Rode the thing last night after my long workday was done. Even at 9 PM it was strictly SRO. Went to the top of the line at Grand Blvd. to catch it and the platform was JAMMED.

Everyone curious and excited and in good spirits, except for one lady who kept complaining that "they threw me off the train here". The explanation that it's the end of the line didn't seem to satisfy her. In fact though there were a lot of people there who didn't seem to be experienced riders of public transportation, which is a good thing overall, but did seem to result in a lot of confusion and an annoying inability to get out of the way when people were getting off or on the cars.

The train itself is very smooth. I had no trouble standing up steadily in the middle with no hand holds for support, even when it took the slight turn to the curb lane. It's also almost unnervingly quiet, sort of like the first time you drive a hybrid car [[for anyone who has had that experience). The steps up at each end [[to clear the wheels) to where most of the seating is seemed to mess some people up, and I saw a couple of people trip on them.

One thing I'm hoping they correct quickly is the lack of announcements for the stops [[something almost all systems automate these days). That, along with the smoked glass that made it difficult to see out after dark, created some confusion and almost caused me [[along with people not getting out of the damn way) to miss my stop at Warren.

A limitation of the non-overhead wires system that I didn't realize, which was explained to me by one of the workers, is that the cars have to take 10 minutes to recharge at the end of the line. That can create some stacking and scheduling problems when, as happened last night, a very full car runs behind schedule, and a less full car behind it comes in a little ahead of schedule. It would also seem to really adversely affect headway adjustments and scheduling flexibility for special events with big crowds, like games or concerts. Of course, there's also the fact that crowds waiting on a platform in the wind and cold tend to get a bit antsy when they can see a car sitting there empty, but have to wait 10 minutes for it to come to them.

All in all though this was a great, fun, celebratory ride. A very nice modern addition to our otherwise horrendously outmoded transit system, and hopefully a harbinger of better things to come. While ridership will certainly vary quite a bit, I don't think the thing is going to fall flat on its face after they start charging people to use it. As long as they can make it easy to use in terms of paying the fare and riding with minimum hassles, and keep it running smoothly without major interruptions, I think it'll work out just fine.