The Transportation and Mass Transit Megathread

[smeagolsfree]

Metro supposedly spent millions on  Synchronization of the lights, but I was never ever to tell any difference.  I think they siad they did just to say yhey did and sent the money somewhere else.

[Dale]

Charlotteans are raving about the scooters craze.

[PruneTracy]

On ‎2018‎-‎11‎-‎22 at 2:11 PM, nashvylle said:

Crazy idea, feel free to criticize, but I thought of it after a Stanley cup game 2 years ago. 

What if the lights on Broadway, West End, and Charlotte stayed green during rush hour for a more extended period of time, like 4 straight minutes at a time, getting most of the workers towards their interstate exits? 

After the preds game, there were hundreds of cars just waiting for the light to turn green, and the cross traffic had very little cars going east west... it would have made a lot more sense to have the lights remain green for longer.

I don't think you would see as much of a benefit as you might expect from this. There would still be some delays from turning vehicles, etc. and the majority of the delay would be shifted to the ramp entrances or the Interstate itself.

It's also not good to keep vehicles on the minor streets waiting for that long. Four minutes is a very long time in the traffic signal world. The maximum signal cycle length is usually two minutes, most run at 90 seconds or shorter.

As far as the event phasing, that is mostly a hardware limitation. Most phasing plans operate by time of day or day of week, e.g., this plan operates from 4:00 to 7:00 PM Monday through Friday, or this one from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM on Sundays. These are pre-programmed into the individual signal controllers which don't have the memory space for irregular plans such as event or holiday schedules. To trigger an event phasing plan the controllers would have to be interconnected such that it could be handled from a central location, otherwise you have to have a guy running around and opening all the cabinets to turn the phasing on and off, which is asking for trouble on a number of levels.

Of course the signals need to be interconnected anyway but Metro isn't quite there yet, hence the county-wide re-timing effort a couple of years ago.

[PaulChinetti]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/opinion/there-are-better-ways-to-get-around-town.html

Just have to decide what kind of city we want. 

[Rockatansky]

On 11/25/2018 at 2:49 PM, e-dub said:

Things that make a bus sexy: one that comes by every fifteen minutes.

Also, running in dedicated lanes.

[e-dub]

2 minutes ago, Rockatansky said:

Also, running in dedicated lanes.

That'd be nice, yes, but having the buses come more often would help out HUGELY. The route that I live along (and that I use), has a bus that comes around once an hour on weekdays. 

[Dale]

Tampa-Hillsborough County just passed a referendum that will levy a 1% sales tax, over ten years, and is expected to raise billions for transit improvements. 

Among Tampans on SSC, almost none expected it to pass. It crushed it on the order of 60:40.

Immediate improvements include buying buses and reducing wait times to 15 minutes on major routes. 

Monies allocated 54% for roads and highways, 45% for alternative transit and 1% for long term planning.

 

 

 

[Pdt2f]

6 minutes ago, e-dub said:

That'd be nice, yes, but having the buses come more often would help out HUGELY. The route that I live along (and that I use), has a bus that comes around once an hour on weekdays. 

Completely agree. I work south of KVB, and at my workplace we had a meeting recently where part of it was about using the MTA bus service to commute and reduce emissions, etc. The concern many of us had was that since the bus services are infrequent there is a multiplier when you have to switch buses multiple times and the buses are on a hourly or twice-hourly schedule. For instance, for me living in Madison and commuting to the Rutledge Hill area, I would have to walk to a bus stop for the 76 local connector, which is a half mile walk since all the apartments and condo complexes are surrounded by fencing so you can’t cut through them to get to the stop quicker. Then I would take the 56 BRT Lite downtown, then I would have to connect to another bus to either go down Hermitage and walk the last quarter mile to my office or take a bus down 4th and walk the same quarter mile. Total time is ridiculous with connecting and waiting for buses when compared to simply driving. Factor in insanely hot Tennessee summers when those quarter-to-half mile walks basically make you hygenically unfit for the workplace and you can see why not many people took the suggestion seriously.  

[e-dub]

3 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

Completely agree. I work south of KVB, and at my workplace we had a meeting recently where part of it was about using the MTA bus service to commute and reduce emissions, etc. The concern many of us had was that since the bus services are infrequent there is a multiplier when you have to switch buses multiple times and the buses are on a hourly or twice-hourly schedule. For instance, for me living in Madison and commuting to the Rutledge Hill area, I would have to walk to a bus stop for the 76 local connector, which is a half mile walk since all the apartments and condo complexes are surrounded by fencing so you can’t cut through them to get to the stop quicker. Then I would take the 56 BRT Lite downtown, then I would have to connect to another bus to either go down Hermitage and walk the last quarter mile to my office or take a bus down 4th and walk the same quarter mile. Total time is ridiculous with connecting and waiting for buses when compared to simply driving. Factor in insanely hot Tennessee summers when those quarter-to-half mile walks basically make you hygenically unfit for the workplace and you can see why not many people took the suggestion seriously.  

Yep.

I work in the Opryland Hotel area. Where I live now, I can either:

- Walk .25 miles to take the once-hourly 77 to the 55 stop a mile away, then 55 -> MCC -> 34 -> walk .25 miles to the office. This takes about an hour and a half from the time I close my door. OR...

- Walk 1 mile to a stop along the 55, take that to MCC, and take the 34 and walk .25 miles to the office . This takes longer with the mile walk.

It's "workable" in the winter morning, but with the timing of the 34 and the 77 in the evenings, I can't depend on the current routes because they're all too close together to make the transfers. It's irritating and could be solved with more frequent service. Hell, even every 30 minutes on the 77 and 34 would be a huge help.

[grilled_cheese]

.6 mi walk -> 56 -> MCC -> 17 -> .8 mi walk (without side walks!) about 1hr15m.

I'm salary and it's not a huge deal when I get in, imagine trying to swing that as an hourly worker where they give a sh it about clocking in 30 seconds late.

[e-dub]

The 77 was 4 minutes late today, which made me miss the 55 I needed, which in turn means I missed the 34 I needed. The 77 and 34 are both once-an-hour routes. So I closed my door at 6.50am and didn't get to the office until ~9.45am.

 

I'm salaried, too (thankfully), but man, this is rough.

[Dale]

51 minutes ago, e-dub said:

The 77 was 4 minutes late today, which made me miss the 55 I needed, which in turn means I missed the 34 I needed. The 77 and 34 are both once-an-hour routes. So I closed my door at 6.50am and didn't get to the office until ~9.45am.

 

I'm salaried, too (thankfully), but man, this is rough.

Not a flame, but do you guys not have cars ?

[e-dub]

2 minutes ago, Dale said:

Not a flame, but do you guys not have cars ?

Mine is out of service right now, and has been for over three weeks and still no diagnosis re: why it won't start.

On a related note: wanna buy a 2011 335i Convertible with a manual transmission?  

[smeagolsfree]

Holy Cow. Where did you take your car? Sounds like someone may be taking you for a ride.....no pun intended. Probably the dealer as the dealers usually know less about the models they sale than the joe at the local mechanics shop from my experience… OH and please don't say Firestone.. Those guys are the absolute worst.

[Dale]

2 hours ago, e-dub said:

Mine is out of service right now, and has been for over three weeks and still no diagnosis re: why it won't start.

On a related note: wanna buy a 2011 335i Convertible with a manual transmission?  

Car won’t start. Buses won’t pick up. That sucks, man.

[e-dub]

The car is currently at German Motorworks in West Nashville. Honestly, I can recommend them, but what they're telling me is going on with the car is super strange. As frustrating as the MTA experience is, I'm glad it's available as an option, but I feel super-super bad for our fellow Nashvillians that live on one of the once-an-hour routes that have to rely on it. When I was in East Nashville, I lived about 150 feet from a stop on the 30 route and that one was great!

 

It's all good, though, I'm about 98% sure I'm going to get rid of it. It's a car I wanted since I was a kid, I got it and it was (overall) a good experience. I've gotten the "nice car" desire out of me, and moving downtown again is priority #1 regardless of what I drive.

[PaulChinetti]

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/11/parking-lots-near-me-shopping-plazas-vacant-spaces/576646/

“The United States has as many as two billion parking spots for about 250 million cars...”

Damn!

[Mr_Bond]

@e-dub and @grilled_cheese, thanks for sharing your perspective on how difficult it is to use WeGo.  Sounds like a more accurate name would be WeSlow or WeAintComin.  Seriously, you've helped me see more clearly our need for more frequent bus service.

You've inspired me to take the 3/5 tomorrow to move up and down Broadway/West End.  I ride the Music City Circuit regularly but it's been about 20 years since I rode the 7 to/from Green Hills to downtown.

Edited November 28, 2018 by Mr_Bond

[grilled_cheese]

Any ETA on updated fare options?  Primarily, debit/cc swipe at boarding?

[Armacing]

On ‎11‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 5:13 PM, Dale said:

Charlotteans are raving about the scooters craze.

Does this mean they like or dislike the scooters?

[Vrtigo]

^

That just means nobody has died and/or they haven't tripped over enough of them yet.

I personally love the mobility and having another option to get around the city. I just wish we could do something to better manage the clutter.

[Will]

17 hours ago, grilled_cheese said:

Any ETA on updated fare options?  Primarily, debit/cc swipe at boarding?

Yes the CC swipe terminals are installed on most buses now. Unfortunately they still accept cash but it's still a big improvement.

[Dale]

1 hour ago, Armacing said:

Does this mean they like or dislike the scooters?

They think it’s the greatest think ever, on the order of the flying car.

[BnaBreaker]

19 hours ago, Mr_Bond said:

@e-dub and @grilled_cheese, thanks for sharing your perspective on how difficult it is to use WeGo.  Sounds like a more accurate name would be WeSlow or WeAintComin.  Seriously, you've helped me see more clearly our need for more frequent bus service.

You've inspired me to take the 3/5 tomorrow to move up and down Broadway/West End.  I ride the Music City Circuit regularly but it's been about 20 years since I rode the 7 to/from Green Hills to downtown.

Can we just go back to calling it MTA?  WeGo sounds SO corny and small town to me... like a company of short buses you'd see in any random little burg that is used primarily by old folks who can't drive that use it to get between the nursing home and the Bingo hall.  

[Mr_Bond]

20 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Can we just go back to calling it MTA?  WeGo sounds SO corny and small town to me... like a company of short buses you'd see in any random little burg that is used primarily by old folks who can't drive that use it to get between the nursing home and the Bingo hall.  

I was thinking of it as a child's toy.  "Weebles wobble but they don't fall out!"