Charlotte's Light Rail: Lynx Blue Line

[tozmervo]

It seems that no amount of statistics will ever make people content with the honor system that LYNX uses.

The Lynx light rail line in Charlotte is losing $300 per day to people who ride the trains without paying.

...

He says only 1/2 percent of the 16,000 riders a day don't pay. On other light rail systems, he says, the non-paying percentage runs from 2 percent to as many as 10 percent.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/21/1515954/cats-plans-to-target-light-rail.html#ixzz0rWsdyBsf

[RestedTraveler]

It seems that no amount of statistics will ever make people content with the honor system that LYNX uses.

You mean you have to pay to ride Lynx?

Seriously, though - when we were visiting, we wondered if there was much abuse of the honor system. 1/2 of a percent is pretty darned good, relative to other systems.

[grodney]

They have really stepped up enforcement the last few months. I used to get carded maybe once or twice a month. Now it's several times a week.

It used to be the same 2-3 guys. Now there are several. I'm assuming that is costing more money in wages. And now according to the article they want to hire more?

So is CATS/LYNX paying money (in salary) to save money (in fares) just to stay down at 1/2 percent and make it sound good?

Edited June 24, 2010 by grodney

[krazeeboi]

I've only ridden the train a couple of times, but most times it was the weekend and I've never gotten carded. Of course, I always pay fare so it's nothing to worry about for me in either case.

[kermit]

Interesting (and unexpected) article on discussion of a very short extension of the blue line in the Observer linkariffic

The extension is to 9th street and 1000 feet beyond for train staging. The stated purpose is to provide better connections to the new UNCC building. I am torn between thinking the small-step strategy is a good one versus thinking this is an embarrassingly modest step.

The article (which leaves lots of questions) mentions applying for a $20 million federal grant to finance the extension. Does anyone know what grant program that would be? Is there no local match necessary?Does this represent a new program that may facilitate more small steps?

EDIT: This mornings version of the article does flesh out some questions. City Council approved the grant application in June and federal responses may come in September. The $25 million cost is "preliminary" A $2.5 million local match is expected (leaving another $2.5 million chunk unaccounted for)

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/22/1576244/city-wants-federal-grant-for-shorter.html

Edited July 22, 2010 by kermit

[uptownliving]

From the June 28th City Council Agenda::::

 On June 1, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for DOT’s National Infrastructure

Investments under the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2010. The program is also

referred to as TIGER-II. A first round of the TIGER program occurred

under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

 This NOFA details the availability of $600 million in competitive capital

grants and announces selection criteria and pre-application and

application requirements for these funds. Of the $600 million, $35 million

is reserved for planning-and-design-only grants, $140 million is reserved

for rural areas, and $25 million is reserved for USDOT’s administrative

costs.

 Pre-applications must be submitted by July 16, 2010, and final

applications must be submitted by August 23, 2010.

 The selection criteria for final project applications is:

Primary Criteria

o Long Term Outcomes:

State of Good Repair

Economic Competitiveness

Livability

Sustainability

Safety

o Job Creation and Economic Stimulus

Secondary Criteria

o Innovation

o Partnership

 The earliest date for project award announcements is September 15,

2010.

Action: Authorize the City Manager to submit six preliminary

applications to compete for funds from the federal National

Infrastructure Investment Grants Program.

 Each project proposal must range from $10 million to $200 million. The

minimum project award is $1 million. The federal share of projects can be

up to 80%. Because of the $10 million funding floor, projects that cost

less than $12.5 million ($10 million is 80% of $12.5 million) are ineligible.

Projects submitted for planning-and-design-only funds are not subject to

the $10 million funding floor.

 Eligible Projects are:

Highway/Bridge under Title 23

Public Transportation under Chapter 53 of Title 49

Passenger/Freight Rail Transportation

Port Infrastructure Investment

 TIGER-II funds must be obligated on or before September 30, 2012.

Here is what Charlotte applied for:

LYNX Blue Line Infrastructure Compatibility with Blue Line Extension (3 Car Platforms)(scalable from $14.5 million to $67 million)

LYNX Blue Line Extension to 9th Street Station ($25 million)

Multimodal Downtown Parking Deck in Davidson ($12.5 million)

University City Multimodal Transportation Connector With Bridge Over I-85 ($13.1 million to $14.6 million)

Plan for US-74 Multimodal Corridor ($1.5 million) (planning/design grant only)

North Community House Road Bridge over I-485 ($800,000)(planning/design grant only)

[InitialD]

Anybody know where to look for more information on "University City Multimodal Transportation Connector With Bridge Over I-85"

[dubone]

Not sure about the multimodal aspects (unless they just mean sidewalks and bike lanes), but the only new bridge of I-85 is the one just north of IKEA. So perhaps they are going for the stimulus-like grants for that bridge connecting IBM Drive with IKEA blvd.

I'm happy with the request for the capacity improvements on the Blue Line. I think that would have more of a transit benefit than the short extension. Personally I would love the 9th St station since that is closer to both First and Fourth Wards. My walk to the blue line would go from .6 mi to .4 mi which makes it all the more convenient.

[grodney]

I rode in a new car this morning. It was 119A. It had that new-car smell. Mmmmmm. Clean floors. Clean seats.

[dubone]

Have they increased frequency? Or are they just riding more 2-car sets with the new cars?

[grodney]

Frequency is the same.

To my knowledge, they always run all 2-car sets during peak times (unless maintenance/failures dictated otherwise). That is, at 10-minute headways, they have enough cars to run all 2-car sets.

I don't think the new cars will change anything short-term, other than give them more backups/spares. Right?

[dubone]

Well before they had to run single cars in their schedule, even at peak hours. So this allows them to meet demand better at rush hour and during events.

[tozmervo]

They ran single cars when there was a 7.5 minute frequency at rush hour. When they switched to 10 minutes they were able to run all double cars (which was a vast improvement, IMO). The extra cars would allow them to run doubles every 7.5 minutes.

[grodney]

Yeah, at first I hated the change from 7.5 to 10 minutes. But now I'll take a 2-car 10-minute over a 1-car 7.5-minute any day.

I hadn't thought of the fact that with the extra cars they could switch back to 7.5 and have all doubles. Interesting. Of course I don't seem them doing that, for cost reasons.

I suppose the extras might also be nice for big events (Panther games, Arena events, etc.).

[Spartan]

Here is what Charlotte applied for:

LYNX Blue Line Infrastructure Compatibility with Blue Line Extension (3 Car Platforms)(scalable from $14.5 million to $67 million)

LYNX Blue Line Extension to 9th Street Station ($25 million)

Multimodal Downtown Parking Deck in Davidson ($12.5 million)

University City Multimodal Transportation Connector With Bridge Over I-85 ($13.1 million to $14.6 million)

Plan for US-74 Multimodal Corridor ($1.5 million) (planning/design grant only)

North Community House Road Bridge over I-485 ($800,000)(planning/design grant only)

Just for reference, the TIGER-II grants are highly competitive at the national level. We will be lucky if Charlotte gets funding for ONE of those projects.

[krazeeboi]

CATS was hoping to get a $40 million congressional earmark to pay for engineering work for the 11-mile LYNX extension, but so far, the House of Representatives has budgeted nothing, and the Senate has tentatively allocated just $3.7 million.

[tozmervo]

The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the BLE is now online and ready for comment.

http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/cats/planning/BLE/Pages/deis.aspx

[krazeeboi]

Nice news clip from an Atlanta station about how Atlanta is using LYNX as a model for their Beltline project.

[New Name]

CATS has completed the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and will now move on the the public hearing period (45 days).

[Spartan]

Here is an interesting article from Creative Loafing about the LYNX line. It cites an New York Times article and a study that shows that people living near the train line tend to walk more, and are thus in better shape than people of similar demographics. Go figure! This ultimately saves money in health care costs, and it proves yet again that the built environment impacts health.

Creative Loafing

New York Times

[Sabaidee]

Here is an interesting article from Creative Loafing about the LYNX line. It cites an New York Times article and a study that shows that people living near the train line tend to walk more, and are thus in better shape than people of similar demographics. Go figure! This ultimately saves money in health care costs, and it proves yet again that the built environment impacts health.

Creative Loafing

New York Times

The study was published this past June from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and it's slowly making it around to other outlets. However this would be a good argument for other sprawling cities with transit in mind and as America becomes more health conscious and obesity being the main factor.

[tozmervo]

Heh, CATS posted something about this on their homepage a bit ago. They have a dandy calorie counter and everything. http://charmeck.org/...s/benefits.aspx

While I don't attribute it to my proximity to New Bern station, I have lost like 50 lbs in the past two years. Maybe it's putting something in the water.

Edit:

Okay, so as I'm sitting here thinking about it, I might be under estimating the lynx. It did basically add 20 minutes of walking a day to my routine.

Edited September 14, 2010 by tozmervo

[cltheel.sdl]

I'm hopefully going to move closer to a bus line here in Seattle very soon. On Google Maps, they have a "Directions" calculator for transit, and it even factors in time walking to bus stops. I'll easily be walking 20 extra minutes per day to use the bus. Little things that you don't even think about (the good and the bad) can sometimes make a big difference in your health!

[kermit]

File under nit pick: The lack of shade on the blue line platforms in the late afternoon is really a drag.... (at least at East/West)

[grodney]

From Day 1, I've been freezing on the train. Especially on the 6:30 and 6:40 inbound. Today it was 59 degrees outside, and it was colder than that on the train. LITERALLY. They're too cold in the summer, and too cold in the winter. Mostly in the mornings.

I wrote today and "suggested" they make the trains less cold. I pointed out they are wasting money using all that electricity to cool the trains.

Here is the reply, which I find comically sad:

"

I received your inquiry about the trains being cold.

The air conditioning and heating on the trains are set from the manufacturer at a certain setting and unfortunately we cannot raise or lower the settings.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

"

Really? REALLY? You can't control the heating/cooling on your own train?