I've intentionally backdated this post (it's actually July 5) so as to leave the recent and evolving streetcar post on top.
Hello from foggy San Francisco, one of the few places that is reliably colder in summer than in spring or fall. I'll be hitting Las Vegas, Portland and possibly Vancouver in the next three weeks, and will do at least a bit of transit tourism in each, with posts to follow. But I'll also be spending some time off the grid, so posting overall probably be more sporadic than the one-a-day pace I've tried to maintain until now.
Stay with me. And if you've enjoyed anything you've read here, pass the word.
Las Vegas has a monorail and several people-mover type trains connecting specific hotels, but the local transit system is solely bus-based.
Las Vegas is loath to build rail, although you'd be amazed at the ridership levels in the desert city. And I'm not talking about the Deuce, either.
One thing I like about Las Vegas is the policy service that all local services (lines 100-399) run at least 20 hours a day, every day. It makes sense since the area virtually singlehandedly is employed by the casinos, but it's nice to see that even hourly routes run till 1 a.m. They have about 8 routes that run 24 hours.
Posted by: Wad | 07/05/2009 at 16:33
Jarrett, I am thrilled with this new blog of yours. I learn something [MANY somethings] every time I read it. And the streetcar post is the best yet. I was glad to see your mention (and re-mention) of the falling in love with a technology thing. I see this happen a lot where I work [akademia] and it short circuits many a good discussion, as well as keeping things from happening.
And the interstate system as example should be in neon on a big billboard at every meeting of transit planners. Our own city is now talking about taking out a section of Rte. 81 that was somehow thought to be well placed by going right through town, cutting the city in half. This was back in the 60s when we also had such brilliant ideas as "urban renewal" and the racially discriminating term "inner city" was born.
Thanks for your thoughtful writing about this. Enjoy your travels.
Teresa
Posted by: Teresa | 07/07/2009 at 06:06