AUSTIN | Transportation Updates

[Novacek]

I had missed this news

http://kxan.com/2017/03/21/georgetow...ogress-update/


Georgetown and RR. That's positive movement (Pf and CP need to get with the program).

[Jdawgboy]

Okay I know this has been mentioned before and reality is it's not feasable from an environmental standpoint let alone the cost to build and maintain, but personally I would use mass transit year-round if we had air conditioned bus stops lol. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in Austin who wishes we had such a thing and would increase the percentage of ridership, of course the problem is by how much and if it would even be worth it if it's just a slight increase.

Again it's simply wishful thinking and won't happen, however I do think that CapMetro could and should improve the quality of their bus stops by adding more covered stops. I'd be more inclined to stand at a stop that isn't in the full sun or getting caught in the rain.

[jbssfelix]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Okay I know this has been mentioned before and reality is it's not feasable from an environmental standpoint let alone the cost to build and maintain, but personally I would use mass transit year-round if we had air conditioned bus stops lol. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one in Austin who wishes we had such a thing and would increase the percentage of ridership, of course the problem is by how much and if it would even be worth it if it's just a slight increase.

Again it's simply wishful thinking and won't happen, however I do think that CapMetro could and should improve the quality of their bus stops by adding more covered stops. I'd be more inclined to stand at a stop that isn't in the full sun or getting caught in the rain.

Heck, just plant a couple trees behind every stop for some shade and fresh air...

[M1EK]

Last one, I promise, unless I get assurances the rules here have changed to allow me to respond as vigorously as Novacek and his ilk attack.

https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/20...-a-slow-start/

"When MetroRapid opened, it essentially replaced two routes along the same stretch of road. The new rapid option costs more, with less frequent stops, and as a result ridership on the new route has been weak. Comparing average weekday ridership between those two routes and the MetroRapid route (and an additional feeder route) in the spring months between the years 2013 and 2014, ridership has actually fallen 11 percent."

This was a disproprotionate drop at the time.

http://kut.org/post/after-ridership-...pid-bus-system

"The rapid buses, however, started on time and under budget. But six months after the launch of the first rapid line, ridership in its corridor is down 16 percent from two years ago during the same period. (You can view the ridership numbers obtained by KUT below.)

"We certainly didn't want that to happen. We hoped that wouldn’t happen. But it did happen," says Todd Hemingson, Vice President of strategic planning and development with Capital Metro.

So why, after premiering shiny new buses with plenty of features, did ridership go down in the corridor?"

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/...e-shuffle-bus/

I was quoted for that story, by the way. I put my name on things, and am accountable for them. At the time Novacek actually attempted to claim in response something along the lines of that Cap Metro must have left out the 275 (even though they themselves did not argue with the numbers presented).

It's also important to note that Cap Metro's own PR people, when presented with ample opportunities to defend their agency by claiming that the drop was not disproportionate, did not do so. In none of the instances above, when interviewed by friendly people who very much wanted to find a better answer, none was supplied.

Again, I am not going to get back in this forum on a regular basis unless I am assured the rules have changed to allow me to respond as vigorously as I feel I'm attacked, so please enjoy Novacek from here on out.

Your pal,
M1EK

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by M1EK

Last one, I promise, unless I get assurances the rules here have changed to allow me to respond as vigorously as Novacek and his ilk attack.

Attack?

I'm asking for you to use real numbers.

You gotta pick one pal. Either look at numbers or look at "what Cap Metro admitted to at the time in public to the media - which was, specifically, a disproportionate decline in ridership."

Where is the quote that says "We had this persistent decline and it was way worse than the overall system?

In fact, what they "admitted to at the time in public to the media" went out of their way to stress that there was bad weather and cancellations that affected the whole system, not just the metrorapid.
And also that a single number, before the system was even completely rolled out, was meaningless.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by M1EK

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/...e-shuffle-bus/

I was quoted for that story, by the way. I put my name on things, and am accountable for them. At the time Novacek actually attempted to claim in response something along the lines of that Cap Metro must have left out the 275 (even though they themselves did not argue with the numbers presented).

You seem to be very confused.

That story includes the 275, but omits the 201.

Our discussion about the inclusion (or not) of the 275 was in this story

https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/20...-a-slow-start/

Because the story didn't originally include it

https://web.archive.org/web/20140608...-a-slow-start/

" Comparing average weekday ridership between those two routes and the MetroRapid route in the spring months between the years 2013 and 2014, ridership has actually fallen 11 percent."


became

"Comparing average weekday ridership between those two routes and the MetroRapid route (and an additional feeder route) in the spring months between the years 2013 and 2014, ridership has actually fallen 11 percent."

Originally Posted by M1EK

It's also important to note that Cap Metro's own PR people, when presented with ample opportunities to defend their agency by claiming that the drop was not disproportionate, did not do so. In none of the instances above, when interviewed by friendly people who very much wanted to find a better answer, none was supplied.

Okay, so your story has now changed. Your original, only evidence for "there was a disproportionate drop" was "CapMetro said so".
Now it's become "CapMetro didn't say that it wasn't"?

[Novacek]

Again, here are the actual facts:

North Lamar/South Congress corridor (1L/1M/101/201 vs. 1/801/275/201)
fall 2012:17797
fall 2013:15859
fall 2014:15632
fall 2015:14070

entire system:
Fall 2012 : 133873
Fall 2013 : 125691
Fall 2014 : 117805
Fall 2015 : 109680

fall 2013 -> fall 2015 system ridership (weekday bus) : 15% decline

fall 2013 -> fall 2015 n lamar/congress ridership : 13% decline


I use fall because that's the first period the metrorapid was operating the entire time (it didn't start until the end of January 2014).
But it's the same story if you intersperse the spring in there. The huge drop was leading up to fall 2013 (before the metrorapid started running).

[Jdawgboy]

Personally I would like to see M1EK back more. Nobody should feel like they are unwelcome in this forum. It's a given that there will be disagreements and different points of view and occasionally we see heated debates flare up. There's nothing wrong with debating as long it doesn't become personal. We should keep in mind that we all have feelings. Sometimes the way we respond or word our sentences can be taken harshly. I've been on the receiving end of harsh responses many times and I can't deny that I've posted harsh responses to others as well. I've apologized when I feel like I went over the line and I continue to be friendly to everyone on here even if we don't agree on certain topics. Well I'm done with my sappy input on this subject.


On the issue of MetroRapid, I have to say that I've frequently taken notice of buses looking pretty empty when I see them. This is simply my observation and nothing more. Doesn't mean anything because I don't see them throughout the day or litterally count the number of people on them, plus I do occasionally see one that's pretty filled up. I'm just saying that I tend to observe more empty looking MetroRapid buses than full ones as a general rule. Take it for what it's worth which is just casual observation with no data backing it up.

[lzppjb]

I've always been curious. Why is mass transit the one topic that gets people so fired up? Do those who argue it most vociferously actually ride it every day?

I can understand wanting better mass transit, but it seems to always devolve into very heated debates. It's like politics. That's why I stay away.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by lzppjb

I've always been curious. Why is mass transit the one topic that gets people so fired up? Do those who argue it most vociferously actually ride it every day?

I can understand wanting better mass transit, but it seems to always devolve into very heated debates. It's like politics. That's why I stay away.

1. Transportation is a pervasive, universal constant in most people's lives. Its something most of us do multiple times every day. It's not the only such, but unlike most:

2. It's one of the things going wrong in Austin. We don't always agree on how to fix it, but most people agree the transportation system in Austin has some major problems.

3. And for mass transit specifically, it's a _big_ ticket item. Even the start of a system (save very limited "demo" systems like the original Red Line) cost more than almost any road. And even the most expensive starter system will only serve a very limited subset of Austin.

So it's big, expensive, and always on our minds. So for some people it begins to become personal.

[JoninATX]

Metro Rail added 2 new trains to it's fleet

By Caleb Pritchard
March 24. 2017

On Thursday, workers at the agency’s North Operations and Maintenance Facility off Burnet Road unloaded six new pieces of Swiss-manufactured components that will combine to form two fresh MetroRail trains.

The additions to the fleet have been long in the making and are still at least five months away from being inserted into the daily lineup of commuter train service that stretches 32 miles from Leander to downtown Austin.

https://www.austinmonitor.com/storie...s-roll-austin/

[JoninATX]

My only main concern I have is the lack of ambition the city has towards some of these projects. It's great that Austin is expanding alot of it's highway infrastructure but more is needed.

[drummer]

While this isn't in Austin, it affects Texas transportation and could harm a future HSR project for Austin and the I-35 corridor in the future.

Here's a link to email your Texas representatives et al regarding the bills being discussed TODAY that could harm or stop the Dallas-Houston HSR project altogether. Take action and shoot these folks a note.

http://www.texascentral.com/advocate...-bullet-train/

[clubtokyo]

Originally Posted by drummer

While this isn't in Austin, it affects Texas transportation and could harm a future HSR project for Austin and the I-35 corridor in the future.

Here's a link to email your Texas representatives et al regarding the bills being discussed TODAY that could harm or stop the Dallas-Houston HSR project altogether. Take action and shoot these folks a note.

http://www.texascentral.com/advocate...-bullet-train/

Sent email to representatives! Thanks for posting!

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by drummer

While this isn't in Austin, it affects Texas transportation and could harm a future HSR project for Austin and the I-35 corridor in the future.

Is this the same thing as the Hyperloop One System? There was an article about that one yesterday in the Dallas Morning News.
Dallas to Austin in 15 minutes? It's a long shot, but new high-speed system could make it happen

Imagine ditching I-35 and traveling from Dallas to Austin in 15 minutes.

It's a lofty dream, but a Dallas-led team of engineers, urban planners and architects is working to bring the futuristic Hyperloop transportation system to Texas.

Hyperloop One, a company based in Los Angeles, is developing new transportation technology described as "airline speeds for the price of a bus ticket." The system uses levitating pods that travel at high speeds — as fast as 700 mph — through low-pressure tubes by propulsion from electric motors.

• Video Link

[drummer]

Originally Posted by LoneStarMike

Is this the same thing as the Hyperloop One System? There was an article about that one yesterday in the Dallas Morning News.
Dallas to Austin in 15 minutes? It's a long shot, but new high-speed system could make it happen



• Video Link

No, not the same. The HSR is from Dallas to Houston in 90 minutes with a stop near B/CS in the middle. It's Japanese bullet-train technology.

The hyperloop is completely different and is a new thing floated for various routes throughout the country, the I-35 corridor (and truly the whole Texas Triangle) being one of those routes.

[Mikey711MN]

The US 183-IH 35 Direct Connector project is 95% complete:
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot...95-percent.pdf
(massive download for those who like to look at plan sets)

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Mikey711MN

The US 183-IH 35 Direct Connector project is 95% complete:
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot...95-percent.pdf
(massive download for those who like to look at plan sets)

You mean 95% designed? (as far as I'm aware, they haven't started turning shovels on it yet)

[LoneStarMike]

Originally Posted by drummer

The hyperloop is completely different and is a new thing floated for various routes throughout the country, the I-35 corridor (and truly the whole Texas Triangle) being one of those routes.

OK, thanks! KVUE had a story about it (with video.)

Hyperloop: Austin to Dallas in just 20minutes

[Mikey711MN]

Originally Posted by Novacek

You mean 95% designed? (as far as I'm aware, they haven't started turning shovels on it yet)

Yes. Sorry for the confusion. They have prepared the 95% design plans.