Carol Becker responds to my quote from someone pushing for lrt in HOUSTON by citing Twin Cities survey statistics. His perception of Houston ridership has nothing to do with ridership in the Twin Cities, but there are those who share his view. Ever talked to a bus rider who has been told that they are a loser (by the bus driver) because they ride the bus?
Let's see: 20% make less than $20,000 and 20% make more than $70,000. Look to San Antonio, where at about the same time, 25% of the riders made less than $10,000 and I think about half less than $20,000. That means that those who are transit-dependent are being fairly well served there. 70% have other transportation available. She suggests that they have a car, but it could mean that they could have their spouse/parent/other give them a ride. It could also mean that they work downtown (likely) and don't want to pay for parking in addition to driving. 80% go to work via the bus. Not surprising, given that there are twice as many bus runs scheduled during the rush hour. 70% say they get there faster than via car. And maybe the more than 90% of all trips that are made via auto make their trips faster than by bus. The nationwide guideline is that a transit trip takes at least 50% longer than a comparable car trip. And maybe some of the survey numbers were gained by carefully crafted questions. Bruce Gaarder Citizens for Effective Transit in the Twin Cities (no lrt) www.effectivetransit.org Highland Park Saint Paul [EMAIL PROTECTED] TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
