tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post1262994374724842580..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: The magic of Metro-NorthCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-19388001091643528272009-09-26T19:23:15.003-04:002009-09-26T19:23:15.003-04:00I can see why you might think that, but no. The o...I can see why you might think that, but no. The output is not just lower pollution, but greater energy efficiency, better health, a more cohesive society and especially a reduction in the carnage and terror that pervade our streets and highways.<br /><br />I can't really imagine a car-based solution that would accomplish all that. I wouldn't rule out the possibility, but I'm not holding my breath. And in the meantime, I look to transit, walking and sometimes cycling.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-42308505203809605792009-09-26T15:16:07.303-04:002009-09-26T15:16:07.303-04:00You're defining yourself to be right. Car use ...You're defining yourself to be right. Car use is an input; you want to care about output, i.e. pollution and CO2 emissions.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-37451512068932662702009-09-26T09:58:37.080-04:002009-09-26T09:58:37.080-04:00Well, that doesn't sound very sustainable to m...Well, that doesn't sound very sustainable to me. Maybe the Tokyo region as a whole is sustainable, but that part of it is not.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-16355886605590560962009-09-26T04:29:02.909-04:002009-09-26T04:29:02.909-04:00Chiba is a major secondary downtown, the one close...Chiba is a major secondary downtown, the one closest to Narita (which is more than just the airport). In general, in the Tokyo suburbs transit has a sub-50% modal share, and that includes people who work in Tokyo, for whom rail modal share probably approaches 100%.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-92078166531857748132009-09-23T23:12:32.610-04:002009-09-23T23:12:32.610-04:00Well, I don't know Tokyo. I know Narita is th...Well, I don't know Tokyo. I know Narita is the main airport, but I don't know what Chiba is, or why someone would want to go there from Narita.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-45751561048631743152009-09-23T21:20:42.830-04:002009-09-23T21:20:42.830-04:00It depends on what "convenient" and &quo...It depends on what "convenient" and "sustainable" mean. You could in principle get from Chiba to Narita on rail, but you could more easily get there by car. That doesn't make Tokyo unsustainable - it just makes it not Hong Kong.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-55216957155545446222009-09-21T21:54:37.986-04:002009-09-21T21:54:37.986-04:00Alon, some trips may "require" cars to b...Alon, some trips may "require" cars to be worthwhile, but I would argue that any city where a reasonable person can't plan a convenient alternative to such a trip is an unsustainable city.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-89492454713596233942009-09-21T00:26:02.525-04:002009-09-21T00:26:02.525-04:00Cap'n, if you can find a way to make it easier...Cap'n, if you can find a way to make it easier to ride rail from suburb to suburb rather than to drive, I'm sure JR East will be interested. Its modal share in prefectures other than Tokyo is sub-50%.<br /><br />Not all trips can be served by hub-and-spoke transit; some require point-to-point cars.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-84634745958020299932009-09-20T17:45:33.124-04:002009-09-20T17:45:33.124-04:00Good points, all. Christopher, that figure is cal...Good points, all. Christopher, that figure is calculated from the National Transit Database (<a href="http://www.ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2007/agency_profiles/2078.pdf" rel="nofollow">PDF</a>): 2,127,147,585 / 56,695,107 = 37.5. (It's actually a little higher than the figure I gave in the post because I mistakenly included some low-ridership auxiliary bus and ferry services). I'm assuming it means passengers per <b>car</b>, not per train.<br /><br />You're right that the number of passengers drops the further you get from Grand Central, especially on non-rush-hour service, but the answer to that is the same as what I wrote in my post: make it easier to use the train for local, off-peak trips - and harder to use a private car.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-58358870289786821842009-09-19T18:10:35.234-04:002009-09-19T18:10:35.234-04:00Arcady: the union representing MNRR's redundan...Arcady: the union representing MNRR's redundant conductors, the Teamsters, is about the most militant union in America. It threatens strikes against anyone who even suggests that efficiency is a good thing.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-14189268305818659022009-09-18T20:38:22.693-04:002009-09-18T20:38:22.693-04:00I don't think that cutting off peak service is...I don't think that cutting off peak service is necessarily a way to profitability. How many people do you think would take Metro North if the last northbound train left GCT at 5:50 pm? Or even 7:30 pm or 9:30 pm. I think that with Metro North at least, they can get much higher cost recovery if they were really given free rein to try. As one example, they could start charging market rate for parking rather than whatever systems they use to distribute permits now. They could offer steeper discounts to keep off peak trains filled, and charge more on particularly overcrowded peak trains. Maybe they'll even get more ridership with more reliable and less overcrowded service, and maybe they can reduce their costs if they, say, could replace on-board assistant conductors with faregates in stations.crzwdjkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394805356595604336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-23497872053197115282009-09-15T18:30:11.507-04:002009-09-15T18:30:11.507-04:00You say the problem is Metro-North's ridership...You say the problem is Metro-North's ridership (passenger miles per revenue mile) is only 37.4. (That seems quite low to me.)<br /><br />But here's the other thing: a train can leave New York with hundreds and hundreds of people and be pretty much empty by the time it rolls into New Haven. So the average ridership per mile can still be low on a fully loaded departure.<br /><br />This is one reason intercity service is more profitable: Most routes have big traffic generators at each end and in the middle. Those that don't show similar low cost recovery.Christopher Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16947034888487890485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-79797392660600694042009-09-15T16:37:54.530-04:002009-09-15T16:37:54.530-04:00You're wrong about off-peak traffic. If Metro-...You're wrong about off-peak traffic. If Metro-North only ran trains during rush hour, its costs would decrease, but not linearly: it would still need to maintain the trains, tracks, and stations; pay the crews for split shifts; and pay the same administrative overhead. Conversely, ridership would decrease more than linearly, since it would encourage establishing a competing service, which would encroach on rush-hour service.<br /><br />The snarkier response to this issue is, "If frequent off-peak service is good enough for JR-East then it should be good enough for the MTA."Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.com