M-1 Funding Decision

[Bham1982]

$142.6 million for a 2.7 mile surface level "people mover" isn't a "stupid plan"?

It's a guaranteed idiotic plan, just like the Detroit trolley plan, and just like the empty Miami and Detroit People Movers.

These "downtown circulator systems" are complete wastes of time and money. I wish there were some way to kill these pork barrel jokes.

[jpbollma]

I hd never heard of the Miami Metromover being called a failure. Any time I have been there it has been quite busy.

The Miami Metromover is a free mass transit automated people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover servesDowntown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Omni neighborhoods. Metromover connects directly with Metrorail at Government Center and Brickell stations. It originally began service to the Downtown/Inner Loop on April 17, 1986, and was later expanded with the Omni and Brickell Loop extensions on May 26, 1994.^[2]
The Metromover serves primarily as a fast and easy way to travel within the greaterDowntown Miami neighborhoods. The system is composed of three loops and 21 stations. The stations are located approximately two blocks away from each other, and connect near all major buildings and places in Downtown. Today, the Metromover serves as a vital part of Downtown life, and with the rapid population growth in Downtown, has grown quickly in usage and popularity. It has nearly doubled in ridership in the last decade, growing from 14,952 passengers per day in 1999 to 31,100 by October 2011. Out of only three downtown people movers in the United States, the other two being the Jacksonville Skyway and the Detroit People Mover, the Metromover is by far the most successful, the only completed system of the three,^[3] and considered to be a catalyst for downtown development.<sup>[4]

Cost of building the system was about $153.3 million. The operating budget for Inner and Outer [[Brickell and Omni) loops, in FY 2007 was $8,888,794. Ridership total for FY 2007 was 8.7 million.[15] This gives approx. cost of 1.02 dollar per ride, but as the system is free, the passenger ride numbers may increase maximally to bigger numbers[[approx. full cars multiplied by days of operating), and doesn't include potential Miami income from people not wasting time in traffic.

To me, this shows it is funded and run inefficiently in Detroit, but the People Mover in Miami is highly successful for the Downtown businesses and is even offered for free at only $1.02 per ride.</sup>

[Bham1982]

I hd never heard of the Miami Metromover being called a failure. Any time I have been there it has been quite busy.

The Metromover is a joke. It's free, so the homeless ride it all day, and no one else.

They're moving towards instituting fares, in order to remove the circulating homeless encampments.

But really, they should just tear it down. It has horrible farebox recovery, and doesn't really do anything, except act as a parking lot to special event circulator.

[KOMPOST]

The Metromover is a joke. It's free, so the homeless ride it all day, and no one else.

They're moving towards instituting fares, in order to remove the circulating homeless encampments.

But really, they should just tear it down. It has horrible farebox recovery, and doesn't really do anything, except act as a parking lot to special event circulator.

Yeah, how dare a mass transit system serve an underclass! Transportation is for 2 things only: move the upper classes to and fro and produce sizable profits for the operators/owners.

All due respect, I find some of your viewpoints a joke.

[jpbollma]

Yeah, how dare a mass transit system serve an underclass! Transportation is for 2 things only: move the upper classes to and fro and produce sizable profits for the operators/owners.

All due respect, I find some of your viewpoints a joke.

Really, I doubt there are enough homeless to account for 9 million rides per year. I would institute a small fee though. I am sure Miami could use that subsidy money elsewhere in the city. Homeless are a fact of life, they are everywhere in every large city. People who hate or dislike them so much may be living in the wrong places.

New York City is absolutely filled with them everywhere you go, yet not many people dog NYC for it as much as other cities. New York City now has 43,000-50,000 homeless. Also, even though the People Movers aren't the fastest way to travel, sometimes due to weather it is preferable. Also, at night it may be safer to ride a mover. Just my observations/opinions since I actually do like both the Detroit and Miami movers. Also, tourists usually love these things which helps the businesses in the downtown areas.

Would I prefer mass transit like NYC or Chicago? Absolutely. Is the People Mover enough for Detroit as mass transit? No way, they need competent bus services and hopefully some street cars or light rail.

[bailey]

The state of Florida is controlled by the GOP. Broward County and the city of Ft Lauderdale are overwhelmingly Democrat. Ft Lauderdale is Debbie Wasserman-Schultz's district.

Imagine the possibilities if the city wasn't primarily represented in D.C. by dottering, senile old coots.

[Hermod]

Imagine the possibilities if the city wasn't primarily represented in D.C. by dottering, senile old coots.

Well, Fort Lauderdale is in two congressional districts. One is represented by Debbie Wasserman-Schultz [[Nancy Pelosi's pet gerbil) and the other is represented by Alcee Hastings, the impeached and convicted former judge who was then elected to Congress by an electorate determined to "show the man". Fort Lauderdale [[and Broward County) pretty much lead the state in percentage of local city and county officials removed from office and criminally convicted of corruption.

[bailey]

Well, Fort Lauderdale is in two congressional districts. One is represented by Debbie Wasserman-Schultz [[Nancy Pelosi's pet gerbil) and the other is represented by Alcee Hastings, the impeached and convicted former judge who was then elected to Congress by an electorate determined to "show the man". Fort Lauderdale [[and Broward County) pretty much lead the state in percentage of local city and county officials removed from office and criminally convicted of corruption.

As in Chicago... I'm absolutely fine with corruption in government as long as it gets shit done.

[313WX]

As in Chicago... I'm absolutely fine with corruption in government as long as it gets shit done.

Hear Hear!!!

[Hermod]

As in Chicago... I'm absolutely fine with corruption in government as long as it gets shit done.

Yes, in other places, the crooked pols milk the public cow for their own benefit.

In Detroit, they kill the public cow and eat it.

[Bham1982]

Yeah, how dare a mass transit system serve an underclass! Transportation is for 2 things only: move the upper classes to and fro and produce sizable profits for the operators/owners.

You're free to your opinons, of course, but you're seriously arguing that transit should be used as a homeless shelter?

I thought the point of transit was to move people, regardless of economic condition, around. The homeless aren't going anywhere. They're just there to stay in the air conditioned comfort, and they repel everyone else.

[Bham1982]

New York City is absolutely filled with them everywhere you go, yet not many people dog NYC for it as much as other cities. New York City now has 43,000-50,000 homeless.

NYC probably has less of a homeless problem than any major city in the U.S.

They're under a court mandate to provide shelter on demand, so anyone on the street is there because they continuously refuse a free apartment.

There certainly are visible homeless in NYC, but far less than the other progressive U.S. cities [[go to SF, for example).

But you're missing the point. I'm not talking about homeless in general. I'm talking about Miami bums riding the trains all day, and so everyone else avoids the Metromover. There is no other transit system in the U.S. that has been taken over by homeless.

[jpbollma]

NYC probably has less of a homeless problem than any major city in the U.S.

They're under a court mandate to provide shelter on demand, so anyone on the street is there because they continuously refuse a free apartment.

There certainly are visible homeless in NYC, but far less than the other progressive U.S. cities [[go to SF, for example).

But you're missing the point. I'm not talking about homeless in general. I'm talking about Miami bums riding the trains all day, and so everyone else avoids the Metromover. There is no other transit system in the U.S. that has been taken over by homeless.

Yes, I agree with you completely in that regard. there should be a fee just like there is for the Detroit People Mover. No one should be getting on and sitting there for free for hours no matter if it's homeless or teens who just want to start trouble.