Voters in Phoenix have soundly rejected a proposal that would have halted the expansion of the city’s light rail system—a proposition that had the backing of dark money linked to the notorious anti-transit Koch brothers. — Streetsblog
The rejected initiative would have terminated "all construction, development, extension, and expansion of” light rail lines in the city in order to redirect funds appropriated for transit expansion to more auto-centric infrastructure.
The result represents a set back for the dark money-fueled groups that have mobilized in opposition to local and state-level transit expansion efforts across the country.
The benefits of light rail over bus are largely due to perception. For whatever cultural reasons, buses in America are perceived as Poor People Transit, while light rail is perceived as more desirable. There's also the way-finding perk of a permanent, visible infrastructure, which clues tourists and new-to-town residents into the existence of a transit network. I agree BRT is much cheaper and can easily provide an equivalent service (or better, since buses can run on shorter headways). But the dumb reality is that people don't want to ride the bus.
I can't say I completely agree with the idea that buses are perceived as poor people transit, but that is probably clouded by my own use of the bus system where I live/work and the fact that the majority of people taking my bus during commute times are upper middle class (but that's more of a suburban wealth/class segregation issue rather than a purely public transportation issue ... if you could separate those two).
That being said, I like the concept of the way-finding perk of permanent, visible infrastructure. Back in school I did a little research into ways to improve way-finding of the bus system for a studio project but eventually abandoned it in favor of something else. It occurs to me know that one of the biggest issues with bus systems is that as a rider who is unfamiliar with the routes and timetables, you don't know where you're going exactly. Visible, permanent infrastructure helps to alleviate that and perhaps that's one of the reasons why people prefer light rail over buses.
Even after riding the same route day after day on my commute, sometimes a new driver takes a different turn or misses a stop and it's unsettling.
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the Phoenix light rail is the worst public transit project I’ve ever seen
1. It’s functionally indistinguishable from a bus as it stops at lights. SLOW
2. It’s never going to be paid back.
3. Get off at stop, walk 5 miles in 120 degrees to get to destination.
It’s an expensive and inefficient monument to feel goodery. An unimaginative and outdated east coast city solution to a sprawl city problem.
I don't see why Koch brothers are so threatened by little downtown train lines. What would really scare them is to start attaching rails to (under, over, along) highways all over America -- that could really change the game without any displacement or property battles. And provide a simple formula for cheap urbanism--fix dead overpasses, provide a realistic alternative to the "ban cars" bougie hipster deadbeats.
its not cheap. It costs like 18 million a mile or something ridiculous. This thing is functionally indistinguishable from a bus. For that money, they could have just added green buses. Politics and ideology over function.
the reason it’s so expensive is they are carving new lines n existing cities — which requires a ton of headaches, consultants, politics, specialists, etc. Have to find a better design solution — not just for Phoenix but everywhere. Highways already carved paths through cities
Why use a rail system? Work with the context. Like I said, the light rail is an overpriced bus route. Look at it. Why can’t it just be a vehicle that drives on the street? It’s smaller than most semi trucks. What would be the difference? It stops at lights anyway. They could have designed a new green bus like vehicle and put hundreds of them with multiple routes for the same price. “Form follows function” rather than form follows image of progressive agenda.
I agree that buses and light rails passing through urban streets are basically the same .... especially if the light rail has to stop with traffic, it’s a waste of time. But there is something about a rail line (that is separated from street traffic) that’s faster and more regular/reliable (short and long term) than a bus. Still think highways a great untapped train line pathway
The benefits of light rail over bus are largely due to perception. For whatever cultural reasons, buses in America are perceived as Poor People Transit, while light rail is perceived as more desirable. There's also the way-finding perk of a permanent, visible infrastructure, which clues tourists and new-to-town residents into the existence of a transit network. I agree BRT is much cheaper and can easily provide an equivalent service (or better, since buses can run on shorter headways). But the dumb reality is that people don't want to ride the bus.
Portland built an entire streetcar network (separate from light rail) that does almost nothing but make the neighborhood look nicer. But in this it's been a gigantic success. Parking lots are turning into mid-rise apartments, because they're on a transit line now.
I can't say I completely agree with the idea that buses are perceived as poor people transit, but that is probably clouded by my own use of the bus system where I live/work and the fact that the majority of people taking my bus during commute times are upper middle class (but that's more of a suburban wealth/class segregation issue rather than a purely public transportation issue ... if you could separate those two).
That being said, I like the concept of the way-finding perk of permanent, visible infrastructure. Back in school I did a little research into ways to improve way-finding of the bus system for a studio project but eventually abandoned it in favor of something else. It occurs to me know that one of the biggest issues with bus systems is that as a rider who is unfamiliar with the routes and timetables, you don't know where you're going exactly. Visible, permanent infrastructure helps to alleviate that and perhaps that's one of the reasons why people prefer light rail over buses.
Even after riding the same route day after day on my commute, sometimes a new driver takes a different turn or misses a stop and it's unsettling.
Gotta love the way the local media describes the Koch bros. funded campaign as 'grass roots' instead of astroturf.
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