4 ms·
20$ a day for a commute is going to block the people that would benefit the most. Only middle and upper middle class people will be able to afford it.
by vondur 8y ago
20$ a day for a commute is going to block the people that would benefit the most. Only middle and upper middle class people will be able to afford it.
- usaphp 8y agoWhy do you think that lower class would have benefit from this commute more?
- maxxxxx 8y agoIt's not about benefiting more but about benefiting at all.
- fma 8y agoIf someone is making minimum wage, I doubt they are commuting from Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale in the first place.
- noobermin 8y agoIf you commute using this, it would cost 100usd a week. Doesn't seem feasible except for the upper middle class.
- strictnein 8y agoAssuming no discounts for frequent use, $400 is less than a car payment, insurance, maintenance, and gas would be. If there are discounts it would be even more reasonable, especially for middle class families trying to decide whether or not to get a second vehicle.
- noobermin 8y agoI definitely agree with you re the cost of owning a car but I don't think people will sell their car to just ride this train. They still have to alight and navigate either city using their possibly poor transit system. Could see it making an effect on marginal[0] decisions (like buying a second car as you state) but it still sounds more to me like being used more for one off trips than for commuting. It's far to expensive for that. [0] marginal in the economic sense
- usrusr 8y agoOne-off trips require learning a new mode of transport, so one-off are a natural weak spot of a "new" mode of transport. (how much time buffer do I need at the station, how do I conveniently pay for my ticket and so on). Getting people to switch rarely happens. Your best bet, as a new rail line are people whose regular transportation demands change while the line is still new and shiny (e.g. new job at the far end of the line, do I drive/move/rail?). This also meshes very well with the real estate development model of financing the line.
- deepfriedbits 8y agoIt is steep. Not saying it will make a huge impact but I’d be surprised if they didn’t sell 10-ride, weekend, monthly, etc. passes at a discount.
- forrestthewoods 8y agoA 24-mile trip by car would cost at least a gallon of gas each way. Call it a gallon and half since it's slow, grueling traffic. That's ~$10 a day in just fuel costs. Plus ~12,000 fewer miles driven per year. Even if they can't get rid of their car payment/car insurance entirely the mileage saved is significant.
- GordonS 8y ago24mpg in your best case?! Surely that's well below average, even in the US?
- icebraining 8y ago"Cars and light trucks sold in the United States hit a new record for fuel efficiency last year — 23.6 miles per gallon, on average" This was cars sold in 2012, so only 6 years old. The average light vehicle is almost 12 years old. But according to some reports, the measurements in the US are different, leading to lower MPGs for the same car.
- dx034 8y agoPeople on low wages often don't drive the most efficient cars since those are more expensive. 24mpg is not unrealistic with an old car and AC in traffic.
- GordonS 8y agoCheap, small cars in Europe get way better milage than that - I'm just surprised how poor MPG figures are in the US.
- frozenport 8y agoIf the line is full its going to free up road traffic which benefits everybody
- theandrewbailey 8y agoPet peeve of mine: when writing amounts in USD, the dollar sign goes before the number: "$20", not "20$".
- vuln 8y agoI hope I don't drive people nuts when I do the same. I guess my messed up reasoning when I am reading a sentence... $ = dollar 20$ = Twenty Dollar $20 = Dollar Twenty I know it's not the correct way but it's the way my mind thinks...
- squeaky-clean 8y agoAnd that is only the introductory rate. https://gobrightline.com/F-A-Q https://gobrightline.com/F-A-Q