Posted on 09/26/2018 7:03:17 AM PDT by george76
RTD is cutting the number of cars on the light rail R Line that runs through Aurora because of a lack of ridership.
RTD says ridership on the R Line is about half of projected numbers.
The one-car trains look more like a trolly going up and down the tracks. RTD believes cutting the two-car trains to just one is enough to serve the needs of the R Line passengers and the low numbers for now.
(Excerpt) Read more at kdvr.com ...
Colorado Ping ( Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the list.)
RTD = Reason to Drive.
How much did Denver tax payers get fleeced for another light rail boondoogle?
I grew up in Aurora.
Why do I have to pay RTD taxes but would have to drive 40 miles pay to get into a train I am paying for?
For the same reason you have to drive 40 miles to catch a plane.....................
I ride the R line to work and back most days. Cutting the line to one car makes it very crowded, especially around the rush hours. That has had an effect on when I try to ride it. And the composite of people on that line is rather dicey. Any further change will end my ridership on RTD.
The Regional Transportation District’s long awaited, $687 million new light rail train service through Aurora, closing a 10.5 mile gap along Interstate 225 between Parker Road and I-70,
That picture shows how the R line looked before they cut off one of the cars.
LOL! But the costs are doubled so it ain't all bad.
For the same reason you have to drive 40 miles to catch a plane.....................
Lucky you, I have to drive twice that far to DIA. I went to Cheyenne instead.
It was probably quicker...............
Hopalong, One of your best. “Take The ‘A’ Train” - instrumental cover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTaYNN8hEFk
There was for a short while after the SE Corridor opened a G Line, traveling over much the same route, from 9 Mile to Lincoln Station.
It was cut to a single car when RTD realized people weren't interested in commuting from Aurora to Lone Tree by trolley car. Or to the Denver Tech Center, for that matter.
But as Ronald Reagan used to say, nothing on this earth is as eternal as a government program.
"Not enough riders? Why, we will just have to give the G Line more promotion; not everyone knows about it, so we'll spend some money on ads and ridership ought to pick up."
It didn't, and eventually RTD had to stop running the nearly-empty car once every 30 minutes, to save money and possible embarrassment (as if anyone cared).
Look for the R Line to meet a similar fate.
PUBLIC RAIL TRANSPORTATION IS MERELY A METROPOLITAN SIZED AMUSEMENT RIDE.
It was probably quicker...............
Safer drive also.
We have the same situation on the “light rail” system installed in our city. They inflated the numbers by making it free, and counting every person on the “train” at every stop as if they were a separate rider. If six “homeless” bums rode the train all day to stay dry they were literally counted as hundreds of riders. Or if six people rode the train from the parking garage by the freeway to downtown and back which has several stops each direction they were counted as over 60 riders.
The thing is a terrible disruption to traffic whenever it is making a run and it almost never has more than just a few derelicts riding it. They have even resorted to giving out free stuff on the free train, like coupons for fast food if you ride the train.
There has always been more than adequate parking downtown, so the city started charging exorbitant prices for downtown parking which had been mostly free and making parking at the lot for the train free. All this did was kill a bunch of local businesses whose customers refused to come downtown anymore.
A good rule of thumb is that light rail will cost six times the original estimate and will have half the projected ridership.
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