Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
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Can you spell "boondoggle?" I just KNEW you could! Honolulu light rail.
49 years behind schedule. Mismanagement. Twelve gazillion dollars over-budget. And lately, it was decided to skip building a parking lot at Middle Street or wherever it was, to save money. Defeats the purpose of not driving into the heart of the city. Where will those commuters park? Parking is at a premium. It's an ISLAND. Even the church I attend has a PAID parking lot. On Sundays, it's free. The auditors or inspectors, in the news report, recommended tighter internal accountability. In more than one direction! And the system is only serving Leeward areas--- out to a limit. The North Shore and Windward areas are just not even in the picture. But taxes are paid by people in those locations to build the Great Monstrosity.
I can't spell it but I can smell it. I'm sitting here trying to imagine what might have happened had I ever tried telling any of my customers or clients that their bill for services was actually 2-3-4-5 X what we contracted for. Yeah right.
@Crash- BART has very significant issues (remember when "issues" were called "problems"?) with financing and general system maintenance. In the last couple of years there has been a growing chorus of complaints regarding cleanliness and safety (safety from dubious sorts of people- not equipment safety issues).
Covid and working from home dropped BART ridership and income by more than 50%, and at this point no one can predict how that;s going to turn around, or even if it will.
San Francisco's Municipal Railway (MUNI) is another transportation gem. Fortunately, it will only take a lot of money and a few years to make that all OK. Unfortunately, they've been saying that since I was a kid. But it must be true, since so many different system managers have said the same thing for at least 75 years. The odd thing is that we keep voting them the money that they say that will fix everything, but somehow not much ever changes.
It just seems to me that, somewhere around the late 50s to early 80s we quit building and started talking about building. Is that the true difference in progressive and conservative as they evolved or is it what it seems to be - just a spoiled self-important nation?
@Anna- You're spot on. For years I've ranted at the dinner table that our parent's generation built United States infrastructure, and now we can't even maintain it properly, never mind add to it.
@OJ - how does the wife take to your ranting at the dinner table?
Too bad about BART. When I used it 1986-97 I thought that it was a pretty slick way to get around. The trains were always clean and on time. Hate when these things happen.
@Mark- I'm not sure that she actually differentiates dinner table rants from the other kinds of my rants. They all have a certain degree of continuity. She really appreciates MFO because when I'm busy here my ranting is at a minimum.
I took BART a few times soon after it opened, 1972 or 1973 I guess it was, and it was slick and fast and clean and uncrowded; I thought it was outstanding at the time. I s'pose the funding didn't have a chance of meeting the maintenance and equipment replacement need after so many years of operation.
sad for that bay area report. i appreciate the busses here on oahu. if your destination is along one of the main lines, it's very good. but do you need to connect to number 4 or 5? you'd be smart to bring dinner along. shit. like waiting for godot.
sad for that bay area report. i appreciate the busses here on oahu. if your destination is along one of the main lines, it's very good. but do you need to connect to number 4 or 5? you'd be smart to bring dinner along. shit. like waiting for godot.
+1. And that exactly is the difference between a last-option public transit system and one that serves everyone, a la Europe. I spent one fairly significant stretch in Oslo and waiting one to five minutes max for a connecting bus was the rule. I finally got over worrying if I'd miss the connection because it was so close compared to what I was used to. It can be done; we just don't choose to do it.
sad for that bay area report. i appreciate the busses here on oahu. if your destination is along one of the main lines, it's very good. but do you need to connect to number 4 or 5? you'd be smart to bring dinner along. shit. like waiting for godot.
+1. And that exactly is the difference between a last-option public transit system and one that serves everyone, a la Europe. I spent one fairly significant stretch in Oslo and waiting one to five minutes max for a connecting bus was the rule. I finally got over worrying if I'd miss the connection because it was so close compared to what I was used to. It can be done; we just don't choose to do it.
I believe every word. And it makes my blood boil. The only positive in this picture is that everyone else subsidizes seniors. Last year, for unlimited annual, I paid $35.00. With fuel up, next year it's $45.00. By itself, that's a good deal.
Comments
49 years behind schedule. Mismanagement. Twelve gazillion dollars over-budget. And lately, it was decided to skip building a parking lot at Middle Street or wherever it was, to save money. Defeats the purpose of not driving into the heart of the city. Where will those commuters park? Parking is at a premium. It's an ISLAND. Even the church I attend has a PAID parking lot. On Sundays, it's free. The auditors or inspectors, in the news report, recommended tighter internal accountability. In more than one direction! And the system is only serving Leeward areas--- out to a limit. The North Shore and Windward areas are just not even in the picture. But taxes are paid by people in those locations to build the Great Monstrosity.
Covid and working from home dropped BART ridership and income by more than 50%, and at this point no one can predict how that;s going to turn around, or even if it will.
San Francisco's Municipal Railway (MUNI) is another transportation gem. Fortunately, it will only take a lot of money and a few years to make that all OK. Unfortunately, they've been saying that since I was a kid. But it must be true, since so many different system managers have said the same thing for at least 75 years. The odd thing is that we keep voting them the money that they say that will fix everything, but somehow not much ever changes.
Too bad about BART. When I used it 1986-97 I thought that it was a pretty slick way to get around. The trains were always clean and on time. Hate when these things happen.
i appreciate the busses here on oahu. if your destination is along one of the main lines, it's very good. but do you need to connect to number 4 or 5? you'd be smart to bring dinner along. shit. like waiting for godot.