Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
However, I will say that Metra isn't the model of convenience you make it out to be. The system of rail lines is adequate, but capacity is really starting to be strained on certain lines.
The nature of commuter rail places a cap on the total number of riders -
1) since it serves suburban locations, riders usually have to drive to the station and park there
2) since conductors and boarding/exiting passengers need to move through the aisles, riders need to be in a seat.
Because of limited quantity of parking spaces at the stations and seats on the train, this basically makes Metra into a kind of lottery. Whoever is able to get to the station early in the morning and happens to live in a far-flung suburb can use Metra (if you live closer in, the train is already full when it gets to you) . If, for whatever reason, you can't get to the station early, and/or you live in a closer suburb, you're out of a parking space or a seat. Staying in your car and driving downtown, then, offers a appealing alternative. Many people have agreed to pay $25 for parking to avoid the stress of waiting in a Metra parking lot for a space to open up, or standing in an aisle all the way downtown. If you raise that price of parking, then these people are liable to simply give up on downtown and find a job somewhere in the suburbs.
The "dangerous neighborhoods" point is valid, although it applies more to city dwellers using the CTA. Getting in your car, safely stored in your alley garage, and driving downtown seems a lot safer than walking a distance through this dangerous area to a train or bus stop and waiting for that train/bus to come, then dealing with the dangers that present themselves once you're on the train or bus. Many people who live in dangerous neighborhoods can't afford to park downtown and so they will take CTA anyway, but if any of them could afford this price, then they would drive.
Again, the Metra schedule at off-peak times is inconvenient and the hassles of parking at off-peak times are terrible.
As for packages and purchases - have you ever returned on Metra from a shopping trip with lots of bags and boxes? You set the parcels down on the seat beside you, but as the train fills up, the conductor orders you to carry all that stuff in your lap to make way for another passenger to sit next to you. Or even worse, on CTA, where somebody could easily swipe one of your bags while you were looking the other way? Throwing the stuff in your trunk and driving starts to look appealing.
|
So what, exactly, is the problem with standing, especially if the people standing "all the way downtown" are the ones
closest to downtown (and thus with the shortest commute) as you suggest? Is this really that uncommon an experience for commuters in other cities with some kind of rail service? Or will you and Mr Downtown argue that a majority of the "automotively inclined" suffer from health problems that prevent them from being on their feet for twenty minutes? (And were this the case might it not be from spending so much time on their asses, anyway?)
As far as the parking goes, I'm pretty skeptical of the claim that would-be Metra users are discouraged by a dearth of parking around their
suburban train stations. I know firsthand this couldn't be further from the truth along the Union Pacific North Line, for example.
Especially in this economy, I doubt the "inconveniences" of standing or brushing shoulders with the hoi polloi are enough to deter someone from sticking with their downtown job. God knows if triple-figure salaried North Shore businessmen are able to do it the rest of us shouldn't have a hard time, either.
The "dangerous neighborhoods" argument is
not valid and I'm so shocked to see any kind of defense of this antiquated and borderline racist superstition that I almost think merely acknowledging it lends it more credence than its due. But suffice it to say, you're more likely to encounter danger on the road than danger on the sidewalk, unless of course the danger is careening from the road onto the sidewalk.
You know, the shopping thing reminds me of my mom's situation. She currently drives an SUV despite repeated pleas from me and my brother to trade it in for a more compact, fuel efficient vehicle. Her constant refrain is that she needs the space for the one or two times a year when the items she's transporting are so large or numerous they wouldn't fit in a trunk. It seems like an awfully flimsy defense of continuing to drive something so wasteful and costly, especially when alternatives (renting a van, asking a friend for help, etc.) abound. The shopping thing is analogous. And I would venture to guess the kind of people who are making these large trips so frequently as to render the alternatives too inconvenient probably wouldn't even bat an eye at a five or six or ten dollar increase in parking.