Archive for the 'Metro' Category
Is Metro’s budget train about to derail?
Closed Published by Tory Gattis December 6th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesThis post is actually not about Metro’s FTA problems. Instead, it’s about this ominous Dallas Morning News article on DART rail budgets spiraling out of control. A new line from downtown through Irving to DFW airport has a new cost estimate that is a…
Summing up my views on transit
Closed Published by Tory Gattis November 19th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesI’ve caught a little flak recently for a string of posts that were a tad hard on transit. Sorry if I offended some of my readers. Sometimes my posts are less thoughtful and balanced than I’d like them to be - just depends on my mood and time crunch w…
Metro stats, school choice, Rice #1, NYT Texas, and more
Closed Published by Tory Gattis November 5th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesI’ve let my list of smaller miscellaneous items get so long, I’ll have to break it into two posts this week. Here’s the first half:Christof does a good job analyzing H-GAC stats on Metro’s HOV system and the Main St. rail, which is “carrying more peop…
The Metro board met today to make some big decisions on the rail plan (Chronicle story). The bombshell is that all the lines they thought were going to start as bus rapid transit (BRT) are being upgraded to full light rail (LRT). Evidently the numbe…
The potential for GPS at Metro
Closed Published by Tory Gattis September 17th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesChristof mentioned to me recently that Metro is planning on adding GPS units to all the buses, so they know where they are in real-time. It got me thinking about potential services they might offer with that information. Maybe display them in real-ti…
Moving freight, bus vs. rail, and congestion vs. productivity
Closed Published by Tory Gattis July 22nd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesSome good stuff in Bob Poole’s newest Surface Transportation Innovations newsletter over at the Reason Foundation.First, he covers the limitations of freight rail to reduce urban truck traffic congestion. He discusses rail shuttles to get containers f…
Cheap fixes for traffic congestion
Closed Published by Tory Gattis May 21st, 2007 on Houston StrategiesThe LA Times recently ran an article on “quick and inexpensive” ways to reduce traffic congestion. There are some good ideas in here that are just as applicable to Houston:Open up transit to competition by ending the govt-sanctioned monopoly, allowing…
Reason analysis of the feasibility of commuter rail in Atlanta
Closed Published by Tory Gattis May 11th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesIt’s a very busy time at my software startup, so just a quick pass-along this morning from Reason. They look at how realistic commuter rail is for sprawling Atlanta, a city not unlike our own. Although we do have almost twice the density they do (I t…
Preliminary 2035 HGAC Regional Transportation Plan
Closed Published by Tory Gattis May 3rd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesLast week I was able to attend a Livable Houston presentation by Kari Hackett of the Houston-Galveston Area Council on the preliminary 2035 Regional Transportation Plan, a process they go through every 5 years. I thought I’d cover a few highlights tha…
Curing everything, Metro analysis, #2 migration, #6 restaurants, #4 for blacks, see HT,CC!
Closed Published by Tory Gattis April 22nd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesTime again to hit some smaller miscellaneous items. But first a quick anecdote I think you’ll enjoy. My wife and I were watching the very good (albeit a bit twisted) Spanish movie “Volver”on DVD the other night (the Pedro Almodóvar movie with Penél…