Mass-transit authority bills clear committee, head to full House

[esp1986]

Oh, I believe that demand may be there within the next decade or two. Here's the formula:

Decrease in jobs which pay middle class salaries + Gas prices $5-10 per gallon = Increased use of transit.

I can't think of a scenario where all the jobs come back, or where gas prices go down. We saw that Americans stopped driving during the summer of 2008 when gas prices topped $4 per gallon. I know that I kept my car parked and rode the bus for everything except for church. I didn't even drive to shop for everyday items. I also limited my trips between A2 and the D. I refused to pay that much money for gas, and many Americans agreed. IIRC, we drove 4 billion less miles that summer.

$4-$5 per gallon seems to be a ceiling for the American public with current prices and salaries. The oil industry knows that. We'll see what they pull this summer, given the oil spill and prices inching north of $3 already.

You hit the nail on the head. With most people daily traveling 20 miles to and from work, if they are in Detroit, with the traffic as bad as it is during rush hour, people can save a lot of money on gas, with prices expected to continue to rise. If the line makes it up to Birmingham and Troy, a lot of office folk that live up there would likely take the line in. I can't see a round trip ticket costing much more than $15 so that would be about what they would pay in gas, without the hassle or worry, and they can do other stuff on their way to work.

[dtowncitylover]

Please call your legislator!!! As I said in the previous thread. Especially if they are Republican...

Luckily mine is Marie Donigan, the biggest promoter of this.

[mikeg19]

I can't see a round trip ticket costing much more than $15 so that would be about what they would pay in gas, without the hassle or worry, and they can do other stuff on their way to work.

$15????? Hell, in Chicago you take the train and it's $2 one way, $4 round trip no matter how far you go. Is Kwame getting the extra $11 in this proposal?

[esp1986]

$15????? Hell, in Chicago you take the train and it's $2 one way, $4 round trip no matter how far you go. Is Kwame getting the extra $11 in this proposal?

in no way is detroit as big as chicago. just saying here. it is still worth it at that price. the train down the eastern seaboard is about $15 from new york to newark, obviously a little different, but it also has a larger ridership base.

[detmsp]

$15 is f-ing ridiculous. That's $300 a month for someone who commutes to work every weekday! Most cities i've been to seem to be a couple bucks each way for light rail

[SpartanTom]

$15 is f-ing ridiculous. That's $300 a month for someone who commutes to work every weekday! Most cities i've been to seem to be a couple bucks each way for light rail

No way in hell it would be $15, that's insane. It would be cost-competitive with driving a car: taking gas, insurance, maintenance and maybe even average monthly car payment into account. Obviously it has benefits over driving in many areas, but lacks in others. I think it would be no more than $5 each way, most likely less.

[MDoyle]

CalTrain in the SF Bay Area is only about 10 bucks round trip and that will take you all of the way from San Jose to San Francisco. Over a 2 hour round trip.

[ghettopalmetto]

Seems like esp1986 is referencing commuter rail, not light rail. I know PATH goes to Newark, but I'm pretty sure it's not $7.50 for a trip....

While a regional authority would have purview over commuter rail, let's not get our modes confused, lest people get scared by misinformation.

[Fury13]

CalTrain in the SF Bay Area is only about 10 bucks round trip and that will take you all of the way from San Jose to San Francisco. Over a 2 hour round trip.

We won't pay California prices in Michigan.