[sustran] Re: More on Portland and metros

[Wendell Cox]

I have no bias, despite the claims of my detractors. I am for that transport
system that provides the most mobility/access within the financial
constraints available. Where rail does it fine, where buses, fine. Point is,
however, in the modern sprawling city, whether we are talking about Atlanta
or Shanghai, there is little hope of providing comprehensive mobility
throughout the urban area with rail systems and generally, to the extent
they are built, they consume money that could be better used to provide a
higher level of people more mobility/access.

So long as public transport is content to  principally serve destinations in
the CBD and dense inner city, the car will become king outside. And once
this starts, it is likely to be irreversible. There are exceptions --- the
highly dense natural corridors of Hong Kong and Mumbai come to mind.

Enough for now....


DEMOGRAPHIA & THE PUBLIC PURPOSE (Wendell Cox Consultancy)
http://www.demographia.com (Demographics & Land Use)
http://www.publicpurpose.com (Public Policy & Transport))
Telephone: +1.618.632.8507 - Facsimile: +1.810.821.8134
PO Box 841 - Belleville, IL 62222 USA
----- Original Message -----
From: Alan Patrick Howes <APHOWES at dm.gov.ae>
To: <sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org>
Sent: Saturday, 10 November, 2001 21:41
Subject: [sustran] Re: More on Portland and metros


> Metros can be intrusive too, depending on whether they are elevated or in
> subway - and if the latter, construction can be horrendously disruptive.
And
> there are various options for clean buses, including hybrid battery/diesel
> or flywheel/diesel.
>
> Each scheme really needs to be judged on its merits - the problem is that
> too people (including too many professionals) have a bias of some sort. My
> bias, if it is one, is that I fear that bus-based solutions, which are so
> much more flexible and scalable, are too easily dismissed by some.
>
> --
> Alan P Howes, Special Transport Advisor,
>      Dubai Municipality Public Transport Department
> aphowes at dm.gov.ae
> Tel:    +971 4 286 1616 ext 214
> Mobile: +971 50 5989661
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BruunB at aol.com [mailto:BruunB at aol.com]
> Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2001 5:21 AM
> To: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
> Subject: [sustran] Re: More on Portland and metros
>
>
> Wendell,
>
> I don't disagree that several parallel bus lanes (or LRT lines, for that
> matter) are better than one metro line, but how many cities will allow
this
> much space? I support building many busways, but how many cities will? My
> point was that one might have to wait a long time.
>
> One point that was not discussed. Once busways start moving large numbers
of
>
> people, they can be very noisy and unpleasant, as the number of diesel
> vehicles gets very large. I understand that some businesses are failing
> along
> one of the Sao Paolo busways. Thus, one must also limit the number of
buses
> or jitneys in any one road.
>
> Eric