109 replies to this topic

[NewMarketSean]

Every few years there's a skyride type of transit proposal that pops up in the city.

 

I'm all for finding cheaper alternatives and being on the cutting edge of new transit technology, but I also don't want to see the city mired in a boondoggle just to be cool and different. Heavy rail and light rail, as well as BRT, is what other cities use and have used for over a hundred years, so I'm still hoping we can get something like that here, on a scale that works.

[PatrickDougherty]

Every few years there's a skyride type of transit proposal that pops up in the city.

 

I'm all for finding cheaper alternatives and being on the cutting edge of new transit technology, but I also don't want to see the city mired in a boondoggle just to be cool and different. Heavy rail and light rail, as well as BRT, is what other cities use and have used for over a hundred years, so I'm still hoping we can get something like that here, on a scale that works.

Yeah, cool technology is great, but I want something that works and isn't prohibitively expensive. IIRC Maglev tickets would be $100+, which means I'm not taking it to go to DC or NYC for a weekend. I can drive and park for so much less than that. I'd rather bite the bullet and dig out a bunch of well-planned and inter-connected metro lines in the city for main arteries and then do some cable car style-system for secondary routes.

Plus real bike lanes.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yeah, cool technology is great, but I want something that works and isn't prohibitively expensive. IIRC Maglev tickets would be $100+, which means I'm not taking it to go to DC or NYC for a weekend. I can drive and park for so much less than that. I'd rather bite the bullet and dig out a bunch of well-planned and inter-connected metro lines in the city for main arteries and then do some cable car style-system for secondary routes.

Plus real bike lanes.

 

Even with lower gas prices, you aren't getting to NYC and back, with gas, tolls and parking, for less than $100.

[PatrickDougherty]

Even with lower gas prices, you aren't getting to NYC and back, with gas, tolls and parking, for less than $100.

Okay fair but I'm still not paying $100+ each way on a MagLev when the Bolt bus exists.

[NewMarketSean]

$98 round trip on Amtrak with the low cost fare. If you're going alone it's probably the best deal, if not then it's better to drive.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Okay fair but I'm still not paying $100+ each way on a MagLev when the Bolt bus exists.

You couldn't pay me to ride the Bolt Bus

[DuffMan]

Every few years there's a skyride type of transit proposal that pops up in the city.

 

I'm all for finding cheaper alternatives and being on the cutting edge of new transit technology, but I also don't want to see the city mired in a boondoggle just to be cool and different. Heavy rail and light rail, as well as BRT, is what other cities use and have used for over a hundred years, so I'm still hoping we can get something like that here, on a scale that works.

[NewMarketSean]

You couldn't pay me to ride the Bolt Bus

Megabus is pretty bad, too.

 

Used to be DIRT cheap and it outweighed the ghettoness of the bus experience, but not anymore.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I had a ticket for a 6 pm bus. At 715 the 5 pm bus showed up.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Plus I sat next to a baby that I'm pretty sure had SARS.

[Mackus]

The Chinatown bus laughs at you all calling Bolt or Mega ghetto.

[DJ MC]

Round-trip from my house to the Hoboken PATH station is 330 miles, or a little less than what my car can get on a tank. So at current prices, that's $25. Tolls on the Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14 and back come to $25. Round-trip on the PATH is $5.50, and parking close to the station is around $15 for a full day on the weekend. Finally, the one-way tolls on the Tydings and Delaware Memorial bridges come to $10. That's round-trip to New York for ~$80, and leaves me with cash for seven subway trips without breaking $100.

[RShack]

Round-trip from my house to the Hoboken PATH station is 330 miles, or a little less than what my car can get on a tank. So at current prices, that's $25. Tolls on the Jersey Turnpike to Exit 14 and back come to $25. Round-trip on the PATH is $5.50, and parking close to the station is around $15 for a full day on the weekend. Finally, the one-way tolls on the Tydings and Delaware Memorial bridges come to $10. That's round-trip to New York for ~$80, and leaves me with cash for seven subway trips without breaking $100.

 

Yeah, but you're way understating the cost-per-mile for your car... (unless you're driving a beater until it dies....)

[Matt_P]

Yeah, cool technology is great, but I want something that works and isn't prohibitively expensive. IIRC Maglev tickets would be $100+, which means I'm not taking it to go to DC or NYC for a weekend. I can drive and park for so much less than that. I'd rather bite the bullet and dig out a bunch of well-planned and inter-connected metro lines in the city for main arteries and then do some cable car style-system for secondary routes.

Plus real bike lanes.

 

Sure. But if your employer wants you to go to NYC for a meeting then they'll probably spring for the MagLev that gets you there in an hour as opposed to Bolt which will take four.

 

For a weekend vacation it probably doesn't make sense for some. But for a day long trip it could. And it certainly would kill Amtrak.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Or it would make Amtrak lower their prices. I can't believe what they charge.

[NewMarketSean]

Or it would make Amtrak lower their prices. I can't believe what they charge.

Yup. Way expensive for slow service.

[PatrickDougherty]

Sure. But if your employer wants you to go to NYC for a meeting then they'll probably spring for the MagLev that gets you there in an hour as opposed to Bolt which will take four.

 

For a weekend vacation it probably doesn't make sense for some. But for a day long trip it could. And it certainly would kill Amtrak.

Yeah, that was my point. It'd be great for business travel on an expense account, but not for anyone trying to take multiperson transport for personal reasons.

[RShack]

Or it would make Amtrak lower their prices. I can't believe what they charge.

 

The only way passenger rail service can be cheap is via large subsidies... people don't weigh enough, and they demand that most of the car is filled with nothing but air...

[DJ MC]

http://www.baltimore...1107-story.html

 

Maryland gets $27.8 million to perform a study on a Baltimore-Washington MagLev line.

[RShack]

http://www.baltimore...1107-story.html

 

Maryland gets $27.8 million to perform a study on a Baltimore-Washington MagLev line.

 

Let's hope the Japanese really, really, really want a successful demonstration of the OMG Goodness of these things, and that they want it to be right where Congress is...