Sunday, October 3, 2010

Reality For The "No One Rides The Bus" Tin Foil Hat Set

Last night I made a trip out to buy groceries. 3 of the 4 buses I was on were standing room only. (Inbound 20, Inbound 23, and Outbound 20.)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Crowding on the 20 is why they should have built a bus only lane where light rail now is. It would have been cheaper, faster, and far more efficient.

If there was enough room for three lanes, we could have massively expanded express bus service.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but won't light rail take longer or almost as long to get to Newtown than the 20? Granted if traffic is bad it may be quicker, but still...

Wally Erb said...

When approaching transit as a business, the first rule is to look at what your customers want. Transit-dependent people that are the base of ridership, want the following:

* frequent, reliable service
* longer service hours
* multiple, convenient lines
* express routes for long distances
* good information
* high level of security

Provide this and those non-dependent on service will avail themselves of the convenience of bus transit. The question is then is if HRT is up to the task, or should a complex of independent private sector transportation related businesses take up the challenge?

Avenging Archangel said...

Anon 1:17,

No, Route 20 is scheduled to take 55 minutes 19th/Pacific - Newtown Road. The 20's problem is the stop and go traffic on Virginia Beach Blvd., which necessitates going down the Norfolk Southern ROW for speed.

Wally,

Your latter option would have plenty of hurdles to clear to meet Federal requirements.

Anonymous said...

With his probable outcome of 6th out of 7 in his campaign, and running on a single issue - transit - you would think Wally would at least grasp the basics.

Wally Erb said...

Gee, Mr. Anonymous 10:17
Instead of being an anonymous troll echoing from under a bridge, how about substantiating your claims by producing a dissertation on the subject and putting your name to it. On my website wallyerb.com I have a response to 9 myths concerning light rail. In the hopes of encouraging dialog, why don't you respond to one of those items with either a rebuttal or support.
Anonymous one line barbs and criticism without substantiation are meaningless.

Amanda Jennings said...

I offer this (no I'm not the anon poster from before)

http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/how_transit_benefits.pdf

Wally Erb said...

Amanda: Thanks for the cite. I am quite familiar with Weyrich's hypotheses. Unfortunately, Weyrich was indeed an opponent to bus transit being an ardent supporter of both heavy and light rail. Hence most of his opinions discount those who are solely dependent on mass transit and caters to the drive and park or kiss and ride patron. His level of congestion reduction analysis is flawed and not supported by federal figures but biased independent studies. Moreover, he addresses highway congestion only, avoiding peak hour local street bottlenecks and traffic light synchronization considerations.