With the speed of growth in the population of Central Texas,
the citizens of this area would be well served by a high speed rail line for
public transportation to improve commuting, reduce carbon emissions, and
alleviate traffic. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) listed IH-35 as
the most congested roadway in Texas .
The area between San Antonio and Austin has expanded
enormously over the past two years. This area is predicted to become a
“megalopolis” if the growth continues during 2017 and 2018. The Austin area
alone has around 2 million residents and two of the nearby counties (Hays and
Williamson County) have expanded more dramatically.
Some other cities have been working on having subways and
trains to help the mobility inside the cities. The TRE (Trinity Railway
Express) has offered commuter rail service between Dallas and Fort Worth since
2009 and serves two major counties (Dallas and Tarrant County). Also, Dallas
has the DART (“Dallas Area Rapid Transit”) that offers routes to 12 cities
around Dallas and makes it easier to travel without the stress of driving on
the highways.
In New Mexico, Rio Metro started a project to connect Santa
Fe and Albuquerque and the surrounding cities. Portland in Oregon has a great
transport system composed by buses, the light rail and the commuter rail.
Denver, Colorado has around 130 bus routes and 9 rail lines makes easy to get
around town and cities around Denver.
Europe is an example of how train transport can effectively
connect nearby cities. European residents use trains and the culture of massive
transportation as part of their daily life (“Trains in Europe”). Asia has
several examples of effective railways over long distances. Some of these have
outstanding technology and comfortability for the residents to improve their
travel time and service. The Maglev train in Shanghai is one of the fastest
trains in the world and works with magnetic levitation. Additionally, the Shinkansen rail in Japan
covers around 2300 km of rail roads.
Coming back to Texas, Austin has CapMetro who serves most
part of the city with buses and one rail line. Capmetro is in constant change
and is constantly asking for support to the local authorities, this year
Capmetro is trying to create new routes to connect Austin with cities around
it. Last year we saw the death of the
Lone Star rail project that wanted to connect Austin and San Antonio. This
year, we are looking forward to seeing what will happen with the Texas central
Railway that proposes to connect Dallas and Houston with a bullet train.
Last month we´ve read about several lawsuits that been
withdraw based on negotiations between the company and the landowners. In
addition, other many lawsuits are now are in course against the company. The
state government and the local governments from most of the towns and counties
where the rail would pass seem to be very skeptical of this project.
According to the report from the Reason Foundation, the main
oppositions for the train are the cost for the taxpayers that would go up to
$21.5 billion, the operating deficit that Dallas and Houston would run, and the
propaganda from airlines that serve the route.
I think that local and state authorities should be more
involved in this process. Not just leaving to the companies fighting with
people or landowners, but also backing up services that would alleviate traffic
and would increase productivity and mobility between cities. These cities
should cut costs and pick stops that serve most of its people. Also, public
awareness about using public transportation could reduce not only traffic, but stress,
save money and help the environment over the long-term.
Interesting article about something I don't see a lot about: public transportation in Texas. I would have to agree completely with Cinthia's arguments here. I've heard many times of how terrible the traffic is in Austin, so considering the enhancement of public transportation may definitely improve things.
ReplyDeleteCinthia points out that Austin's growing population will only worsen the traffic situation here. This in my opinion is a crucial point in her post. There is no denying that Austin and Texas as a state has been growing rapidly, so there will need to be changes implemented in order to adapt. More people would mean more cars on the street.
There are some issues with the public transportation system however. I myself ride the bus often to get from place to place. Sometimes, riding the bus takes me an hour to get to a destination because I would have to transfer buses and wait at the stop. The time difference is drastic compared to a car ride, which would otherwise get me to the same place in 10 minutes. The reason this is so is because there aren't a lot of buses for each route, which means the frequency of a bus arriving at a stop is pretty low. This is most likely because of the lack of riders, so there isn't a need for a lot of buses. The examples that are stated in the post, about Europe and Asia is a great way to explain this. A lot of people in these areas of the world use the public transportation a lot more than in Texas, which is why countries there invested more into improving their trains and other public forms of transportation. What I'm saying is, if we want local and state authorities to improve public transportation, there needs to be more demand for it. If more and more people are coming into Austin, will they bring this demand necessary for change? Or will they bring their own cars and nothing really changes other than congesting the highway even more?
One thing mentioned briefly in the post was that this could reduce carbon emissions. I think this is a pretty important point to touch on. I personally believe in issues like global warming, so I support anything that could potentially help make the environment cleaner and safer. If people choose to ride these forms of transportation, we would see fewer cars in the street, which would reduce the emission of green house gases, and that's a great thing.
I am still a little skeptical because the question from earlier still remains. Will more people use these public transportation systems should they be implemented? The answer really depends on how efficient these things turn out to be. If they could match the efficiency of owning a personal car, or even better, then there will be the right demand for it, which would mean things like trains and buses would see a lot more success.
Ultimately, I think Cinthia did a great job in conveying her argument of the need for greater public transportation in Texas. If this turns out to be a success, then like she said, we would "improve commuting, reduce carbon emissions, and alleviate traffic". This would be a wonderful thing, so I agree with her, and would really like to see some more emphasis from policy makers in Texas towards this field.