New METRORail cars

[rechlin]

Somehow I missed this before, but METRO ordered 14 new rail cars for the Red Line, which went into service this past week.  These are Siemens S700, very similar to the second generation S70 cars that they have been running for the last 10 years, but with the middle section using seats parallel to the sides of the train rather than in rows, making for a wider center aisle.

More information from the press release here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/TXMETRO/bulletins/3319e04

I only found out because I rode one of them tonight for the first time, and was surprised by the different appearance inside.  These are the "400" series, and I was in car 408:

[Jay123]

What metro needs to do is make the metro rail and bus more secure.Ive been harrased by panhandlers for money and they wreak of urine and beer.Hopefully metro takes serious measures after these serious incidents these past months.

[dbigtex56]

1 hour ago, Jay123 said:

What metro needs to do is make the metro rail and bus more secure.Ive been harrased by panhandlers for money and they wreak of urine and beer.Hopefully metro takes serious measures after these serious incidents these past months.

I agree that METRO should perform some power-washing more frequently.
Panhandlers? Not much METRO can do about that. Once I learned to say 'No' like I mean it, the panhandlers don't bother me as much. No excuses, apologies, or judgments are needed. 
Just say no.

[dbigtex56]

I wonder what they do with retired light rail cars. Do people convert them to Tiny Houses?

[Houston19514]

9 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

I agree that METRO should perform some power-washing more frequently.
Panhandlers? Not much METRO can do about that. Once I learned to say 'No' like I mean it, the panhandlers don't bother me as much. No excuses, apologies, or judgments are needed. 
Just say no.

Of course there is something Metro could do about panhandlers.  They could check for fare items more frequently, and have security officers on trains/stations more often and kick the panhandlers and free-riders off/out. Easy.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Houston19514

[004n063]

10 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

I agree that METRO should perform some power-washing more frequently.
Panhandlers? Not much METRO can do about that. Once I learned to say 'No' like I mean it, the panhandlers don't bother me as much. No excuses, apologies, or judgments are needed. 
Just say no.

As much as I sympathize with this point of view, I think it's critical for METRO to take these kinds of concerns seriously. As long as the only people riding it are those without another option, services will never significantly improve. The rail and BRT services need to aspire to be a preferable riding experience to driving, and the bus network needs to aspire to be at least comparable.

That being said, I personally think the red line between UHD and TMC already succeeds in that regard, because it is quick, reliable, and very smooth. But I've also never been harrassed or dealt with urine smell on the rail or bus before, so I can't speak to that. Have had a bus driver storm off for about 10min after somebody offered to pay the fare of a guy who tried to get on without money, though. Driver then proceeded to speed recklessly through traffic and aggressively (somehow?) not check fares for the rest of the ride. Dude was pissed.

[hbg.50]

2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Of course there is something Metro could do about panhandlers.  They could check for fare items more frequently, and have security officers on trains/stations more often and kick the panhandlers and free-riders off/out. Easy.

Does Metro ever check for fares anymore?   I would love to know how much Metro actually collects or if they even track it.  When I go to UH games the fare is supposedly free for UH fans.

[j_cuevas713]

27 minutes ago, steve1363 said:

Does Metro ever check for fares anymore?   I would love to know how much Metro actually collects or if they even track it.  When I go to UH games the fare is supposedly free for UH fans.

Yeah mostly on the week days during work hours

[j_cuevas713]

 

1 hour ago, 004n063 said:

As much as I sympathize with this point of view, I think it's critical for METRO to take these kinds of concerns seriously. As long as the only people riding it are those without another option, services will never significantly improve. The rail and BRT services need to aspire to be a preferable riding experience to driving, and the bus network needs to aspire to be at least comparable.

That being said, I personally think the red line between UHD and TMC already succeeds in that regard, because it is quick, reliable, and very smooth. But I've also never been harrassed or dealt with urine smell on the rail or bus before, so I can't speak to that. Have had a bus driver storm off for about 10min after somebody offered to pay the fare of a guy who tried to get on without money, though. Driver then proceeded to speed recklessly through traffic and aggressively (somehow?) not check fares for the rest of the ride. Dude was pissed.

That would be my complaint. Look I get that bus drivers deal with so many dumb people daily, but customer service goes a very long way. There are so many times I show my ticket on my phone and they just look at me. Just the other day, a guy was trying to get on the bus and after he loaded his bike on the front he walked two feet to grab a bunch of stuff he had been carrying. The driver was upset for literally no reason, and almost drove off with the guys bike. The bus driver opened the doors again for him and he was visibly upset. The actions of the driver were completely unacceptable. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[004n063]

Just now, j_cuevas713 said:

 

That would be my complaint. Look I get that bus drivers deal with so many dumb people daily, but customer service goes a very long way. There are so many times I show my ticket on my phone and they just look at me . 

Yeah, that's why I like the proof-of-payment system on the rail amd silver line. Not only does it speed things up, it lets the person operating a huge, expensive, potentially deadly vehicle focus on that, rather than the kinds of high-school-disciplinarian crap that most of the drivers have to do on a daily basis. 

I also think part of the solution is making fare-free Q cards a thing, and making them (relatively easily) available to all students and people beneath a certain income threshold. Let enforcement focus on preventing people from harassing or hurting other riders, rather than hassling the destitute just for being there. 

And for god's sake, do something about the signal cycles. Why is a bus sitting at a red light for 3 minutes at 5:30 AM when nobody else is at the intersection???

Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

[Houston19514]

37 minutes ago, 004n063 said:

And for god's sake, do something about the signal cycles. Why is a bus sitting at a red light for 3 minutes at 5:30 AM when nobody else is at the intersection???

FWIW, if the bus is running on (or ahead of) schedule, there is no reason for it to not wait for the red light.  To the contrary, there is every reason for it to wait, so as to not get ahead of schedule and bunched up.  

Edited December 21, 2022 by Houston19514

[004n063]

2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

FWIW, if the bus is running on (or ahead of) schedule, there is no reason for it to not wait for the red light.  To the contrary, there is every reason for it to wait, so as to not get ahead of schedule and bunched up.  

I understand that. The problem is that lines that ought to be rapid transit (like the 25 and the 82) only have local service, so the schedule they don't want to get ahead of is timed at about a 15mph pace during no-traffic hours. (I know this because I've raced it in the morning and won, and I'm not fast.)

Hopefully, the University line can average closer to 30mph.

[j_cuevas713]

22 minutes ago, 004n063 said:

I understand that. The problem is that lines that ought to be rapid transit (like the 25 and the 82) only have local service, so the schedule they don't want to get ahead of is timed at about a 15mph pace during no-traffic hours. (I know this because I've raced it in the morning and won, and I'm not fast.)

Hopefully, the University line can average closer to 30mph.

I take the 82 all the time to get around town and I wish they would add more buses to the route. Rush hour from about 4:30pm to 8:30pm the bus is always delayed by more than 10 minutes. 

Does anyone know if Metro cuts service during the weekends? 

Edited December 21, 2022 by j_cuevas713

[dbigtex56]

Just last night I waited for almost 25 minutes (about 5pm) for an 82. During peak hours they're supposed to run every 6 minutes, off-peak every 10 minutes.
I asked the bus driver about the delay, and he just shrugged and said 'Traffic." No. Houston had traffic when they set up those routes and schedules.
The service has deteriorated over the past couple of years, largely because of COVID. It caused a real shakeup in the workforce, and I suspect many bus drivers found better paying jobs. METRO frequently advertises that they need drivers, and they're accepting less than the cream of the crop. 
I actually had a bus driver hit me and tell me to keep moving when I attempted to scan my pass (the scanner was broken). My understanding is that some drivers aren't even METRO employees, they're contract workers. 
The combination of a shortage of drivers and the utter lack of accountability has had a devastating effect on their service.

4 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I take the 82 all the time to get around town and I wish they would add more buses to the route. Rush hour from about 4:30pm to 8:30pm the bus is always delayed by more than 10 minutes. 

Does anyone know if Metro cuts service during the weekends? 

 

[j_cuevas713]

Damn that's a long wait. What's crazy is it's the same on the weekends too, so the traffic excuse is nonsense. I didn't know that about the drivers so that makes sense if some of these people are contract only and not actual Metro employees. It never fails though to see 2 buses back to back during the week for the 82. It's so annoying that they have to gauge it by time. That defeats the whole purpose of coming within 6 to 15 mins. The goal should be to try to beat the lowest wait time not meet it at the highest, even if buses have to overlap throughout the route. 

[cspwal]

The problem is westheimer is too congested of a corridor, with both transit and cars, to really work with normal local busses. At the very least, they need some dedicated lanes through the galleria area, and I think a true rapid transit line under westheimer from west chase to downtown would do big numbers 

[Ross]

1 hour ago, cspwal said:

The problem is westheimer is too congested of a corridor, with both transit and cars, to really work with normal local busses. At the very least, they need some dedicated lanes through the galleria area, and I think a true rapid transit line under westheimer from west chase to downtown would do big numbers 

What happens to all of the normal traffic, and the businesses on the street, while the 5 years to dig a cut and cover tunnel is ongoing?

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, Ross said:

What happens to all of the normal traffic, and the businesses on the street, while the 5 years to dig a cut and cover tunnel is ongoing?

It's 2022.  There are other ways of doing tunnels now.  ;-)

[Ross]

17 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

It's 2022.  There are other ways of doing tunnels now.  ;-)

Yes, there are other ways of doing tunnels now, as shown in London and other places. However, none of them have the potential subsoil issues we have here, like forgotten abandoned oil wells and water wells. Those other countries also do not have the issue of non-governmental ownership of the subsurface. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's not as simple as saying "Hey Bob, crank up that tunnel boring machine".

[cspwal]

I didn’t say it’s a simple problem just that it’s a corridor calling for better transportation than a 4 lane street

[mfastx]

13 hours ago, Ross said:

What happens to all of the normal traffic, and the businesses on the street, while the 5 years to dig a cut and cover tunnel is ongoing?

They did cut and cover all around the central areas of DC and it turned out just fine. 

[Texasota]

Yeah, you need to set aside some support funding for affected businesses, but it's totally doable. It can also be done in stages. 

Westheimer b/w Bagby and 610 also really benefits from being a true grid, so most businesses will still have some sort of access even if the street in front in totally blocked off.

Unfortunately we're barely a functioning country at this point so it would take longer and be more expensive than somewhere like... any other country, but I would still argue it would be worth it. 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:21 PM, Houston19514 said:

FWIW, if the bus is running on (or ahead of) schedule, there is no reason for it to not wait for the red light.  To the contrary, there is every reason for it to wait, so as to not get ahead of schedule and bunched up.  

the only thing worse than a bus running late is a bus that is ahead of schedule

[j_cuevas713]

On 12/22/2022 at 6:02 PM, cspwal said:

The problem is westheimer is too congested of a corridor, with both transit and cars, to really work with normal local busses. At the very least, they need some dedicated lanes through the galleria area, and I think a true rapid transit line under westheimer from west chase to downtown would do big numbers 

Yeah I think more dedicated bus lanes would be nice. Paint them red just like downtown. I wonder if any road diets are planned with dedicated bus lanes and not bike lanes. 

Edited December 25, 2022 by j_cuevas713