanes daily. Morning peak-hour utilization levels range from approximately 1,000 vehicles on the Katy HOV lane to 1,551 on the Northwest HOV lanes.

Note that busses account for 20% of HOV users. At 43,225 riders per day, you get 216,125 per week, and 8.4 million in 9 months. Still, that is a huge number of cars off the road. The annual number of bus riders would be 11.2 million (including non-METRO busses, such as Woodlands Express), about equal to LRT. And, many of those riders use local transit, including Rail, while they are in town. This is why the LRT expansion is necessary.

Those who claim that METRO should quit building LRT and start building commuter rail, should look at this study. What it shows is that METRO is already doing a bangup job bringing commuters in from the suburbs on these Greyhound style, comfortable busses. What is needed is a better system of getting them from the busses to their final workplaces. That is what LRT and this intermodal station is for. While I am generally in favor of commuter rail, since its uniqueness and permanence will attract even more riders IMO, it is not as critical as providing in-town transit once they get here.

[ssullivan]

Stupidly the tickets purchased on train and bus differ. yes they are compatible but the bus driver has to look at the rail ticket when you get on the bus. I personally only buy day passes.

Actually the rail tickets issued by the vending machines are fully compatible with the fare boxes on the buses. They have a magnetic stripe on them that is encoded with the transfer/day pass information, the same way the transfers/day passes issued on the buses do. Provided the fare box on the bus is working properly, and you insert the ticket the right way, you shouldn't have to show it to the bus driver.

[musicman]

Actually the rail tickets issued by the vending machines are fully compatible with the fare boxes on the buses. They have a magnetic stripe on them that is encoded with the transfer/day pass information, the same way the transfers/day passes issued on the buses do. Provided the fare box on the bus is working properly, and you insert the ticket the right way, you shouldn't have to show it to the bus driver.

maybe the westside buses are better cause when i've had to use them i haven't been successful. The driver told me they have been having probs as well.

[musicman]

This may be the study you quoted.

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/docs/Houston/chapter2.htm

I think it is however i'm having problems with your total.

In 2003, some 212,079 passengers used the HOV lanes on a daily basis. Buses carried 43,225 passengers, vanpools accounted for 2,500 riders, carpools had 74,867 occupants, and 407 motorcycles used the lanes daily.

43225 + 2500 + 74867 + 407 = 120999. I think i had mentioned 120k/day or about 600000/week. Where did the 212079 number come from?

[Guest Plastic]

WIll ther ebe restrooms and AMS at this stations. People could stop for some food.

If nto they'll atually had to go in The Railyard. Is the Intermodal Station going to be directly connected to The Hardy Railyard?

[RedScare]

I think it is however i'm having problems with your total.

In 2003, some 212,079 passengers used the HOV lanes on a daily basis. Buses carried 43,225 passengers, vanpools accounted for 2,500 riders, carpools had 74,867 occupants, and 407 motorcycles used the lanes daily.

43225 + 2500 + 74867 + 407 = 120999. I think i had mentioned 120k/day or about 600000/week. Where did the 212079 number come from?

I have no idea. Not only does adding up their numbers equal 120,999, as you stated, but if you add the totals in the actual 'Table 2', you'll come up with roughly 123,000. I suppose the general point can be made, but you certainly cannot swear by it.