Jeepney's are not only cheap but amazingly effective. millions of daily riders get from here to there cheaply.
Posted on 07/02/2015 12:01:45 AM PDT by Forgotten Amendments
Meet the Thighmaster of urban public policy: streetcars.
Municipal politicians across the country have convinced themselves that this costly, clunky hardware can revitalize their flabby downtown economies.
That includes the fearless leaders of America's capital city. The D.C. government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade trying to erect a streetcar line in the up-and-coming neighborhood of H Street. The project has been an epic disaster, perfectly demonstrating how ill-suited streetcars are to modern urban life.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Form one point of view, you are correct. However, the two words “ in before” makes a loophole. :)
Form one point of view, you are correct. However, the two words “ in before” makes a loophole. :)
Jeepney's are not only cheap but amazingly effective. millions of daily riders get from here to there cheaply.
Of course, one of the “unforeseen” problems is that the tracks were built either too close or not far enough from the curb to allow parking, for any reason, to include temporary for delivery on the street in front of businesses. I’ve heard about this ‘almost boondoggle’ on the local radio here the last few years. And don’t forget about the several accidents of the test street car runs where the street cars have hit wheeled vehicles.
Streetcar bfl
“Several accidents”: more like 12 in the space of a few weeks.
Streetcars are a niche/novelty option. They’ll work well in places supported by entertainment/tourist revenue. And then only as part of a larger multi-modal “mix” of transportation options.
There is a reason that these systems were scrapped, they didn’t work.
“A guy with a rhythm drum and a dude shouting “ramming speed!” as well.”
The most important ‘cruise control component” on an oar powered vessel was the deck ape with the whip.
D’oh, forgot, motivation crew of three.
Bus routes rarely get changed in a significant manner. They remain the same from decade to decade, only sometimes getting shorter or getting longer.
If you’re building dedicated rights of way for buses, then you’ve got a monster on your hands that would take more maintenance than a dedicated rail route, especially in winter.
What I don’t like is all the political interference. En-masse conversions from rail streetcar to bus were sold as getting monopolies (usually utility companies/power companies) out of mass transportation—but what happened afterwards is that whatever private operators were given the bus routes all went out of business to be taken over either by the city government or state government.
This is completely off topic, but every time I see a reference to those galleys, I think of an ad-lib from Tim Conway on the Carol Burnett Show.
The skit involved he and Harvey Corman as slaves on a galley. Corman says he has an escape plan and shows Conway a key he secretly carved out the the ball on his ball-and-chain. About then, one of the overseers walks by and grabs the item, saying "AHA! A key!"
Conway innocently looks up at the guy and says, "Oh, you speak Spanish." I spewed all over the living room. The guy who played the overseer didn't bat an eye, whether because he didn't get it or because he was one helluva professional.
A few years later, working the graveyard shift at Wal-Mart, a Mexican co-worker asked me if I had "a key" to some display. I pulled a Conway on her and for a moment she had a "Doh!" look on her face, they doubled over in laughter.
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