Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesinclair
I didnt say one rail solution is best, I said one unified system is best. The dallas transfer is the result of agencies not working together. Nobody wants to take the commuter train to the middle of nowhere and then transfer. It wasnt done this way because it was the best option.
Im not saying Dallas is alone. In fact, when I took a train from switzerland to france, we had to transfer in the middle of nowhere, probably because the agencies didnt want to work together.
But thats not the best course of action. It's petty.
|
I don't think it is petty for tax subsidized agencies to look after the best interests of their taxpayers. If different transit agencies have different goals, you're going to see different trains. FWTA, DCTA, and DART have different territories based upon where they can tax. The State of Texas provides $Zero$ from state funds, just the means for local cities to form or join transit agencies by taxing themselves.
It's the State's sales tax cap that has caused multiple agencies within a metropolitan area. FWTA and DCTA member cities can only charge a half penny sales tax, DART member cities charge a full penny.
DART doesn't want to serve cities that charges less than the full penny tax. FWTA and DCTA wanted a train from their county seats to Dallas. FWTA and DART agreed on what and how to build it (TRE). DCTA and DART didn't, and that's why there is a transfer in Carrollton.
Another example where transfers are common in the middle of nowhere is LIRR's Jamaica Station. So many lines branch out in different directions there, transfers are common.
In the future, the downtown Carrollton could be much like Jamaica Station. There's the possibility of FOUR different rail corridors meeting there. (1) DART, (2) DCTA, (3) Cotton Belt, and (4) Frisco. Having to transfer in Carrollton is going to be just as common as in Jamaica.
P.S. Can you guess which train (as planned today) will be different from all the others in Carrollton? (Answer: DART)