LINK An average of 150 riders between 12:45 and 2:15 am... Pathetic. Honestly, what do they expect? Even if dtown partygoers do decide to get on it, wtf are they gonna go? Unless you live b/w dtown and the Med Center, the rail is useless for getting your drunk ass home. My friends who live a few blocks away from the Midtown station don't ride it. They don't wanna have to walk through the poorly lit/patrolled areas b/w the station and their midtown apartments. They don't wanna get harassed/chase/mugged by the riffraff hanging out around the Midtown rail stop & the bus station. So this doesn't work for commuters, it doesn't work for drunk & partiers - who DOES this thing work for? Texans fans parking dtown? What happens to ridership numbers after Jan. 2nd when the thousands who use it to get to the game on Sunday aren't there?
I probably would ride it to work if it wasn't so slow. I am in a good location to go to the Park and Ride, it just isn't worth it. I did ride it for the Green Bay- Texans game (and walked back cuz it was too slow).
It works for me. I ride the light rail each and every time I go downtown to party on Fri or Sat night. I park at Fannin South, and the train ride back from Main & Preston is just enough time to sober up before the 10 minute drive from Fannin South to my house. I don't understand why other downtown partiers don't do the same thing. I guess they enjoy getting DWIs.
Rocket G, you've missed the point entirely. The train looks cool. We're paying millions of dollars to decorate our city with these trains. They're a success! We're now a with-the-times, hip city because we have a cool-looking train!
You're so right. Instead, let's build 20 lane highways, so we can sit in larger pools of non-moving traffic. Bigtexxxxxxxxxxxs....what is your solution to Houston's traffic problem?
would be nice if they built it out around old Katy etc. Where the old Rail Lines used to be....but they recently tore out the rails.
My solution, which I have articulated many times on this bbs, is to build out a network of high speed bus lanes. Have a dedicated HOV-type separated bus network system with boarding platforms just like a train has. Basically it would go along the same routes as any sort of proposed rail could do, but instead of a train have a bus. It would cost much less to build and would take people to the same places a train could. It would be high-speed bus rapid transit. Curitiba, Brazil has what I want for Houston: http://sustainable.state.fl.us/fdi/fscc/news/world/0003/curitiba.htm
What makes you believe that Houston commuters would ride the high speed bus? Not flaming.....just curious....
Seems moestavern19 is falling asleep on the job... Lyle Lanley: Well, sir, there's nothing on earth Like a genuine, Bona fide, Electrified, Six-car Monorail! What'd I say? Ned Flanders: Monorail! Lyle Lanley: What's it called? Patty & Selma: Monorail! Lyle Lanley: That's right! Monorail! [crowd chants `Monorail' softly and rhythmically] Miss Hoover: I hear those things are awfully loud... Lyle Lanley: It glides as softly as a cloud. Apu: Is there a chance the track could bend? Lyle Lanley: Not on your life, my Hindu friend. Barney: What about us brain-dead slobs? Lyle Lanley: You'll be given cushy jobs. Grandpa: Were you sent here by the devil? Lyle Lanley: No, good sir, I'm on the level. Chief Wiggum: The ring came off my pudding can. Lyle Lanley: Take my pen knife, my good man. I swear it's Springfield's only choice... Throw up your hands and raise your voice! All: Monorail! Lyle Lanley: What's it called? All: Monorail! Lyle Lanley: Once again... All: Monorail! Marge: But Main Street's still all cracked and broken... Bart: Sorry, Mom, the mob has spoken! All: Monorail! Monorail! Monorail! [big finish] Monorail! Homer: Mono... D'oh!
I usually get out of the clubs by 2:30 sometimes 3am depending on how late the club closes so 2:15 is a bit too early for me. When you're buzzed and having a godo time. last thing you want is waiting for a train. what a buzzkill.
So you'd rather climb into a car while you are buzzed/drunk? I hope you are being sarcastic. Are there plans to expand this thing? There ought to be.
Maybe most other partiers don't lve 10 minutes from Fannin South. I also wonder how "drunk" you are to be able to sober up on the train ride b/w dtown & Fannin. Either you don't get tanked, or the train is slower than all hell.
1. People ride the bus today, especially the park and rides from the suburbs. 2. I think a major part of people's anti-bus bias (ie the people who would ride a train, but not the bus) is the fact that they aren't sure where the bus will take them. A train has a fixed network that they can be sure about where it's going. The bus system I'm advocating would also have a fixed, separate and dedicated path just like a train has, so people would intuitively know where it goes.
Apparently the rail is "one 'bus' and direct" for very few people. If you live more than half a mile to the sides or north or south of the thing, you'll still have to get on the road- perhaps still drunk unless you have Rocket Man Tex's prodigal sobering abilities. This does NOTHING to keep drunks off of the roads. Again, unless all of downtown's drunks all live & drive south from downtown - toward Reliant Stadium, how else are they supposed to get home? I know - by DRIVING! The same way they always do. It's impractical for people who want to party downtown, and of no use to commuters. How much money is Metro blowing on maintenance and running this near empty thing all day? Couldn't have natural gas-running buses done a better job? Maybe the Texans should just build a big park & ride dtown, and paint the damn thing in team colors. I mean, other than for getting their fans to the stadium easier, who else does this benefit? certainly not Houston's taxpayers. I guess the city has money to burn though, now it looks like we'll have "red light cameras" installed all over the place soon too? I wodner how many wrecks will be caused by people slamming on their brakes at the last second to avoid guessing on whether theyll make it through safely on a yellow?
