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Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line


dubone

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21 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

I *believe* that our LRT has had issues in the past during the hottest of weather with rail distortion due to the expansion of the metal. Anyone else recall this. It prevented normal operation.

I remember this but only on the extension, not the OG Blue Line.

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25 minutes ago, MothBeast said:

Yeah they say it’ll be closed until Monday but I’m having a hard time believing it will be done by then

When they closed the South blvd crossing (just North of Scaleybark station) several years ago they planned for a two day shutdown that became four days (maybe five). Did CATS learn from that?

Edited by kermit
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On 6/19/2022 at 11:29 AM, Matthew.Brendan said:

Sure, CATS has learned they can administer a mass transit system for one of the fastest growing cities in the country in a borderline incompetent way with absolutely zero accountability or repercussions.

Do tell what you would do differently than any other LRT in America with the same issues? It’s an easy problem to fix via keyboard consultant.  How are they not accountable? Please explain.

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19 minutes ago, kermit said:

Two examples of their incompetence are the 5 plus year delays on rolling out real time tracking and tap and go fare systems. Its not as if these are exotic technologies.

Says who? How many other systems have this technology in place, is it reliable?  Where is the data for comparison?  I know Charlotte LRT has a good safety record. I remember when Houston’s used to be call the WhamBam Tram. 
Maybe that extra day or two saves lives.

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Maintenance has to happen one way or another and you can’t just keep trains rolling while you literally rip up the tracks… also there are temporary fixes to these people aren’t left high and dry so to speak. Now, why cats hasn’t implemented certain technologies is beyond me. I don’t think I could ever respond to that without knowing what it takes to run this entire system.

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15 hours ago, JeanClt said:

Maintenance has to happen one way or another and you can’t just keep trains rolling while you literally rip up the tracks… also there are temporary fixes to these people aren’t left high and dry so to speak. Now, why cats hasn’t implemented certain technologies is beyond me. I don’t think I could ever respond to that without knowing what it takes to run this entire system.

To add to this, since we have been making comparisons to the DC metro system, last weekend huge swaths of the Maryland side of the lines were shut down for maintenance. Passengers were required to disembark and switch to shuttles, were driven to the next stop, and then had to get back on the trains. Very aggravating. This stuff happens to even the best rapid transit systems.

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15 hours ago, davidclt said:

In addition to the aforementioned lack of real-time tracking for the trains for customers and no tap-to-pay system yet . . . here are a few others:

  1. Even prior to Covid, the inability to accurately adhere to a schedule on rail where they have the full control of their right-of-way (which led more than once to my train pulling into a station as my bus which runs on 30-minute headways pulls away from the station - no way for the driver to see the approaching train and wait for disembarking passengers)
  2. The inability to use all the infrastructure they have internally to report in the station for train arrivals "Train to x arrives in 5 minutes." They simply programmed it to the expected schedule for the train.
  3. No transparency through station announcements, their app or social media about delays, reasons for delays or status of resolving delays (shoot straight, "The train is delayed because some self-important asshat blocked the Old Pineville Interchange. We have taken appropriate steps up to and including impounding their vehicle, administering electric shocks and issuing a citation of $5,000 to dissuade this behavior in the future")
  4. Ongoing inability to run any of their services without being on delay
  5. The customer service line via phone or email has always been indifferent at best and not interested in helping or attempting to resolve problems or provide support
  6. Their web site is a useless pile of garbage with no interactive route map and PDFs of the bus schedules (and hasn't been meaningfully revised in years except for a redesign of the styles) and semi-useless route planning on their site and in the app
  7. There is no clear, ongoing communication from CATS' leadership on the issues they face, apologies to their customers and taxpayers for the piss poor service they try to pass off year after year and continuous poorly implemented fatal-half-measures to improve the system (a lack of accountability).

To solve any and all of these problems just needs some modicum of giving a care (except for the much needed web site improvements).

Compare to:
Portland: Plan and track your trip on TriMets
Seattle: King County Metro - Trip planning
Dallas: DART.org - Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Atlanta: MARTA (itsmarta.com)
Charlotte uses Google Maps for their "Trip Planner" - a void of leadership

Portland and Seattle….I’ll gladly nominate those two systems but you do realize they have different thought leadership about urban development at the local and state levels, including funding mechanisms. Not making excuses but your list are common gripes. 

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13 minutes ago, Durhamite said:

Portland and Seattle….I’ll gladly nominate those two systems but you do realize they have different thought leadership about urban development at the local and state levels, including funding mechanisms. Not making excuses but your list are common gripes. 

I'm responding to your inquiry about problems that could be fixed with different (thought) leadership including a lack of transparency and accountability. Every single problem I listed except for the trip planner could be fixed with better leadership and transparency, costing nothing.

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17 hours ago, stw52 said:

The lack of real time tracking is a big reason I don't even consider BLT for my uptown commute.  I have little interest in looking up schedules and arriving at the station hoping the train is still on that schedule. As a commuter i look for ease. I should be able to look at an app on my phone to see when the next train is, and i should be able to use my phone to pay a fair tapping on and off. These technologies have been on other internaltional systems for years and it is not a source of issues/problems.    CATS just have a knack in making use of their transport systems difficult. I wanted to use it this weekend but it is down for maintenance. It just isn't inviting. 

Public transportation is not for you….it’s ok.  All these “exotic” features cost money.  My sister works downtown DC, hates metro rail and drives in from PG County everyday, 30+ years. I always used the train, even though it would take me less time and not always reliable .  #1 reason, smart card subsidized by the federal gov. #2, parking costs and availability. Not saying CATs and other systems don’t need lots of improvement. But some of the complaints I see here aren’t unique to CATs.

I guess it’s my experiences, even when I come to Charlotte and use the light rail (prob 5 times a month) since I work downtown (hybrid). Im sort of numb to the process of mass transit- park, wait on train and do other crap while waiting. Do other crap on train while riding. Plus I’m older., so tracking trains, etc not my thing but can see it being an issue for the younger folk. I just got so used to the unknown but always figured, no matter what happens, they’ll get me to my car…and for 95%+ of the time, sure delays, etc.

3 minutes ago, davidclt said:

I'm responding to your inquiry about problems that could be fixed with different (thought) leadership including a lack of transparency and accountability. Every single problem I listed except for the trip planner could be fixed with better leadership and transparency, costing nothing.

So you think! Death and taxes…you know the story. New leadership might make the situation worse.

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On 6/19/2022 at 8:54 AM, kermit said:

When they closed the South blvd crossing (just North of Scaleybark station) several years ago they planned for a two day shutdown that became four days (maybe five). Did CATS learn from that?

Credit where its due. It looks like CATS managed to pull off the crossing rebuild in the allotted time. Nice work CATS. 

 

4940D530-3329-42DF-9FE0-DF39FEEFE1B2.jpeg

Edited by kermit
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