2223 replies to this topic

[grodney]

Here's my rambling report from a real-live south-side (south of Ballantyne) resident who rode today to my real-live uptown job.  I drove to the 485 station and got there about 6:45am.  Lots of CATS people around, helping with the ticket machines, handing out schedules, and so forth.  There were about 10 people on my train.  1 or 2 got on at most stops, and a couple stops had 8 or 10 get on.  The driver messed up the next stop name (said the wrong stop) a couple times.  The automated stop announcements ended after the first couple stops, and the LED read "Next Stop Tyvola" for the rest of the ride.  A ticket-checker guy came around just before the Stonewall station.  I heard a few passengers tell him that the ticket machines weren't working so the CATS people had just told them to get on.  I was freezing on the train (I sat about 3 seats behind the driver), not just at the stops, but the whole way.  But I'm usually cold, so I'll just say the heaters weren't blasting.  Excitement at Tremont, where we had to slow to a crawl because some (westbound) car on Tremont had stopped *between* the crossing arm and the tracks.  The arm was essentially sitting on his trunk.  I was lost when I got off at 3rd street, but that's just me not knowing where I was.  The ride was smooth, and the stops were quick.  I saw one guy with a travel mug of coffee.  Speaking of which, I'm still totally befuddled by the "no drinks" policy and the lack of credit/debit card kiosks.  I've read all about them, and I still say both are totally stupid.  As my wife says "Why are they discouraging people from riding?".  That's about it.  I don't mean this to sound negative -- I'm just reporting my ride (other than the editorial on the drinks and kiosks).  Overall it was pretty cool.

[atlrvr]

Will you make it your regular mode of commuting?

Edit.  And I strongly agree that the "no drink" policy is ridiculous.

[Mobuchu]

CATS did say they would take the drink policy on an individual basis.  ie soda bottles with screw tops would be fine.  I wonder if that will apply to coffee mugs as well with a fixed lid.  On the run coffee's with the plastic lid will spill much easier, the same with any type of can drink.

I'd like for them to change the policy to only drinks that can be turned upside down and not spill a drop are allowed.  Many people take their mugs to the office and refill them there, I'd hate to see people being punished for that.

[grodney]

atlrvr, on Nov 26 2007, 07:56 AM, said:

Will you make it your regular mode of commuting?

Not at this time.  There are, of course, several factors.

- I normally leave home at 6:15am and leave work at 3:30pm, so traffic time savings is not an issue.  In fact, I timed my driving commute for 3 weeks in Nov, and I averaged 16 minutes inbound and 20 minutes outbound (between the 485 station and my parking deck).  So using the train would cost me at least 10-15 minutes each way.  Today it was 12 minutes from the time I got off 485 until the train started moving.  In other words, in 4 minutes more (16 average minus the 12), I would've been uptown.  This isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, but just for me and my schedule, traffic isn't a strong selling point.  However, having said that, I can see using it on Fridays (when traffic is *always* bad on 77 south and 485 east in the afternoon), or on days I know I have to stay later than 3:30 for a meeting or whatever.

- I have relatively inexpensive (covered) parking at the Mint St. deck for $65/month, barely more than a block from my building, so no huge savings there (compared to people who may be 100, 150, or more?).

- Gas for my SUV vs. a train ticket is about a wash.  There are obviously savings on wear and tear and lease mileage.

- I find myself "needing" to run (drive) the occasional errand at lunch or on my way home.  Taking the train would not allow this.  Or, if I really needed to, I would have to pay daily rates for parking, as I would have given up my spot.

- Other comments on traffic:  Inbound in the morning, for me, the worst traffic spots are:  Johnston trying to get on 485, and 485 from Johnston to 51.  Once I'm to the 485 station, I'm almost uptown.  And in the afternoon, I'm really interested to see how easy it will be to get from the 485 station to 485 eastbound.  This whole area has historically been an overcrowded clusterdance.  I can easily see beating my head against the steering wheel just trying to get on 485 after having ridden the train.  Time will tell on this one.


These are, of course, things particular to *me*.  They may or may not apply to others.  As you can see from the weak reasons above, I'm pretty close to riding as-is.  And as my kids get older and my schedule evolves, it'll be great to have it as an alternative to consider.

[DCMetroRaleigh]

They allow people to drink at all on the Lynx? DC Metro doesn't allow any eating or drinking, which is why it is one of the cleanest metros on the planet.


mod edit: long quote above deleted.  

Edited by monsoon, 26 November 2007 - 08:45 AM.

[revitalize]

Report from my first morning commute on the LYNX today!:

Parking at 485 station was a breeze - just pulled in, rode up the ramp to the 2nd floor, and parked.  Walking across to the platform, I noticed CATS workers telling people to walk down to use the other ticket dispenser, as the first one was out of order.  I walked right up, got my ticket for $1.30.  

I then took a seat on a train that was sitting waiting to leave, plenty of room - the train i was on held about maybe 30 people as we left the station.  I was excited to see who would be on the train this morning.  It was what I had hoped... From the obvious commuters with iPods on, to the guy in front of me in a tie reading the Wall Street Journal, to the woman next to me on the cell phone excitedly telling her mother that she was heading 'downtown' to get her prescription filled and how much easier the train was than the normal bus route with transfers.  People did get on and off within the middle of the route - so i noticed not all are just using it to commute from Pineville to Uptown.  By the time we got into South End, every seat on the train car was full.  

The ride was smooth and relaxing.  Very cool view of things from up on the elevated tracks - got to see some interesting (i.e. more run down) parts of Old Pineville Rd, the backs of strip malls along South Blvd., and even a couple bars/restaurants along the line that I never knew existed before.  Closer in to South End, the redevelopment of the area is aparent due to the many cleared parcels and sites under construction.   There are tons of stops between Scaleybark and uptown - seemed like the train never got going more than 15 mph or so in this area.  I was impressed, though- it took the train 23 minutes from 485 station to 3rd Street station.  The red and green canopies at 3rd St. Station were lit up this morning, and did look VERY cool in the early morning light/fog.  

Still some minor construction going on at some of the stations.  Overall, I had a GREAT experience... definitely works for my commute!

[dubone]

I think if you question the no-drinking rule it is because you were not the reason it was made.  Most average people are careful, finish their drink and carry it to the trash.  But it doesn't take that many people bringing in uncovered drinks, are not careful not to spill it, and setting it down in the train with a little bit left.  I know that I saw many people with covered coffee cups in the train on Saturday.  A girl next to me dropped her cup on my shoe 4 times during the ride.  Luckily it was empty empty, but it could have been mostly empty and both me and the train would have been sticky.  

I'll just say that many people are just nasty in their litter and care for public spaces (the gum on the bench on the first day of operation is a perfect example).  I have litter in my yard uptown fresh EVERY day, despite picking it up EVERY day.  So think of it not as preventing you to drink, but preventing the slobs around you from drinking.

I think the train won't work for commutes for everyone, but it works for enough people so as to make a difference.  Then, there are special events that it will really help for.   I would hope there would be some people who break even that would go out of their way to ride the train for altruistic purposes, but I grant that most people will make it a purely economical endeavor.

[Andyc545]

About the Drinks:  I am against having drinks on for this reason:

I know most adults commuting are responsible enough to hold onto their coffee and not spill it on the seats or the floor.  However: if you allow adult commuters to have drinks, you are allowing everyone else to have drinks.  Now on my trip from 485 north, there was a group of 5 or 6 "rascals" that were banging on things and putting their mouths up against the glass windows.  Imagine if you are in your business suit and one of these kids spills their McDonald's milkshake all over your $300.00 suit for your big meeting.  That would give me a reason not to ride LYNX again, from that experience alone.  I think CAT's is doing the right thing by taking things on an individual basis.  Food leaves crumbs and drinks that can spill can completely destroy are brand new LRT.  I'd say Spillproof cups should be allowed and the rule, the same that my work allows.  "If it can ruin our customers paperwork, then get it out of the room".

[voyager12]

I walked from my apt in Dilworth to East/West yesterday to ride for the first time, I wanted to go to Reids. I had bad timing since the trains were packed for the Panthers game. I am still battling a persistent cold so I did not want to wait the 15 minutes for the next one. It was great to see the trains so busy. It gives the city a more urbane and cosmopolitan air. I am going to take it Uptown sometime this week in the afternoon when it's less crowded and I am less sick. I don't want to disease my fellow riders. I think there should be a contest to for a Lynx slogan or some type of branding idea. London has "Mind The Gap !" and  they have created a vibe for their rail line. Hmm...." Leap on the Lynx you can bank on it!"  or  "Get on the right track, ride Lynx".

[monsoon]

^"Mind the Gap" comes from the constant automated warnings at many tube stations advising people to step over the, sometimes fairly large, gap that exists between the modern trains and very old transit stations.   If you are not careful you can get a very nasty fall at some of them.    It has become part of the culture there which is the reason, I would assume, for the association.

In comparison I would hate to see some made up jingle made up for the Lynx line.  I can just imagine how painful that branding might be.

[grodney]

Okay, I get it about the drinks.  I guess I'd just rather see money spent on ticket turnstyles and janitors instead of ticket checker guys.  But I suppose if somebody did the math for me on that, I'd be shown how impractical that is, and how janitors couldn't keep up with all the spills.  That sounds (reads) snide, but I mean it.  I *loved* the DC trains the one time I've been there (for 10 weeks 18 years ago), so if a "no food or drinks" policy helps keep our trains like their trains, then I'm all for it.

[voyager12]

I agree that the London tube's "mind the gap" sprung from a concern over safety and morphed into a cute way to sell tchotckes to tourists. I bought some  mugs and fridge magnets I  just thought coming up with a catchy phrase might keep the system in people's minds although the point is to integrate into existing CATS options so people don't consider it any alien way of transportation, hopefully it will become the norm on it's own. Down the line, no pun intended there should be some thought to making the trains web enabled or perhaps placing screens with news updates.

[dubone]

Ha!  I said 'Mind the Gap' in my head about a thousand times and outloud a few times during my 3 train rides this weekend, even though our gap is only 2 inches (which was cool, by the way).  Sometimes I do wish we had a quirky and dirty system  built in the olden days like London.  But I suppose ours will be old and quirky some day too.  

You don't want to be near me when I get on an 'Ou est le Metro?' kick, I'm downright annoying.


As for the ticket checker guys, there isn't a savings as they'd still need to have them for train security anyway.  The only negative is that 5-10 percent of people ride for free, which doesn't cost them anything other but missed revenue.

[monsoon]

Apparently the rides this weekend were not just limited to locals.  Other transit agencies were here scoping out the system.   Read here about a visit from a delegation from Tampa.   This article was posted on another portion of UrbanPlanet and I thought the Charlotte reader might be interested in it.

[MZT]

My only complaint so far is that I think the speakers are too loud on the trains. (On the busses, some of the speakers don't work any more so the anouncements are not as loud.) I will probably get in the habit of wearing ear plugs.

[Mobuchu]

I didn't notice the loud speakers but that may have been because of the loud conversations going on inside a packed train.  The wrong stations being announced, tickers reading incorrect, and ticket machines malfunctioning are the current problems i've noticed.

I stopped at the Carson station this morning to purchase a ticket, not because I was going to ride in, but I just wanted a momento with the time and date stamped on it to look back at in 20 years   One of the ticket machines at the station was not accepting coins so I had to cross the tracks and buy one from the other machine.  There was no way for CATS to simulate thousands of tickets being purchase in one day, so these are the kinds of bugs that will need to be worked out.

[fulcrumsf]

grodney, on Nov 26 2007, 08:52 AM, said:

I saw one guy with a travel mug of coffee.  Speaking of which, I'm still totally befuddled by the "no drinks" policy and the lack of credit/debit card kiosks.  I've read all about them, and I still say both are totally stupid.  As my wife says "Why are they discouraging people from riding?".  That's about it.  I don't mean this to sound negative -- I'm just reporting my ride (other than the editorial on the drinks and kiosks).  Overall it was pretty cool.

The SF Muni has a system wide No Drinks, No Eating as well policy. But from experience I have never had to trough out a drink, with the exception of a fountain drink. I used to ride the BART, or Lightrail every morning with a Lidded cup of coffee. This was very common as many early morning passengers in SF did as well. So I think even though the policy is No Drinking on Lynx, I think that might be loosely enforced as stated by Tober on the news.

Also they will have debit/credit card kiosk working in a couple of months. They where having some problems with them, so they couldn't use them for opening week like previously anticipated.

Edited by fulcrumsf, 26 November 2007 - 11:10 AM.

[tiblerbrit]

I was disappointed that they didn't have a system telling you how long till the next train. Randomly it would tell you that a train would come in two minutes but that wasn't accurate either. I understand that was probably because of the overcrowding on the first day, but I was hoping for a "next train in 12 minutes" system. Does anyone know if they are going to do this?

Edit: I also heard a few complaints about there no being overhead bars spanning the length of the vehicles.

Edited by tiblerbrit, 26 November 2007 - 11:21 AM.

[Emma77]

tiblerbrit, on Nov 26 2007, 12:19 PM, said:

I was disappointed that they didn't have a system telling you how long till the next train. Randomly it would tell you that a train would come in two minutes but that wasn't accurate either. I understand that was probably because of the overcrowding on the first day, but I was hoping for a "next train in 12 minutes" system. Does anyone know if they are going to do this?

Edit: I also heard a few complaints about there no being overhead bars spanning the length of the vehicles.

I think they should just post the times the trains leave each station...it would be cheaper than having to have a recording of when the next train is going to arrive

I rode it last night..pretty cool..the east blvd/west blvd is right by my office so I don't even have to take it all the way downtown

[Shawn&Zae]

Emma77, on Nov 26 2007, 12:24 PM, said:

I think they should just post the times the trains leave each station...it would be cheaper than having to have a recording of when the next train is going to arrive

I rode it last night..pretty cool..the east blvd/west blvd is right by my office so I don't even have to take it all the way downtown

I don't think that is necessary, soon or later we will get use to the fact that the train runs every 7.5 mins during rush hour. 7.5 minutes is that long to wait, it's quicker and more likely to be on time than the busiest bus route in Charlotte, Route 9 and that has a 7.5 minutes interval.

tiblerbrit, on Nov 26 2007, 12:19 PM, said:

Edit: I also heard a few complaints about there no being overhead bars spanning the length of the vehicles.

There is no overhead bar around the doors, just a pole and the bars on the panels separating the seats from the door area. It wouldn't make sense for there to be an overhead bar infront of the doors.  I don't think there is an overhead bar in the high floor section of the train as that area is a more constrainted than the low floor sections of the train.

Edited by Shawn&Zae, 26 November 2007 - 02:50 PM.