[sustran] Re: Negative thoughts on metro in general (and on from there)

[Lake Sagaris]

Let me add, in the rigid classbound societies of developing countries,
where the car is often the maximum symbol of having made it out of the
bottom mud and into the light, noisy dangerously driven poorly kept buses
are often the maximum symbol of the opposite. Metros, on the other hand, at
least Santiago (Chile) offer one of the few models of social equality,
transportation for the whole nation and not just the top or bottom half.
EVERYONE uses the metro (if it coincides with their route). If you're
talking about social justice and equality, metros are extremely important,
perhaps not the be all and end all, but very useful at the practical AND
the symbolic end. 

Cheers, Lake



At 01:38 PM 3/9/00 -0500, you wrote:
>
>
>Eric, et. al.
>
>I don't have the time to spend either, much as I would like, but I
>have to make a comment.
>
>Up to now, I have almost always agreed with you. But "Goodbye to 
>Metros" is a bit much. Look at productive capacity - capacity times
>speed (Productive Capacity), to see what the investment buys - if
>tremendous capacity over long distances in a reasonable amount of time is
>needed - nothing can outperform them. Of course, cost is a problem, but it
>is not true that other modes have the same performance, that is my only
>point.  This doesn't mean they always go to the right places, have
>the right network configuration, or are properly connected to other
>modes, but one can say this about any proposed rail or busway investment.
>On the other hand, since the investment is permanent, one can eventually
>revise the connecting network to improve the overall system over time.
>
>Also, if you want to make service attractive in wealthier cities, you
>might have to invest in high performance. Parkinson's law does not
>always hold, either. Munich has had no increase in average trip length per
>capita for 20 years, even with massive increases in rail service.
>The secret is to take additional measures such as pedestrian malls,
>high parking prices, etc. to deter additional driving. 
>
>Eric Bruun
>
>