Ernest Hancock
Letters to the Editor • Politics: General Activism
Light Rail isn't called "Rapid Transit" for a reason
Dear Ernie:
Thanks for the invite, and I was more than pleased to be a
part of the protest against the massive waste of light rail. However, having
helped execute your plan, I am of the considered opinion that it was a waste of
time. Valley Metro is doing a much better job of souring people on that thing
than we ever could have hoped. Were I to have taken it seriously, it would have
been awful.
My ride went something like that old Weird Al Yankovic
song, "Another One Rides The Bus". I boarded the train at Van Buren and
1st Avenue - south and eastbound. It was almost packed then, but I did manage to
get a seat. It already smelled like stale piss. Some of the passengers were
obviously bums who had found a way to escape the cold. One of them even told me
that she was going to the Mill Avenue Station to get the free breakfast tacos.
At the next few stations, more and more people boarded, but no one got off.
While quietly dispensing our literature, I switched trains
at 38th Street for the trip back. The next eastbound train came and went in
eight minutes, but the westbound took over 15 minutes. It was just as crowded as
the first. At the next stop, no one was able to board. Along the way, a couple
next to me computed the time of their trip from the ASU campus to 16th Street
and Washington had already taken twenty minutes. I offered my opinion that they
called it \'light rail\' and not \'rapid transit\' for a reason.
At the 12th Street Station the doors briefly opened to let
one man on, then closed immediately, stranding his wife on the platform. The
train pulled out with her shouting instructions to him where to meet up. I\'m not sure that she was successful. At 7th Street, the driver ran the red light,
drawing gasps from the captive crowd. The train rolled past the station without
stopping. At 2nd Street, an announcement was made that the train would be
delayed as we were \'waiting for a supervisor\'. I lost my grip on the remaining
literature and stepped off just as the doors closed behind me. I hardly thought
they were after me, but I really didn\'t want to find out.
So, I\'m sure the euphoria of the light rail debut is going
to quickly degenerate into messy, crowded, slow moving reality. There is no city
in America where mass transit qualifies as an acceptable alternative. Phoenix is
not going to break the streak.
Tim
Editors Reply
The plan was pretty simple.
There were enough of us to hit every stop at the same time with various handouts. One was a reminder of the SkyTrans private alternative that was being offered,... and ignored, in favor of the money wasting option of Light Rail. The other two were promotional pieces for FreedomsPhoenix that were distributed the entire route.
We also took video with several cameras and after 2-3 hours and thousands of pieces of material taped to the insides of all of the portajohns and distributed on cars and into the crowds,... we were done.
Making sure that the r3VOLution is kept in the minds of hundreds of thousands of people while riding a heavily subsidized debt machine their kids will be paying for the rest of their lives was worthy of a few hours of our time.
Thanks to all of those that participated.
Oh,... you never saw so many police in one place (And TSA ????).
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2 Comments in Response to Light Rail isn't called "Rapid Transit" for a reason
I cannot imagine why anyone would think a street level train has any benefit whatsoever. I am from the Chicago area and even though their train system is a magnet for criminals and bums, it actually goes places and is faster than driving during the rush hours. The Metro Light Rail is nothing but a massive PR stunt and my guess is it will certainly bomb, like everything else they try here. Oh yeah, nice Convention Center, now let's see how often it's used!
My final comments: I've never been on something on tracks that is new yet is so bumpy and jolty. I've been on smoother roller coasters! People were packed like sardines yet the rails inside were inadequate to get a grip on anything. It is so slow that I know I cold have made my destination faster in a car. The reason that cities like Chicago and New York have systems is to get somewhere and do so faster than an automobile. Nevertheless, it's become a money hole in the former to the point that even Illinois state stopped letting them use state funds. Ridership has gone down for years because they are very dirty and are crime magnets.
Classic writeup! Kudos.