Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[CLT2014]

16 minutes ago, hinsp0 said:

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.

People are voting with their feet too.

Between 2008 and 2012, weekday DC metro ridership was around 750,000 trips each day. Fast forward to 2017 and weekday ridership had fallen to 612,000 per weekday (-18.4%) due to the reliability issues. 

The decline is even worse for weekend trips, where people are picking Uber and Lyft over long headways.

Once you lose riders, it is harder to get then back.

Edited August 20, 2018 by CLT2014

[pgsinger]

56 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

People are voting with their feet too.

Between 2008 and 2012, weekday DC metro ridership was around 750,000 trips each day. Fast forward to 2017 and weekday ridership had fallen to 612,000 per weekday (-18.4%) due to the reliability issues. 

The decline is even worse for weekend trips, where people are picking Uber and Lyft over long headways.

Once you lose riders, it is harder to get then back.

Do you really think this is mostly Uber and Lyft?  (not blue font...as I am actually curious) I would love to see granular data that could be used to compare ridership on days with good weather versus days with bad.  I would also be interested in comparing that data to ride counts and trip routes on dockless bikes and scooters.  When I moved back to Charlotte in April, I moved into the Silos.  I didn't have a car, so I was probably not representative of the average Charlottean.  However, I usually took the train to work just south of Uptown. If you recall April was fairly cold and wet by our standards.  When the weather got better, I rode a dockless bike to work most days and would take the train when it rained.  Eventually, I bought a bike to commute.  Looking around on the rail trail in the morning, I get the sense that there are a lot of commuters taking those modes of transport over the light rail.  I also assume that those people that choose to ride a bike or scooter to work are probably more inclined to take the train than most normal people.  

If the city does not already get the data from the bike and scooter companies, they should require that for the license.  If they really want to build out a green transport system, then more data on variable means of transport would be very beneficial.

[Temeteron]

1 hour ago, CLT2014 said:

Was it night time?

It was around 5:45pm Saturday 

[CLT2014]

29 minutes ago, pgsinger said:

Do you really think this is mostly Uber and Lyft?  (not blue font...as I am actually curious) I would love to see granular data that could be used to compare ridership on days with good weather versus days with bad.  I would also be interested in comparing that data to ride counts and trip routes on dockless bikes and scooters.  When I moved back to Charlotte in April, I moved into the Silos.  I didn't have a car, so I was probably not representative of the average Charlottean.  However, I usually took the train to work just south of Uptown. If you recall April was fairly cold and wet by our standards.  When the weather got better, I rode a dockless bike to work most days and would take the train when it rained.  Eventually, I bought a bike to commute.  Looking around on the rail trail in the morning, I get the sense that there are a lot of commuters taking those modes of transport over the light rail.  I also assume that those people that choose to ride a bike or scooter to work are probably more inclined to take the train than most normal people.  

If the city does not already get the data from the bike and scooter companies, they should require that for the license.  If they really want to build out a green transport system, then more data on variable means of transport would be very beneficial.

Sorry, that data was regarding a conversation on the previous page about transit reliability in general and the on going issues in cities like DC and NYC with keeping the system reliable. The data points are actually for DC metro, which offers a cautionary tale on going from a well run system to losing lots of riders due to mismanagement. 

For CLT, the tie is was some of our late trains and track maintenance as UNCC starts.

Edited August 20, 2018 by CLT2014

[EllAyyDub]

I would add that a PR disaster like an accident would be very very negative for CATS on the heels of a major "Big Bang" transit push.  I imagine John Lewis is trying to stay out of the news until a plan is announced - and if it means slower, safer trains so be it. 

Every article and news blurb about the announcement would mention any major accident in the first paragraph and you don't want that kind of association when asking for $5B+.

[kermit]

3 minutes ago, EllAyyDub said:

I would add that a PR disaster like an accident would be very very negative for CATS on the heels of a major "Big Bang" transit push.  I imagine John Lewis is trying to stay out of the news until a plan is announced - and if it means slower, safer trains so be it. 

Every article and news blurb about the announcement would mention any major accident in the first paragraph and you don't want that kind of association when asking for $5B+.

I don’t disagree with this assesment, but I would add that slower than necessary trains will depress ridership below expectations,  something that will also appear in  the first paragraph of every story about expansion.

[UPNoDa]

8 hours ago, kermit said:

I don’t disagree with this assesment, but I would add that slower than necessary trains will depress ridership below expectations,  something that will also appear in  the first paragraph of every story about expansion.

 

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

Looks like the light rail and streetcar will be completely shut down this weekend.  CO: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article217071935.html

"Maintenance to be performed includes adding ballast, painting, landscaping, track and signal work, tree trimming and work on crossings."

1. I'm glad there isn't a home Panthers game (Friday).

2. I hope this improves trip times and other issues we've had.

Edited August 21, 2018 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[grodney]

This is an advanced train technique I hadn't seen before.  He got on at 3rd and went all the way to 485.

 

[11 HouseBZ]

 While we're living in 2018, this guy is living in 3018.

Edited August 22, 2018 by 11 HouseBZ

[SgtCampsalot]

I'm tellin' ya, these scooters are revolutionary

[kermit]

While it is only the second day of class my early observations are that relatively few students are using the Blue Line to get to campus (despite this year's $465 parking permit fee).

I only have six trains worth of observations (I have seen a total of four student looking people who left the train at UNCC main on those trains) but parking at Old Concord only appears to be marginally fuller and the Waffle House deck is no fuller (although technically students cant park there).

On the bright side, I continue to be surprised by the number of coworkers who take the train despite not living particularly close to it. Unfortunately these numbers are tiny in comparison to the student population.

Its early, the trains I took may not be representative, it could change, yada yada. But I am disappointed by the early changes.

[CLT2014]

There aren't many single family neighborhoods close to the Light Rail. If you are living at home with mom and dad, you are most likely going to drive from your parent's house in Mint Hill, Concord, Harrisburg, Cotswold, East Charlotte, West Charlotte, Huntersville, etc... because driving to the station and switching modes takes time. If you are able to afford a South End apartment in college, you likely got your BMW 3 series paid by mom and dad in the garage and you are driving to campus.

For local students that do move out of mom and dad's but not into a dorm, it seems like they try to get an apartment close to campus.

Was there any research on how many UNCC students commuting to campus live within a mile of a station and not in walking distance to campus?

Edited August 22, 2018 by CLT2014

[Trickbot]

I know of a few people taking the train instead of parking this year. One example is my slightly older friend lives in Cherry, he takes the trolley up to the CTC station and rides it to UNCC everyday so he doesn't have to spend his money on a parking pass

Edited August 22, 2018 by Trickbot

[nakers2]

I was a freshman in 2013, despite being from Charlotte originally, I never grew up here and I was excited to explore the city. I distinctly remember a friend I had met at orientation really wanted to go to a "paint party" Uptown (look it up, not gonna explain it here) being two 18 year old guys in a big city we were thrilled at the idea of living the "college life" and we took bus 11 to Uptown to check it out. Surprisingly there were a number of other students on the bus. If this year's freshman class was anything like mine, many are likely from small towns in North and South Carolina, and have never really "been" to Charlotte. Hearing all this hype about the light rail will definitely pique their interest and will probably be their desired mode of transportation to get Uptown this weekend, only for them to discover it's out of service. Could they really not have waited another week or two?

[KJHburg]

I agree give the students some time and they will be exploring.  My nephew is a freshman and this is his first week of classes.   But he can't wait to ride his bike along the Rail Trail.   And many are from small towns across NC.  Even my nephew who is from a city of 8.3 million in China remarks how clean uptown is and of course the air here is delightful compared to the Pearl River delta cities of southern China.  

[Trickbot]

Here at 9pm on a Wednesday students are still using. I was coming back from the store and use the station to cut through to dorms from lot. About 10 students were waiting for it and about 3 dozen disembarked from the train. So even at this late hour the train is getting steady use from the 49ers. Here are 2 photos of it coming in and disembarking(please excuse the quality, took them with 1 hand while holding groceries in the other)

[kermit]

On 8/22/2018 at 10:58 AM, kermit said:

While it is only the second day of class my early observations are that relatively few students are using the Blue Line to get to campus (despite this year's $465 parking permit fee).

I only have six trains worth of observations (I have seen a total of four student looking people who left the train at UNCC main on those trains) 

Its early, the trains I took may not be representative, it could change, yada yada. But I am disappointed by the early changes.

I’ll recant this and blame poor sampling technique. Late afternoon trains leaving campus appear to be performing well (40plus riders in my vehicle today at 5:15). One surprise was that nearly half of them only went one stop to JW Clay.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

This is from the Panther's IG account.  The wrap looks fantastic, pretty damn cool!  Perfect football weather for game day!  #KeepPounding *Reminder: Light rail will be closed this weekend!

[kermit]

One of two track geometry vehicles (I think) in Southend today.

A ride down the railtrail left me impressed with the maintenance work that CATS was able to organize. It looks like they will reset ballast and geometry for the whole line, plus their was some tree trimming and drainage work along the segment I passed by today. Despite the unfortunate weekend they choose to close the line I am certainly glad CATS are setting a pattern of staying on top of maintenance issues, there are lots of examples of the bad things that happen when its neglected (DC Metro and NYC MTA). Unrelated to track maintenance I'll also give props to CATS for maintaining clean LRT vehicles based on my daily commuting experience.  Hat tip! (now if they could only run the 10 minute all day frequencies they promised in the leadup to the BLE)

 

Edited August 25, 2018 by kermit

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

In my mind, this was the only feasible weekend left. Next weekend you have college football start up at Uncc on top of the belk college kickoff of west Virginia and Tennessee at Panthers stadium Saturday and NFL starts the following week after. They had to do it this weekend. The only thing I didn't like was when driving past stations there was no notice that they were closed or out of service on the electronic signs. Very bad if you're an out of towner or anyone really who doesn't keep up with this stuff. A simple message on the scrolling notification boards at the stations could have been a nice heads up. *However there could have been audible notifications that I did not hear. 

[AuLukey]

With light rail out, we drove to Uptown yesterday. I saw a few A frame signs at the N Tryon stations indicating the station was closed and where to go for the busses. Only saw one person sitting at a station, and they had a CATS hat on so idk. Would’ve said something, but she had the grimace of a DMV worker who is overdue for their smoke break.
That all said, I’m not sure if it was the lack of light rail or the fact that there was a Knights game, but parking in uptown was packed compared to a normal weekend.

[JacksonH]

On 8/16/2018 at 10:19 PM, TheOneRJ said:

Yeah, this is just factually false. 

Nope, it's factually true.  See how easy that is?

[KJHburg]

I just heard on Channel 9 news all trains will be 5-8 minutes slower running this week something to do with the tracks 

[Cadi40]

It's to allow the ballasts enough time to reset, Trains won't exceed speeds of 35 MPH all next week sadly.