Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[15895]

1 minute ago, CLT2014 said:

They got to fix it. You can drive faster even at peak rush hour.

I commuted from I485 to UNCC my entire last semester. The speeds on the extension were so annoying.  Stopping at every intersection. Cutting the time By 10 minutes would do wonders for commuters 

[jednc]

46 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I think I’ve been pretty much everywhere in Arlington and I still have that same opinion. Very underwhelming compared to how people hyped it up. I’m going to have to stick with Sterile and boring. 

 

Ive been to all those places. I just vastly prefer SW/NW so much more than Arlington.  I also think Center city Charlotte is wayyy better than Arlington too (other than the fact Arlington is beside Washington).

 

The more places I visit in the USA, the greater I think Charlotte is. For an American city, Charlotte is amaze balls. And people on the interwebz are ruining cities such as Minneapolis where they hype it up and rag on CLT.... makes me wonder how this supposed paradise of Denver will be. Imma visit there soon 

Denver is a cool city. I still think that despite one of its transplant's annoying attitudes about Charlotte, Southerners, North Carolina, etc.

[JacksonH]

2 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I think I’ve been pretty much everywhere in Arlington and I still have that same opinion. Very underwhelming compared to how people hyped it up. I’m going to have to stick with Sterile and boring. 

 

Ive been to all those places. I just vastly prefer SW/NW so much more than Arlington.  I also think Center city Charlotte is wayyy better than Arlington too (other than the fact Arlington is beside Washington).

 

The more places I visit in the USA, the greater I think Charlotte is. For an American city, Charlotte is amaze balls. And people on the interwebz are ruining cities such as Minneapolis where they hype it up and rag on CLT.... makes me wonder how this supposed paradise of Denver will be. Imma visit there soon 

I stand by my comments.  I like Charlotte, but sorry, there's way more energy and things to do in those areas I mentioned in Arlington than Charlotte.   Arlington is growing rapidly and every time I visit it's like a new place.  It's unrecognizable from what it was when I first moved there in the '90s.   Denver area is also cool, especially Boulder -- charming and very vibrant with lots to do.

Edited August 17, 2018 by JacksonH

[UPNoDa]

^Makes one wonder what is being discussed at the monthly CATS meetings.

Are we confident that they are even aware of this statistic, or are they just shoving it under the rug claiming the line is open and sufficient as- is irregardless of the commute time?

 Honestly, I do not understand why they are hesitant on this issue.

[Desert Power]

1 hour ago, UPNoDa said:

^Makes one wonder what is being discussed at the monthly CATS meetings.

Are we confident that they are even aware of this statistic, or are they just shoving it under the rug claiming the line is open and sufficient as- is irregardless of the commute time?

 Honestly, I do not understand why they are hesitant on this issue.

They are a deeply inefficient bureaucracy...It is the latter.

[Trickbot]

1 hour ago, UPNoDa said:

^Makes one wonder what is being discussed at the monthly CATS meetings.

Are we confident that they are even aware of this statistic, or are they just shoving it under the rug claiming the line is open and sufficient as- is irregardless of the commute time?

 Honestly, I do not understand why they are hesitant on this issue.

Working theory here: CATS is literally a bunch of cats being herded around by John Lewis who by working together have somehow implemented a decent transportation system in the city of Charlotte. Just a theory at this point but I think I am on to something.

[TheOneRJ]

4 hours ago, JacksonH said:

I stand by my comments.  I like Charlotte, but sorry, there's way more energy and things to do in those areas I mentioned in Arlington than Charlotte.   Arlington is growing rapidly and every time I visit it's like a new place.  It's unrecognizable from what it was when I first moved there in the '90s.   Denver area is also cool, especially Boulder -- charming and very vibrant with lots to do.

Yeah, this is just factually false. 

[dylansukkert]

First Panthers gameday for the light rail extension. I wonder what kind of impact it will have on the amount of cars in and around uptown for a gameday.

[KJHburg]

CK Rider the Cabarrus County transit is doing all it can to encourage ridership.  Free parking and just the cost of a roundtrip ticket 

Rider Transit introduces Express Football Shuttle for Panthers 2018 home games
Are you planning to attend a Carolina Panthers home game this year? Rider Transit is pleased to offer a new Express Football Shuttle for the 2018-2019 season. The shuttle will run between The Village/Big Lots Park & Ride bus stop (behind Advance Auto) in Concord to the JW Clay LYNX Light Rail Station in Charlotte. Shuttle service will begin four hours before kickoff, with a bus departing every hour until kickoff. A shuttle will run continuously from the JW Clay LYNX Station to The Village Big/Lots Park & Ride during the game. At the end of the game, a bus will depart from JW Clay LYNX Station every half hour. The last shuttle will depart from JW Clay LYNX Light Rail Station in Charlotte two hours following the end of the game. (E.g. If the game ends at 7:15 pm, the last shuttle back to Concord will depart from JW Clay at 9:15 pm.). The round-trip cost including a free transfer to the CATS LYNX Blue Line is $4.40. Find out more and plan your trip today at ckrider.com.

[rancenc]

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

CK Rider the Cabarrus County transit is doing all it can to encourage ridership.  Free parking and just the cost of a roundtrip ticket 

Rider Transit introduces Express Football Shuttle for Panthers 2018 home games
Are you planning to attend a Carolina Panthers home game this year? Rider Transit is pleased to offer a new Express Football Shuttle for the 2018-2019 season. The shuttle will run between The Village/Big Lots Park & Ride bus stop (behind Advance Auto) in Concord to the JW Clay LYNX Light Rail Station in Charlotte. Shuttle service will begin four hours before kickoff, with a bus departing every hour until kickoff. A shuttle will run continuously from the JW Clay LYNX Station to The Village Big/Lots Park & Ride during the game. At the end of the game, a bus will depart from JW Clay LYNX Station every half hour. The last shuttle will depart from JW Clay LYNX Light Rail Station in Charlotte two hours following the end of the game. (E.g. If the game ends at 7:15 pm, the last shuttle back to Concord will depart from JW Clay at 9:15 pm.). The round-trip cost including a free transfer to the CATS LYNX Blue Line is $4.40. Find out more and plan your trip today at ckrider.com.

I am curious to see the ridership figures for the Concord-Kannapolis Transit since they started the trips to the JW Clay station.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

5 hours ago, rancenc said:

I am curious to see the ridership figures for the Concord-Kannapolis Transit since they started the trips to the JW Clay station.

Driving up tryon about 20 minutes before kickoff tonight, JW station, university station and the one after that (forget the name) were full of fans. Pretty cool seeing that. 

[Nick2]

Every light rail train through uptown was pretty much packed from a couple hours until the game untill a couple hours after.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Nick2

[Cadi40]

Light Rail trains were packed today with rainbows, Pretty awesome to see!

[Desert Power]

2 hours ago, Nick2 said:

Every light rail train through uptown was pretty much packed from a couple hours until the game untill a couple hours after.

They should have increased frequency

[Matthew.Brendan]

Sat for what felt way too long for a train on any Friday night , let alone one immediately following an NFL game.

Oh, and watched an empty one “Not in service” stop just slightly past 3rd Southbound, to a platform full of puzzlement. 

[Desert Power]

11 hours ago, Matthew.Brendan said:

Sat for what felt way too long for a train on any Friday night , let alone one immediately following an NFL game.

Oh, and watched an empty one “Not in service” stop just slightly past 3rd Southbound, to a platform full of puzzlement. 

It really boggles the mind how we can invest so much in this train to run it so poorly

[navigator319]

So no light rail service all next weekend?  First full weekend of UNCC back in session.

I really trying to give them the benefit of the doubt with EVERYTHING and I don't want to see or care about any ridership numbers to 12 months after open, but damn do we really have a banana republic running things???

http://charlottenc.gov/cats/rail/Pages/track-work.aspx

[Trickbot]

1 hour ago, navigator319 said:

So no light rail service all next weekend?  First full weekend of UNCC back in session.

I really trying to give them the benefit of the doubt with EVERYTHING and I don't want to see or care about any ridership numbers to 12 months after open, but damn do we really have a banana republic running things???

http://charlottenc.gov/cats/rail/Pages/track-work.aspx

I was just about to comment on this, there are multiple signs up at UNCC main station that just says they are closed on those days with no futher explanation, thanks for pointing me to the website

Edited August 19, 2018 by Trickbot

[Durhamite]

7 hours ago, Desert Power said:

It really boggles the mind how we can invest so much in this train to run it so poorly

Quick question.  Have any of you really dealt with public transit in a city like DC metro as a regular commuter?  Every day commuter at one point 3+  years.  It is pretty reliable and a proven system  but can  be extremely  frustrating at times....this is part of the deal (maintenance, delays, break downs,  out of service trains, etc).   This is a brand new section where safety is paramount until the kinks are ironed out (frequent incidents are a much worse PR disaster than delay times).

[hinsp0]

1 hour ago, Durhamite said:

Quick question.  Have any of you really dealt with public transit in a city like DC metro as a regular commuter?  Every day commuter at one point 3+  years.  It is pretty reliable and a proven system  but can  be extremely  frustrating at times....this is part of the deal (maintenance, delays, break downs,  out of service trains, etc).   This is a brand new section where safety is paramount until the kinks are ironed out (frequent incidents are a much worse PR disaster than delay times).

I used DC metro every day for 5 years.  Lived a block from Braddock station in alexandria and my office was on Pennsylvania Avenue two blocks away from archives-navy memorial station.  In my experience the system was very reliable.  Beat the hell out of dealing with DC auto traffic.  However, there were undeniable frustrations with delays, out of service trains, and going into a station after a 12 hour workday only to see the train you wanted to catch closing it’s doors and leaving the platform.  Despite the frustrations, I enjoyed commuting on metro and I read many books in a surfing stance with one hand on the overhead rail.  I also enjoyed observing some pretty wild and irrational behavior displayed by my fellow commuters. 

I used the trolley sometimes when I lived in Elizabeth.  It wasn’t very reliable.  I walked home after several basketball games and other evening events because walking was faster than waiting for the trolley.

Now I just contribute to Charlotte’s increasing traffic congestion... 

[15895]

17 minutes ago, hinsp0 said:

I used DC metro every day for 5 years.  Lived a block from Braddock station in alexandria and my office was on Pennsylvania Avenue two blocks away from archives-navy memorial station.  In my experience the system was very reliable.  Beat the hell out of dealing with DC auto traffic.  However, there were undeniable frustrations with delays, out of service trains, and going into a station after a 12 hour workday only to see the train you wanted to catch closing it’s doors and leaving the platform.  Despite the frustrations, I enjoyed commuting on metro and I read many books in a surfing stance with one hand on the overhead rail.  I also enjoyed observing some pretty wild and irrational behavior displayed by my fellow commuters. 

I used the trolley sometimes when I lived in Elizabeth.  It wasn’t very reliable.  I walked home after several basketball games and other evening events because walking was faster than waiting for the trolley.

Now I just contribute to Charlotte’s increasing traffic congestion... 

 

I don’t know how long ago you lived in DC. But from what long term residents tell me. The last year or so has been incredibly terrible and super unreliable. Reduced hours. People will take the green line to a nats game just for the driver to say  “please be advised metro will not be operating after the game is over. Please use alternate transportation.” 

The red line is disconnected for 2 months. And this is the last week metro service will be 20 minutes headway’s during rush hour, thank God....

 

“

Metro is gearing up for two weeks of major track work on three lines, and it’s telling riders to avoid the system if they can.

“Use Orange, Silver and Blue Lines ONLY if you have no other option,” Metro says in its videos about the work and brochures it’s been handing out at stations. “ - https://wamu.org/story/18/08/09/metro-tells-riders-dont-use-rail-blue-orange-silver-line-work/

 

people here do nothing but complain about metro. The short operating hours. The useless people. Fare evaders (they’re installing new gates that people on social media are already complying people still fare dodge). It’s a hated thing these days.

 

Lynx is a much more well run machine with better, longer operating hours, more reliability and the same frequency. It just isn’t part of a large rail network.  

I think Lynx & CATS are more well run than we give them credit for. 

[Temeteron]

I do Uber driving part time. The other day I had a request from the Uptown UNCC building....when I realized where the destination was I couldn’t believe it. It was to the UNCC Main campus!   Normally I don’t say anything but the fact that she was literally right next to the rail I mentioned it to her.  She said she was too lazy.  Whatever that meant.  I just hate the mentality some people have here.  No patience at all.  Later it seemed that it probably would’ve been much faster for her if she would’ve taken the light rail, as 77 & 85 had a ton of traffic.  

[Desert Power]

1 hour ago, Temeteron said:

I do Uber driving part time. The other day I had a request from the Uptown UNCC building....when I realized where the destination was I couldn’t believe it. It was to the UNCC Main campus!   Normally I don’t say anything but the fact that she was literally right next to the rail I mentioned it to her.  She said she was too lazy.  Whatever that meant.  I just hate the mentality some people have here.  No patience at all.  Later it seemed that it probably would’ve been much faster for her if she would’ve taken the light rail, as 77 & 85 had a ton of traffic.  

That trip is usually about 10 minutes faster by car, assuming you time the train right. 

[CLT2014]

1 hour ago, Temeteron said:

I do Uber driving part time. The other day I had a request from the Uptown UNCC building....when I realized where the destination was I couldn’t believe it. It was to the UNCC Main campus!   Normally I don’t say anything but the fact that she was literally right next to the rail I mentioned it to her.  She said she was too lazy.  Whatever that meant.  I just hate the mentality some people have here.  No patience at all.  Later it seemed that it probably would’ve been much faster for her if she would’ve taken the light rail, as 77 & 85 had a ton of traffic.  

Was it night time?

[hinsp0]

9 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

 

I don’t know how long ago you lived in DC. But from what long term residents tell me. The last year or so has been incredibly terrible and super unreliable. Reduced hours. People will take the green line to a nats game just for the driver to say  “please be advised metro will not be operating after the game is over. Please use alternate transportation.” 

The red line is disconnected for 2 months. And this is the last week metro service will be 20 minutes headway’s during rush hour, thank God....

 

“

Metro is gearing up for two weeks of major track work on three lines, and it’s telling riders to avoid the system if they can.

“Use Orange, Silver and Blue Lines ONLY if you have no other option,” Metro says in its videos about the work and brochures it’s been handing out at stations. “ - https://wamu.org/story/18/08/09/metro-tells-riders-dont-use-rail-blue-orange-silver-line-work/

 

people here do nothing but complain about metro. The short operating hours. The useless people. Fare evaders (they’re installing new gates that people on social media are already complying people still fare dodge). It’s a hated thing these days.

 

Lynx is a much more well run machine with better, longer operating hours, more reliability and the same frequency. It just isn’t part of a large rail network.  

I think Lynx & CATS are more well run than we give them credit for. 

I left DC in 2008.  The metro system was pretty reliable in my experience.  I, like you, have heard from many fiends who still live there that the system’s reliability and quality has declined.