tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post2530736104412577582..comments2024-03-28T09:22:36.967+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Light Rail - cautionary talesEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-57891124140818429462012-03-21T21:06:40.183+13:002012-03-21T21:06:40.183+13:00I'm not that much of a masochist.I'm not that much of a masochist.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-5109938461396850542012-03-21T16:51:45.393+13:002012-03-21T16:51:45.393+13:00Please stand for Council Eric, try to talk sense t...Please stand for Council Eric, try to talk sense to mayor and idiot CEOpeterquixotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15873112816453062068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-47548826573227426022012-03-20T09:20:54.742+13:002012-03-20T09:20:54.742+13:00I can understand the case for dedicated busways. I...I can understand the case for dedicated busways. I cannot understand why those who want to subsidize public transit wish to do so so inefficiently.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-90343810622134648202012-03-20T09:16:22.514+13:002012-03-20T09:16:22.514+13:00Note that my $10 pricing covers ONLY the up-front ...Note that my $10 pricing covers ONLY the up-front capital cost and none of the running costs or maintenance. And it's massively more than we're currently charging for buses.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-72716850895312393942012-03-20T09:10:13.246+13:002012-03-20T09:10:13.246+13:00Light rail is, in essence, the same as an articula...Light rail is, in essence, the same as an articulated trolley bus, on a dedicated bespoke right of way.<br /><br />If it is part of the road, it offers no advantages in terms of travel time. If it is separate, then it is useless for anything else ( a busway can always be a road or a bikeway if it doesn't work out). <br /><br />The disadvantages are considerable. Far more expensive vehicles, bigger risk of fare evasion, additional specialist maintenance for overhead lines and track. <br /><br />No one is ever willing to pay the surcharge of light rail over buses, which is around threefold. Ultra low emission buses on dedicated lanes with real time information systems would get 80% of the service quality at a third of the capital cost, and operating costs that can be fare recoverable.Libertyscotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12741049550997300680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-36818571366224095272012-03-19T22:16:42.176+13:002012-03-19T22:16:42.176+13:00The only way I can see it working is with Grey Pow...The only way I can see it working is with Grey Power cooperation:<br /><br />If a fifth of Rolleston’s 3,822 inhabitants are elderly, and those 765 people take seven round trips a day (approx. an 8-hr day with an hour for lunch) to and from ChCh with their Gold Cards, then the railway would pay for itself through central government transfers, maintaining Eric’s $10 pricing and the 8% discount rate.<br /><br />Assumptions: 765 people x 7 round trips (14 single trips) / day; one-way ticket price $10; all 765 eligible for Gold Cards; CCC reimbursed 100% by Ministry of Transport; NZ First enters Government at next election and stays in power in perpetuity.Nicola Rowenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-64162155553206506672012-03-19T12:29:50.494+13:002012-03-19T12:29:50.494+13:00I doubt we have the population base to justify suc...I doubt we have the population base to justify such an expenditure. Especially now given the $$ needed on the post-quake rebuild work. Had we built light rail prior to the quake it would very much now be a rail to nowhere. I really hope council has the (un)common sense to shelve this project indefinitely. We are already served by a pretty decent bus network which is able to change routes depending on changing residential and business requirements, a situation we now face with whole suburbs being abandoned. Light rail would not be able to respond with the same flexibility.Latsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-18372675893575871532012-03-19T11:57:31.944+13:002012-03-19T11:57:31.944+13:00They're connecting more than the downtown-to-U...They're connecting more than the downtown-to-Uni line would connect in Christchurch. So it's not a crazy comparison for that short proposed starter line.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-52563688797439233042012-03-19T11:57:14.930+13:002012-03-19T11:57:14.930+13:00Wikipedia says that Norfolk City is much more dens...Wikipedia says that Norfolk City is much more dense than Christchurch. The city proper (not the metro area) has population of 243k, density of 1684/km2. Christchurch has an urban density of 840/km2. The broader Norfolk metro area may be less dense, but that broader area isn't what's serviced by The Tide.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-29440972424445541012012-03-19T11:47:54.369+13:002012-03-19T11:47:54.369+13:00I'd also suspect the Norfolk area was a lot le...I'd also suspect the Norfolk area was a lot less dense. Also, that area has some decent roads connecting it, whereas Chch has an almost complete absence of high speed arterial roads and freeways. While I'd agree on the basic point that Chch's light rail won't have a good return, Norfolk may not be the best example.Dave Guerinhttp://www.ed.co.nznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-5040136740739142902012-03-19T10:49:01.360+13:002012-03-19T10:49:01.360+13:00What the heck were they connecting to what? I spen...What the heck were they connecting to what? I spent several years in Tidewater VA, so have some local knowledge. Light rail in a tiny sliver of downtown Norfolk, and not even connecting to any military installations? Talk about a trophy project. No wonder it doesn't work.<br />What are the relative population densities? I suspect that Ch'ch is denser, so more potential passengers per kilometre.<br />Not that I'm suggesting the project is worthwhile...Billhttp://gropingtobethlehem.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com