I think light rail and buses remind us we are connected to humanity, for better or worse. Self-driving rides make it possible to interact with no human. We already have far too much of that.
As a person who voluntarily gave up her car about 7 years ago, I depend on public transit or walking, primarily to get around. And having recently spent three weeks in Switzerland where trains, buses, streetcars, etc. run on time, I have oodles of issues with our system. The plan a trip on the computer provides numerous options (never have used the app), but I still don't trust the times....often my buses come early and then there are the ones that come late. There is no digital indicator on bus stops to let a potential rider know and I have been in other places around the world where they do. And I agree that it is extremely irritating that the light rail doesn't let you know. But I am fortunate that my neighborhood is served by FIVE bus lines, and I can "hike" the .6 of a mile to the light rail. And knowing the system allows me a number of options. Thank goodness for the senior discount. $2 all day is still cheaper than any other method. And one can meet some rather interesting people. Most recently while sitting at a stop, a man who sat down near me asked, "Excuse me, are you a Jehovah Witness or a Catholic?" My answer is another story...
Somewhere deep in my rented storage is an East Valley Tribune front page from the 2000 Election declaring something to the effect of "Bush Wins" in large type. The problem was Al Gore retracted his concession to Bush after the paper went to print late on Election Day. The editor of the East Valley Tribune gambled and called it for Bush. It took about five more weeks of a Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision before Bush was declared the winner. The EV Tribune wasn't the only one to do this:
Sitting with that front page is a 1987 Sports Illustrated with a story about the Denver Broncos beating the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship game with "The Drive." That's all I got.
Have a dozen or so issues of NTW from the 70s. 16 pages. Have all 7 AZ Republics from the 2001 World Series. Wadsack is soooooo puny. I bet Gilbert is excited. Now she can hang out with Candy Biggs.
Another day...another pathetic GOP gubernatorial candidate. D. Schweikert...come on down!! So we got Candy Biggs, the Bottle Blonde, and Schweikert. Is Chump going to endorse all three? Who could be next?
I love the concept of the light rail. I rode for three hours recently as part of the City’s TRACE program. It’s clean. There were security folks on most of the legs of the journey.
The problems I have with OUR light rail are two-fold:
1) Stopping at every traffic light is not best practice. If you want to encourage ridership, the rider should be able to get to their destination in the same or less time than if they drive. That will never happen while we give cars on the street priority at traffic lights.
2) App and information regarding routes. As I rode last time, we waited on a platform that told us., via electronic signage, where to stand for the train we wanted, as well as the destination of the train. There was a 5-digit numeric code on the sign as well. It meant nothing to us as riders. Let’s update that signage to include “minutes to next train”. Our transit system needs to provide more information for potential passengers.
I'm glad Alysa found the vintage clippings entertaining. Can't believe I hung on to the file for more than 20 years! Can we say newspaper clippings hoarder? I'm getting much better though.
I lived in Tempe for almost a decade without a car, relying almost entirely on walking and public transit. It wasn't perfect, but the Orbit neighborhood circulators went a long way in solving the last-mile problem. Now I live in Central Phoenix less than a mile from the light rail and a handful of busy bus lines
...busy bus lines. I hardly ever use them because it always triples the amount of time it takes to get places. And if I miss a bus, I don't have 30 minutes to hang out for the next one.
I would love to see neighborhood circulators in Phoenix and think it would help connect many of us to both light rail and busses.
if they stop spending money on light rail, take that money and quadruple the number of buses running in the county so thatall buses run every 15 minutes or less, make the buses free. THat should be less than the cost of the light rail and the expansion of freeway lanes. If not, do what London did and charge people to use the freeways during rush hours. This will move more people more quickly and for less money and shouldn't cost as much as the light rail which doesn't solve the last mile problem for commuters
I think light rail and buses remind us we are connected to humanity, for better or worse. Self-driving rides make it possible to interact with no human. We already have far too much of that.
As a person who voluntarily gave up her car about 7 years ago, I depend on public transit or walking, primarily to get around. And having recently spent three weeks in Switzerland where trains, buses, streetcars, etc. run on time, I have oodles of issues with our system. The plan a trip on the computer provides numerous options (never have used the app), but I still don't trust the times....often my buses come early and then there are the ones that come late. There is no digital indicator on bus stops to let a potential rider know and I have been in other places around the world where they do. And I agree that it is extremely irritating that the light rail doesn't let you know. But I am fortunate that my neighborhood is served by FIVE bus lines, and I can "hike" the .6 of a mile to the light rail. And knowing the system allows me a number of options. Thank goodness for the senior discount. $2 all day is still cheaper than any other method. And one can meet some rather interesting people. Most recently while sitting at a stop, a man who sat down near me asked, "Excuse me, are you a Jehovah Witness or a Catholic?" My answer is another story...
Somewhere deep in my rented storage is an East Valley Tribune front page from the 2000 Election declaring something to the effect of "Bush Wins" in large type. The problem was Al Gore retracted his concession to Bush after the paper went to print late on Election Day. The editor of the East Valley Tribune gambled and called it for Bush. It took about five more weeks of a Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision before Bush was declared the winner. The EV Tribune wasn't the only one to do this:
https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/2000/11/09/a-nightmare-for-newspapers-bush-won-no-he-didn39t-yes-he-did-no-he-didn39t/29627177007/
Sitting with that front page is a 1987 Sports Illustrated with a story about the Denver Broncos beating the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Championship game with "The Drive." That's all I got.
Have a dozen or so issues of NTW from the 70s. 16 pages. Have all 7 AZ Republics from the 2001 World Series. Wadsack is soooooo puny. I bet Gilbert is excited. Now she can hang out with Candy Biggs.
Another day...another pathetic GOP gubernatorial candidate. D. Schweikert...come on down!! So we got Candy Biggs, the Bottle Blonde, and Schweikert. Is Chump going to endorse all three? Who could be next?
I love the concept of the light rail. I rode for three hours recently as part of the City’s TRACE program. It’s clean. There were security folks on most of the legs of the journey.
The problems I have with OUR light rail are two-fold:
1) Stopping at every traffic light is not best practice. If you want to encourage ridership, the rider should be able to get to their destination in the same or less time than if they drive. That will never happen while we give cars on the street priority at traffic lights.
2) App and information regarding routes. As I rode last time, we waited on a platform that told us., via electronic signage, where to stand for the train we wanted, as well as the destination of the train. There was a 5-digit numeric code on the sign as well. It meant nothing to us as riders. Let’s update that signage to include “minutes to next train”. Our transit system needs to provide more information for potential passengers.
I'm glad Alysa found the vintage clippings entertaining. Can't believe I hung on to the file for more than 20 years! Can we say newspaper clippings hoarder? I'm getting much better though.
I lived in Tempe for almost a decade without a car, relying almost entirely on walking and public transit. It wasn't perfect, but the Orbit neighborhood circulators went a long way in solving the last-mile problem. Now I live in Central Phoenix less than a mile from the light rail and a handful of busy bus lines
Oops hit enter too soon.
...busy bus lines. I hardly ever use them because it always triples the amount of time it takes to get places. And if I miss a bus, I don't have 30 minutes to hang out for the next one.
I would love to see neighborhood circulators in Phoenix and think it would help connect many of us to both light rail and busses.
if they stop spending money on light rail, take that money and quadruple the number of buses running in the county so thatall buses run every 15 minutes or less, make the buses free. THat should be less than the cost of the light rail and the expansion of freeway lanes. If not, do what London did and charge people to use the freeways during rush hours. This will move more people more quickly and for less money and shouldn't cost as much as the light rail which doesn't solve the last mile problem for commuters