[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Fairness Doctrine in Transit

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Fairness Doctrine in Transit
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1217913253.shtml


   As has been noted more than once, the money spent on building the
   Hiawatha Line could have bought every rider a car and the gas to go
   with it. The same will be true of the Central Corridor. It's an
   accurate perspective, but hardly a realistic alternative.
   One that is, however, is simply better bus service: better buses
   running better routes on better schedules. It would cost far less, be
   much more flexible, plus be quieter and more comfortable. Most
   commuters would prefer that even if it did take 5-10 minutes longer
   than LRT.
   But how do you sell that as an alternative? The Metropolitan Council
   has access to our tax money to develop campaigns, literature, even
   fancy computer simulations, inside and out. We could make a pretty
   good case, too, but we don't get a similar grant to develop it.
   Where's the equal time, i.e., equal money to refute or propose an
   alternative for Light Rail? The process is backwards. The decision is
   made (by politicians, not transportation engineers), then the graphic
   artists go to work.
   Imagine a law that says that for any project over $100 million, one
   percent has to be made available to alternative proposals. Who
   allocates that? Those members of the group that voted against the
   winning proposal. Don't sweat the details here, I'm illustrating a
   point.
   For Central Corridor, that would produce about $15 million that could
   be spent on research and presentations. In fact, we could buy a couple
   of upscale buses like those serving Eden Prairie and Carver County and
   start running them as a parallel line, call it Route 160. We charge a
   dollar more per ride or so, to match the limited supply with the
   demand, but everybody who currently uses the 16 bus can try it once or
   twice to get the feel of it.
   Imagine a quiet ride with tinted windows, air conditioning and heat
   that works, comfortable seats with leg room, and drivers who must pass
   through a charm school to get such an assignment and the pay raise
   that goes with it.
   Imagine a line with many if not most stops altered so that the buses
   can pull over without holding up traffic. Major stops have schedules
   and computer displays showing what's coming when.
   Imagine the route planners freed from having to genuflect before the
   downtown centric model, taking people to places they really want to go
   without the time and hassle of coming all the way downtown.
   Why not try that, a prototype like businesses often employ to try
   quietly test a new strategy? It takes a little money, but $15 million
   won't be missed in a $1.5 billion project.