Jim Bacon did a find job of pointing out some of the problems with innovation in shared-vehicle systems in his lead column this week. “The Innovation Gap.”
Right on cue, METRO demonstrated how right he is.
In today’s WaPo it is reported that METRO is considering running some Blue Line trains through the underutilized Yellow Line Potomac tunnel. We will not bother with the details, except to say it is a good idea.
It is such a good idea that over 25 years ago, while working to increase the capacity of the Orange line we suggested this very same move.
Most of the ideas that became the Backgrounder “It is Time to Fundamentally Rethink METRO and Mobility in the National Capital Subregion” https://www.baconsrebellion.com/ surfaced in white papers by EMR and reports by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee. (FCC of C Trans Comm was one of the seven large Enterprise-backed Organizations EMR chaired / served on from the mid 70s to the late 80s.)
The initial feedback from staff at METRO was positive on the ideas including the Turquoise Line. Later we learned that they were vetoed by senior staff. “We are going to complete the 101 mile system before we make any changes,” and “it would cost too much to reprint all the maps” were the only specifics that we ever heard.
So Jim is right. To understand why he is right read Supercapitalism by Robert Reich.
The problem is now that the settlement pattern in most of the urbanized area within R=23 to R= 25 is not suitable for METRO-like shared-vehicle systems (aka, Heavy Rail). That means citzens must morph the settlement patterns and come up with new technology.
We focus on these critical issues in column after column on Rail to Dulles. See “Who Killed Rail-to-Dulles?” and “Why METRO-to-Tysons Is a Mess.”
In a comment yesterday, Larry Gross noted interest in Personal Rapid Transit. For years the advocates of PRT including our friends who started the Advanced Transit Organization have said that PRT can better serve dispersed origins and destinations.
We have reservations. Those interested in PRT search “PRT” in the back columns at https://www.baconsrebellion.com/
Vocabulary is also an issue here as it is everywhere in the real world. As long as shared-vehicle systems are called “mass transit” few will be interested in the topic.
EMR
