tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23053767.post114459880096806984..comments2024-01-30T12:46:10.810-05:00Comments on Yappa Ding Ding: Some Thoughts on TransitYappahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126433451905766475noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23053767.post-1145209532410076312006-04-16T13:45:00.000-04:002006-04-16T13:45:00.000-04:00Winston andShirley surveyed 228 bus systems and 30...Winston andShirley surveyed 228 bus systems and 30 rail systems, based on 1990 data.<BR/><BR/>The average operating cost per passenger mile for buses was 44 cents per passenger per mile, and the number of passenger miles per in service mile operated was 9. Nine passengers per bus mile operated, and that is only the inservice miles, not counting all the miles driven while not carrying passengers. The operating cost is only the operating cost, not the capital or roadway costs.<BR/><BR/>For trains the nembers we 37 cents per passenger mile and 21 passengers per operating mile.<BR/><BR/>In 1990 the operating costs per passenger mile for an auto was 21 cents. If you figure on four passenger cars and an average of 1.25 persons per car, the load factor is higher than carrying nine people on a 40 passenger bus.<BR/>Even if you add in expenses for all of the autos external costs, pollution, parking spaces, collisions, etc, the 1990 cost was still only around 50 cents per mile.<BR/><BR/>Transit is necessary, but we should support it only on the very best routes where it has some chance of being cost effective.<BR/><BR/>Granted, these are 1990 numbers, but the relative situation probably has not changed much since then, even though transit now caries more riders than previously.Hydrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798739909216490841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23053767.post-1144802263929115352006-04-11T20:37:00.000-04:002006-04-11T20:37:00.000-04:00Hi Bruce,I believe completely that planning and re...Hi Bruce,<BR/><BR/>I believe completely that planning and regulation should control market forces. I guess my motivation for writing that entry was that we never seem to get anywhere in reducing things like subdivisions and megamalls, and maybe the reason is that they're what people want, including the planners and the majority of people they plan for, so we should accept that and work from there. So how can we create a city with a vibrant downtown and good transit system that takes into account that many people seem to want to live in subdivisions and so on?<BR/><BR/>I guess my main thought was that instead of imposing transit on places that don't want it, we should respond to demand a bit more. So if there's no demand for transit in some locations, then give up on it. In Waterloo there really are routes that carry an average of 3 people a day.<BR/><BR/>But I'm just kicking ideas around. I don't know what's best. I've grown up hating the way subdivisions destroyed places I loved, and now I'm questioning my outlook. By the way, I bought my first (and only) car when I was 40!<BR/><BR/>-YappaYappahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18126433451905766475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23053767.post-1144722620138986922006-04-10T22:30:00.000-04:002006-04-10T22:30:00.000-04:00I don't know that the "megamalls on the outskirts ...I don't know that the "megamalls on the outskirts of town" are so inevitable. Those are a consequence of policies--zoning, parking requirements, road building, etc.--not just of market forces.<BR/><BR/>Also we tend to think of car use as an all-or-nothing thing--do you buy a car or live without one?--when there's more of a continuum of choices.<BR/><BR/>For example, there's the decision of how many cars to have--most households have more than one these days. And there's the decision about exactly when to buy cars; sure, we expect most families with kids to have at least one car. But that doesn't necessarily mean people should have to buy a car the moment they graduate from college (or from high school...). And for younger people especially a car represents a significant financial burden, so the choice isn't obvious. Similarly when people get older there are decisions about when to downsize--sometimes people seem to hang on to their cars longer than really makes sense because they're afraid (quite understandably) of the freedom they'll lose.<BR/><BR/>So it'd be nice to find ways to give people more options. To that end I tend to agree that distribution of retail and such is probably more important than transit. Though that's also dependent on density--it takes a certain number of people to support a grocery store.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23053767.post-1144640985562868782006-04-09T23:49:00.000-04:002006-04-09T23:49:00.000-04:00Hi Jason,Thanks! I just read your site and liked i...Hi Jason,<BR/><BR/>Thanks! I just read your site and liked it very much... I bookmarked it. Excellent choice of design as well.<BR/><BR/>YappaYappahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18126433451905766475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23053767.post-1144638541137059622006-04-09T23:09:00.000-04:002006-04-09T23:09:00.000-04:00Very informative. Thanks. www.juddandjasonspeakout...Very informative. Thanks. <BR/>www.juddandjasonspeakout.com<BR/>come visit some time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com