Here in Raleigh NC they are pushing hard for a light rail system. It is going to be nothing more than a Billion dollar plus boondoggle.
The Triangle Transit Authority (TTA), which operates the bus system in the area has ZERO riders. Well not zero, but on some of their routes they average .9 riders per trip! Of the entire bus system, the average ridership is close to 9 people per route. 9 people are using the bus and they want to spend a billion dollars on a train! And that rider number may be high. Also, i see the Amtrack train going through Durham twice a day. I count the riders. Avg... 5! There are more cars on the train than there are riders!
Oh, and if a developer attempts to build a highrise, high density building and development, they put up roadblocks and stop him from doing it. Without high rise and high density TRAINS ARE USELESS AND A WASTE OF MONEY!
Hey train lovers, how about this... PAY FOR IT YOURSELF! Meaning, tickets to ride should cost what it costs to ride. NO TAX PAYER SUBSIDIES. PAY THE FULL FARE!
You mean like you Road Lovers paid for the Interstate Highway system yourselves?
I'm not going to get into a discussion of whether light rail will work for Raleigh because I've never been there and don't know anything about the city.
But if you were to shut down TTA and require those bus riders to drive, you'd have major congestion, maybe even gridlock. In a city, where the principles of high density living and high density working rule, high density transportation is a must.
I live in a "bedroom community" about 30 miles from Indianapolis. Of the 40,000 or so people who live here, it's estimated that about 10% of them work in Indianapolis and probably most of them drive to work alone or with one other person.
So do we need light rail? No, we don't need it, but what makes more sense -- 3000 automobiles or, say, 50 train cars? Anyone who drives that route on a daily basis -- including my wife -- would tell you in the most graphic terms imaginable just how badly some alternative is needed.