The squeaky wheel… You know the ones, they get out and make themselves heard. It was a bunch of squeaky wheels that introduced the Night Rail concept last year and it “could” be the ones to help save late night light rail ridership now.
There was a lot of great stuff coming out of the Friends of Transit Conference last week, and I began hearing more about the possibility of keeping the late night hours from some of the tweets from the conference . Today, Sean Holstege is in fact reporting on AZ Central that “Light-rail cutbacks may preserve late trains on weekend.”
In Phoenix, they have a huge say in what happens with the light rail schedules and budget. This is gonna be interesting. Here is a re-cap of some of the proposed changes up for consideration:
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Eliminate Friday late night service until 2 a.m. – train would stop running at 12 a.m. on Fridays. (Estimated annual savings – $64,120)
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Eliminate Saturday late night service until 2 a.m. – train would stop running at 12 a.m. on Saturdays. (Estimated annual savings – $40,320)
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Change peak service hours FROM 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. TO 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Estimated annual savings – $70,560)
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Change service hours FROM 4 a.m. to 12 a.m. TO 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Estimated annual savings – $89,880)
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Reduce peak hour service from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes. (Estimated annual savings – $112,280)
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Reduce peak hour service from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes. (Estimated annual savings – $138,880)
So, what say you? Is this good for the Phoenix light rail system? Do businesses benefit from these later hours? Give us your two cents…
late night light rail riders enjoy “night rail”
Call me silly, but I would suspect that the majority of “night rail” riders are using for entertainment and not necessity. Could a better solution be increasing the cost of the ride during “night rail” hours?
That is let those that want extended service vote for that service by using their wallets. I believe that it is important that the rail service be open for late evenings, but have a hard time justifying cutting service during work hours to do so.
Derek,
That’s a good point but would be difficult and potentially costly to implement. Hopefully, they can find a balance that works for the most people.
A lot of the tickets purchased by “night rail” riders would still normally be a “day pass” purchased before a late night ride. ie: on their way out, not just on the way home.
I believe there is the question of how to change the ticketing process and programming of the machines for this small time frame.
It is my understanding that some of the people in Phoenix ( city manager, members of the board etc ) behind this are not only looking at the number of riders but their economic impact to the cities. People that are riding later and going out to dinner or for a drink after concerts, plays, sporting events etc tend to spend money. These board members like probably like that.
.-= Rail Life´s last blog ..Can Night Rail Survive Cuts? =-.
I agree that implementation of time-specific fares would impossible given our current ticketing system. I also want to add my two cents that late night service is a necessity. If our goal is to create a novelty system that people take to and from work when convenient, then we can cut night service. But if we want to enable our massive capital layout to shape and mold the urban structure of the Valley and create transit corridors that have dense residential and commercial development, then effective night service is required.
I understand one has to make sacrifices. I understand when one has a budget. I understand when one must do changes. However though, I do not like the proposals to change specifically: Friday and Saturday late night services. Period!
I will add a side-note: I did not like the decision-making to cut-off service, on the 44-bus; to be specify: the last portion, headed southbound on 44th Str., & Washington Str., through and to University Rd. & 48th Str. —I am not the only one with this thought [strongly] spoken. —Now, [we all] must alternate our travels; in order to get to & fro…
The (decision-maker) did not have to [Absolutely] cut-off that part of the route! Maybe he could have made services less. Such as what you reveal on “Raillife.com/blog.” I would think for the 44-bus services: Monday through Sunday, 7:00am – 10:00am and 4:00pm – 7:00pm.
Thank you for your [Concerning] information.
A fellow-valley light rail rider. ✌