Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[kermit]

17 hours ago, Desert Power said:

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

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

Yea, back before the BLE they would store a train or two on the tail tracks at 7th street so they could run an extra(s) after Hornets games. They can't run more than two extras since there is very little room to turn trains at 485. The BLE took the option of extra trains away (mostly), but they can run peak frequencies (remember those?) before and after games if they want to. 

Edited March 10, 2022 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

Before BLE they would stage trains up to 9th street to bring forward to 7th for concerts and such. They would run non-scheduled sequence; fill the cars and then go. It "might" be possible to stage cars now with the North yard. Doubt it since they have so much trouble running a conventional schedule it would confuse them.

[Reverie39]

Question: are Blue Line trains and stations capable of simply adding a third car to each train? If CATS doesn't want to up frequency for whatever reason I wonder if this would be a viable alternative to fix those crowding issues others were speaking of.

[kermit]

1 hour ago, Reverie39 said:

Question: are Blue Line trains and stations capable of simply adding a third car to each train? If CATS doesn't want to up frequency for whatever reason I wonder if this would be a viable alternative to fix those crowding issues others were speaking of.

No, most platforms South of uptown are too short for three car trains (due to a value engineering decision in 2006 when the blue line was under construction).

Frequency is MUCH better than bigger trains. Higher frequency does have higher costs, but it generates MUCH more ridership as schedules become  less significant.

Edited March 10, 2022 by kermit

[Blue_Devil]

1 hour ago, kermit said:

No, most platforms South of uptown are too short for three car trains (due to a value engineering decision in 2006 when the blue line was under construction).

Frequency is MUCH better than bigger trains. Higher frequency does have higher costs, but it generates MUCH more ridership as schedules become  less significant.

Yah I would prefer frequency. Hell if they could get 2 cars up to pre-pandemic levels, and than add single car in between, that would be wonderful.

[Hushpuppy321]

Despite all the issues CATS has with Service Frequency, Reliability and Cleanliness, I think the $4.20/Gal (& Rising) Gas Prices are going to drive people back onto the Express Buses and Lightrail in the coming weeks.   I hope that CATS can rise to the occasion.  

Edited March 11, 2022 by Hushpuppy321

[videtur quam contuor]

And the South Boulevard congestion with so many new towers rising. I just drove through there this morning and pointing to the multiple projects in such close proximity made it clear that the normal street traffic will never adapt to such an increase, imo. (Make Camden a pedestrian only way.)

[KJHburg]

This was not done in Charlotte with CATS or LYNX was it?   From our capital city and Durham and Chapel Hill.

https://goraleigh.org/news/bus-fares-suspended-through-june-30-2022

If not why not?  I know the streetcar is free for now but this I assume would keep ridership.  

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/with-free-fares-and-rising-gas-prices-is-raleighs-bus-system-attracting-more-riders/

GORaleigh the local bus system in Wake County is up to 73% of its pre Covid ridership.

https://www.wral.com/average-gas-price-in-raleigh-reaches-4-19-why-not-ride-the-bus-instead/20179091/?s=

Edited March 12, 2022 by KJHburg

[davidclt]

11 hours ago, KJHburg said:

This was not done in Charlotte with CATS or LYNX was it?   From our capital city and Durham and Chapel Hill.

https://goraleigh.org/news/bus-fares-suspended-through-june-30-2022

If not why not?  I know the streetcar is free for now but this I assume would keep ridership.  

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/wake-county-news/with-free-fares-and-rising-gas-prices-is-raleighs-bus-system-attracting-more-riders/

GORaleigh the local bus system in Wake County is up to 73% of its pre Covid ridership.

https://www.wral.com/average-gas-price-in-raleigh-reaches-4-19-why-not-ride-the-bus-instead/20179091/?s=

I had the opportunity to ride a GoRaleigh bus last month. Their app made it easy to know when a bus would be coming. The bus we were on was well maintained (clean!) and fairly nicely kitted out, not extravagant but pleasant. Didn't feel like they had gone with the lowest bidder for everything including the interior where the upholstery had a GoRaleigh motif. The (LCD color) screen on the bus conveyed useful information. The stop announcements were clear and the bus was at approximately 60% capacity on a Sunday afternoon.

Compare this to CATS . . . the rolling stock is often filthy inside. The finishes are off the shelf, worn and not seemingly maintained. But hey, at least it doesn't cost us much right? I love Charlotte and I want CATS to run a good service (and the airport too). We've gotten so complacent about value engineering in the name of "saving money" that we accept less than because CHEAP. I maintain, while it doesn't cost as much up-front, the downstream costs are higher.

[tozmervo]

On 3/11/2022 at 10:04 AM, Hushpuppy321 said:

Despite all the issues CATS has with Service Frequency, Reliability and Cleanliness, I think the $4.20/Gal (& Rising) Gas Prices are going to drive people back onto the Express Buses and Lightrail in the coming weeks.   I hope that CATS can rise to the occasion.  

I'm but a single data point, but ridership on my express route has tripled or more since the beginning of March. 

[Hushpuppy321]

8 minutes ago, tozmervo said:

I'm but a single data point, but ridership on my express route has tripled or more since the beginning of March. 

Interesting - I know the Express buses were heavily used during the AM/PM Rush Hours just prior to the Pandemic and I believe that will  return for awhile during these heightened Gas Prices.  It’s also occurring right when a lot of Employers Uptown are beginning to require either a Full or Hybrid Work Week Return to the Office.

[JacksonH]

6 hours ago, Hushpuppy321 said:

Interesting - I know the Express buses were heavily used during the AM/PM Rush Hours just prior to the Pandemic and I believe that will  return for awhile during these heightened Gas Prices.  It’s also occurring right when a lot of Employers Uptown are beginning to require either a Full or Hybrid Work Week Return to the Office.

I saw an article about Goldman Sachs requiring all its employees to return to the office, but only half showed up!  With the unemployment rate now below 4% (considered full employment) what are companies going to do?  They're not going to fire folks because with a small available labor pool their employees have leverage now.  I think full time work from home or hybrid models won't be disappearing anytime soon, if ever.  While gas prices may encourage public transportation, that will be counterbalanced by people staying at home.

[kermit]

Yes, this Blue Line (although it seems to include the BLE-E to Ballantyne heading out to Sheepshead Bay)

(The Silver Line could go from Newark to JFK with a bit to spare I think)

Edited March 15, 2022 by kermit

[Reverie39]

I’ve always appreciated just how long the Blue Line is. I think it’s pretty lengthy for a light rail line.

[tozmervo]

On 3/14/2022 at 8:23 AM, tozmervo said:

I'm but a single data point, but ridership on my express route has tripled or more since the beginning of March. 

I will add to this: perhaps not surprisingly, commute traffic is much, much heavier on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Monday falls behind that, and Friday even further behind that. This was already sort of true before covid and it seems to be greatly amplified now, probably owing to WFH making WFO weeks shorter.  

An additional anecdote: last fall, there were trips where I was the only 77x rider. This morning, every bench on the bus had a person sitting on it. 

[kayman]

15 hours ago, tozmervo said:

I will add to this: perhaps not surprisingly, commute traffic is much, much heavier on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Monday falls behind that, and Friday even further behind that. This was already sort of true before covid and it seems to be greatly amplified now, probably owing to WFH making WFO weeks shorter.  

An additional anecdote: last fall, there were trips where I was the only 77x rider. This morning, every bench on the bus had a person sitting on it. 

Welcome to the new norm. Hybrid schedules and the forced acceptance of flexible WFH that shows work can be conducted anywhere with a reliable internet connection and hardware and/or devices. The LYNX Blue Line has basically 75% of the way bounced back on weekday ridership. The issues are the long wait times between trains on average 20 minutes. 

[JRCLT]

Wi-Fi available on trains coming soon…?

[kermit]

First, I am very glad CATS has finally found a way to increased Blue Line frequency (even if the increase is the smallest possible incremental improvement in service -- one additional train per hour)

Second, this was standard OFF PEAK frequency from the pre-pandemic days. Pre-pandemic (and pre 100 series equipment overhaul) frequency was 8 (peak) and 16 (off peak) minutes on weekdays.

CATS still has a long way to go before they are offering decent LRT service. I know CATS is struggling with hiring drivers but these frequencies WILL discourage people from returning to transit.

Edited March 18, 2022 by kermit

[Guest]

What are the peak hours?

 

[kermit]

Just now, MothBeast said:

What are the peak hours?

 

Pre-pandemic it was something like:

6:30-9:30am and 3:30-6:30pm (ish)

[Guest]

6 hours is significant, but 7-10 am would make more sense imo.

[Blue_Devil]

2 hours ago, kermit said:

First, I am very glad CATS has finally found a way to increased Blue Line frequency (even if the increase is the smallest possible incremental improvement in service -- one additional train per hour)

Second, this was standard OFF PEAK frequency from the pre-pandemic days. Pre-pandemic (and pre 100 series equipment overhaul) frequency was 8 (peak) and 16 (off peak) minutes on weekdays.

CATS still has a long way to go before they are offering decent LRT service. I know CATS is struggling with hiring drivers but these frequencies WILL discourage people from returning to transit.

Wells is still coming back (haven't really yet, next week is the big push) I but they are keeping track of MoM increases, and would not be surprised to see this go to 10 minutes in the near future. I am not sure we ever see 7 though. 

[JRCLT]

First, I am very glad CATS has finally found a way to increased Blue Line frequency (even if the increase is the smallest possible incremental improvement in service -- one additional train per hour)
Second, this was standard OFF PEAK frequency from the pre-pandemic days. Pre-pandemic (and pre 100 series equipment overhaul) frequency was 8 (peak) and 16 (off peak) minutes on weekdays.
CATS still has a long way to go before they are offering decent LRT service. I know CATS is struggling with hiring drivers but these frequencies WILL discourage people from returning to transit.

Training those operators takes months to get enough hours of experience. Also I think from what I’ve heard they usually come from driving city busses. So I assume those need to be replaced first to then get people to move into an operator position.

[kermit]

This is the second event (home MLS game)where CATS had a chance to generate goodwill and attract a new group of riders. It seems that CATS either does not see that as an opportunity or they just don't give a crap.

 

[RANYC]

That's really depressing.  Why is this so hard? 

CATS has to go to the PR mattresses.  If John Lewis doesn't recognize that, then find leadership that does.