Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

And even without bus right of way we need multimodal networks to make it all work. Trains that take you to stations where busses run to more specific locations further out from population centers

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Anonymous #4 2w

That’s why you rebuild or refurbish the rail infrastructure

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

If It’s set routs and set stops, it can be rail or 🚋. It’s a matter of will. If a place is unwilling to set up either of those, then why have public transit at all.

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Anonymous OP 2w

Provided literally no reason why not to do buses. You can’t make trains go everywhere, and there are many areas with no existing rail infrastructure. Do you think europe and Japan have trains going to every neighborhood? No. You take the train and then from the train you can take a bus.

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Anonymous OP 2w

Because buses demonstrably help poor people and it’s better to have some public transport than none? Do you think impoverished areas deserve to suffer because they can’t fork up the funds for an entire new rail network out of nowhere?

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Anonymous #4 2w

You don’t use nonexistent rail infrastructure already in place, duh. You build it. If, IF, the bus system is fixed routing and the station DON’T MOVE, then it can be a 🚋. Last mile problem? From the light(or heavy)rail station, you can take a trolley.

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Anonymous #4 2w

You must be rage baiting

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Anonymous OP 2w

Why are you against buses? Do you unironically think we can just easy peasy install new rail and trolleys in every suburb? Buses exist for a reason dude. This would just let poor people suffer because it would be impossible to build all that so they’d just get no public transport at all.

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Anonymous OP 2w

I don’t think I’m the one ragebaiting here tbh

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Anonymous #4 2w

Maybe try the “urbans” 1st. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 2nd, it would require actual political participation and accountability but with a close pub eye on corruption and politicians by the people, it can be done quickly and cheaply, just not easily. At best you can get 2 of those factors at once but not all 3.

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Anonymous #1 2w

Exactly

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Anonymous #4 2w

To answer your Q:

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Anonymous OP 2w

It’s not a matter of will at all, it’s a matter of economics and history lmao, there’s plenty of literature on how past LRT projects have preformed compared to their cost. I mean just imagine that a new business or housing development opens far from a rail station. Busses can be rerouted to serve that population within days where rail might take years to get there. Busses are incredibly helpful to fill gaps and adjust to changes where LRT can’t

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

Also what 4 said, there’s just a much lower cost to get a system running and for poorer or lower population cities it’s so much better than nothing

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

Yes but they should be temporary

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

Out of curiosity, how would you say you sit on the socioeconomic totem pole

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Anonymous OP 2w

Why should they be temporary? Transportation / housing networks are always evolving and will always need flexible public transport that can evolve with them. Also LRT doesn’t really make sense in areas below a certain density, busses are just better in those places

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Anonymous OP 2w

Personally pretty broke cause I’m a grad student but my family is middle class so I have somewhat of a safety net against being homeless if I lost my job or something like that. Why?

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

In the case you mention, if Light rail wouldn’t make sense, that’s where a trolly does

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

We I could be wrong but the way your coming of is the same way well Intentioned but somewhat pedantic city bureaucrats or suburban/wealthy urban folk could of. Like a “this’s what’s best for them”. Lmk if I’m wrong abt that. Also sounds like you grew up upper middle class in the suburbs. Lmk

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Anonymous OP 2w

Well my apologies if I’m coming off like a know it all, I’m getting my degree in transportation engineering and I also just love talking about this stuff so I’m excited whenever it comes up.

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

And I’m not trying to tell people what’s best for them necessarily but there are folks who have been studying this for a long time and we’re able to, somewhat quantitatively, assess what types of projects work well and which ones don’t, depending on their location and budget and other things. You just can’t build trolley tracks quickly or cheaply, it will always be a massive undertaking to construct one of those systems compared to rerouting a bus. Gotta tear up roads, install new signals, new

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

Overhead lines…etc.

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

And unfortunately it’s often wealthy suburban folks who push these trolley / LRT projects despite them not being super effective at helping to increase access for poorer communities. They are attractive because they’re cool (I mean I fucking love trains) but they just don’t preform as well as busses do in many cases. They frequently end up being costly tourist attractions for rich people to ride around

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

But yes I did grow up middle class is the suburbs, very lucky to have done so and lucky that I got the chance to go to school to learn about this stuff. Case in point about performative trolley projects tho, look at the Delmar loop trolley in stl. Very pretty trolley line through a pretty area but entirely unpractical. In 2022 it moved 2 people per hour on average, at an operating cost of $153 per person. That’s absurd

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

No I got it. If you don’t mind me joining in here, I understand that the circumstances that led to my city’s system are abnormal

1

Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

Eish. Where I’m from we’re RABIDLY “We The People” and the government is like any other, but that’s means bc of large and persistent, as well as unified input things are VERY Different from other places. People may like it, idk, but it seems to me that in most other cities, the government runs the people and not the other way around. It’s just so sad, although I doubt it’s seen that way.

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Anonymous fuuuckyikyak 2w

Catenary certainly is a cost

1

Anonymous OP 2w

And what city is that? I don’t disagree that the people should run the government and not the other way around but I’m confused how you mean to relate that to the topic of public transit. Governments are able to hire experts in their fields that do often know better about given topic than the general public does. Like I’m not a doctor, I trust the cities infectious disease expert over my dead reckoning. Same goes for public transit or improvements to the grid or whatever. To a large extent anywa

1