Archive for the 'transit' 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…
The last-mile problem with high-speed rail
Closed Published by Tory Gattis December 3rd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesIn a Sunday Chronicle op-ed, Paul Mangelsdorf of Texas Rail Advocates laid out the case for high-speed rail in the Texas Triangle. I have to admit it sounds pretty cool, being whisked between cities at a comfortable 200-mph without most of the hassles…
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…
The problem with transit polling
Closed Published by Tory Gattis November 15th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesA new, expanded version of the 2007 Houston Area Survey came out today, and the Chronicle story notes the high support for transit as a “solution to traffic congestion.” If “solution” means “alternative” - then maybe - but if means “alleviate” - then …
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…
Digging into the newest congestion numbers
Closed Published by Tory Gattis September 24th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesSo the Texas Transportation Institute at TAMU came out with their 2007 Urban Mobility Report last week. In case you missed the story in the Chronicle, it’s steadily getting worse in Houston, now up to 56 hours of average delay per traveler per year, w…
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…
Forbes flubs Houston commute costs + misc
Closed Published by Tory Gattis August 23rd, 2007 on Houston StrategiesSeveral people have passed along the recent Forbes article proclaiming Houston the most expensive city in the country for commuting. Forbes is usually on the ball, but for some reason they let the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership (STPP), a no…
Ride transit for better hurricane preparedness?
Closed Published by Tory Gattis August 18th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesJust wanted to pass along this email from a reader. The Hurricane Dean track forecasts from Drudge seem to indicate we’re pretty safe for now, but better safe than sorry. Maybe a good opportunity to try out our extensive express HOV bus options for y…
Industrial Houston and packets/cars vs. circuits/transit
Closed Published by Tory Gattis August 16th, 2007 on Houston StrategiesA couple quick pass-alongs tonight. The first is from a Joel Kotkin editorial in the Wall Street Journal on the myth of deindustrialization in America, which argues that manufacturing is alive and well in this country. A couple paragraphs on Houston:…