Columbia Transit

[Ellen]

Thanks, Matt.

Mayor Bob? You watching?

[sonofaque86]

Yeah I know the hospital has the most employees downtown who rely on the bus...You can see hundreds of people at the transit station waiting for the buses in the mornings and afternoons

[krazeeboi]

Looking at Letters to the Editor today in The State, you can see that more people are beginning to see the importance of mass transit in the Columbia area. This is an area in which Mayor Coble is going to have to show some aggressive, innovative leadership.

[Doug L]

If you think our state is going to get LRT within 20 years, think again. Our state can barely keep up the bus system. What makes people think they'll be able to keep up LRT?

I think you will find that more people are more prone to ride a train than a bus. Also the perception is that buses are for poor blacks and trains are for the lilly white suburbanites. That perception makes a big difference down here in the south.

Edited June 6, 2006 by Doug L

[sonofaque86]

Yeah...I'm like if gas gets $5 a gallon I'll be riding the bus...Then my friends say they wouldn't be caught riding the bus or waiting orn the corner at a bus stop...

Edited June 6, 2006 by sonofaque86

[Mr.Marc]

I think you will find that more people are more prone to ride a train than a bus. Also the perception is that buses are for poor blacks and trains are for the lilly white suburbanites. That perception makes a big difference down here in the south.

People are probably more prone to use the train b/c trains do not have to stop for traffic. Buses have to travel on the same roads and highways as cars thus causing its riders to experience the same traffic jams as automobiles.

[krazeeboi]

Public hearings will occur before a final decision is made. Columbia area residents really need to let their voices be heard.

[Spartan]

One thing the city has to do is make the bus stops more people friendly. They need information like maps and routes and times at each stop so that you don't have to know which route goes where (and when) ahead of time. In larger cities that is how they operate. You don't need to have your map or route numbers researched. They also need to improve the bus stops, especially in and around the center city. Nobody is going to ride it otherwise. Free ride days when gas prices are peaking might also intice a few extra riders. Mostly it is fear of the unknown that keeps people off of buses.... well, that and people living in cookie-cutter subdivisions and working in suburban office campuses.... but in central Columbia, a bus system could be very effective, particularly as densities go up. I read in one of those articles that there is one guy who is without a car- vountarily (meaning he chooses not to won one). I don't understand how he can do that.... but if that guy can, anyone else can as well. Columbia just needs the infrastructure to support it.

Also, transit systems are never proffitable. its a public necessity, sort of like road maintenance. It has to be done. The money will come from somewhere, dont worry. I am hopeing that they won't have to prove the point in the same way that Charleston did a few years ago.

[krazeeboi]

What happened in Charleston a few years ago?

[Spartan]

CARTA shut down due to a lack of funding for a few months (during the hottest part of the summer). It became evident almost immediately how much transit was needed, so they passed a half-cent sales tax to pay for it.

[krazeeboi]

Well, it might take something like that to show how desperately mass transit is needed in the Columbia area.

[803metlife]

I read in the latest edition of free times that the citizens of columbia are going to have the chance to vote for a one cent tax.

[waccamatt]

I think the state should institute a gas tax to fund public transportation. The people that guzzle gas should help to subsidize more environmentally-friendly means of travel. Commuter trains could be run for a very reasonable amount of money: the tracks are already there and it would be a more relaxing way for people to get to work and be a fun means of intercity travel. Wouldn't it be fun to take a train from downtown Columbia to downtown Charleston (or vice versa) for a day trip?

[Mr.Marc]

Wouldn't it be fun to take a train from downtown Columbia to downtown Charleston (or vice versa) for a day trip?

Sure would

[Spartan]

I think a line from Greenville and Spartanburg to Columbia and Charleston would do well. Particularly if you could get there in less time than it takes to drive.

The only problem is that downown Columbia needs better pedestrian infrastructure from the railroad tracks. Most things that you'd want to see or do are not anywhere near that area, and walking from it would be impractical.

[mr. chips]

I think the state should institute a gas tax to fund public transportation. The people that guzzle gas should help to subsidize more environmentally-friendly means of travel.

You may have seen that Thomas Friedman proposed this recently in an op-ed piece, "Seeds for a Geo-Green Party":

"Its centerpiece would be a $1 a gallon gasoline tax, called "The Patriot Tax," which would be phased in over a year. People earning less than $50,000 a year, and those with unusual driving needs, would get a reduction on their payroll taxes as an offset. The billions of dollars raised by the Patriot Tax would go first to shore up Social Security, second to subsidize clean mass transit in and between every major American city, third to reduce the deficit, and fourth to massively increase energy research by the National Science Foundation and the Energy and Defense Departments' research arms."

[waccamatt]

I think a line from Greenville and Spartanburg to Columbia and Charleston would do well. Particularly if you could get there in less time than it takes to drive.

The only problem is that downown Columbia needs better pedestrian infrastructure from the railroad tracks. Most things that you'd want to see or do are not anywhere near that area, and walking from it would be impractical.

They could use the trolleys to start at the train station and make the rounds of The Vista, Five Points, Main Street, USC and the Devine Street corridor.

[Spartan]

^ Thats a good idea. I'd also like to see them make the area around the train station more pedestrian friendly... some place that people wouldn't mind walking to.

[krazeeboi]

This letter to the editor in today's edition of The State made me want to puke. The sheer arrogance and ignorance of this person is nauseating. I surely hope this isn't representative of the typical attitude towards mass transit in the Midlands:

I wish to register my objection to more taxes for Columbia residents, especially homeowners like me and my wife. We are getting hit with an increase to pay for higher fuel and electricity costs. Now, there is talk of a new tax to buoy the bus system SCE&G couldn

[BrasilnSC]

This idiot needs to be more informed before writing these letters. So since I don't have any kids, I shouldn't have to pay for schools either, right? What a stupid argument and what a moron.

[Spartan]

You have to remember that most people don't understand mass transit or its financing. And they don't understand that an efficient mass transit system can actually be cheaper than an efficient road network.

[waccamatt]

This idiot needs to be more informed before writing these letters. So since I don't have any kids, I shouldn't have to pay for schools either, right? What a stupid argument and what a moron.

I totally agree; he is a typical $##$@$@$ who can't see beyond his own nose or his own wallet. Having an effective and convenient public transportation system is the hallmark of a successful city.

[krazeeboi]

You have to remember that most people don't understand mass transit or its financing. And they don't understand that an efficient mass transit system can actually be cheaper than an efficient road network.

I could give the person that much, but there are several reasons why the citizenry sharing the financial burden of financing benefits EVERYONE and not just the people who ride the bus. I-D-I-O-T.

[Spartan]

The problem is that the benefits of mass transit are not directly tangible, particularly if you dont use it, or are unfamiliar with the concept of it. People don't understand that they actually do pay for themselves, just not as a direct proffit. The people who use it dont have a car.... but the money they would have used to buy and maintain that car is still going into the economy. The only proffitable mass transit system in the world is in Hong Kong, and something tells me that Columbia won't be seeing densities like that in the forseeable future.

[krazeeboi]

A new study says Camden would be the best place to start commuter rail in the Midlands, but other routes from Newberry and Batesburg-Leesville also are practical.