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Most people I talk to much rather take public transport. Uber is way too expensive for everyday travel, and you have the same schedule variance as if you had dr

by ehnto 6y ago

Most people I talk to much rather take public transport. Uber is way too expensive for everyday travel, and you have the same schedule variance as if you had driven a car in. One of the great benefits of a train network is that you're not amongst the car traffic, so you don't suffer congestion.

asdff 6y ago
>One of the great benefits of a train network is that you're not amongst the car traffic, so you don't suffer congestion. Many brand new American train networks run at grade with car traffic, so even aboard the train you can't escape. For example, it takes 15 minutes aboard the expo line in Los Angeles to go between USC and downtown LA. The distance is 2 miles; you could out run the train if you ran directly on the track and didn't have to stop at red lights like the train does. Most new transit construction in the US seems to be this half measure LRT that has many at grade crossings with cars, and is rarely given signal priority (there should be no reason for an at grade train to stop at an intersection at all).
- ehnto 6y ago
  Yes that sounds like a really poor network design. I've never heard of trains stopping for car traffic before, usually cars are required to stop at level crossings and wait for the train. Not just for the strain on the stock and rails but thinking about it like a societal ethos, public transport should have right of way to individuals in their cars as public transport efficiently serves the commons. I still think atomic individual transport is important and will stick around, but surely it's important to not undermine the efficacy of a network that supports hundreds of people at a time. Edit: I forgot, there's a light tram line in my city that stops at a handful of car intersections, but it's mostly above grade anyway and those stops are accompanied by a platform as well. So the tram technically stops at the platform first, then begins again once the road lights cycle.

by ehnto 6y ago

asdff 6y ago

>One of the great benefits of a train network is that you're not amongst the car traffic, so you don't suffer congestion. Many brand new American train networks run at grade with car traffic, so even aboard the train you can't escape. For example, it takes 15 minutes aboard the expo line in Los Angeles to go between USC and downtown LA. The distance is 2 miles; you could out run the train if you ran directly on the track and didn't have to stop at red lights like the train does. Most new transit construction in the US seems to be this half measure LRT that has many at grade crossings with cars, and is rarely given signal priority (there should be no reason for an at grade train to stop at an intersection at all).

ehnto 6y ago
Yes that sounds like a really poor network design. I've never heard of trains stopping for car traffic before, usually cars are required to stop at level crossings and wait for the train. Not just for the strain on the stock and rails but thinking about it like a societal ethos, public transport should have right of way to individuals in their cars as public transport efficiently serves the commons. I still think atomic individual transport is important and will stick around, but surely it's important to not undermine the efficacy of a network that supports hundreds of people at a time. Edit: I forgot, there's a light tram line in my city that stops at a handful of car intersections, but it's mostly above grade anyway and those stops are accompanied by a platform as well. So the tram technically stops at the platform first, then begins again once the road lights cycle.