Streetcars and Commuter Trains Are Hot

Ridership on Atlanta’s new streetcar is 18 percent below projections–and the projections assumed patrons would be charged a $1 fare, but (as of the date of the ridership numbers) the city was still offering free introductory rides. Meanwhile, operating costs have proven to be a mere 50 percent more than projected.

Washington, DC’s new streetcar hasn’t yet opened for business, but it has already proven to be hot–as in one of the streetcars being tested on H Street caught fire the other day. DC residents aren’t exactly looking forward to the streetcar, which is increasing traffic congestion and slowing bus service in the corridor. This is just one more example, locals note, of “corporate welfare and the edifice complex.”

Just outside of DC, a new report reveals that the Maryland Transit Administration has done a poor job of tracking consultant costs on the proposed Purple and Red lines. This doesn’t bode well for taxpayers if construction ever begins on these two lines, both of which are expected to cost more than $2 billion.

As it happens, the Antiplanner will be in Silver Spring, Maryland next Monday to debate the Purple Line in an event sponsored by the Maryland Public Policy Institute. Also speaking will be Rich Parsons of the pro-rail Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance. The debate will be moderated by Robert Thomson, a.k.a. Washington Post‘s Dr. Gridlock. If you are in DC next week, I hope to see you there.
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Out here on the left coast, 30 people were hospitalized when a commuter train crashed into a truck in Ventura County, north of Los Angeles. The collision resulted in a huge fireball when welding equipment on the truck apparently exploded.

A sign at the scene of the collision said, “Do Not Stop on Tracks.” While this is obviously good advice, the driver of this truck said he made a wrong turn and bailed out of his truck when it got stuck on the tracks.

The transit agency naturally blames the truck driver, but the same intersection has seen at least five other recent accidents. This should leave people asking why the train was allowed to go 79 miles per hour across an intersection with crossing guards that are proven to be inadequate.

The question the Antiplanner would like answered is why the transit agency thinks it needs to run four-car trains with more than 120 seats per car when it can’t even attract 50 passengers. (Reports say the train had 51 people on board including the crew.) A commuter bus could carry that many people for a lot less money and greater safety. Of course, the train may have had more passengers when it left Los Angeles, but that’s the great thing about buses: you can run more where the demand is greater and aren’t stuck with 90 percent empty seats over much of the route.

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About The Antiplanner

The Antiplanner is a forester and economist with more than fifty years of experience critiquing government land-use and transportation plans.

6 Responses to Streetcars and Commuter Trains Are Hot

  1. ahwr says:

    The city decided it would run the system because it could do so more economically than either MARTA or a private contractor. But the federal government, which is paying a large part of the expense, insisted that MARTA have some role in the project, at least at first.

    “So (part of) the additional cost [$575,000] is basically related to MARTA staffing,” Geisler said.

    The city also will spend more than $1 million a year on the new office dedicated to amassing federal transit funding.

    Huh. It’s helpful to know why costs increased. Also you should correct the first paragraph, the projections were for the introductory period when the streetcar was going to be free to ride, not for some future date after they started charging fares.

    If a reckless criminal driver is so clueless that he can’t help but drive onto train tracks and get his truck stuck there, risking other people’s lives, he’s not fit to drive. Higher standards for licensing are needed to protect everyone, whether on foot, riding a bike, in a car, or on a train, from reckless drivers.

    Correct the last paragraph, the train was one of three daily trains from Ventura to LA, it wasn’t coming from LA.

  2. metrosucks says:

    And why the hell does there need to be a commuter train from Ventura to LA? There are buses to go between there, presumably both private and public ones. Why does there need to be an overpriced choo choo train to carry 50 people to a rather small city?

  3. Frank says:

    “Higher standards for licensing are needed to protect everyone…from reckless drivers.”

    Nice generalization. Specifically which “higher standards” should California adopt? My first license was in CA, and I had to take an extensive driver education class just to graduate from high school.

  4. gilfoil says:

    If anything, we need to relax driver standards. Much of the anti-drunk driving laws were passed when cars were more dangerous to operate. WIth modern safety standards such as crumple zones and airbags, it’s safer to drive somewhat intoxicated, within reason – I’d say no more than 4 drinks per hour. The remaining problem would simply educating pedestrians and bicyclists to avoid putting themselves in danger due to drivers exercising their mobility and liberty to imbibe on the substances of their choice.

  5. Frank says:

    If anything, you need to stop spamming the thread.

  6. prk166 says:

    I realize that the the DC DOT used the term fire to describe the incident the other day. But from what I could tell it was nothing more than arcing that was enough to trip the safety equipment. There doesn’t seem to have been any fire other than an incompetent PR department using that term.

    Snow or even icing on the line may have played a role. But those conditions weren’t abnormal for a DC winter. It’s not good since it means they have some pretty basic problems to solve that should’ve already been resolved. BUt I wouldn’t get too excited over their arcing incident.

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