Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[kermit]

24 minutes ago, JeanClt said:

How does this even happen…careless drivers?

Drunks, old people and idiots.

Cars are a stupidity amplifier.

Edited February 13, 2022 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

My insurance agent once told me that industry figures suggest that ~25% of cars on the road should not be there due to issues with the car (tag, inspection, ownership), driver (license, BAC, insurance, etc) and at night that number increases and on Friday and Saturday night the number goes WAAAAAy up.

[RANYC]

2 hours ago, kermit said:

Drunks, old people and idiots.

Cars are a stupidity amplifier.

Love that: cars are a stupidity amplifier!  Truth.

[go_vertical]

2 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

My insurance agent once told me that industry figures suggest that ~25% of cars on the road should not be there due to issues with the car (tag, inspection, ownership), driver (license, BAC, insurance, etc) and at night that number increases and on Friday and Saturday night the number goes WAAAAAy up.

I 100% believe this.  Being from Florida where there are no inspections I can honestly say that having them here does nothing to increase safety.  I feel like I see just as many tagless, broken taillight, smog inducing, $#! +boxes here.  I actually would applaud the inspection process if they would actually enforce it so that it would make the streets safer. 

[nakers2]

17 hours ago, go_vertical said:

How often does this sort of thing happen?  I saw literally the same situation near Scaleybark Thursday night (or maybe it was last night, can't remember).  Someone in a BMW 3 series tried to turn onto northbound South Blvd from Clanton but ended up straddling the tracks. 

I believe it was last Monday, as I was delayed to a dinner reservation, unless it happened again, which sadly wouldn't surprise me. 

3 hours ago, go_vertical said:

I 100% believe this.  Being from Florida where there are no inspections I can honestly say that having them here does nothing to increase safety.  I feel like I see just as many tagless, broken taillight, smog inducing, $#! +boxes here.  I actually would applaud the inspection process if they would actually enforce it so that it would make the streets safer. 

As a truck driver, the standards we are held to are leaps and bounds higher than the average car. I'm not saying we *shouldn't* be held to a higher standard, but it shouldn't be exponentially higher. The only time people are pulled for safety issues are when a light is out, and often it's more a segue for them to search for drugs.  

[go_vertical]

34 minutes ago, nakers2 said:

I believe it was last Monday, as I was delayed to a dinner reservation, unless it happened again, which sadly wouldn't surprise me. 

As a truck driver, the standards we are held to are leaps and bounds higher than the average car. I'm not saying we *shouldn't* be held to a higher standard, but it shouldn't be exponentially higher. The only time people are pulled for safety issues are when a light is out, and often it's more a segue for them to search for drugs.  

It definitely happened again then because this was only a day or two ago.  I wish there was something effective that could be done to prevent this.  Frequency interruptions to our mass transit every week due to people not paying attention while behind the wheel of a vehicle is the last thing CATS needs. 

Regarding inspections, I can't properly articulate here how frustrating it is to have to pay for the permission to legally drive my car knowing the junk that's out there. 

[JRCLT]

As a truck driver, the standards we are held to are leaps and bounds higher than the average car. I'm not saying we *shouldn't* be held to a higher standard, but it shouldn't be exponentially higher. The only time people are pulled for safety issues are when a light is out, and often it's more a segue for them to search for drugs.  

Trucks account for a lot of road damage do to their weight, so I would suppose that would have something to do with it. Driving around tons of weight on a big machine is really a dangerous combination for many reasons.

[Hushpuppy321]

Quick question about the BLE - Was total construction costs equivalent to $150 Million per 1 Mile of LightRail?  Just curious if the Referendum attempt fails in the future if it’s feasible for the City alone to fund the Blueline Project for 5 miles (and the 3 Car Trains Reno) and what that would cost.

[nakers2]

11 hours ago, JeanClt said:

Trucks account for a lot of road damage do to their weight, so I would suppose that would have something to do with it. Driving around tons of weight on a big machine is really a dangerous combination for many reasons.

Well let me paint it for you this way. Many a tiny missile has brought down a large aircraft. 

[JRCLT]

I mean I would argue drivers need to be brought up to a higher standard. Not that I agree with the disparity. Trucks account for 99% of the wear-and-tear on US roads but only pay for about 35% of that (according to some statistics on a study I read). The bigger they are the harder they fall? So it’s understandable that the regulation and standards are high regarding what the struck carry and their sheer weight.

[davidclt]

So in my (what feels like weekly) "CATS doesn't get it" for any number of reasons. . . the stations are disgusting. How hard (and expensive) would it be to pressure wash each station once a quarter - and do general maintenance? They did recently remove (the not much used but also not NOT USED) bike racks at East/West station. But the announcement signs are growing tired and don't provide any useful information (ever) The LEDs on the trains are at least three colors capable (green, red, amber) and yet, all we see is amber. It feels like asking CATS to even do the small, incremental things better (much less well) is too much for them.

[CLT2014]

12 minutes ago, davidclt said:

So in my (what feels like weekly) "CATS doesn't get it" for any number of reasons. . . the stations are disgusting. How hard (and expensive) would it be to pressure wash each station once a quarter - and do general maintenance? They did recently remove (the not much used but also not NOT USED) bike racks at East/West station. But the announcement signs are growing tired and don't provide any useful information (ever) The LEDs on the trains are at least three colors capable (green, red, amber) and yet, all we see is amber. It feels like asking CATS to even do the small, incremental things better (much less well) is too much for them.

Everybody's excuse these days is "Labor shortage" or "Covid" and that it really is that hard with skeleton staffing. 

• Trash on interstates everywhere.... NCDOT labor shortage
• Sup-par train frequencies.... CATS labor shortage
• Nothing on the shelves at Target.... truck driver labor shortage
• Canceled flights when the weather is perfectly fine... airline labor shortage
• One cashier at a Walmart Supercenter.... labor shortage
• Room service every 3 days at a 5 start hotel that costs $800 a night.... labor shortage and Covid
• Operating a restaurant at 75% capacity and having a line out the door.... not enough waiters to work the tables
• The phone system anywhere you call... "Hello, we are experiencing longer than expected hold times due to a surge in volume. Please stay on the line for the next 25 minutes and we will answer your call in the order it was received."... translation.... people quit. 

CATS is currently hiring a Labor Crew Chief for Off Street Cleaning. Pay is $18 - $23 an hour is anybody wants to take charge of the cleaning of stations. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by CLT2014

[JRCLT]

Valid complaints. I suppose it’s easy to say these from an outside perspective. I don’t know too much about CATS operations, but it would be nice to know why they don’t do some things

Everybody's excuse these days is "Labor shortage" or "Covid" and that it really is that hard with skeleton staffing. 

• Trash on interstates everywhere.... NCDOT labor shortage
• Sup-par train frequencies.... CATS labor shortage
• Nothing on the shelves at Target.... truck driver labor shortage
• Canceled flights when the weather is perfectly fine... airline labor shortage
• One cashier at a Walmart Supercenter.... labor shortage
• Room service every 3 days at a 5 start hotel that costs $800 a night.... labor shortage and Covid
• Operating a restaurant at 75% capacity and having a line out the door.... not enough waiters to work the tables
• The phone system anywhere you call... "Hello, we are experiencing longer than expected hold times due to a surge in volume. Please stay on the line for the next 25 minutes and we will answer your call in the order it was received."... translation.... people quit. 

CATS is currently hiring a Labor Crew Chief for Off Street Cleaning. Pay is $18 - $23 an hour is anybody wants to take charge of the cleaning of stations. 

CATS stated low ridership due to COVID too. I’m not sure which it is or if it’s both.

[davidclt]

2 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

"Labor shortage" or "Covid"

<Wahhhhh> No one wants to work for inadequate wages. Why is "Labor Crew Chief" an hourly job? Yes, I know why and it's BS created by poorly aligned incentives on the labor-demand side ("blue collar worker")? Starting at FT, $50k per year (non-exempt - but with a high bar for OT) with bonuses for performance and raises for CoL, tenure and aligned to performance.

[CLT2014]

48 minutes ago, davidclt said:

<Wahhhhh> No one wants to work for inadequate wages. Why is "Labor Crew Chief" an hourly job? Yes, I know why and it's BS created by poorly aligned incentives on the labor-demand side ("blue collar worker")? Starting at FT, $50k per year (non-exempt - but with a high bar for OT) with bonuses for performance and raises for CoL, tenure and aligned to performance.

Being a governmental agency is where CATS is at a dis-advantage with private employers.... 

Rising costs of living??? Amazon can pay their employees more overnight and offset it / cover that cost by charging millions of customers $30 more per year for Amazon Prime. 

CATS though doesn't operate with a profit and their revenue largely comes from taxes... they have a $205 million budget for 2022 and the amount of money coming in is pretty much fixed unless they:
1.) Get citizens to approve additional revenue streams / taxes to pay for better wages for employees. They are working on this, but it is slow and politics are involved.
2.) Raise the fares on riders -> which may results in less ridership and shift people to cars
3.) Cut operating costs elsewhere and use the savings to pay people more... CATS is already doing that and has cut frequency and given retention bonuses. They may cut jobs like Station Cleaning in order to pay the Rail Operators 10% more in salary. Anywhere they cut to try to shift the wage increases to other jobs results in complaints though cause it is a net-reduction in headcount / service. 

It is easy to just say "Let's pay everybody more," but CATS can't just increase their budget from $205 million to $300 million on their own to do that. Employee wages are already 61% of CATS expenditures so you can't do a large increase to that without moving the amount of revenue coming in up significantly. 

CATS main lever to raise wages absent a tax increase would be to double fares. This would provide (assuming ridership doesn't flee) an extra $20 million per year to give a 16% raise to employees. This would move a one-way fare to $4.40 or a monthly pass to $176 (Denver's Regional Rail Pass is $200 for comparison, but they are having severe ridership issues that were declining even pre-pandemic). 

Edited March 3, 2022 by CLT2014

[kermit]

On 3/3/2022 at 11:00 AM, davidclt said:

They did recently remove (the not much used but also not NOT USED) bike racks at East/West station.

Wait, WTF, I used those every day. I need those!

(I have not noticed yet because I am not currently riding the Blue Line for non-CATS related reasons)

RE Labor "shortage":  CATS is a public agency but, they are still sitting on millions in stimulus funds  (earmarked for operations) which (I would assume) they could use to increase wages to get enough drivers.

Edited March 8, 2022 by kermit

[davidclt]

2 minutes ago, kermit said:

Wait, WTF, I used those every day. I need those. 

(not currently riding the Blue Line for non-CATS related reasons)

They've been gone for WEEKS, only sheared bolts on the ground remain. I'll document on my afternoon walk. It was just you @kermitand the abandoned bike frame usually attached to the racks that were using said rack. I'm wondering if it's because of the clearances which have been impeded by the scaffolding for the construction? I wish they hadn't installed netting (albeit easy to see throughish if the light is right).

[kermit]

2 minutes ago, davidclt said:

 It was just you @kermitand the abandoned bike frame usually attached to the racks that were using said rack.

Yea, that is true during the plague-era, but more folks did use it in before times and I am sure more will be back.

CATS is gonna get a nastygram from me... (I am sure they will regret their decision)

[go_vertical]

2 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

• One cashier at a Walmart Supercenter.... labor shortage

Proof Walmart has known about covid for several years longer than anyone else. 

[dylansukkert]

The light rail has been slammed recently from the morning work rush to this Saturday with two major events at the same time. It’s time to get rid of the 20 min frequency. 

[JRCLT]

CATS said they were waiting for covid to die down… I don’t know what they are waiting for when ridership is going up. At least increase it during events when larger ridership is expected…

[Reverie39]

Cases and hospitalizations are way down, many schools and institutions across the country are lifting mask mandates, and public areas/transportation are becoming very crowded again (anecdotally from what I've seen at least). This is the definition of COVID "dying down". Time to take action.

If they're sitting around worried that it will flare back up again, they'll be sitting around forever. It is never truly going away, we will just learn to live with it and continue to protect ourselves from it with vaccines and other things.

[Nathan2]

uptown had the hornets and Charlotte FC this past weekend and still didn't increase frequency at all. Trains were beyond packed and some had to wait for two or three trains to come by to get on.  I'm sure almost everyone that got on the train or attempted to get on left with a bad taste in their mouths, its not a good look. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by Nathan2

[dylansukkert]

Also add in Wells Fargo and Bank of America going back to the office in the coming weeks. 

[Desert Power]

On 3/3/2022 at 2:08 PM, go_vertical said:

On 3/3/2022 at 11:12 AM, CLT2014 said:

• One cashier at a Walmart Supercenter.... labor shortage

Proof Walmart has known about covid for several years longer than anyone else. 

I actually went to the Walmart on Independence a few weeks ago and was shocked at how well staffed it was for a Walmart

9 hours ago, Nathan2 said:

uptown had the hornets and Charlotte FC this past weekend and still didn't increase frequency at all. Trains were beyond packed and some had to wait for two or three trains to come by to get on.  I'm sure almost everyone that got on the train or attempted to get on left with a bad taste in their mouths, its not a good look. 

I love to hate on CATS, but have they ever really increased frequency for events? I don't recall that.