Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
The solution is to make sure all route attract people to them. Why is the Corridor well used? Part of it is distance. Part of it is time.
Part of it is due to the fact that it is relatively on time. Knowing you will make it to your destination on time is important for all modes of transportation.
Another part is that there is at least 1 train that goes both ways each day.
Do those last 2 things to the Canadian and Ocean and ridership will climb.
|
This was pretty much the reason behind my post. Dropping routes because they aren't used enough is like the death spiral that many businesses undergo when they are about to close. When a business becomes less attractive to its customers for whatever reason, people tend to use the business less, so the business has less revenue to work with and therefore it cuts back, making itself even less attractive to customers, more customers stay away, and so on.
My line of thought was that increasing the usage of trains could actually provide a net benefit to our country by potentially cutting down on car and air travel. Train usage could be increased if it were made more attractive (i.e. a viable alternative through reduced travel time, increased frequency, improved comfort, improved convenience, etc.) to customers. Of course you would expect initial losses before it caught on, but if the government were to step in and (temporarily) cover those losses with an objective of increasing ridership it could result in increased usage.
However, I realize it's very complex, and we can't expect people to avoid using their cars or trucks, or to avoid flying on the premise that it may be better for the environment. Understandable as our society seems to be wanting things to be faster and faster, rather than choosing a slower, perhaps more relaxing travel method. Plus the work environment is not conducive to people taking more time for business travel or allowing more vacation days to choose a slower mode of travel.
With the arguments presented by others, I decided it wasn't worth the time to try to advance my argument as it was already decided by others to be a non-valid point.
