Falling Transit Ridership

[dtowncitylover]

I hear it all the time, from Amazon, from politicians, and from arm/chair city planners. I hear the same basic statement: “Sucessful cities have transit”.

They are correct. Successful cities do have transit. Here is what they often miss: Successful cities need transit to solve their transportation problems. The point is, transit is there to solve a problem... not just there to exist for aesthetics and to say “we have transit.” Identity the problems first, then find solutions to match.

Otherwise transit is just being built for optics, and not for a purpose.

...but we do have a problem. Whatever Bham's belief that we're not NYC, as if we're somehow not aware we're not, that doesn't mean we don't have a problem. [[Literally no one is saying we need to have two dozen subway routes, another dozen commuter routes, and 300 bus routes)

Our problem is that Detroit is hyper-dependent, like no other metro in the USA, on the car. LA, Dallas/FW, Phoenix, Houston, Miami, DC/Baltimore, Atlanta; these sprawling metroplexes still have regional transit and are still investing in transit. And none, as far as I'm aware, are looking to dismantle their systems simply because Uber/Lyft is a thing [[for now). DDOT and SMART are the butt of jokes, when we need to take seriously our failure in support good regional, mass transit. We do not invest in transit like other cities and region. We do not take it seriously like most other cities and regions. It's amazing how ignorant we are about how successful transit is needed for successful cities.

The point of the RTA isn't to spend billions of dollars. The point is to bring together our transit agencies under one roof for efficiency in running regional transit and to have one voice when we ask for money in DC. [[And I really don't care to hear about the current climate of DC; "this too shall pass" is my motto and we better be ready when it does)

Our transportation problem is the lack of credible choice in moving from one end to the metro from the other without a car.

There is no law that says the Motor City and its environs must drive cars. We do not have to be this way. We are only this way because our populace is provincial and used to living cheap lives getting cheap public services in return and our leaders are weak.

But sure let's use the QLine and Hermod's known bias against public transit to just wallow and do nothing about our lack of effective public transit in Detroit.

[Hermod]

But sure let's use the QLine and Hermod's known bias against public transit to just wallow and do nothing about our lack of effective public transit in Detroit.

Given that I am a railroad, interurban, and trolley nut, I am certainly not opposed to rapid and efficient public transit.

What I am opposed to is boondoggles like the Detroit parking shuttle [[aka Q-line) or the abortion called the Wave they are trying to build here in Ft Lauderdale. They do not "move" significant numbers of people and just make the traffic more congested.

What would really be ideal would be if 48307 could just hop in his car and drives over to, say, 24 Mile and Van Dyke where he would board a rapid rail car moving as either a subway or an elevated railroad which would whisk him downtown while he lounges in a reclining seat using the on-board Wi-Fi to surf the internet or do wok on his laptop which is held by the convenient tray table folding down on the back of the seat in front of him.

The operator has at his controls a red button and if an objectionable passenger makes troubles for the operator or for the other passengers, he pushes the button and the train is met at the next station stop by four jack-booted thugs who pull the offender off the train and give hoim a well-deserved "wood shampoo" with their nightsticks.

Trains would run on ten minute headway during morning and evening rush hours and twenty minute headway the remainder of the 24 hours. If 48307 chose to go to the airport, he could quickly transfer downtown from the Van Dyke line to the Michigan line which would drop him off at the front of the airport.

The Jefferson line would go to Mount Clemens. The Gratiot line would go to Port Huron. The Van Dyke line would go to Imlay City. The Woodward line would go to Flint. The Southfield line would go from Melvindale to Birmingham. The Grand River line would go to Brighton. The Schoolcraft line would go to Ann Arbor as would the Michigan line. The Fort Street line would go to Monroe.

The next thing we would do is build lateral lines along 8-Mile, I-696, and M-59. Standard fare would be a buck a ride.

While not exactly in line with my vision, this is what we once had:

[ABetterDetroit]

Our problem is that Detroit is hyper-dependent, like no other metro in the USA, on the car. LA, Dallas/FW, Phoenix, Houston, Miami, DC/Baltimore, Atlanta; these sprawling metroplexes still have regional transit and are still investing in transit.

Which one of those "investing in transit" cities is 100% dependent on a property tax for funding for the transit?

What is so hard not to get for the transit supporters on why we have not succeeded?

1/3 wants transit no matter who or how it is paid for. Another 1/3 will never support a tax increase ever. The last 1/3 IS where the battle is won or lost.

Transit in metro Detroit has lost the middle third repeatedly over and over for decades because the vehicle for the tax is a terrible economically destructive tax hike in a region that can't even remotely compete against 40 other states because the property taxes are already way to F#&%ing high!

Do you guys that are all in on transit even listen to the middle third and why they wont vote for a property tax increase for transit? We are all not evil right wingers I assure you, just people in the middle trying to sort out the ever growing mountains of BS slung at us from the far right and far left.

If one more person says to me "I'm not voting for a millage increase but I would vote for a one cent sales tax increase for transit... why won't they do it that way?" I should send them all to you dtowncitylover so you can tell them that it is better to depreciate the value of their home by raising the payment. Don't forget to explain to them the part how much you like having landlords raising rent to collect tax and how efficient that is to the price of rent.

If liberals refuse to protect people from predatory landlords who the hell will?

http://www.cfte.org/elections