Jampacked transit systems running on fumes

[marmar]

from MSNBC:



Jampacked transit systems running on fumes
Underfunded buses, subways, trains strand some passengers by the wayside


Alex Johnson
Reporter


Transportation experts who have pushed mass transit since the 1970s are getting their wish as soaring gas prices persuade Americans to abandon their cars for buses and trains in record numbers. But as the adage says, be careful what you wish for.

Mass transit ridership is at its highest point in 50 years, the according to research by the American Public Transportation Association. For many riders, it just got too expensive to drive.

“I do it to save gas whenever I can,” said Cody Nunez, a student at Pasco High School in Kennewick, Wash. “I don’t want to be paying $50 every week.”

Shevette Porter of Palm Beach County, Fla., recently bought a bus pass for Tri-Rail. Ridership for the system in March was up 20 percent over March 2007; in April it was up another 28 percent year over year.

“It’s been costing $150 a week just in gas,” Porter said. “I’m losing time, but it’s well worth it.”

Not built for modern loads

The story is the same everywhere: In Seattle, commuter rail ridership recorded the biggest jump in the nation during the first quarter, with 28 percent more riders than during the same time last year. Ridership in Harrisburg, Pa., rose 17 percent. In Oakland, Calif., it rose 15.8 percent.

Nationwide, Americans took 2.6 billion bus, subway, commuter rail and light rail trips in the first three months of the year, 85 million more than in the same period last year, the American Public Transportation Association said. But it’s not clear that the nation’s transit systems are able to handle the load.

While many major cities cities have invested heavily in mass transit over the past 15 years, many more have not. Now that people are demanding service, there isn’t the infrastructure to provide it. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25010939/

[Kolesar]

1. If Boeing & Lockheed could make $ Billions on transit, it would be well-funded

:daily antiestabilishment message:

[nxylas]

2. They probably could

Boeing makes streetcars, dunno about Lockheed. If the price of gas forces more and more people onto mass transit, it could well become a source of the corporate welfare that these companies love so much.

[Vogon_Glory]

3. Boeing MADE streetcars; I'm Not Sure That was A Good Thing

Boeing DID make streetcars; I'm not sure that was a good thing. United Aircraft made the turbo-trains that used to run between New York and Boston back in the 1970's before they were retired and replaced with more reliable conventional equipment.

The problem I and many rail buffs have with equipment designed by aerospace manufacturers is that it really isn't well-engineered to conditions found on American railroads and transit lines. In many ways, American railroad and transit lines resemble Third World operating conditions; labor might be dear, but conditions are somewhat primitive, maintenance will be far rarer and more slipshod than in Europe or Japan, and it really isn't a nice place for complicated assemblies with lots of moving parts that need lots of tender loving care. The designs that are still in operation are the ones that are rugged, relatively simple, and above all--RELIABLE.

UA's "vacuum-cleaner" turbo-trains and and the light rail vehicles Boeing built for Massachusetts's MBTA famously WEREN'T.

[nxylas]

4. Ah, sorry

I wasn't living in the States in the 1970s (I moved here from England in 2003), so I didn't know all this stuff.

[Vogon_Glory]

5. No Problem.

No problem. Aside from transit authority executives, railway enthusiasts are about the only folks who are aware of the UA and Boeing rail follies. And since American railway enthusiasts' opinions are considered far less respectable than those of political appointees, nesting bureaucrats and media pundits, what we know doesn't get spread around so widely as it might in saner societies.