Unlike mass transportation options in major cities around the globe, the Phoenix light rail system is still in its relative infancy. The system opened in December of 2008 and it has grown over the years but, it still has basically one route. It just gets longer in each direction. When I lived on the other side of town, I was in walking distance to a station so I took it often to go downtown or out toward Tempe. Where I live now, requires that I drive to a park and ride location and take the train from there. If I have to get in the car, why not just drive to my destination? In the case of last Sunday, I knew that parking in Tempe would be impossible so I opted for the train.
At the Phoenix station where I started, (top photo) I waited 30 minutes for the east bound train to arrive. I forgot that on Sundays, they reduce the amount of trains in service. At the Tempe station, (above) I only had to wait 15 minutes. Clearly, the cities in the valley have a long way to go to create a mass transit system that will be efficient for everyone. I'm pretty certain that won't happen in my lifetime. I guess it's a good thing that electric vehicles are on the rise.
7 comments:
There is hardly any service on weekends. Not to mention after 7 pm in Melbourne as well.
The infrequent weekend schedule is painful. I hate to wait more than 15 minutes.
We have such an extensive mass transit that I can't imagine waiting 30 minutes for a ride on a train or bus. It would not make it convenient if you couldn't depend on the schedule.
As challenging as your system sounds, I think you have the LA/Orange County mass transit system beat by a long shot!
I'm envious and keep saying New Zealand needs one of these, our train system is old.
I first used the light rail by picking it up somewhere near Camelback, I think, and riding it all the way to the end of the line (in Mesa?) then back again. I think it's wonderful and I wish I lived in the Big Valley so I could use it all the time.
It's difficult to manage mass transit in cities where the car is king. There just aren't enough people to warrant frequent service, which in turn makes it less likely people will want to use it. It's like that in Florida too.
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