MZT

I used to get 2 or 3 "ten ride" passes a month for the bus. Sometimes two was all I needed, because I still drive once in a while. Since those machines are so unreliable, I switched to the monthly pass, which is a little more expensive than using the ten ride passes. I don't mind it too much. It's worth it to avoid lines at the machines which can cause you to miss boarding a train. The train doesn't really have an equivalent of the "ten rides" though. Closes thing would be to buy the "ten rides" anyway and run them through a fare machine at a bus just to get transfer tickets. You'd have to REALLY be a miser to go to this much trouble.

I am noticing more tagging taking place on the walls of buildings along the line, and gum wads dropped on the platform paver stones. People can be so trashy! It's this kind of stuff that makes the Rhino Times type readers, not want to invest anything into public amenities.

In light, misty weather they don't provide much shelter... they're so open to the air. I suppose in a downpour with rain coming straight down they'll work OK. The key is that you shouldn't usually need to spend more than 14 minutes there anyhow. If the rain is bad enough, just stay near the stairwells of the elevated stations.

Now that I've had the chance to ride the train regularly, as a reward for my many patient years of waiting for it to open, I am ... moving deeper into suburbia. Yep. Currently in escrow, for a house in the Walnut Creek area off Carmel. I realized that I can now live a little farther out, have a wider yard with more privacy, and maintain a reasonable commute. I still get the benefit of parking for free at a transit stop, and can continue using the train. (I'll keep my old Starmount home, since it'll be a solid rental near a transit station.) Bet'cha nobody thought the train could "promote sprawl", huh? Actually, I have priced units near center city for a while too. But could never overcome the mental barrier of a condo costing more than a house.

Watch someone that is unfamiliar with the machines, and you'll notice they often press one button above the one they should have. I think the angle of the screen confuses people. I used to make the mistake of putting my fingers on the screen itself. It looks like a touch-screen, right? The machines would be better without the screen at all. Good grief, how long has vending machine technology existed and functioned just fine, using only buttons and coin slots?

I always thought the opposition was too shrill to really listen to, and that using derogatory terms like "train madness" and "Charlotte choo-choo" was not helping people take them seriously. That, plus the perception that west Charlotte residents were hoodwinked into signing the petitions, and the feeling that out-of-town carpetbaggers funded the whole referendum. A successful repeal should have had a clearer alternative use proposed for the half cent tax. Despite the 2030 plan's warts, it was the only deal on the plate.

The Stonewall and Carson stations are both lightly used. Although I do see people leave the train at Carson to some extent, in order to walk to where they live. 3rd street gets plenty of foot traffic, but people seem to be uneasy waiting under the lighted shelters, and prefer to stand in the "tunnel" instead.

Ridership won't slump at all I think, as long as safety concerns and vandalism are kept under control. Gas will probably stay above $2 a gallon for the rest of our lives.

I've spoken to people at work that ask me things about the train - So I think there will be some late adopters as the months go by, and people reconsider their parking leases.

At least on the busses, the driver could hear the swearing and threats when people act up in the back of the bus. Usually getting on the speaker and asking people to cool it is enough.

I was thinking the same thing when I saw that map in the paper. Most of the neighborhoods being slammed by foreclosures are just north of I-85 and south of future 485. This sounds a lot like what happened around Eastland. As neighborhoods become Section 8 rentals, it will get tougher to lure a healthy mix of retail to the mall. How long before Burlington Coat Factory moves in? It's a harbinger of suffering malls!

2 and a half years is not enough time to deadmall the place. If we're still scratching our heads about this mall after 485 is completed, then it's probably time.

I remember when the Los Angeles blue line opened, there was an outreach of some kind to get the gangs to understand the trains were not "turf". I guess we'd have to ask forumers in CA how long it has lasted, btu at least for the first few years it was opened, the taggers left it alone and there wasn't any fighting. I have to admit I'm already seeing some "urban problems" near the stations. Having to step over homeless guys on the steps of the platforms late at night, and seeing urine in the corners near stairwells.

If I had to stand every day on the train I might start driving to work again. I want a seat, and it was rare to have to stand on the bus.

The parking lots from Arrowwood on up are very lightly used right now, so people in town must just be walking to stations or connecting by bus. I have not looked at the final two parking lots, I think they may be getting more use because there are clearly more business attired suburbanites on the train than bus #12 ever had.

I don't think it's such a good idea - yet. After College street develops more of a pedestrian/retail aspect it could make more sense. It almost there, but the real foot traffic is on Tryon.

Riding it is beginning to feel like a normal thing, now. I think seeing some dirt and wear on the floor of the trains makes it seem like a regular part of the city. I bet within a few years people will be saying "how could we live without it".

I've always been bullish on ridership, because I could see every day how full the busses were on #12 (S Blvd) and #24 (S Tryon). That plus the new crosstown busses made it a cinch in my mind that the ridership would bear itself out. It is taking some time for the park'n'rides to fill up, but I am sure that will change.

Here's a 3rd. Happened to me this morning as a lady fussed with the machine trying to get 3 tickets for her and two children. They missed the train and so did I. Then the machine kept spitting out my dollar coin when I used it. So I moved to the other vendor to purchase my ticket. I'm a pretty patient person, but I can imagine someone with a short fuse getting disgusted. Next month I'm going to use the monthly pass to just bypass the ticket machines entirely.

Supposedly the trolley only operates on the weekend when there are few light rail vehicles in service anyway, and on the section of the track where LRV speeds have been reduced to be compatible with the trolleys. I have not seen CATS do anything with the trolleys, other than sporadically wheel them out of the maintenance facility for a year now. There is still some debate (see the old thread) whether CATS will even run them at all. I guess we'll find out for sure after they are comfortable with the scheduling and performance of the LRV's under public operation.

revitalize, I do think the ticket machines were set there for children and the disabled to have access to them. However, I agree that the machines are a weak link in the system. They are a little confusing to use. Lots of people try use them like "touch screens" before finding the buttons on the left and right. I don't think the menus progress easily like say an ATM machine does. They are clunky. Plus, there is only one machine on each side of the tracks. Odds are, someday you will rush onto the platform to catch your train which is just pulling in -- and DANG IT! *Your* side's machine is not functioning. And I'm not yet confident that the machines are ready for all-weather plus summer heat, based on the problems documented earlier this year.

I think what people are describing about the character of the city changing makes sense. It's probably the kind of impression people had when Charlotte opened the airport, or when the first interstate came. I would agree that in listening to people's conversations, few are really saying the train is a faster method of travelling. Driving *to* the line is a little out of the way and there is time involved in parking and getting tickets and waiting. But they seem to like driving less, saving on gas and parking fees, being able to relax on the way to work. I'd also say that the train is attracting more professional passengers. I've been riding bus #12 for two years and it always felt like 90% of the people on it were service workers, teenagers, construction workers, people going to their doctors, or to handle some legal problem in uptown. The train has added a new dimension of riders with laptops and business attire to the old bus route.

I suppose a few hours on the train at $2.60 an hour is worth it to some people, that want to get out of the rain and have nowhere to go. As far as the canopies go, they are useless for misty weather like we had yesterday morning. Perhaps during "falling rain" they will work better. I get the impression that the canopies may not be complete. There is some framing that looks to me like it could be filled with glass. Maybe they will provide something of a windbreak when every last bit of work is complete.

My only complaint so far is that I think the speakers are too loud on the trains. (On the busses, some of the speakers don't work any more so the anouncements are not as loud.) I will probably get in the habit of wearing ear plugs.

Minor quibble. Those were the express busses, which were not in service and available for weekend use. They have upholstered, reclining seats with taller backs, that all face forward. These seats are more comfortable, and muffle sounds so the interior is a little quieter. For all the people that boarded those yesterday, who have never been on a regular city bus (plastic seats with grab poles and some seats facing the aisle), they will have a slighly higher opinion of the bus service than is really merited.